panama!

This blog will not have any pictures because i do not have a camera connaection device with me. Panama so far is incredible and I have very much enjoyed traveling alone, though it seemed daunting in the beginning.

Some things that have happened thus far:

Tuesday
Flew into Panama City with no plans and asked the taxi for a great hostel...ended up in a great hostel. $11 a night with free internet, plenty of hammocks, and nice people to meet from all over.

Wednesday:
Walked around Panama City for about 4 hours and got a good feel for how to get around. Then met from travelers from Yosemite, shared from beers, and went out to dinner at a place named Las Vegas, which if you have been to Banaue may seem strange. On a whim decide that tomorrow I am going to Kuna Yala.

Thursday:
Leave my hostel at 5a.m. and get in a 4x4 with two Germans, two Canadiens, and one Israeli. Drive out of the city, and an hour later turn onto this nearly impassable mountain road with multiple hills steeper than a 20percent gradient. (gross estimation deemed so by me grabbing on for life multiple times) After the border crossing into Kuna Yala, yes Kuna Yala is not Panama, hop on a boat with some Kuna, and a boat operator wearing a hat that says ¨fuck off.¨

about 2 miles later arrive at a makeshift docking area, board a different boat with two Swedes, and an American and pass through mangrove swamps and out to the open sea. Bear in mind my description of the boat would be, ¨marginal.¨Immediately the boat breaks, the operator tears the engine apart, and gets it working again. We then battle some rougher seas, while making two seemingly meaningless stops on opposite ends of a random Kuna island. 90 minutes later we arrive on Isla Robinson, and there I spent the next few days napping in hammocks, snorkeling, sleeping in a bamboo hut, playing cards, and drinking rum with friends that I had made along the way. Later that day a boat went down not far from out island, and all the members ended up on Isla Robinson after a good rescue effort by the locals. No one was harmed, just a lot of wet baggage.

Small world story: on the boat that sank was Kevin, the night manager of the Harrisonburg Wal`Mart!

The island has no electricity and is about 1 square mile large. This induced me feeling like a zombie around 10 every night and going to bed around 10:30 thinking it was about 4 am. The first two days we had perfect weather, but it rained almost all of Saturday. The stars were some of the best I have seen since leaving the Philippines.

Sunday:
I departed after hearing accounts of sunken jeeps, and wrecked boats upon the path in which I entered Kuna Yala, and saw that the river was nearly destroyed the day before by an over abundance of rain. I am now back safe in Panama City, staying in Casco Viejo in a hostel overlooking the city skyline. Casco Viejo is the old town and has brick streets and narrow corridors.

I will write more later!