Panama

So much has happened in this busy life of mine…school ended, I got away for two whole nights alone with my husband, Grace was great in the play, Ethan’s deep into baseball…

But I don’t have time to catch you up on all that.  Things have been good.  That will have to suffice.

The big deal is that I went to Panama to visit my sister.  I had the best time I possibly could have asked for.  I had asked my Uncle to go with me, and he obliged.  He treated us like princesses the whole time.  I felt so very blessed.  He drove us where we wanted to go.  He stopped to eat when we were hungry.  He saw what we wanted to see.  I hope it was over-the-top fun for him as well.

Most of you probably know, but my sister Abby lives in Panama.  She’s in the Peace Corp over there.  I really wanted to see her and know her in her own element.  And I got to.  She is a lovely young lady just seeped in the culture over there.  She loves them and they love her.  I was in awe of her ability to speak the Spanish language so fluently.  In awe. 

I tried to determine best how to do this post, and I guess I decided on a slideshow.  Probably boring at some points for even my two most devoted fans (Mother and Step Mother), but considering my time constraints, and the huge amount of pictures, I think that’s best.  **I just watched it, and it is slow.  I am sorry.  I am leaving it.  It took forever to create.  Don’t feel obliged to watch.  There will be no quiz. 

Ugh.

Now how do I blog out all my special memories?  I just don’t know.  I’ll try to hit only the high points.

Dale and I arrived in Panama City relatively early in the day, but we had the hardest time finding the hotel.  Finally Uncle Dale paid a cab driver to lead us there.  The upside is that I got to see so much of Panama City.  My first impressions were:  colorful, lots of trash, lots of people, wild buses, sky scrapers.

We finally found Abby, and it was so good to see her.  She looked good.  We were so hungry, so we found a nice restaurant.  Abby and Uncle Dale both speak Spanish so well, and I realized right then I was going to do a lot of smiling and nodding, as I had no clue what was being said.  But the smile was genuine.  I loved listening to them talk.

The next morning we hiked up to the tippy top of Panama City (these places actually have genuine names other than tippy top, but that’s how I remember them).  The city is beautiful.  The vegetation is so interesting and lovely.  I wanted to photograph everything.  Shameless tourist.

I found my favorite souvenir in the trash on our way home from this hike.  It is an old window, I believe, about three feet high, with the metal decorative bars running up and down.  Very shabby chic looking.  My favorite thing.  Shameless tourist.

We visited the canal.  Huge.  Really nice museum there in Panama City.  The Panamanians are very proud of their work with the Canal, and they should be.  Got a history lesson on how it came to be.  Loved the education.

We drove to the beach at Santa Clara and stayed a night there.  Not much time to spend, but it was also beautiful.  We had a stray dog in heat and her suitors that followed us everywhere.  Wonderful morning to wake up next to the water.

Very long drive to “Abby’s town.”  She always called it “my town,” so the name of her town never really sunk in.  I do know it.  But not right now.  The drive was tough because it was raining hard all the way there.  Six hours (or what seemed like six hours).  Uncle Dale had a meeting later in the week in Panama City and decided to take the midnight bus instead of drive back there.  I don’t blame him.

Abby’s town is small.  Her house is small, but cute.  I was shamefully scared of bugs and such, but I forged ahead.  I truly loved the adventure.  Abby has a dog named Lula that keeps her on her toes.  The town is basically all along one (or two) roads.  So different from the US. 

We visited a school and I took pictures of those adorable kids.  Irresistible.  See for yourself.  The school was hosting an environmental fair of some sort.  The kids had made these banners and they had a program of some sort (remember, I understood absolutely nothing.  Smile and nod.), and then they had a parade. 

We visited Cerro Punta.  My favorite place.  It was gorgeous farm country where they grow most of the area’s vegetables.  It makes a beautiful pattern on the hillsides.  Dale and I talked too deep too long, and Abby got fed up.  And the country was really worth some silence.  Strawberries and cream on the way home.  Absolutely delicious.  I hated not being able to finish it.  It followed a filling lunch.  Lots of good food on this trip.

Abby and I had the next day to ourselves.  It was a slower day, but I just enjoyed it with my sister.  I got to know her so well.  And I like her.  I knew I did, but I treasured this time.  I am so proud of her, making her way in this far off place.  We ate at the local restaurant.  The food was delicious.  I took a picture of the restaurant and the ladies that ran it.  They were too good to us.

We also visited the school that Abby works at.  I took more pictures of kids.  They loved having their pictures taken, and then looking at the pictures.  Sweet smiles.  I loved being swarmed by them.  The ants swarmed me and bit me too.  And I didn’t like that so much.  But those kids mobbing me was the best.  All I needed was a camera.

We went to Boquette the next day.  Uncle Dale came in from the bus at about 6:45am, and we said, “We need to leave in five minutes.”  He said, “Okay.  I’ll just grab some breakfast and change my clothes.”  We said, “No time for that.”  Bless his soul, he got right back in the car and headed off for the zip line.  I told you he was good to us.  The zip line was fun.  Those pictures will have to follow.  There were some fun ones.

Uncle Dale took us to a Peruvian restaurant in Boquette for lunch.  He wanted us to try some foods he knows to be delicious, and I did.  I wanted to try them, really.  I genuinely liked the cow’s heart.  I know that’s probably not that big of a deal, but I’ve never eaten the heart before.  And then some sort of fish that is “cooked” with lime juice and no real cooking.  It really wasn’t too bad.

And the next day it was basically time to head home.  We drove back to Panama City and stayed in a nice hotel close to the airport to avoid any mishaps.  All went well.

I learned I love to be around my sister.  My Uncle Dale is full of humility and grace.  He treated us better than we deserved.  Abby is strong and determined and graceful and beautiful.  I missed my family, and wanted to share all of it with them.  I couldn’t have survived without a Spanish speaker.  Thank the Lord I had two.  My first trip out of this country, and there wasn’t a bad minute for me.