Day six: Raindrops keep fallin' on my head

(3/31) Today was boat tour day! Kelly & I shipped off with about 15 others and set sail for dolphin-watching, snorkeling, lunch, Red Frog Beach, and more snorkeling. The forecast? Rain. Our mood? Thrilled. While cruising through the waves and getting pelted by water droplets, we couldn't help but giggle... it's been so long since we've felt the rain, so long since we've been cold, we were literally soaking it all up. Everyone else looked absolutely miserable. I think we may be the two oddest people in the Caribbean to have enjoyed a rainy day on the waters. Even the dolphins avoided the rain (haha) and were nowhere to be found.

The rain cleared up by our first snorkel. The colors underwater were brilliant: neons, greens, blues. Tropical fish swam the corals, and I even saw a tiny jelly - yikes! At Red Frog Beach, I napped in the sands as little boys carried the native frogs for me to view in banana leaves. Our final snorkeling destination led us to a beautiful reef tumbling off into further depths.

Bocas del Toro. Beautiful.

Day five: Seeing Stars

(3/30) Bocas del Toro, Panama. Pacific Ocean. Almost Costa Rica. Playa Estrella. Starfish beach!

love,

jan maggi

Day four: The Canal!

(3/29) History in action. My visit to the Panama Canal on Monday was absolutely surreal. Kelly and I scored some $5.00 student tickets to see the canal in its entirety: the museum, the informational video, the Miraflores Locks. It was totally worth it.

The history of the Panama Canal is quite intriguing. Ever since Balboa’s discovery of the Pacific Coast, world powers have been imagining the creation of a passage between the two great oceans - first the Spanish, then the French (many of whom died trying), and finally, the United States who broke ground on the Canal in 1903. The first transit took place on August 15, 1914, and took 8 hours. The cheapest price to traverse the locks was 36 cents, paid by Richard Halliburton who swam the Canal from August 14-23, 1928. President Carter signed the Torrijos-Carter treaty in 1977 in order to cede the American owned and orchestrated canal to Panama; officially on December 31, 1999, the Panama Canal became truly Panamanian. The canal has been a fabulous source of revenue and tourism for the Central American country. We visited the Miraflores Locks on the Pacific Coast, near Panama City, where we saw a 7 story boat pass through the locks. This boat, the CSAV Chicago, paid about $160,000.00 to pass according to local employees. A neighboring sailboat's fees were $500.00.

History in the making at the Panama Canal!

Our evening brought us to Bocas del Toro on an Air Panama flight. More to come on Bocas as the adventures unfold...

Day three: Girls just wanna have fun! (Shopping day!)

(3/28) After sleeping in and resting off the late night (early morning) out with our new friends, Kelly & I got up for lunch at our favorite corner store, Gourmet Super. The store owner, a Mississippian who moved to Panama post-Katrina, reminded us of the artisan fair nearby. As our afternoon plans included an easy day of shopping at Albrook Mall, we decided to take a detour to see the local wares.

Only about 60 miles from Panama lie the San Blas Islands, an archipelago which retains much of its undeveloped splendor and the traditions of the Kuna people. Kuna women sell their work in Panama and are most famous for their beautiful fabrics, called molas, which can be incorporated into purses, clothing, anything imaginable. They're stunning.

The incredible stitch work and detail creates beautiful patterns. Molas range in price from $5.oo (or a $3.00 coin purse) to $100, depending on the quality and design.

Moving on to Albrook, we quickly discovered why this mall has such a great reputation among the backpacker scene: stores had incredible discounts, some particularly for foreigners, and clothes as cheap as $2.00-4.00! Panama is on the USD, which made keeping track of our money easier over the course of the week. However, so much shopping was quite tempting on the pocketbook, as was the fact that the "discount mall" also had a Zara. One would think I'd died and gone to J Crew heaven...

Kelly and I ended our day with dinner at Mostaza, a restaurant with cuisine reminiscent of dear ol' España and delicious dinner rolls that seemed to be just like those at one of my favorite Madrileño dining establishments, La Vaca Argentina. We rushed to Grancelment before its 8pm closing to sample some of the finest ice cream I've ever tasted. After making a promise to come back later in the week for more, we headed home for the night.

Day two: Unexpected adventures (Who knew Colombians loved to salsa?)

(3/27) This trip is teaching me to be flexible. Here's why. When plans fall through (like waking up early to see the Panama Canal...), it opens up the day and night to a whole new world of posibilities.

Kelly & I spent the first morning exploring the dilapidated yet charming area near our hostal: Casco Viejo. This area is where "Panama" moved after "Panama Viejo" was under Henry Morgan's siege. It's full of ruins, churches, and cute ironwork. My kinda place. We took refuge from the sun in a wonderful little airconditioned corner store called the Gourmet Super and passed the noontime reading and resting. I tasted pesto for the first time in who-knows-how-long. They even had Coke Zero. Wow. The little things...

We were continuing our wanderings through Casco Viejo when we ran into Julio, a white polo wearing, card-carrying member of the tourist agency. He charmed us and tricked us into a well-informed tour of the rest of CV, as well as a visit to the waterside cinta, a long walking path along Calle Balboa. Julio's unexpected appearance easily made the day - we learned more from him than we would have by ourselves or from a guidebook. Along our tour, we passed traditionally dressed Kuna women selling their wares and walked through the Panamanian equivalent of lover's lane. One thing's for sure, Panama is romantic. I'm completely captivated, and it's just day two. Coming back to the hostel, Kelly & I decided to rest on the balcony, watch the city skyline twinkle across the waters, and enjoy some white wine from Spain, a rueda.

