Sun even shines on a dog's ass some days...

After a couple of days watching brass bands parade the streets of Bocas Del Toro for Panamain Independence day (November 3rd), we bussed it south to David and asked ourselves ''What is your goddamn problem, David? Although it is a fairly inoffensive city, that might be why we felt that there was very little to keep us there. So, with that said we move north to Boquete - a small mountain town full of culture and charm. As the schoolbus we were on drove down into town, it was so green and mountainous it could have been Scotland (imagine Kinlochleven full of Ngobe Bugle Indians and you're halfway there).

The Ngobe Bugle are a native people based in the Chiriqui province of Panama. The women are all brilliantly turned out in brightly coloured long dresses, and their presence seems to light up the streets as they go about their days.

As we arrived at our hostel we were greeted by two big boisterous dogs, who subsequently made good their escape when the owner turned his back. What followed was a calamitous chasing of dogs through the streets of Boquete in the pouring rain. Rachel, calling upon her best Kenneth Hutch impression, grabbed one of the mutts with a soggy dog treat, while my David Starsky flip-flopped along holding the other dog by the scruff.

The hostel owner rewarded us with a trip to the hot springs of Caldera. Other than a few strategically placed rocks, the springs are completely natural, and are surrounded by viscous 'quick mud'. As the rain poured down, we sat in the hot water hearing tales of Ngobe Bugle Indians who had sunk in the mud - from time to time their dead bodies rising to the surface as the consistency of the mud changed with the weather. Negotiating the hike back to the jeep with these horrors in our heads and a carton of wine in our stomachs was definitely an interesting affair...

Yesterday we hiked up to El Mirador (the lookout) and the wildlife refuge that sits atop the hill. As young Woods fell in love with a pink parrot called Sam (Allo!), I was able to recruit a new addition to 'Toddy's Top 5 Favourite Animals' - Geoffroy's Tamarin monkeys. Think of a 12 inch tall old man, with a white mohican. Amazingly, they achieve a state of grumpiness and playfulness simultaneously. Could have watched those little fellows for hours, and nearly did as Rachel fed a wee damaged capuchin monkey called Monty, who held her hands as he ate his cranberries.

Today we aimed to head up to a crazy garden called 'Mi Jardin es su Jardin', and some of the best coffee in the world at Cafe Ruiz. As a warm up, we decided it would be a great idea to take Sonny and Papito for a quick morning walk. Sonny is a big orange boxer dog, and Papito is basically a bear with a collar. They are young dogs and very excitable, a fact that became apparent when Sonny pulled so hard on the lead that Rachel split both her sandal and her toe open. What followed was a quick display of Panamain kindness as an elderly lady shuffled out of her doorway with a bottle of iodine, a plaster and a new pair of flip flops patching little Woods up with equal measures of care and roughness. Papito obviously felt this wasn't enough excitement for one day, and proceeded to get himself in a fight with a dog even bigger than himself. As the two bit and scratched each other I tried to wrestle them apart with the leash, but they are so strong that it is near impossible. As the other dog limped away, Papito and Sonny pulled us up the hill and stopped to drink at a perfect place for us to get a view of the whole town... As these brutes pulled us home, we got the distinct feeling that they'd taken us for a walk, not the other way around...

Tomorrow we hit the old dusty trail back to David, then quickly on to our next destination - currently unknown...