WhereIsMarina

It was my last week-end, We took our tent and drove to the beach. There had a beer each, played with the wave, and watched a soccer game. At night walked to center eat beans from a blender Rice, salad and fish It was super delish! In the morning woke up and rapidly packed. Hot Springs were the plan, so here we come! The place was unfound It took us an hour We finally reached, bathed till were like a peach. When I got back, Greg created a party for me on the deck. It was my last week-end and Panamanian farewell. *** Just got to Costa Rica and getting my visa for Colombia.... read more

After meeting so many people at the hostel, one of the guys who stayed with us asked if I would be interested in going to San Blas for Easter. That was a tough decision… heck yes, I would. His four-wheel drive truck was perfect for a rocky mountain road to get to Carti from where we would take a boat to one of the 365 islands of Kuna people. On Thursday night I took a late bus from David to Santiago. (I just learned that there are 5 Santiagos in the world). In the morning we were supposed to pick up another friend from a gas station on the way to Panama City. Somehow, the other friend had a problem with a bus, we had a problem waking up, and since only one person from the ... read more

The day starts about like this: 6am Roosters and dogs start a competition “Who is louder” 6:15am Wake up and get dressed 6:17am Go for a run (if and only if there weren’t too many fun people in the hostel and I didn’t have to run a bar) 7am Come back to the hostel after a neighborhood run and talk to our 37 y.o. cleaning lady Ara. 7:15 am Take a shower, make a big pot of coffee for everyone, a huge pan cake with honey for myself, and check computers for any reservations. Then the morning passes by talking and saying goodbyes to travelers who are taking off either to Bouquete, Bocas del Toro or Panama City; getting their e-mails and facebook info to be friends forever and ever… 12pm Lunch time. There are a ... read more

CUBAN MONEY: I can’t use my US Debit Card here so I had to bring a big stuck of $20. To exchange dollars there are two options. (Love options!!!!) One is CUC and the other is National Currency or pesos. 0.8 CUC ≈ One Dollar. And 25 Pesos ≈ 1 CUC. So after changing 60 CUC I got a huge pack of Pesos. It’s so confusing that I had also to get another wallet. SHOPPING: When you go to a store or a restaurant you have to ask whether you pay in CUC or pesos. After a few days I could tell based on the place. As a rule of thumb, poorer looking places, old Chevy taxis, buses and all you buy on the street charge in pesos. Better, tourist looking places, and yellow-plate taxis charge ... read more

JENETEROS, CIENFUEGOS AND TRINIDAD I don’t think I have ever seen or dealt with so much under-the-table prostitution as in Cuba. I can’t even count how many male prostitutes hit on me and how trapped I felt when I would start talking to or dancing with them. I took a two-day road trip to Trinidad and Cinfuegos during my last weekend in Cuba. Everything went well in Trinidad. I strolled around old stone streets, went dancing, met a few nice and normal Cuban musicians and ate a bunch of ice cream and pizza from local kiosks. On the bus stop to Cinfuegos I met two very nice guys from London and we spoke for a couple hours on the bus. They were heading to a different town and we decided to get a beer in a ... read more