We were bien-tired and bien vestidas as we left our hostal in search of dinner. Our one requirement for the evening: air conditioning. We are not accostumed to this luxury and thus completlely taking advantage of its availability. We stumbled upon a recommended restuarant called Casablanca complete with snapshots from the classic film adorning the walls. I ordered a veggie burger (it's been a goal of mine to find one) and rose wine.

Just as we were deciding that perhaps our night would end early (as nights involving wine so often do), I came back from the restroom to discover Kelly making friends with the neighboring table.

Flashforward to midnight, we're walking through curtains into a ballroom full of salsa dancers swaying along to live music in an environment straight out of Cuba. Welcome to the Havana Club. Our friends from dinner are leaders in a Colombian business selling education technology, but even better, they love to salsa.

Flashforward to 5:00am - we're still dancing to salsa, rap, and latin pop, now on the uber trendy Calle Uruguay with our new friends. We're at s6is, a hip bar with loud music, great dancing, and a balcony overlooking the poshest party street. I'm high-fiving a Panamanian who likes the Titans and Peyton Manning. I think back to my study abroad days in Spain, where a night out easily doesn't stop until the Metro reopens at 7:00am. I guess the Panamanians and Colombians have something in common with the Spainards besides Spanish...

Day 1 - Culture Shock (or "good things come to those who wait")

(Friday 3/26) After checking out NYTimes' 36 Hours in Panama City, Panama and my trusty Central America on a Shoestring (thanks, Lonely Planet!), I was eager to get to Panama City, Panama (not to be confused with Panama City Beach, FL). Kelly and I arrived for our 8:15am direct COPA airlines flight to said destination, only to have the staff inform us that there were not seats for us. As we had purchased our early flight in order to spend the whole afternoon exploring the wonders of Panma's capital city, we were not well pleased with our attendant's message. He assured us we would see the next flight out as well as $150 vouchers from COPA, an additional night's stay in Panama to make up for the afternoon lost, and a free transfer of our return flight from Friday (4/1) to Saturday (4/2). We spent the morning in a luxurious Managuan hotel (I didn't even know this place existed!) and enjoyed a free buffet breakfast/lunch.

Our 12:30pm depature on COPA flight 411 routed us through El Salvador, giving us the opportunity to meet traveling scouts from Guatemala. Am I the only person who didn't know that scouting was international? Apparently there is in fact a Central American Scouts convention in Panama this week. Fascinating.

Upon our arrival in Panama, we held our breath waiting for Kelly's luggage to arrive. It did. Thank goodness. After our flight was somehow too full without us this morning, I was alittle wary of the airline provider. However, after the attendants provided us with our hotel reservation for next Friday night and free transportation from the airport, my negative first impression (I can't get to Panama because you oversold my flight?!) was changing rapidly (You're giving me an extra night for free with $50+ worth of transportation and $30+ worth of food ANND a $150 voucher!? Wow...you can mess up my flight whenever you want!). Like I said, good things come to those who wait.

Our nice taxi driver educated us on all things Panama during our 30 minute ride to Luna's Castle, our hostal in Casco Viejo. He was a Bocas del Toro native, perfect for us as we'll be traveling to the beach town of Bocas Monday-Thursday. As we neared the town, my jaw dropped as I saw the expansive skyline. He pointed out the new Trump Tower (shaped like a D for Donald), the Hard Rock Cafe, different malls and construction projects, all as we cruised down the well-lit, well-paved, Miami-esque Avenida Balboa. Have I ever mentioned that there's only one skyscraper in all of Managua, and that's being generous? And that most of the roads don't happen to have street names? I guess having your capital city lying across fault lines isn't the best idea, but the Nicaraguans make it work.

I can see why Panama is nicknamed the "Miami of the South." However, as we crossed into the more delapitated - dare I say more charming? - area of Casco Viejo, I entered streets that reminded me at once of Portugal and Cuba. I knew from that first taxi ride that I was not in Managua anymore. We arrived at Luna's Castle to find that our hostal is funky, arsty, friendly, and completely stocked with all the amenities one could desire: a kitchen, computers, hammocks, a book exchange, free towels, new friends, and a bar downstairs with "loud art" (waiting to see what that's like). And so with a quick exploration of Casco Viejo and a 10% off dinner at Aroma's Cafe thanks to our hostal's discount armbands, Kelly and I settled downstairs for a bit to make some new acquaintances and sample some domestic drinks.

You know what, Panama? I think we're going to get along just fine!

Semana Santa - Holy Week

Friday welcomed me and the rest of Central America to the phenomenon known as Semana Santa, Holy Week. For the 9 days preceeding Easter (and even the day after), there is no school, mucha fiesta (lots of party), religious demonstrations, and tons of travel. Managua basically shuts down and moves to the beach. Even the biggest discoteca Chaman is relocated to the sands of San Juan del Sur. Like I said, mucha fiesta...

For the Manna volunteer, Semana Santa brings a plethora of options. Some chose to spend time with loved ones in the States; others are spending time with loved ones in Managua (and like I said, by Managua, I mean the beach...). Another option is having your loved ones come to you. With a week off to enjoy the heat and the sun, what better time to welcome friends down to pass the time and catch up on the past 8 months? Finally, the last option is to join the thousands of others who use the time to travel around Central America. After a sleepy farewell to my roommate upon her 3:30am depature to Guatemala via El Salvador, my friend Kelly and I went to catch our 8:15am direct flight to Panama.

The following updates will be my ideas, expectations, adventures, reactions, and insight into the 5th Central American country I've been blessed to conocer, visit. Please pardon the fact that my next few posts will be from the perspective of a tourist in Panama versus an NGO volunteer in Nicaragua. I hope you will enjoy the following tales!