Almost finished

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After another (and the last) border crossing we made it into panama and headed straight to bocas del toro...

bocas del toro is a small town on an island on the caribbean coast..and was absolutely beautiful, the water was crystal clear and warm, the sun was out and hot and much sunbathing was done....also were able to spot a few dolphins. bocas also has a great nightlife...all the bars have piers over the water..but luckily none of us fell in despite having sampled the entire cocktail menu during happy hour!...

after bocas we haded to boquete which is a small town in the highlands which had suffered a lot in the recent flooding and you could still see all the damage that had been done... this is where we spent christmas...and it did begin to feel a little bit more like christmas especially when one restaurant we were in was showing the muppets christmas carol...christmas eve was celebrated in style, with christmas music, fireworks, drinks and hotdogs and turned out to be the best christmas eve yet...

christmas day was also good...but it was very strange not to be at home, and to be wearing shorts and t-shirts! luckily i had informed santa in advance of my location and still received a few pressies...altho it was quite a stanger collection of presents including cat food, clothes pegs, a christmas mug, hot chocolate and also a puzzle with some kittens on it....we all proceeded to get obsessed with the task of finsihing the puzzle, and over the enxt 4 days it was duly finished (despite delays incurred when it had to be packed away and transported for several hours)...we also got a christmas meal, cooked by the hotel owner...not quite the typical british affair, but it was lovely..had a big roast ham, chilli, salad and pasta...

after boquete we headed to el valle....which is a tiny little town which seemed to consist of the hotel, a road and a pizza place...from here we headed to the beach, this time the pacific side of the country, and spent the day at a surf house, where we had a great bbq...which involved cooking chickens after a beer can had been inserted up their rear ends...tasted very good actually!

then from el valle i did my final piece of road travel into panama city...unbelievably my final destination and this is where i am now...panama city is a lot like an american city, it is a lot richer than the rest of the country and this def. shows...lots of high rise buildings, luxury apartments etc...have already headed out to the miraflores locks of the canal..which was really cool to see massive container ships pass thru a tiny lock which a foot clearance on either side...then wandered around the old quarter of town - which still has a lot of colonial architecture...have also been to the bodies revealed exhibition (the one with a load of dead bodies in it showing the anatomy of humans) as it is here and ive wanted to see it for a while...it was really interesting - altho im not sure my interpretation of all the signs was correct!

new years was spent at a casino...managed to win a whole dollar on the slot machines!...and there was a live salsa band, and the usual streamers and confetti etc at midnight...a good time was had by all...

now i have my final two days - i cant beleive how quickly the last four months have gone!...which i think i shall spend in the sun not doing anything too stressful!...

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