Panama?

As I'm beginning this blog, I honestly have no idea where to start or what to say from this weekend...I went to Panama! So here's my thoughts on the trip...

Observation number 1: There were 23 students when originally there had been 6.

Observation number 2: The hostel in which we were staying only had one room for us because they weren't expecting so many people. So, we split 5 bunk beds between 17 people, and managed to get another room for the others to share another bed. In the hostel, there was one shower. One shower, for the entire hostel. Meaning that random people would come in our room to take a shower. And that was the only bathroom for the 17 people in our room. hahaha. The adventures continue!

Observation number 3: To get to the main island (to eat, hang out, or go dancing) we had to pay a dollar a person each way to take a water taxi there. Doesn't sound too bad, no, but it added up!

Observation number 4: It rained a lot - and it was cold and rainy during our "Dolphin tour" which consisted of seeing the fins of three Dolphins. Disappointing.

Observation number 5: The free breakfast that was included at the hostel went like this - there was a huge bowl of pancake batter, two pans (with caked on burned pancake stuck to them), one spatula, bread, and a toaster. So, making your own breakfast sounds kind of fun - an experience at least, right? Well, at 8am with a line of 23 people and pancakes that turned out like scrambled eggs, it didn't really count as breakfast.

Observation number 6: The hostel was also a bar - meaning that alcohol was about ten feet from the door of our room. And Saturday night, there was some kind of pool party at the bar, and it lasted until 5am. No sleep!

Observation number 7: Bug spray or not, you will get eaten alive by the bugs.

Observation number 8: Laughter is a wonderful remedy, and complaining doesn't do any good...We were able to just laugh at how ridiculous some of the things were, and wow - do we have some great stories from the trip!

The Aqua Lounge. Hostel and bar. extravaganza. Note the flyers for the Full Moon Party.

God is such an incredible artist.

Can't have a rainbow without rain, right?

~*~

Other observations: Panama is a beautiful country, and there were definitely some great moments - playing cards, dancing, and relaxing on this beach that we went to called Red Frog beach... it was probably the most gorgeous and relaxing beach that I've ever been to! We definitely enjoyed our time there, and we also got to go dancing at night! So much fun.

Overall, all I can say is that the trip was an adventure! Although there are many more stories I could tell, that's all the info on Panama that I'm going to write for now. I'm glad I went - and I'm not being sarcastic. It was rather rough, but I'm glad I had the experience!

~*~

In other news, I'm glad to be back here at my Costa Rican home, and I'm just trying to soak in these last few weeks here in one of my favorite places with some of my favorite people.

Much love,

-Courtney

(World Traveler in Training)