Panama????

Well. We must say Panama is beautiful. When we got off our flight to catch the first connection, the warmth and humidity felt so nice that I thought, it would be nice to stay here for a little while. This place is MAGIC. No sooner said than done. As it turns out, our on-time flight would have to have arrived 50 minutes earlier for us to have boarded the connection. Why, you ask, would a travel group book an impossible connection? If you find out, you can tell Gary but don't tell me; I'm kind of excited about the unexpected adventure.

It really is beautiful here. We're off to find lunch. Hope you are all well. :)

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Sunday 1/13/08
Panama
Hotel near the Tocumen airport due to unexpected layover

- everyone is so friendly!
- poolside
- breezy, warm, no mosquitoes!
- waterfall, palm trees, tropical flowers
- EXTREMELY LOUD, REPETITIVE MUSIC (ow)
- no lizards? how can this be?
- beautiful feral kitty with very feral-looking face; moves so fast I didn't actually see him run; willing to dart nearer for bits of cheesecake tossed his way, but never prepared to stay or be friends; hey, maybe this is why there aren't any lizards...

Looks tranquil with the waterfall, you may be thinking.

So let's round out the scene. Imagine very loud, semi-riotous, heavily repetitive street party music emanating from the "swim-up" bar just past the volleyball net to the left. This music is punctuated with off-rhythm foghorn and cackling laughter sound effects, probably the occasional whistle, and maybe a little bit of cowbell.

Now imagine this music nonstop, playing in a continuous loop for roughly 3-4 hours, at which point the next multi-hour loop of music began without missing the proverbial (or actual) beat. This continues into the evening.

Finally, imagine that you spend this time reading and napping in a lounge chair in the warm tropic breezes, with palm trees all around, and very few other people. Though the music is still deeply imprinted in our memories, we have every confidence that that part will fade and we'll only remember the sun, the heat, the breeze and the complete relaxation of having absolutely nowhere we must - or even can - go.

Very nearly bliss. :)