Hotel Ladera Boquete

... these clothes
will eventually have a new chance and a new life as well. For now,
they have a new set of clothes - from me, from Chris, from his mother,
from their adopted baby girl from Russia. The five degrees of
separation that comprise this chain link one orphan from Russia to a group of orphans in Panama. Turns out that making a difference can be as easy as flipping coin.

GoGHA.org

... to move on to our next stop: Aldeas Infantiles SOS. SOS is a program that was founded in Switzerland after WWII for the homeless and orphaned children of the war, and currently operates in about 100 countries all over the world. It's basically like a foster home community, set up like a neighborhood with a total of 15 houses, each sleeping 8 to 10 kids plus a "mother". Each "mother" is responsible for the children in her house- she takes them to the doctor if they are ill, maintains ...

... 20 mins of listening to him drone on about how the States had gone down the drain and the doctors there were all bankrupt and corrupt and listening to various interest rates being thrown at me, Al and Pancho entered the house. Pancho was around 6 ft 3 (a basketball player in his previous life) and also had a form of verbal diarrhea which was combined with an innate way of describing distances. "One, two, three, four, five kilometer, you are there, you are here ...

Bocas saved the best weather for our last day! It was THE perfect beach day- minimal clouds, lots of sun (and sunscreen) and a steady breeze off the ocean. We took a water taxi to Isla Carenaro and snagged a prize spot on the end of the dock....and stayed there for 4 hours! Our last night wasnīt too crazy but it did involve some Flor de Caņa, fruit smoothies and an 80s power hour. Donīt worry, the 80s power hour was complete with a Journey sing ...

... so shopping was quick. Next we headed to find the Coffee Estate Inn to pick up some goodies for our coffee loving parents, but alas they only opened their doors to guests of the Inn. So in route we stumbled across this place called El Explorador Gardens. We popped in for a look. WOW….this place was beautiful and weird all at the same time. It was kind of like the Heidleburg of Panama. They used junk items all throughout the gardens ...

... of the Embera, a native tribe in Panama. She records their stories in their native languages then has a man translate them to Spanish and English. Very interesting woman. She lives in Monteverde on a reserve in the rainforest. We got to the border at around 5:30am. The Tica Bus people collected everyone's passport. Apparently, Costa Rican office at the border does not have computers. So it was faster for ...

... We are planning to put in a new well, and are hoping to put in a swimming pool, but this is Panama and these things happen very slowly. My day usually consists of a walk on the beach to the resort where I do water exercise with a friend in the resort pool. After that we walk back and have breakfast. Even though we have some help a lot of the housework still falls in my lap. To explain how slowly things get done around here I will ...

... cinnamon bun at $2, the movie only cost $3. Our timing led us out in search of the annual xmas parade and we made it perfectly. Two hours of bands floats and finally fireworks. Organised chaos on crowd control - no barriers here, just mainly ignored police tape between old oil drums. What fun and totally local. So a great time in panama; we were away from lots of tourists back in a low cost environment and the canal and old town are fascinating. Highly recommended.

... and Patrick on a scooter heading around the island (small world, part 2), I shout something back, but we're gone before they can answer me. I catch the ferry off the island that will take me to the border with Costa Rica and meet Swedes Sven and Sofia. A 10 hour journey and I choose to spend the night laid out on the metal upper deck. With a spot to myself, I lay on my back with my head resting on my rucksack, I watch the stars come out as the lake water laps up against ...

... The first up to some waterfalls and indigenous rock paintings (which were kinda lame) and the second over the length of this mountain referred to as "la India dormida" or 'the sleeping Indian girl because of the shape that it makes. Some parts were kind of sketchy, especially when I got lost and ended up emerging from the bushes to find a sheer drop of oh... 50 meters or so. I took a break on her boob for about half an hour and again around her bum about an hour ...