As promised to all, I have started a blog to chronicle my adventure of navigating through the beautiful country of Panama. I will update this blog as often as possible and I hope that it will serve as a platform for expressing my love for this country, as well as the frustrations and challenges I encounter along the way.
Of course, my life in Panama had to start with a bang. Upon arrival at PTY airport (an hour late, mind you), I went through customs without a hitch, collected my luggage, and met up with Jorge and his cousin. I was immediately excited by the heat (I screamed "Que CALOR" with joy). Sorry, Northeast friends -- I just can't stand the cold.
In the car ride home, I was informed that we would be rising at 6:30 am the next day (it was already 11:30pm at night), because we were going out on the boat for the day. Though I wasn't excited about the time we had to wake up, I was stoked to be going out for a day of fishing and lounging in a sun.
We woke up the next morning to pouring rain. Though rain is Panama is nothing peculiar, it was a little odd to have it rain so early in the day and so much during the summer months (oh, just to avoid confusion -- right now, it is summer in Panama). But we didn't think much of it. We were taking the boat out into the water and going far away from the city, hopefully away from the rain.
After a bit of a slow start due to some engine problems on the boat, we set off on our adventure. We were in transit on the water for an hour before we cast the fishing rods. We caught a massive fish almost immediately and after a bit more time, decided to find a good beach on one of the islands. The sun was beating down and I felt so happy to have to put on SPF 50.
We found our friends' boat and set up a picnic on one of the beaches. Our fish was prepared into delicious ceviche by the crew on one of the tourist boats. It was beautiful outside and we enjoyed great food and good drinks. This nice weather lasted a good 4 hours -- and then, things started to get a little hectic.
It started to rain, and Jorge and I decided to swim back to the boat and put on our rain jackets. Before we knew it, it started to POUR DOWN. The wind started blowing hard and the ocean grew angrier. Nonetheless, we got everything back on the two boats and set our engines full speed to Panama City.
Except things didn't go so well. The wind was so strong that it took us almost an hour to travel about a third of our distance. It should have taken us an hour to get to the city. The waves were so huge that at one point, our big boat was completely airborne. Given that I crave adventure and am slightly crazy, I was having the time of my life. Everytime Jorge's mom turned to me, thinking I would be having a panic attack at that point due to the constant pounding of water and wind at my face, she was surprised to find me smiling like an idiot and yelling "Es una aventura!!!" y "No hay problema. Tengo mi familia y, por eso, todo es bueno!" At least I had a good attitude?
Finally, we arrived near one of the islands and decided to try to find space in a hotel. Unfortunately, that hotel was boarded shut, but we realized that we were near an island where a friend of Jorge's dad had a house. We called him, and, thankfully, had a strong enough phone signal to get through. It turned out that he was staying there at the time with his whole family and they were able to host us without a problem. We anchored the boat down and waited for help to arrive. In mere minutes, a motor boat came over and picked up all of us. We were promptly taken to the house and given dry clothes, access to a hot shower, our own separate bedrooms and bathrooms, and an incredibly delicious meal. The house owners made sure to entertain us properly with great stories, and after feasting, we fell asleep in our designated beds, safe and sound.
The only thing I was worried about throughout our adventure through a tropical storm was that the other boat was alright. Jorge's sister and her boyfriend were on that boat because it had a below-deck shelter. We later found out that it took the boat more than 3 hours to make it to Panama City, and that they lost radio contact almost immediately on the ocean, having to rely on the compass and pure intuition.
The next day, which was this morning (Dec. 27), we woke up early and were taken back to the city on a private plane. Thank goodness for friends.
Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera to the boat and the beach, but, in hindsight, that might not have been so unfortunate. I doubt it would have survived all the rain. But I did take my camera out today on a guided tour of Casco Viejo. Below are some photos I took.
Recycle Tree, made out of empty plastic bottles
Metropolitan Cathedral
The "White House" of Panama
Pretty balconies 
Sadly, because of the rain, our trip to San Blas was cancelled. All for the better though, because we heard that a boat capsized there today. Tomorrow, we're going to Valle de Antón to do some hiking. I for sure need the exercise after all the food I've been gorging on here.
It's almost 9pm and we're going out soon. 'Tis the life in a Latin American city: nightlife starts at midnight.
PS: Love the family here. So generous to me. I opened no less than 7 (!!!) presents this morning.
