Saturday, August 23, 2008

Shoes...and other random thoughts...

I miss my selection of shoes (I guess this can also be applied to clothes)! But it's especially hard when we are in a cool, happening city like Panama City and we go to the clubs...I want to wear a sign around my neck that says, "I have cuter clothes and shoes at home-but I couldn't fit them in my backpack!" Not that I look shabby, I did manage to bring a cute top and jeans that is my standard going-out outfit. But you know what I mean...

I do have to note, I think Latin American women are born wearing high heels! I am a little envious at their ability to wear the tallest of high-heel shoes and walk around like their wearing running shoes. And they still manage to dance in these crazy shoes. I, as well as many people I know-would be limping around after an hour of wearing some of these shoes...And last night as I sat in the club observing this-not one woman was wearing flat shoes (and the club was packed)!

More about shoes...My favorite little black crocs are useless here in Central America during the rainy season. It's very strange, but many parts of the sidewalks that are directly in front of a store are tiled. Wet tiles are the enemy of any croc-wearer. You take one step and immediately start to slide, and if you aren't quick about it, you will end up on your butt. It's like trying to walk on a sheet of ice...You start taking baby steps and look absolutely ridiculous! So it seems that my crocs aren't coming back out until the rain stops, or people stop tiling the sidewalks...

Here in the city I started seeing a few sushi restaraunts and just knew that I had to have it...We love sushi, and haven't eaten it since before we left (over 6 months ago!). We were taken to this great lounge that served delicious sushi, and we were in heaven! It was SOOOOO good :)
To top it off, we found another bar that had import beer...SAM ADAMS - double :)

There are a few more random thoughts I have, but that will do for now.

Friday, August 15, 2008

It has been SIX months on the road!!

We have finally made it to Panama City!! It took us six months to get here from Cancun, but we did hit every country on the way down! Looking back on the past six months, it's been such great fun and we have seen and done so much! I honestly wasn't sure how I would feel after traveling for, let's say, even three months. But, I am really loving it. I think even more so then when I started. I have learned to chill a bit and not need be on the go as much as I usually am. Traveling on a budget certainly means that we are not taking expensive tours every day, but there is something else to be gained by slowing down and doing this a little differently. Being away from home and the people I love there is the hardest, but while I am still enjoying myself the road is still calling me :)

Here are some highlights that pop to mind over the last half year...

The whole country of Guatemala was amazing. It's such a beautiful country, and very cheap! I recommend anyone interested to visit there. Tikal, Semuc Champey, Lago Atitlan...ahh...

I loved seeing all the different Mayan ruins as we came south, and I have learned a lot about the Mayan culture...(even enough to question some elements of the movie Apocalpto)

Scuba diving has been completely amazing...and addicting!! It is so fun to be underwater and observe the world down there. My favorite place to dive has been in Belize, near Caye Caulker, where the water is crystal clear, making the visibility perfect. There were so many fish, and the coral reef itself was fascinating.

Having visitors!!! My mom and her friend Lyne visited us in Honduras, and our friends Gavin and Lilly visited us in Nicaragua. Huge props to them for coming to see us in these areas of the country where not many people have an interest in seeing. I know that we were the main draw, but I think they all enjoyed there visits, and in a place where they might not have normally gone to. I would not be surprised if my mom went back to the Bay Islands of Honduras, because they were just beautiful...If anyone else is interested-we would love to have you!

Boquete, Panama, was a great spot for us to hang for awhile...Since I just talked about it I won't blab any more about it.

Meeting great, fun, interesting people along the way.

Trying to learn Spanish...I am getting a little better, but is still intimidating to speak in front of Adrian, who speaks Spanish perfectly. Damn him! :) At least I get a laugh out of the silly things I end up saying by mistake, and I know am able to accept help from Adrian now instead of being annoyed...Watching the Olympics in Spanish gives me alot of new words!

There may be more, but that is what I have at the moment. Time has gone by so quickly! Time to go explore the city...

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Back on the road...

So we finally managed to leave our cozy little town of Boquete. We left a little over a week ago. We first went to David, the closest city to Boquete and then onto Santa Catalina, a surfing village on the western coast. We went there on our first trip to Panama, and wanted to go back and stay a little longer this time.

Santa Catalina is a very, very small town, with not much to it except a few places to stay and some surf camps. There are two tiny little markets that run out of food towards the end of the week, one pay phone in the center, and no internet places!!! It´s definitely nice for a change to be away from everything, but I completely forgot how basic this town was. On the first day we got there, it was the end of the week, so the market shelves were wiped out. We couldn´t even by bread to make sandwiches...And because the place is so quiet, some of the few restaurants don´t open every night, or close as soon as they run out of food, which can be often. It certainly is a funny dynamic to adjust yourself to that pace and non-technology of a place. But, it´s a very quaint town that is very relaxing. We spent a day or two relaxing, reading, laying in hammocks, and going for walks. Adrian had another go at surfing as well, but this time I just cheered him on from the beach.

Last Friday we took a snorkling trip from Santa Catalina to Isla Coiba. Isla Coiba is a national park, about a 1.5 hour boat ride off the coast. It´s really interesting- they call it the poor man´s Galapagos, as the island never had any serious development on it, and it has a few species of animals that are only found on this island. Back from 1919 to 2004 the island actually served as a prison colony that was pretty brutal for its´ prisoners. Other than the few prison facilities, nothing else was ever built on the island so it remained a hotspot for birds and wildlife....

So, doesn´t it sound like an interesting place to visit? The boat ride out to the island was pretty spectacular. The coast line was mainly just rocky cliffs with a few isolated beaches sprinkled around. There were a ton of little rock islands that formed off the coast. We stopped at a spot and snorkled around, and then went on to the island. What a cool spot. I wish we had thought ahead to stay overnight there. We did a brief little hike to see some of the island. We didn´t see such spectacular wildlife on our brief walk, just tons of iguanas and some cool birds. If we had more time it would´ve been amazing to check out more of the island...If anyone is in the vicinity, you should make a point to get out there-it´s a great spot!

From Santa Catalina we came to Las Tablas, a small city on the way to our next destination. Our main idea was to come back to civilization, use computers- and I wanted to go shopping (which is a completely different/strange experience then shopping at home!). We are going to try to get to another remote island when we leave here (possibly this afternoon) called Isla CaƱas. It seems like it will be an adventure to get there, so we´ll see!