It's "Friday" and Another Evening Out

The week slips away all to quickly, ending with another Friday evening out. This week, opted to try "One Eyed Franks" a new Italian restaurant located just outside Boquete, not far from the Boquete Country Club. Kudos to the chef, Alan and I enjoyed  delicious pork scallopine, recommended by Jenna, our waitress and some local patrons. Tim and Jan had a great looking pizza.

We met Frank, a mildly spoken man, complete with his eye patch. La Jungla, where One Eyed Franks operates from is an education, rehabilitation center for injured and abused animals from the jungle. A strange mix I know, but it is what it is.

The murals on all the walls depict life in the jungle and many of its inhabitants.

The American owner and her family work to rehabilitate and return the animals to their natural habitat. If the animals are not able to return to the wild, they become permanent residents and assist with the community education program.
Tours are readily available and donations to help defray the centers costs, are always appreciated.

One of the resident monkeys was quick to greet a visitor bearing food out on the patio.




 









The "Fuzion Grill House", located just south of Alto Boquete, on the way to David  was our next stop. Each Friday they have a band or DJ, where locals and ex-pats gather to enjoy the music, dinner and a few drinks, then dance off some of those extra calories.

 The band this evening was a Latin band, the same one we saw two weeks earlier. Juan and his band mates were just as entertaining as two weeks earlier, and Susann and Jan were coaxed onto the dance floor to join the locals and shake their booties to the great Latin music. Alan and Tim were somewhat more reserved, choosing to sit and watch, remembering their merengue dance display at the naval Christmas party in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic in 2010. Like most gringos, they and their partners(Susann & Jan) lacked the rhythm and fluidity! Disco dancing, well that was another thing altogether.

This particular Friday, unbeknownst to us, there was a local celebrity in our midst. Jan had sung a number with Juan and the band two weeks ago, but this week she opted to hand the mic to guests, Josue Villavicencio and his wife, Connie Martinez, Latin pop stars.

My Spanish linguistic skills are limited at best, but my understanding is that Josue, a Panamanian from David was a former contestant on "Vive La Musica" a Chilean TV show, similar to American Idol. He and his Chilean wife, Connie have returned to Panama for 3 months.

Boy, could they sing. It was a real treat to listen to them perform together, even though we had no idea what they were singing about.



I was able to search the internet and find them on youtube, and with Spanish/English dictionary in hand, learn a little more about this personable duo.