Avalon Grand Panama Panama City

... There was a lot of<br>cussing and hissing and it was a fight to get a seat on the next bus.<br>Some how i managed to get the last two seats for me and my friend.<br>After about 45 minutes, we arrived in Colon. OMG, I was freaking out.<br>That place is just so scary to me. With my blonde hair and my inferior<br>language skills I felt like a sitting duck. I couldn't be more grateful<br>that Willam was there. He's not fluent in Spanish, but better than me.<br>AND, he had a ...

... clearly we had our priorities in order. We then proceeded to embark on a 3 1/2 hour ride through the jungle. Up, down, left, right, steep inclines, sharp turns, the last two hours were on a dirt road and at one point we drove through a serious river with a swift current that was no less than 4 feet deep. So much for catching up on sleep during the drive. We stopped at 2 military checkpoints, complete with uniformed and armed ...

... get more sooking.<br>Got a taxi to Miguels, woke the poor guy up and went to bed. Think I got up at like 12. He also had a spanish guy Raul staying at this house. The three of us headed out to the old part of Panama City to look around.<br>Miguel was guiding us around giving us plenty of information when it started to bucket down. We sheltered for about an hour before deciding to leave. Miguel the poor bloke ran back to get the car using a box as cover from the rain.<br>We ...

... New Orleans of Panama City and I can see why. It reminds us a lot of the French Quarter. The dinner at Manolo Caracol is $25.00 per person and it appears that they will bring you food until you tell them to stop because that is what we had to do. 70% of the courses are seafood. When they brought us the second course and told us it was beef tongue the looks on our faces must have been priceless. I like beef tongue as my mom used to make it ...

... the music surprisingly contained drums, I saw the drum kit when I peeked inside. There were some nice squares with flowering trees and when we walked to the sea it was beautiful to see all the boats and the high rises further away. But cafes and restaurants did not abound and there was so much decay it was sad. There were a few local milkbar type shops and bars but they were all dark and half closed. Locals were wandering around and police were on every second street. It ...

Is it already May? I slept in today. I grabbed a smoothie on deck 7 with Katie before heading to the gym to run. Afterwards I showered and then grabbed lunch with Katie. Today is a study day for B day exams but I already finished for the semester so I have the day free! I watched a movie called "The Reader" in my room this afternoon and then went up to Andrea and Katie's room to hang out ...

... areas, which it has done, but the grass has now become a serious barrier to the reestablishment of native forests. And, perhaps most importantly, scientists are just beginning to understand how natural tropical forests work. Why some tree species compete better on some sites rather than others, how pollination and seed dispersal occurs, what the mandatory fungal, insect and mammal interactions are---these are some of the questions that ...

... was being offered. We gathered in the community house and met the chief of the village- I am not sure that chief is the correct title but he was the leader. He spoke Spanish to us and Edwin translated. The Embera in this area do speak spanish however I believe that in the Darien where most of the Embera live speak their own language. We met his wife and father, who was 76 years old and still looking strong and healthy. The leader mentioned ...

... a consultation is only $3-5. Gas costs about the same as Oregon, $2 a gallon. He even recommended a hostel (Pension Las Tablas) that had vacancies, and it turned out to be pretty good for the price ($15 for a double bed w/ private bath). In Panamá things are more expensive since they use the US dollar. Most hostels charge around $10 per person. Today (the 14th) we got up around 7:30 and went to see the old part of town. So far Panamanians ...

... than san jose. it´s really humid and sticky and dirty and hard to breathe with all the car pollution. the hostel i found is really nice though and i slept great. i´m leaving in about an hour to head to lima and begin the peru leg of my journey. i haven´t really planned anything out except where i want to stay tonight....the rest is fully open to what unfolds. i´ll be keeping you updated. lots of love and happy thanksgiving to all of you!