Typical. Oncoming Traffic.

I'd like to, in the next few blog posts, highlight a few "typical" aspects of (my) life in Nicaragua.

The first? Oncoming herds of cattle. One of my favorite memories is still the first time I experienced the wonder of being stopped in traffic by a pack of slow-moving, large-horned steer. I was on the way to Kid's English in the Patrol, and the little 13.5-ers were singing "Yo te extrañaré" or "El Amor" or one of my other favorite belt-your-corazón-out songs at the time. Next thing I knew, we were hovering on neutral as the cows moseyed on by. What a life. And while this experience of being stopped in the middle of the road may not be extremely common, it is fairly typical to see farm animals on and around the streets, even in town. It should come as no surprise that the Nicaraguan economy relies heavily on agriculture.

Days eight - nine: Panama. Just do it.

(4/2) After finishing Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises and making fair progress on a selection of short stories, Kelly and I take off on a mid-morning quest to find coffee and last minute souvenirs in Casco Viejo. We soon find out that literally everything is closed. I manage to revisit some of the mola-selling Kuna women to purchase small gifts for my Mom and sisters (get excited, girls!) before we head out of the antiquated, charming neighborhood for the high-rises of El Congrejo, Panama's business district. Welcome to the Riande Continental Hotel, courtesy of COPA Airlines. Remember when our flight was overbooked? Well, Kelly and I spent our last full day in Panama enjoying the meals and facilities of the Riande thanks to our bit of bad luck gone good. However, I was actually in a state of shock for a while upon settling into the hotel. The beds felt so luxurious, the water so hot (that I took at least three showers in about 20 hours), the view from our windows so urban, and all in all the place felt at once surprising and familiar. I remembered that it is actually normal for me to have hot showers, a comfortable bed, a city's amenities. The hotel and it's niceties were a final contrast with much that I have encountered in Nicaragua, even though in Nicaragua I still have much more than I should ever need. The whole experience was a paradoxical reminder of how I very much so enjoy having life's extra comforts but also have so much more than what is really needed. I am a product of a culture of excess.

Thank you, COPA! Now, this is a vacation!

During the afternoon, Kelly and I visited the Causeway. The Causeway is a roadway leading to and connecting three islands. It was formed of the rock and earth that were excavated when digging the Panama Canal. Today you'll find people on the Causeway riding bikes, exercising, strolling with children and loved ones, shopping on the islands, or doing just what Kelly and I did - enjoying some ice cream! Perhaps the ice cream wasn't as tasty as that in Grancelment, but the views of boats sailing by and the Panama skyline at sunset were spectacular.

The Causeway

Panama City

(actually taken from a different location, but you get the idea)

Final conclusions from the trip? Panama is an absolute must-see. I recommend it as I would cities such as Paris, Barcelona, Munich, and Lisbon, some of my European favorites. There's history and culture to be explored and experienced, fine dining, great shopping, impressive skyscrapers, charming apartments, as well as myriad options for a great night out or a pleasant afternoon stroll by the waters. I couldn't have asked for more, which brings me to...

(4/3) Day nine and I'm off to Ma-na-wa-Ma-na-wa-Ma-na-wa!! Home sweet home once more. It's hot.

Yours truly,

Jan Margaret

Day seven: Basil Ice Cream & Killin' Me Man Sauce

Started the day with two fine cups of coffee along the waterfront. A lazy morning of reading and journaling followed, in which I reflected upon the peculiar Bocas del Toro scene: lots of restaurants, bars, & locals informing you of the myriad ways to explore the waters on a boat tour. A place where backpackers and families, friends and retirees congregated to get away from it all and enjoy the paradisiacal blue-green waters. Less resort, more rastafarian, but I imagine that depends on the locale...

great coffee, great book, great view, great morning

The lazy morning preceded a delightful meal at Lili's Cafe, where I enjoyed the best of Calypso cuisine. The menu's prices were in increments of "one dolla, two dolla, three dolla, etc."

I wasn't quite brave enough to try the sauce,

but the veggie sandwich and broccoli salad were delectable!

Farewell to Bocals, hello to Panama! Now that's my kind of city! I really think I may retire here someday. It's got everything an expatriate could want: the allure of an exotic foreign country and the infrastructure of America, hot sunny days and cool air conditioning, alluring night spots and wonderful walkways to stroll away the day, huge skyscrapers and charming old buildings, affordable prices and divine cuisine.

Speaking of that which makes the mouth water, Kelly & I capped off our evening back in the city with our second visit to Grancelment, the ice creamery which holds within it's walls something I like to refer to as the best ice cream I've ever tasted. I enjoyed a double scoop of chocolate-orange and basil (yes, BASIL!) ice cream. Don't knock it until you try it, folks, and this is one you should really try. It's delicious!

Basil and chocolate-orange ice cream... my new favorite combo!

Best,

Jan Margaret

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.