This past week went so fast! My friend Amber, from that lovely little town of Corvallis, flew down last Saturday, sick as a dog, but ready to see Panama. We hopped around the center of the country, first to El Valle de Antón, then to the Decameron Resort, and then to my community in the province of Veraguas. Poor Amber was a trooper, putting up with the long, crowded bus rides, some of them absurdly hot. But I think it all turned out to be worth it in the end.
In El Valle we enjoyed the cold(er) weather and the artisan market, and a cute little toucan in a
cage behind our hotel. It sucked that he was caged but he was really adorable with the most beautiful coloring on his beak.
From El Valle we headed to the Decameron Resort, which is more amazing than I would have thought. It is an all inclusive resort (including alcohol) and the food was great. With my diplomatic status I pay less than half what foreigners pay, which makes it all the more worth it!
Thankfully Amber was feeling a little better when we got to the Decameron. It really is like a tropical paradise. There are palm trees everywhere, the beach is beautiful with little huts to sit under, and the pools are gorgeous. It also doesn't hurt that you're never far from a bar and a strawberry daiquiri. I'm a pretty big fan, if you couldn't tell already. They also have horseback riding on the beach, ATVs, windsurfing, parasailing-
I'm beginning to sound like a Decameron ad...
Anyway, we only stayed at the Decameron for one night, just enough time to get some good food and take a quick dip in the ocean and one of the pools. Oh, and we got to see one of the resident peacocks. He was pretty cute, though he never spread his feathers. Oh well.
Our next stop was my community. We went out to dinner with the Captain in Santiago, then spent the night at my house. Amber got to see some of my cockroaches and my bat Murci talked to her a little bit. She thinks he sounds like a rat. Maybe he is, hard to say. He lives in the ceiling so I can't be positive.
The next day we spent a good chunk of the day in hammocks on my front porch. It was wonderful. It wasn't too hot, and we got a lot of reading done. It was very relaxing.
After that we headed back to Panama. Amber took this photo of the mouth of the canal from "El Puente de las Americas" (the Bridge of the Americas) just outside Panama City. You can't see all the cargo ships waiting out in the ocean, but it's a pretty cool site in person. Sometimes there are nearly a hundred out there waiting to go through the canal.
I had to take a photo of this. Some of the street names are actually significant dates. The second sign down says 'Calle 12 de oct' which means October 12th Street, my birthday. Columbus discovered the Americas on October 12th. If I haven't ranted to you about how lame it is to have your birthday be Columbus Day then I'll be sure to do so next time I see you (I know you want to hear all about it).
On Amber's last night in Panama we went to dinner at Habbibi's, an Indian(ish) restaurant. It was delicious. Then we went to a club down the street called Bamboleo. There was a five dollar cover but the MC convinced us to come in and it was so worth it! There was a male stripper, a female stripper, and a singer, and the MC was hilarious and a lot of fun. Amber tore up the dance floor with him and I think broke his heart when she left. He was pretty damn cute, I thought, and one hell of a dancer! So hot!
I was pretty broken hearted to see Amber leave this morning, too, but she couldn't stay forever. We had a really great time and she's helping me plan for future visitors, letting me know what was fun, what wasn't; what to bring, what to forget, etc. Hopefully I'll be all ready to make Adie's visit in July, Jenny and Maddie's visit in August, and Steph and Dan's visit in September the best trips they can be!
In El Valle we enjoyed the cold(er) weather and the artisan market, and a cute little toucan in a
cage behind our hotel. It sucked that he was caged but he was really adorable with the most beautiful coloring on his beak.From El Valle we headed to the Decameron Resort, which is more amazing than I would have thought. It is an all inclusive resort (including alcohol) and the food was great. With my diplomatic status I pay less than half what foreigners pay, which makes it all the more worth it!
Thankfully Amber was feeling a little better when we got to the Decameron. It really is like a tropical paradise. There are palm trees everywhere, the beach is beautiful with little huts to sit under, and the pools are gorgeous. It also doesn't hurt that you're never far from a bar and a strawberry daiquiri. I'm a pretty big fan, if you couldn't tell already. They also have horseback riding on the beach, ATVs, windsurfing, parasailing-
I'm beginning to sound like a Decameron ad...Anyway, we only stayed at the Decameron for one night, just enough time to get some good food and take a quick dip in the ocean and one of the pools. Oh, and we got to see one of the resident peacocks. He was pretty cute, though he never spread his feathers. Oh well.
Our next stop was my community. We went out to dinner with the Captain in Santiago, then spent the night at my house. Amber got to see some of my cockroaches and my bat Murci talked to her a little bit. She thinks he sounds like a rat. Maybe he is, hard to say. He lives in the ceiling so I can't be positive. The next day we spent a good chunk of the day in hammocks on my front porch. It was wonderful. It wasn't too hot, and we got a lot of reading done. It was very relaxing.
After that we headed back to Panama. Amber took this photo of the mouth of the canal from "El Puente de las Americas" (the Bridge of the Americas) just outside Panama City. You can't see all the cargo ships waiting out in the ocean, but it's a pretty cool site in person. Sometimes there are nearly a hundred out there waiting to go through the canal.
I had to take a photo of this. Some of the street names are actually significant dates. The second sign down says 'Calle 12 de oct' which means October 12th Street, my birthday. Columbus discovered the Americas on October 12th. If I haven't ranted to you about how lame it is to have your birthday be Columbus Day then I'll be sure to do so next time I see you (I know you want to hear all about it).
On Amber's last night in Panama we went to dinner at Habbibi's, an Indian(ish) restaurant. It was delicious. Then we went to a club down the street called Bamboleo. There was a five dollar cover but the MC convinced us to come in and it was so worth it! There was a male stripper, a female stripper, and a singer, and the MC was hilarious and a lot of fun. Amber tore up the dance floor with him and I think broke his heart when she left. He was pretty damn cute, I thought, and one hell of a dancer! So hot!
I was pretty broken hearted to see Amber leave this morning, too, but she couldn't stay forever. We had a really great time and she's helping me plan for future visitors, letting me know what was fun, what wasn't; what to bring, what to forget, etc. Hopefully I'll be all ready to make Adie's visit in July, Jenny and Maddie's visit in August, and Steph and Dan's visit in September the best trips they can be!
This last photo was taken at the All Volunteer Conference in March. From the left: Alicia, (Rob, in the back), Coco, the Captain, Dennis, Lisa, Shawnito, and Kelly.
