Bambito Hotel And Resort Volcan

... neighborhood dogs, Whitey...who is a little on the
stupid side, but still really adorable. The last two days were spent in
the 4X4 burning up the roads that twist and turn through the mountains
and valleys of the cloud forest. A lot of the roads are recently paved
blacktop, a lot of them have been prepped for blacktop, some are shell
and gravel and a number of the roads are dirt with big rocks and
potholes...thank goodness for 4 ...

... my birthday though... Me and my Bristolian friend Kirsty met a load of Aussies and played Ring of Fire in the hostel before heading out to a club for the night before. The music was pretty rubbish but it was a fun evening all the same. On my actual birthday... Kat showed up! Hooray! We drank frozen margheritas and planned our week. We decided to head up to the San Blas archipelago on the north coast stretching towards Colombia. It's a group of about 400 desert islands ...

... market, so we stopped for some fresh fruit and yummy skewers with meat, potatos, green peppers and onions - for a buck. After we walked around we drove down the road, found a sunny, grassy area and had lunch. That night back in Boquete we went to a party at Manfred's for his open house. He was the original renter at my parents house while he was building his house. Lots of hoity, but not fully hoity-toity. Free food and booze is never opposed.

... best meal we had out. I had the pollo al carbon...chicken bbq'd on a wood fire. Yum! The market was great and we were able to get a lot of fruits and vegetables for the week along with some kind of bean we cooked with rice. We all bought some souvenirs and Paul bought his special hat. He didn't know it was special at the time of purchase but several Panamanians commented on it telling him everything from it was the same design they ...

... ship to a Panama Canal Captain 2. The toll charge needs to have been paid at least 2 days in advance 6. Toll charges differ for each ship but an average charge is between $80,000 and $90,000 7. When a half red, half white flag is flown at full mast on the ship it means that the Panama Canal Captain is in charge of the ship. 8. A Captain has to work on ship for 10 years before he is able to become a Panama Canal Captain. 9. The cheapest toll ever paid was 36 cents ...

... getting out. If you are interested in staying, you can contact ryan or rosie at nomba hostel in boquette, or email ryan@miradoradventures.com - their phone number is United States 720-266-7546 or in Panama at 011 (507) 6497-5672 [ this is the miradoradventures phone number but it is the same people) As of now, phone is the easiest way to book this place. on to the rest of my panama vacation.... Danielle wanted to go to the beach so she tried to get a water taxi to the islands ...

... our time spent beside the sea, lake or in smaller villages and towns. Panama City is no exception to the rule. We have explored the bars at night and we have tried out a few eating spots. Itīs hard to get worked up about the place. Our only real diversion came in the way of a trip to the casino, where our backpacker budget didnīt stretch too far but far enough for us to enjoy the experience. It was just as much fun ...

... just fine for right now. Anyway, back to the trip. We decided not to eat at the lodge and instead ate at a local womenīs house next to the lodge and she cooked in her home for local workers. Her food was awesome and we paid her to cook for us for dinner although she normally doesnt do that. It was pretty cool. I eat a lot of rice and beans and tomato salad and chicken soup. Oh and a bunch of yogurt. My main addiction is the coffee. I ...

Getting up at 5:00am to get on two buses that would take 10 hours was not a good way to start my weekend. However, I was going to meet Lucia for some fun-filled hiking and mother-visiting in the Volcan/Cerro Punto area, so I was more than excited to make whatever sleep sacrifices were required. A series of odd occurrences took place on the Panama-to-David bus, including a most entertaining gold jewelry salesman who regaled ...

... to the spirits. (Of course, she is a very nice woman, and even though we don't speak a mutual language, I think we got on very well.) But the area we were in, near Volcan in Chiriqui, was cool and crisp and clean and lovely and I had to ask myself, are we sure we're still in Panama? (photos) I had a very relaxing time here, and saw a new kind of lizard cruising around, sort like a mini-iguana type (photo).