¡Locura panameña!

My world has been a worldwind since Ashley arrived last Wednesday night. We have fit so much in in the past week its hard to know where to begin.

Saturday was a boat tour of the Panama Canal. Super interesting to learn the history. We had a good tour guide. It´s a once in a life time experience but I wouldn´t do it again...kind of boring and not much to see. The best part was when the boat rose up and down in the locks.

I had a bad cold so instead of going out on Saturday night, grandma Anne told me I had to stay in, drink gingerlime tea and wear a turtle neck to sweat the cold out. Her house is very cool so it didn´t work very well.

Sunday, Ashley and I left Panama City on a bus to El Valle, a small town in central Panama. The town sits in the middle of a volcano crater so we were in a Valley sourounded by cloud covered mountains. It was a very relaxing day of shopping in the mercado (fruit, vegetables and ART!!!) We ate at a small comedor while watching the Final World Cup game. We spent the rest of the night swinging in the hammocks on the balcony of our hostel, reading and playing games. Monday morning we walked out of town a bit to rent and ride horses. I was a little nervous because I hadn´t ridden since I was little. Also, when we arrived we saw that the horses were not well taken care of. Some of them were so skinny you could see their ribs. They were tied up on a pipe where there was nothing for them to do. Animals are not at all well respected in most of Latin America. Anyway, we decided to ride them (hoping the money would go toward food for the horses.) We had a guide to led us up a one of the cloud covered mountains. I was amazed at how well the horses did on the trail. They were more graceful than I could ever be. It started to rain hard so we were completely wet. However, I felt completely safe and by the end I was galloping in the rain with my horse back to the ¨stable¨. It was a totally liberating experience.

After a quick lunch (delicious chicken soup for $1.75 and natural passion fruit juice for $1) we hit the road headed north. We had no idea where we wanted to go next but we were going to decide on the 5 hour bus ride to the next big city (David). We decided to spend the night in David. This morning we headed for Bocas del Toro, a region in northern Panama on the Carribean coast. Then, we took a boat to the la Isla Colon (an carribean island.) That is where I am now. This side of Central America, from what I have seen, is a great deal poorer. I noticed that most houses are made out of wood and tin rather than cinderblock. Many of the houses are on stilts to keep away animals. Our room in the hostel is actually above the water. I looked through the crack in the wood floor and it was beautifully clear water! As we were looking for a hostel, a man told us he´d give us a double bed with an ocean view, air conditioning, and cable for $10 each. That is a good deal so we took him up on it! Our other option was a ¨tree house¨ full of beach bums lying around in their bathing suites....and those were the owners! What a wonderful job :)

Tomorrow we are taking a boat tour of the other Boca del Toro islands. We will get to see dolphins, turtles, etc. I plan to wear a lot of sun screen.

Tonight is ladies night at one of the local bars. It is slow season here (rainy here and summer in the states) so prices are super cheap! Way to go us! Hasta luego :)