From a cloud forest surrounding Volcan Baru to a sponge garden overtaking a wreck in the Caribbean, 2006 progressed into 2007 not uneventfully. After a brief stop in Panama City, Chan and I made our way across the country, where we met up with friends to celebrate Christmas in Cerro Punta, a mountain town surrounded by lush cloud forests. Christmas dinner was prepared in a dark cabin, sin electricidad, and after a few struggles with gas lanterns and Panamanian-style free-range chicken, our dinner turned out to be quite delicious. The coolness of the area added to the holiday atmosphere.

A five hour hike down the backside of the volcano led us to Boquete, where we enjoyed an excellent coffee tour at Kotowa coffee estates, of course complete with a tasting of their delicious shade-grown coffees. Evidently, the cloud forest in the area provides enough shade for the coffee trees that they fall in the category of shade-grown, although they do not grow directly beneath other shade-providing trees.

Grudgingly, I left the cool mountains and returned to my site in Los Pocitos for a couple of days. We spent an afternoon lounging on the Pacific beach before I put Chan to work making a table and doing other household chores.

A trip back over the mountains brought us to the Caribbean Sea and Bocas del Toro. We enjoyed a wreck dive off the coast of Isla Colón. The wreck was surrounded by a range of colorful sponges and corals, and our guide managed to point out a nurse shark resting under the helm of the sunken ship.

Finally, after two long bus trips we arrived back in Panama City, from which we spent a couple days in the sun on Isla Taboga, snorkeling, swimming and hiking. Although of course too short, I enjoyed showing off the wonderful diversity and beauty of Panama.

After a few days of refresher training courses, I am fried. The brain is working at the rate of a Panamanian sales clerk. The tech classes and advice from current Volunteers were inspiring, the Spanish lessons needed and the ocean swims refreshing. However, this is the first time our training group had been all together since July. Being isolated from all other Volunteers the majority of the time causes us to go on a bit of a social binge when we finally do get together. There was a lot of catching up to do and that we did and then some.

Two weeks until Christmas vacation! Mi novio Chan is coming down to keep me company during my first xmas away from home. I'm excited to do some more traveling within the country. The ever-changing itinerary presently consists of:

Dec 22-24: Panama City - Panama Canal, Casco Viejo
Dec 24-25: Cerro Punta, in the highlands of Chiriquí
Dec 26-27: Boquete, Chiriquí (hiking, coffee tour, Volcán Baru)
Dec 28-29: Los Pocitos, Chiriquì (my site) on the coast
Dec 29-Jan 04: Portobelo, Islas Kuna Yala, Panama City

It will be difficult to stay focused for the next couple weeks!

(The pic is from back during training days)

My lips were medio-purple I was so cold. It was raining in the cool mountain town of Volcán yesterday, but the parades still marched on. And on and on literally all day and into the night. Marching bands from colegios all over the country slowly moved thdown the street, the students oblivious to the cold rain that soaked their costumes through. After months of practice, they were not going to let a little rain spoil the mood on the final day of the Fiestas Patrias. I, on the other hand, was glad to be tucked under and umbrella, coffee in-hand. The mood was festive, and I fully enjoyed the day of parades, crafts, music, friends and food. A woman who attends my English class took me under her wing for the day. She and her husband brought me up from David to enjoy the festivities in Volcán. Their youngest daughter just graduated from high school and is spending a few months studying English in the States, so I got to be the hija for the day. I stayed with them in David for the night. They made me feel very welcome and I am grateful for their kind hospitality.

David, being one of the larger cities in Panamá, has a higher standard of living than even where I live, only an hour away in el campo. My stay last night in a regular David house made me realize that there are many things I have learned to live without, and others that I have actually forgotten about.

Luxury items: napkins, hot showers, hair dryers, flush toilets, glass windows, electric appliances, anything not plastic (glass plates, glasses, wooden chairs, etc.), tile floors, cleanliness...

Things I'd forgotten about: cream cheese, real orange juice - the kind with pulp, paper towels, those little mats you put in the shower, bathroom rugs, bowls made specifically for sugar, candied apples

Compared to some of my fellow Volunteers, I still live in relative luxury at my site, but I'm glad I am growing to appreciate some of the things that I used to take for granted.

That being said, today I'm going to buy a bunch of cheap, plastic things to put in my house! With the help of my boss, I managed to consiguir una casa and I should be moved in by the end of the week. Excitement! I really do love my host family, and they've treated me very well these past few months, but I will love them more once I have my own little space. Perhaps today I will pick up that celebratory bottle of wine that's been on hold for awhile...cheers!

It wasn't a traditional place, but the Thanksgiving dinner was not missing any of the essential elements. Cerro Punta was an impressively beautiful place, and the cool climate made the holiday atmosphere complete. I even managed to fully enjoy a couple cups of hot chocolate, topped with fresh whipped cream and cinnamon, the likes of which I've never experienced before in my life. The 100 or so Volunteers that flocked to the Los Quetzales Lodge in Cerro Punta were perhaps a little homesick at times, but surrounded by friends and good food, we were far from being disappointed. Thanksgiving in Panama was another incredible experience that will never be forgotten.

A week in the life of...

Monday night: danced to Shakira on iPod alone in room

Tuesday: finished reading copy of Newsweek. flipped it down on table to see an add featuring Shakira. considered it a sign. texted friends about Shakira concert.

Wednesday: met friends in David for 8-hour bus ride to Panama City. met more friends in Panama City. flip cup. total sleep: one hour.

Thursday: bought tickets. food. Shakira Shakira! total sleep: 0 hours.

Friday early morning: bus ride from Panama City to David on which slept. food. now. feliz dia de indepencia de Espana!

What would happen if they suspended sales of alcohol in the US during the forth of July weekend? I imagine there would be rioting. At least a fair warning ahead of time and some major stocking up. This weekend is the beginning of the Fiestas Patrias, the celebration(s) of Panama's independence from Columbia, and Panama's flag day. I was in Panama City for the day before this event, and my girlfriends and I were disappointed to discover our much-looked-forward-to free sangria night at a local restaurant had been cancelled. We even tried to sneakily puchase a pitcher of sangria at another restaurant, and almost succeeded with the waitress until someone more knowledgable in the kitchen informed her that no alcohol was to be sold that day (they even had a glass of wine advertised on their nightly special! so close!) Actually, all sales of liquor, wine and beer were postponed for the day before, and the first day of the celebration weekend. Panamanians took this change in stride, as they do with most things. It was the first year that alcohol was prohibited at two of the traditionally alcohol-infused days of the year: fiestas patrias and the voting on the Panama Canal Referendum. And with good reason.

About two weeks ago an electical glitch on a bus in Panama City caused it to suddently burst into flames. Eighteen people died in the inferno; a tragedy. The day-long-prohibition was called in honor of the families of the victims of the bus accident, and it truly was a day of silence. I'm sure a few more tragedies were avoided during this day of sobreity, and only small disappointments felt upon being deprived of sangria.