Panama

Sarah: Last week we ventured off to Panama in order to get our visas renewed. To get there we rode a bus from San Jose down the Caribbean coast, and then literally walked across a bridge to get to Panama. It was the most relaxed border crossing I've ever seen. We decided to go to the beach to get a change of scenery and started looking for places on the Caribbean side, in this group of islands called Bocas del Toro. We found one for a reasonable price that seemed interesting, and decided to check it out. There were a lot of hotels that looked neat, and kind of randomly chose this one. It was completely off the grid—so they used all solar power, wind power, and collected all their rainwater to use as their water source. And they recycled and composted and all that good stuff too. Their location on the island was on the opposite side of the town, so it felt super remote, and was located a little higher up (still right on the beach) so there was a bit of a breeze and hardly any bugs.

It was run by a family from Colorado and was not like a typical hotel—there was no restaurant, but each day they posted on a board what they were having for dinner and if any guests wanted to join them, it was like family style. Each room also had its own kitchenette, and they had a pantry stocked full of food that you could purchase and make your own food instead. We ate breakfast and dinner with them and most other guests, and then made our own food for lunch to save some money. It was a great opportunity to get to know the other guests who were staying there, and it really felt like we were in town visiting a family and hanging out together. Our first night, the neighbor came over to play the guitar and hang out, and about halfway through we found out that he was a famous songwriter! His name is Clay Blaker, and has written songs that have been sung by Tim McGraw, LeAnn Rimes, George Strait, and Barbara Streisand. He was a really cool laid back surfer and fun to get to know briefly.

The first day we had a huge rainstorm and the waves crashed and it was really cool. We hiked and saw lots of small colorful poison dart frogs and a sloth. We also took a full-day boat tour and visited lots of the surrounding islands. On that tour we saw dolphins, and one swam right underneath our boat! We also went snorkeling and it was the best I’ve ever seen—SO many colorful fish and beautiful coral and other underwater things. On our boat tour we heard that we were close to the island that they are currently filming a new Survivor—I wanted to go check it out and see if they needed anything (some food? A match?) but apparently there are rules and regulations about that. We even saw a helicopter fly over at one point and we’re sure that it MUST have been Jeff Probst. There was also an island that a previous Survivor had been filmed on. At the end of the boat tour we stopped at a beach and saw lots of starfish and an anteater really close. So, it was really relaxing and a really good deal. A great blend of hiking and relaxing and being on the beach and in the water.

Now we’re back, and it’s good to be back. The students got back from Nicaragua the same day we got back in town and it was really fun to hear their stories. They had incredible experiences, and I think it caused them to really think about their lives and analyze their worldview. That’s what the experience did for me when we went to Nicaragua as students, so it was really neat to see how they came back changed as well. We are all finding that this semester is going really fast—it’s already about halfway over! It just makes me realize again how we need to be taking advantage of each day, and be thankful for the opportunity we have to be in this position.