No Cable Cars Here - San Francisco Treats.

The beautiful San Francisco.

I visited Roxana's site in San Francisco, which is about an hour from me. First I take a bus to Santiago, and then I bus from Santiago to San Fran. She had spoken about how cute her site is, and it really is. I'm just doing my best not to have site envy at this point.

When I arrived we headed to her host family's home, which is too nice - So classic! It's beautifully and thoughtfully decorated and is so clean and lovely. It's what I dream my future grownup "home" will look like. Just clean and smart. No clutter.

Me, Roxana, & Kara overlooking SF

We (the Veraguas crew: Rox, Kara, and I) decided to hike this huge hill in her site. Roxana spoke to her friend and she volunteered to be our guide. That might sound a bit ridiculous, but a guide was essential because our route cut through all these cow pastures with barbed wire, and it was not a direct path. It was easier than I imagined it would be in the heat, since looking up at this hill made me wonder why I was the one who literally had suggested to Roxana that we use our vacation time to "go hiking." Luckily the other 3 gals were still game on, and so began our "cerro hike." En route to the cerro start, our guide, Josie, showed us some of the beauty of her home - San Francisco. The two "water features" photos are in fact actual cascading waterfalls. Stifling my site envy... Back to the hike.

Did I mention it's beautiful?

Admittedly, I haven't done any major hikes in a while, but I do enjoy the workout of it. I had been in the middle of the group, and I moved to the caboose, where I could set my own pace. I realized the hardest part for me this time was just having to stop a lot because the people in front kept stopping and before that.  It was fine - I think they thought that was a nice thing to do? I don't know, but once we got going, it was clear where the trail was, so it wasn't as necessary. And I don't like being right on top of people while hiking, so I left a little bit of space between me and the person in front of me, since sometimes I move faster, and sometimes I definitely move slower, so maybe they thought I was being left behind.   And with all that sweating and huffing and puffing, the last thing I wanted was anyone too close. At the top we got to do some rock scrambling, which was really fun. The whole trip was pretty funny. Pre-hike, I drank a lot of water, made sure to use my inhalers that I rarely use, but perhaps should use daily, since I breathe so elegantly while hiking. I brought my backpack of stuff with me: sunblock, 2 water bottles, umbrella, and stuff for swimming later. The girl guiding us? She brought nothing. Literally nothing, and she was wearing a super cute Tommy Hilfiger looking outfit with matching shoes that looked like Keds. I was wearing hiking boots. I will say though. My boots did a great job. I felt very secure. But compared to the bad ass Josie (our guide), I looked ridiculous.

After hiking, we visited the bakery. We were given a heavenly concoction of tutti frutti and lemonade. It reminded me of the drink I made in college mixing the two drinks in the cafeteria, but this was way more delicious. It had a great zing to it. We hung out and relaxed at the bakery and then toured a little bit more. Jenn (another PCV, not from Veraguas) joined us at the bakery.

We visited a sort of swimming hole looking thing. There were two waterfalls leading into it. It was magical. We got to swim for a long time, which I adored. I swam against the current of one of the waterfalls and it was like I had my own lap pool. My arms were sore the next day.

Where we swam!

Following our swim, we went to Roxana's home and cooked dinner and made some zucchini bread. Rox is essentially the Betty Crocker of the group. But how lucky because I got to get some super yummy bread before I headed home that night. I really lucked out with visiting her site because there is a bus that leaves her house after 7 PM, and my last bus leaves after 8 PM, so I can always visit her and still make it home to my place - should I desire that.

Relieved Exhaustion.

I had a great day seeing my future swimming hole. :)  I'm certainly jealous I do not have my own place to swim nearby, but such is life. Two buses and I'm there!

 You Hate Us, 'cuz You Ain't Us - V E R A G U A S.