Panama part 1

We are here in Panama, currently sipping coffee and conversing with a retired couple from Los Angeles.  The man, Bob, owns a winery called "Trefethen" on Oak Knoll street in Napa Valley. We’ll try to remember that if we are ever in CA.

 We are swapping some travel stories, and just finished our breakfast of eggs and fruit.  We already like Santa Catalina, and its a nice change from the mediocrity that was Panama City.  Joe and Jaron are probably on a beach in Bocas del Toro right now, and there's a good chance we will catch up with them in Boquete in a few days. 

We love Hotel Santa Catalina, its relaxed with an open-air restaurant.  I'm waiting for the wifi to work.  When it does I'll be able to post this entry. 

We will spend today wandering the small town and getting our bearings.  Hopefully I'll find a fresh mango to peel with my peeler!

We got in last night after a day of bus and taxi rides.  Luckily when we arrived in Sona around 8pm, in the dark, there was an English guy named Chris who was waiting to split a cab with someone.  Chris was a laid back dude who is bulding a skate park in the town.  He offered us a beer in the taxi, then offered the taxi driver a beer. None of us accepted, he drank two on his own.  He told us a little about the town while I tried not to pee my pants on the hour drive in.  I had a headache when we got in last night, but after sleeping in the a/c and having a good breakfast I'm glad to say that I feel much better today.

I am also happy to announce that our GI troubles seem to be over.  Yes, after a sketchy meal in Panama City, 75% of our little group had diarrhea.  Jaron was the only one who got away scott-free.  Poor Joe had it the worst, with me in second, and Ryan with only 1 or 2 bouts.  It wasn't that bad, and truth be told, we were overdue after getting thru Vietnam and Ecuador with ne'er a loose stool. It only lasted about a day for us, and we kept hydrated with gatorade and had some bland rice and hummos for lunch.  Must have helped, and we didn't have to take any Cipro.

Update: After breakfast we walked down to a beach at the end of the street.  There were dogs and kids running around, a few surfers on waves, and a really neat area of rocks in the sand surrounded by small pools of water where there were little fish and large crabs.

We borrowed some bikes (in need of repair) and rode into town to check in for our dive tour tomorrow.  After making sure we were on the roster, we stopped for some jugos and a muffin at a little bakery.  I had mango juice, and Ryan had papaya, both good and went great with our banana muffin.  After a little more riding around we had lunch at La Buena Vida.  Great salad and tacos with hot sauce.  Met a couple from NC who were working there, they had a 5 month old cute baby with them.  As we ate loud thuds could be heard as mangos dropped onto the roof from the trees above.  After lunch, we rode back to our hotel.  I’m blogging now and Ryan is reading in a hammock next to me.  Must be tough, huh?

When the tide comes back in we might take some kayaks out for a spin.  Its hot an humid, but we’ll take it anyday over lecture and work.

Quick note on arriving.  The flights worked out fine, our ride from the airport was a no-show so we had to finangle a cab to the hostel.  Jaron and Joe were in a dormer, and Ryan and I had a private room.  It was a room, and nothing more.  Pancake batter set out by the stove was breakfast.  We ran out to the canal to see a ship go by, pretty neat, but dare I say an over rated excursion?  We dopped J&J at a mall near the airport, went and grabbed our gear, and ended up at the mall again because it is connected to the bus terminal.  Yep, we ran into the guys aghain and chatted for a few over our shawarma and smoothies.  We missed our bus after dilly-dallying, and had to catch another an hour later.  It worked out fine, however.  It was nice to have a proper meal this morning after a one item breakfast, mall food lunch, and granola bar dinner yesterday. 

until next time!