Hey all! Well, we are now in the laid back paradise town of Boca del Toro. It is unbelievable here; beautiful coral reefs, blue water, bare feet, and chill bars that have Christmas lights and play Jack Johnson. I keep wondering how in the world I was able to end up here, its awesome!
Well, as Adam stated, Panama City was quite an adventure. The flood was quite an adventure indeed; it was no exageration to say that the water went ankle deep. I had a book on the floor and it actually floated to the other end of the room! Wouldn´t change a thing though, except for maybe the hotel room, that place was actually quite disgusting! Anyway, we left Panama City for the 2nd largest city in Panama, David. While Panama has 700,000 people, the second largest city only has 70,000; so we found it a nice change of pase to the craziness of the big city! On the way over, these border patrol (even though we weren´t crossing the border) stopped us and did an incredibly thorough drug search. There was a dog that had to sniff out our bus, luggage, and carry-ons. I was paranoid, what if somebody slipped something in my bag like in Brokedown Palace or something. But, we were all clean (big sigh of relief). And there was a nice old lady who made sure to tell us that they were checking for Drogas, as though we couldn´t figure it out when a giant German Shepard began sniffing all our belongings!
Once in David, we stayed in a nice hostel called the Purple House, and no joke, EVERYTHING was purple. The walls, the clock, the sheets, the curtains, the nicknacks, the dishes, everything! It was very relaxing, and I enjoyed a morning of coffee (not the instant kind!) and reading my book.
Unfortanely, we could only spend one night in the Purple House before hopping on another bus to Bocas del Toro. This bus ride was only about 4 hours and for the most part was absolutely beautiful. I didn´t realize that Panama had so many highlands! We passed through mist covered mountains and got a little break from the intense heat and humidity from the lowlands. Anyway, Bocas del Toro is a town on Isla Colon, one of the may islands in the archipelago. After hotel shopping for a while, we stumbled on Hotel Brisas, a hotel that sits right on the water and has a huge deck with hammocks, chairs, and (to Jordan and Adams great pleasure), a giant water trampoline! Since we arrived late, we just hung out for a while at a very chill bar drinking Sangria and beer (and playing pinochle of course), and then back to the hotel where Jordan and I stared out at all the boats in the night and relaxing in the gentle Caribbean breeze (am I making anyone jealous yet)? :O)
Today, we all rented kayaks for 4 hours and paddled around this island near Isla Colon. It was the first time any of us have been REAL Ocean kayaking, meaning that you have to deal with currents and breaking waves. We did fine though, although I am so feeling the burn in my arms (and when i say burn, i mean my muscles. Although Jordan and Adam may have a different interpretation, I was the only one who decided to wear sunscreen!) The highlight of the trip was this small deserted beach we found where we ended up just playing around in the water and looking at bright colored fishies! These beaches were gorgeous, I mean they were the whole deal, palm trees, coconuts, and all!
Well, thats all for now. Off for some ice cream and perhaps more cards. Tomorrow we are taking an all day tour that will take us by some dolphins and let us snorkel in some (hopefully) great reefs. Love to all, and of course, more to follow!
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