Blogs from Panama, Central America Caribbean - page 155

Well, I ended up staying a whole week in Boquete. The town was packed on Friday for the beginning of their international Feria de las Flores y del Cafe and we decided to stay and check it out. The party that night was unbelievable; the fairgrounds themselves were huge, probably as big as the town itself and there were these two nightclubs that set up openair dance parties, which, for any of you who know me, was right up my alley. There were live bands and then they also played salsa, merengue, and house music and there were little tables set up through the whole area so everyone grouped around them and had their bottles of rum and coke to mix their own drinks. And everyone was generous to the two foreigners that closed the place ... read more

OK, I have a ton of pictures to share already and lots to write about but this internet cafe closes in about 2 minutes, so i will have to do so tomorrow.....but I made it here and am having a BLAST!!!! I seriously think I am in love with Panama already -- I mean, where else can you snorkel in a Caribbean island in the morning, drive through waterfall-laden mountains, view out onto the Pacific coast and islands, and end up back in the mountains again for dinner?? I'm going whitewater rafting tomorrow on one of the top 5 rafting rivers in the world! I am so pumped; I will provide a better update on my travels thus far when I get back from the fabulous daytrip.... Buenas noches... read more

So today was another rainy day and I didn´t really do much of anything until I heard a group of people talking about going surfing..so I joined them. So a little boat picks us up (4 of us...2 good surfers, and then myself, and another girl who was just learning) around 4pm. As we are driving to the drop-off point and it begins to pour...but no one seems to be discouraged so I just roll with it (but start to get a little worried). On the way there I also learn that there is a coral bottom (apposed to sand) so I need to be careful. I had imagined that the boat was going to drop us off at some nice beach...but boy was I mistaken. We get dropped off a good ways off of the ... read more

For a year and a half of my life I lived in Panama as a missionary for the LDS church. This was an amazing adventure and incredible experience. While there I was called as the mission nurse for 7 months. This was an extra bonus to my mission as I was able to serve with two amazing Presidents. I was also privileged to serve with the Kuna Indians and learn their culture and traditional beliefs. The Panamanian people will always have a special part in my life. The mission itself is irreplaceable and when its all over that section of my life seems to have only been a dream. However the values that have been instilled within me from that experience have been life impacting. ... read more

The highlight and purpose of our trip was sailing through the Panama Canal. My father and I spent almost the whole day on our balcony watching the landscape pass by. Because we both had read The Path Between the Seas , we frequently discussed the history of failing to create the canal and the evidence of the final success, plus obvious on-going problems with side-wall collapse. This day was the culmination of my father's engineering interest in the design and construction of the project, his career speciality, albeit in the field of electric power. Throughout the canal passage, narration and commentary were played on the TV, which we could hear from our balcony chairs. Surprisingly, I took almost no photos during the passage; however, in 2010 I took... read more