A fuller account of Finca la Flor! Stay tuned for photos, I didn't bring my camera connector cord with me to Panama. By the way, Mom, I'm safe and sound in my hostel and the town is super super safe.

So Finca la Flor is an organic farm that also hosts groups for vacations. The farm part isn't too large, just enough to help support themselves and sell excess food. There are maybe 3-5 people who work year round for the farm, and usually a handful of volunteers. I worked with a French Canadian man and a Swiss woman, and the farm is owned by a German woman. I definitely improved my Spanish, since I didn't speak English all week.

We would start around 8 in the morning, usually doing something with planting or preparing ground for planting. We'd have to till the ground (with hoes), add some compost and mix it into the soil, and either plant seeds or replant seedlings. I'd never heard of some of the things we planted, or ate. We also spent some time repairing infrastructure around the farm, using bamboo to make beds or steps on the hills. It was pretty hilly so the beds were all terraced, which is pretty cool.

We also worked with their goats a little. They had them in this stable that was on stilts, so all the goat poop (theoretically) would fall through the slats to the ground. The goats were like penthouse residents. Once a day we'd let them out for the Running of the Goats into their field. Then we'd clean their stalls (basically poking poop through the slats with sticks) and get them back in their stalls later in the day. This was harder, since each goat had an assigned stall so they wouldn't bully each other. So there would be 10 goats milling around and you'd have to sort them by grabbing their horns and trying to convince them to go to their own stall, which was not always easy.

The food was pretty amazing, it was all vegetarian and the majority of it came from the farm itself. The cooks really knew what to do with it too. We had a lot of really fantastic soups, and one night they made a really good Italian style pizza.

I wish I'd stayed longer, and I may go back during other breaks.