I had a WONDERFUL last weekend! The weekend started off around 8:30 a.m. when I got to work lol. I didn't have that much work to do so the day went by very smoothly. I had a nice, long lunch with one of my co-workers just talking about Panama, my experiences, my excursions, etc. She chided me for not doing more and getting out to the countryside more and when I tried to explain to her that she didn't help me out any she didn't want to hear any of that of course lol. So after work Friday I rode with 3 co-workers to a happy hour at this little dive on the beach. It was called Kari Mar and was literally located on the beach. The water level was not very far from the edge of the restaurant. I ordered seafood soup and a drink only to discover they did not take credit cards and I didn't have enough cash. Forunately, the co-worker with whom I ate lunch said she would pay for my meal as a "going-away" gift. We stayed there talking and laughing until about 11p before finally heading home because it started to rain.
Saturday we woke up early for what would become a very LONG day of excursions. The first stop was Gamboa Rainforest Resort. We were scheduled to go on an 8:30 tour of Monkey Island however the website-quoted 20 minute ride ended up taking closer to 35 minutes and therefore we missed our departure time. Fortunately there was another tour scheduled for the morning but not until 10:30. To pass the time we ate breakfast in the resort's restaurant and enjoyed the beautiful view it offered. The boat ride took us from the Chargres River through the Panama Canal Channel and up through Lake Gatun where Monkey Island is located. While in the Canal Channel, we were right next to the HUGE ships that come through the Canal. I felt incredibly small while sailing next to them. Quick aside...Lake Gatun is a man-made lake created during the Canal's construction. It flooded numerous towns/villages that are now deep below the water's surface. While in the boat, we saw many islands which are actually the tops of hills/mountains from the undersea towns. Moving along...on the tour we saw a sloth and two different kinds of monkeys. The capucchin monkeys actually came onto the boat and the guides were feeding them apples. I was able to get some wonderful pics that I'll upload later. After the tour we rode back to town and got ready for our next stop of the day. This was to the Japanese Ambassador's house for a bbq. He was having the bbq for his daughter who was in Panama for a few days before starting college in Maryland. The food was yummy (I ate curried shrimp & rice, grilled veggies, cake & ice cream) and the house was very nice. He lived right on the oceanfront and the waves were crashing up and onto the deck! After lunch we stopped at the mall to buy our tickets to the Chinese Circus then headed home. Unfortunately we both fell asleep and thus missed our dinner appointment before the Circus. The Chinese Circus was AMAZING!! The things the acrobats were able to do with their bodies...the different twists & contortions...I don't think I want my body to even try some of their moves lol. Nonetheless, it was a 90-minute show of cool costumes and effects. After dinner we walked across the street to a restaurant called Jimmy's where I had pizza and Yolanda had her usual corvina (sea bass).
Sunday was another long day of fun. We woke up and went to the beach with another co-worker. Santa Clara was about 1.5 hrs away from downtown Panama and well worth the ride. The water was a wonderful temperature, the waves were fun, the beach wasn't crowded and the sun was nice & hot! I forgot to put sunscreen on my face and definitely felt it later in the day and on Monday because my face was tight/chafed/burned. We stopped to buy some food at the groc. store on the way so we had our own lil cooler of food to enjoy on the beach. While riding the waves I scraped my knee a few times on the sand so had a slight burn there...but it's gone now.
All in all, this was a wonderful end to a wonderful summer. Going into my last week of work I plan on having a great time each day doing something different. Tonight (tuesday) we're going to an opera. Wednesday we're going to an Annual Crafts Fair that's in townand reggae night. Thursday is open but will be filled with something quickly. Friday the Foreign Service Nationals are hosting a big reception/happy hour to raise funds for their annual Christmas gala so we're going there. Saturday I leave!
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