Crater Valley El Valle de Anton

... And two Israelis checking out the new folks. These guys had already been here five days before we arrived, and the day we were due to go back they decided to stay longer, I wonder if they are still there.

Lunch was our first taste of the islands speciality, fish and rice. We spent the rest of the day snorkelling, although having not snorkelled in about 17 years, I was quite surprised to find I had totally lost my nerve and panicked when I got near ...

... finally make it to shore where we had to run across the
quickly disappearing beach back to safety. FYI there is a 19 foot
tide change(19 VERTICAL feet ) and we are fully clothed. Eric does
this whole thing while holding our backpack aloft and swimming with
one hand. Even Russel and Jay, two accomplished surfers familiar
with the area, were impressed!
We had a blast staying with those guys, but were ready for some quiet time so we headed off for El Valle.

... Francisco Bay Area and settled in El Valle in 2005. Their program is the only farm to fork, sea to plate learning adventure available in Panama and we'll harvest, prepare and relish native cultivars and recipes that have existed here for thousands of years. The lecture portion of the tours and classes will address the history, geography and social culture of the region and how these components formed the cuisine of Panama while the hands on segments will teach you to cook like a Panamanian!

... så lige nu går tiden med at forberede lidt til eksamen i morgen(det er dog for varmt til rigtig at få læst noget) og i morgen skal vi alle lave en kort præsentation af et emne, så det skal jeg i gang med om lidt. På søndag flytter jeg ind i lejligheden med Doro og Mari. Kan ikke vente... Det betyder derfor også at det er min sidste uge hos værtsfamilien, men det er jeg meget godt tilfreds med. Det har været en god oplevelse at prøve at bo der, men også lidt skuffende på andre ...

Tak to byla dalsi skvela party u Karibiku. Byla to tak trochu valentynska party, ktera se protahla az do pozdnich rannich hodin. :) Protoze dopoledne prselo (jak je v tomto miste v tuto dobu zvykem), tak jsme prijemne relaxovali v hamakach na hostelu. Odpoledne jsme pak vyrazili clunem na pevninu a odtud nocnim busem do Panama City. Tak hura na prozkoumani nejkrasnejsiho hlavniho mesta Stredni Ameriky. :)

... We chatted with the owner and he explained his technique for cooking the eggplant that was part of our salads- I never had eggplant that tasted that good, usually it is mushy and bland- now we are going to try it at home. The plate of food was around $9 and really good! Tomorrow we are planning to rent bicycles and take a day trip along the east side of the island. We heard tales of howler monkeys, flocks of parrots and beaches to explore along the way.

... das Meer war mehrheitlich trueb und die Sonne sah ich auch nicht gerade oft. Es regnete eigentlich jeden Tag, einfach manchmal hatte es ein paar sonnige Abschnitte... Trotz allem gefiel es mir sehr gut, die karibische Kueste ist halt voll anders im Vergleich zur Pazifischen... Sehr Rastafari-Style, viele Schwarze, viel Reggae und alle koennen ploetzlich englisch (also englisch ist gut, halt so Rastafari-Englisch... hihihii). Auf Bastimentos habe ich jetzt echt nicht viel mehr ...

... Therefore after 2 nights in name brand hotels, we took a condo in Orlando for the duration of our stay in Florida. Now, onto Panama. Panama City is vibrant, choked with traffic and fumes. It is pretty, with a sort of Vancouver setting, with hills behind and the city on the bay. The area with greatest interest is Punta Paitilla. We found the people to be very warm and friendly. We arrived for Carnival, and thought this might be ...

... Meanwhile the two boys tried to have a conversation with the locals. Tiago probably managed this beautifully, but it wasn't easy for me, in Spanish in a noisy bar. We left after half an hour or so, on Tiago's theory that this is an important cultural experience but it is best to leave before any one starts to feel comfortable with the situation. Next day we were back at our ill fated stop, to catch our connecting minibus to Panama City. It passed without incident.

Left the Chiquiri Highlands late in the day, in the pouring rain and drove east towards the capital for 4 hours, as far as we dared. One cheap motel later we are set to explore further... bought provisions for camping, hoping the rain will not be all day every day and drove up one of the valleys to the little untouched town of Santa Fe. A lovely area with rolling hills, walks, falls and more rain. Sat on our porch at the only hotel in town and thought, "what the hell are we doing ...