I picked up Joy and her friends Colleen and Katy in David last Saturday. They arrived at about 9:30pm on a bus from Panama city which was a long day for them. I drank two cups of coffee that day which is very unusual for me because I can't seem to handle it well, so when I got there, I was crashing hard. Joy had a phone from Panama from an earlier trip and called when she got in, but somehow the girls got off at a different location in the terminal than the usual stop and I couldn't find them. After talking to a cop that Joy handed her cell phone to, I was able to gather their general location and we finally found each other. We arrived at the hostel after an uneventful drive to Boquete and the girls settled into their room which I was able to pre-arrange. Colleen and Katy have never been to Panama, so they spent the next few days exploring. This was Joy's third trip and she came this time to volunteer at the local orphanage and to take some Spanish lessons at the local school.
A few days later, it was Cesar's birthday, so we met with friends at a mid-eastern restaurant. It was also Jess's b-day a few day prior, and Ballardo's b-day the following day, so I picked up a cake at the request of Joy and delivered it to the restaurant ahead of time. We had a nice dinner and cake with marshmallow frosting.
Two days later, Joy, Colleen, Katy and I hiked a steep trail next to Pipeline trail into a foggy cow pasture. Doesn't sound that cool, but it was. We also hiked the Pipeline to the waterfall which was very nice. After, we ate at the cheap cafeteria with local cuisine. Katy had to leave the next day and Colleen and Joy planned on going to Costa Rica for the remainder of their trip since they had to fly out of San Jose back to Texas. They decided to instead go to Bocas del Toro, so I decided to go with. Colleen and I went to rent a car and then picked up Joy from the hostel. We drove to Bocas on Saturday, arrived in Almirante at about 1pm, parked the car in a lot with eight Rottweilers on guard for $3 per night, and took the water taxi to Bocas del Toro proper.
I had my fingers crossed we would be able to rent the apartment above a bar that John and I stayed at last time I was in Bocas, and was granted my wish. We settled in and wandered around town for a few hours, eating and drinking at the various bars/restaurants. We made a reservation for the $25 all-day tour for the next day which includes visiting dolphin bay, snorkeling for 1.5 hours, lunch break, sloth island, nature hike, and Red Frog Beach. I also stopped at the restaurant where I lost my Milwaukee Brewers hat 2.5 months ago. The lady there laughed when I asked if they had it, but she looked around the kitchen anyway. She moved some pots and pans around, and pulled my hat out of the corner cupboard. I yelled "that's it!" while Joy and the employees started screaming and jumping up and down. I was so happy to have my one home-state-identifying piece of clothing back because Wisconsinites seems to come out of the woodwork while traveling which makes for great conversation.
Sloth
Sloth
Boat crew
Cool painting in the apartment
Diablico Sucio masks - native to Panama
Joy and Colleen on our hotel/bar dock
Our hotel. No, wait...that's not it.
We had a great time while seeing about 20 dolphins, great snorkeling, five or six sloths (some with babies), a nice hike, and a visit to the beach. Two Brits were on our boat with us who were a lot of fun. I brought my small (1.5 foot machete) with me for coconuts which we were able to find and eat at the beach. With a lot of sun on our skin from a perfect day and a half and with smiles on our faces, we returned to the rental car. The rain moved in and the drive back was super foggy to the point where we could barely see on the mountain roads, but we made it, tired and happy.
Joy and Colleen departed the following morning, and I resumed my career.
More pics to follow once I get them all from the girls.
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