Colibri Lodging Boquete

My second week in Boquete was just as good as the first! Class went<br>really well. I still have so much Spanish to learn, but after 2 weeks<br>of school...40 hours...well 36 hours...I can now express myself<br>suffiently...in present tense only. This is understandable to the<br>locals but it probably still sounds funny, like, "I work at a newspaper<br>when I live in Austin last year." "When I was a child, my father takes<br>me and my brother to the beach." Its rough, but it ...

... were so warm and friendly. The other students spoke<br>better Spanish than me, but I could mostly understand and I was able to<br>engage in some very basic conversation....which is in itself a major<br>improvement. <br><br><br><br>I have 2 more days of school. I will have to decide if I´m going to go<br>for another week here or if I´m going to leave for Bocas del Toro. In<br>Caye Caulker, Belize, they say, ¨Go Slow, Mon.¨ Here they say,<br>¨Tranquillo ...

... a rather successful science club for the kids there. If I hadn't had an obligation to work, I would have stayed all night chatting with them! But alas..<br><br>Anyways, so I got home around 9:15 and we were supposed to be at work at 10....which really means 1030- clearly we've adopted the Panamanian sense of being on time. We arrived and the bar was mainly empty save for a few people, which was perfect because this way we had time to familarize ourselves ...

... however Father David is trying to change this and has spoken to the Minister of Education about getting a teacher to come in the afternoons to teach and oversee the children who want to stay. <br><br>And the kids...oh the kids..they are so sweet,innocent and full of love. It's fulfilling to be able to make them smile but at the same time heartbreaking because you know that most likely they don't have anyone at home to show them that same attention. Leaving was bittersweet, but we ...

... banana plantations, and trees, trees, trees. The view does take your breath away. We started our sightseeing with a walk to Cafe Ruiz, the coffee mecca of Boquete, unfortunately the $30 charge for the coffee tour was a little steep, considering we had just done one through the Lost and Found lodge for half that price, but we did have coffee there (Al had a latte, I had an iced Chai Latte, delicious) before heading to Mi Jardin y Su Jardin, gorgeous gardens set in ...

... good to visit (which I did not expect). Bill,s favorite part was a make believe Bridge where he attempted with much relish to steer a container ship up the canal (boys!). I like the feel of the city here, the people are again very nice, and talk to you if they find you loitering on the street. There are massive shopping malls and things seem really ...

... big dramatic line just at some point you're in Panama, lol. Let me tell you, very irritating. We got there at 5:30am, but the office didn't open until like 7:30am. So all we could do was wait....and wait...and wait. Finally I got to the front, even after the opened it took forever. At the front, I realized why. They dont' have computers either, so they take down all the information by hand. After that, I ...

... an old US military base which has been converted into a hotel. Anyway it was a nice walk and we heard and then spotted some howler monkeys at last, they were very high in the trees so we didn´t get a great view but we could see a little baby one moving around.

... call "date night" where they will deliver a gourmet dinner to our bungalow with flowers and candles based on a menu from which we chose earlier -- lemon chicken, smoky barbequed salmon, foccacia, an orange and onion salad and for dessert -- a lemon souffle. My goodness -- do you think all we do is eat and drink?? OK -- pretty close but thoroughly enjoying every stop! Tomorrow, we have arranged to be picked up at 7:30 a.m. (after our pastries, fruit and ...

... up 48 cans of lager for $19 and a 7 year bottle of rum along with some food for the 6 day journey -Got slightly ´tipsy´in the super market drinking promotional handouts of rum and tequilla -Spent night in Portobello (departure town of cruise) and woke up in the morning and fed local monkeys and parrots -Finally disembarked on cramped sailboat with 9 others (6 beds!) Destination Colombia As ever - loving it...