Blogs from David, Chiriquí, Panama, Central America Caribbean - page 3

Travel day. Ugh. Up at 3:20am. Finished packing. I walked down our stairs just as the bus pulled up to Geoff. Yikes. Talk about on time bus service here. This first bus only drove us 1 hour & cost $10 total. Whoa Costa Rica, too much. Although the driver did have to cross about 7 river/creeks that were pretty full. I imagine it's an impossible drive in the rainy season. But it did dump rain on us last night so maybe they fill up quickly? We changed buses in the middle of nowhere because a local guy told me he was going to the same town as us so we just had to follow him. That always makes it easy & takes the worry off of missing our next stop. We waited at this junction for ... read more

(Barb) The Purple House is a pretty neat place..Almost everything is a shade of purple. I think it's cool, especially since that's my favorite color! Andrea, who is originally form NYC, is the manager and the mover and shaker of the place. She was a Peace Corps Vounteer stationed in David who always wanted to open a hostel. When she opened the Purple House it was the first in David and the second in Panama. It seems to be a very popular place, clean and hospitible. Nice galley kitchen. We have the only private room with a bathroom. Air conditioning is $5 a nite..available 12 hrs...if you want it started at 7 pm..it goes off at 7 am. Hot water is $2 extra for showers. The air is a blessing believe me! After we arrived we ... read more

Date: 4th november . so where do i start? so much has happened since last week but ill try and mention the best bits! we went out for haloween to a local bar with a group of guys from the hostel in panama city. The drinks were about $1 each so we took full advantage and got stuck in! the bar was full of locals and as the only ''gringos'' we got a few looks but all friendly. The next day we met an Irish guy called Eric who just seemed to make friends on every road he walked, he took us around panama city were we found a hill with a view of the city, canal and bridge all at once. this was amazing, however, we decided we'd done enough site seeing for the ... read more

OOOPS I GUESS I FORGOT TO PUBLISH THIS ON THE 18TH: Since last time I write: I'm still at lost and found. An awesome guy names "spider Ray" came to L&F he is an unpaid spider expert for Oxford University, and really awesome. He removed most of a cockroach from someones ear. I didn't have the balls to see a cockfight but I went to the arena and hungout around the cockfight at Gualaca. We got a new volunteer from Vermont and she is awesome. I pulled an awesome meal for 20 out of my ass in 4 hours, no notice. I swam in the Gualaca Gorge. I think I'm leaving L&F around the 28th. It's Dad's Birthday, Happy Birthday Dad! There is La Feria in David, its a big 10 day fair. I'll write more ... read more

I went to Chiriqui Hospital in David for a nagging respiratory problem. Cost breakdown: Dr. visit with a specialist in internal medicine -$35. X Ray - $20. 4 prescriptions - $101. Subtract the Symbicort inhaler and the other 3 prescriptions were just $30. I found my doctor from searching sites and blogs from other expatriats on (what else) the internet. When the pharmacist fills your prescription, he hand types the instructions on a typewriter and sticks it to the box. For the xray and other tests area, the receptionist manually fills out a form in triplicate with old loose carbons inserted. She must have a grip of steel from all that work. Then you pay at cashier window. My xray technician was dressed in a blue and white hawaiian print shirt, blue jeans, and blue Bongos, ... read more