Weekend in Boquete

My favorite highlight in Boquete was experienced at an orphanage that we had the opportunity to go to. This particular orphanage had babies ranging from a few months old up to seventeen year old teenage girls, some of whom were parents of these babies. We ended up bringing toys, candy, bookbags, and fruit for the kids. When we were giving these away, the look on these kids faces was priceless. They were all filled with glee and excitement. After handing everything out, the excitement did not end there. We had the chance to play with the kids for a good hour. I found this one little boy who appeared to be five years old, away from all the other kids. When I approached him, he was timid and did not open up when I asked his name. However, that changed after I reached in my pocket and handed him a piece of candy. The little boy ended up giving me a hug afterwards. I then took him on the swings followed by me picking him up and throwing him up in the air. He seemed to enjoy that, so we did it several times, until he became exhausted. Play time was unfortunately over and we ended up saying our goodbyes to the kids. I felt great knowing that I made the boy's day.

The following morning, several classmates and I decided to do something daring and bold. We were going to hike up a volcano. I talked to several people that had done it before and they said it was very strenous both mentally and physically. However, I brushed it off because I thought they were exagerrating as to how difficult it was. Boy was I wrong! It was by far the hardest thing that I have ever done. The first twenty minutes of the hike was the most difficult for all of us. Mainly, because of how steep the incline was. I wanted to go back to the car and drive back home. We had to take numerous breaks just to recuperate from the countless inclines we had to hike up. But after about six hours or so of hiking, we eventually made it to the top! We all felt accomplished. Unfortunately since it was cloudy, the view wasn't so great from the top of the volcano. However, it still felt good knowing that I was up there. After about thirty mintues or so of enjoying the view and recuperating, we ended up walking back down the volcano. Unfortunately, it began to downpour on us, which made it even more difficult for us because the rocks were slippery. Luckily after three hours of hiking back down, we reached the bottom of the volcano safely.

"Winners take time to relish their work, knowing that scaling the mountain is what makes the view from the top so exhilarating." -Denis Waitley