On Sunday my wife Susie, my son Adrian and I went to have breakfast at the Panamonte Hotel.  After ordering our favorite Eggs Benedict plates, I began to notice that a lot of guys in dark suits wearing ear pieces and looking very serious started appearing and as I suspected, President Varela had come to Boquete.  He had spent the night right here in our little neighborhood at the Hotel.  Sunday was the big day for Boquete and President Varela gave a speech and was present for all the parades.  This year was probably the biggest year yet for Boquete and it was good to see the President taking the pro Chiriqui stand.  He will be good for Chiriqui and good for Boquete.

My friend Mark Heyer, who is a professional photographer, was front and center and captured the real pride felt by all the people who participated and he so rightfully spoke about how the rest of the world could learn from the Panamanian tradition of parades.  In his words. ” I find the unselfconscious honesty and pride of these parades to be source of great pleasure and consider it a privilege to honor the efforts of our fellow countrymen and women.”  Thanks for sharing your photo album with us Mark.