Today was our last day in Panama. We fly home tomorrow!! We’re really going to miss this place. Jen even cried for a few minutes today (unusual for her) because she doesn’t want to leave. But there are things we miss at home too. Personally, I’m ready to get back to the familiar comforts of Utah for a while, and Marie wants to see her friend Evie and one of her stuffed animals. Emily seems to be content either way.

Girls at Benihana in Multiplaza

On our last day in Panama, we went to a mall downtown called Multiplaza, which has a lot of high-end fashion stores that were way out of our price range. We did splurge on a meal though, and took the girls to Benihana! :) It was a fun show and good food, but definitely not cheap. We also let the girls ride the merry-go-round and a little train that took them around the mall, and got them some ice cream. They enjoyed that. Jen and I had smoothies.

On the way back, we found a taxi driver named Johann who was excited to be able to practice his English a bit. He wants to start a transportation company helping tourists and businesses people get around in Panama. He’ll be taking us to the airport tomorrow, too.

At the pool in Albrook Inn

This time in Panama City, we’re staying at Albrook Inn, which is a really nice place. They have wifi, but again unfortunately, it doesn’t reach into my room so I have to come to their business center to use it. But they have a restaurant and a decent free breakfast, as well as a pool, which we enjoyed swimming in this morning. (Forgot to mention that.)

We took a walk around the neighborhood in the evening, and came to a park where the girls played for a while. It’s funny how they complain about their feet hurting from walking – until they see a park, and then they run with enthusiasm to play. Anyway, this walk was a nice way to end our day, and to end our stay in Panama. Last time we left Panama City, we were staying downtown, and were glad to get out of the noise and the busy-ness. This time, we’re happy to be back in civilization in a quieter neighborhood, and back to 50% humidity instead of 80% (even paper felt damp there :)). We do love all the birds around here, and the weather is great!

One thing I’ve also wanted to mention for a while but keep forgetting is the funny sound we often hear when driving, whether in our own car or a taxi. It’s the sound of a loud thunk that comes from the back-right seat of the car. Any car. Any guesses, car experts?

It’s actually the sound of Marie’s head bonking against the door! Marie can fall asleep in seconds once she gets in a car, and since we haven’t been using car seats in Panama, her head flops around a lot, and that’s a sound we heard all too often, sometimes followed by a whine or a little talking in her sleep, then she was back to dreamland. Once she’s asleep, it’s nearly impossible to wake her. (Although mentioning cookies or ice cream seems to have more effect than other methods).

Funny kids

Lastly, following in my sister’s footsteps of posting funny things her daughter says, I want to post a Marie-ism and an Emily-ism I heard today:

Marie: Daddy, why are you putting that stuff on your face? [It was sunblock]

Daddy: So I won’t get sunburned.

Marie: The sun’s not going to say, “Ha Ha Ha, I’m going to burn you!!” [imagine her sinister laugh]

Here’s one from Emily:

Emily: [Very dramatic panic] Marie’s putting my shoe on!!!!

Mom: So?

Emily: It will shrink!!!

Aren’t kids fun? See you soon!!!

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Probably because of the sounds, I had a dream that night that our house was carried away by a big river, and that once we got out, Marie walked to the edge of a cliff. I told her not to move, but she looked out over it and fell right off, fortunately bouncing off a couple people who were standing half-way down the cliff. When she hit bottom, she cried, so I knew she was alive. At that point, I woke up and was so glad it was just a dream. :)

On a park bench in Bocas Town

On Saturday, we decided to spend the day in Bocas Town, about a 30 minute boat ride from where we’re staying. It actually turned out to be a very sunny day, and it was really hot in Bocas. But we ate at a couple restaurants, which were decent, but pricier than most we’ve been to. They did have great fruit juices, though – lots of variety, including Sour Sop. We had some snacks, looked around the town, and even took a little boat ride up to Boca del Drago, which had a beautiful beach. The waves were very choppy though so it was a bumpy ride.

We had dinner in Bocas town, and on our way back home, we were joined by a woman who’s serving in the peace core in the little community we visited a few days earlier. It was interesting to hear of her experiences and how she’s been living and helping out the past nine months.

Sunday, we ended up not going to church because it was over an hour away by boat, and would have cost about $150 to get there. Plus, we didn’t know exactly where it was or even what time it started. So we just did some private study and reading. Here are some pictures from the past few days.

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Jen made hojaldres for breakfast (see other great Panamanian recipes on her blog), and then we went on a boat ride to see some dolphins. We saw several sets of them come up out of the surface of the water, and even a little baby dolphin. It was really fun. I felt so relaxed on this boat ride, just enjoying being here with my family, feeling the sun, and breathing the air.

After snorkeling

We stopped at a little restaurant and had some shrimp and chicken – a bit pricey, but good. The girls didn’t like it much – no kid food. This restaurant sat on top of the water and you could see fish swimming underneath. The fish loved to eat the food people dropped.

So we decided to go snorkeling there, and fortunately we had brought our swimsuits. We saw lots of beautiful fish, including iridescent rainbow colors, black and yellow stripes, and more. Emily got in and swam around with her life jacket, and even tried the snorkel for a few minutes, but the mask was too big so water kept seeping in.

Marie was too afraid to get in the water, but she had fun throwing crackers in the water for us, so all the fish would come. :) And the water was so clear, she could see the fish from above – some would even jump out of the water to get the crackers.

Emily holding a starfish

After we got back from the boat ride, we took a long walk along the beach and through the jungle just to see what there was. We were gone for a couple hours and the girls got pretty tired. On the way back, we saw a starfish, and found more cool shells. Before we left on our walk, Marie had found a really cute hermit crab, who she wanted to keep as her pet. She was very distraught when Mommy made her put it back during our walk, so it wouldn’t die. But she eventually recovered.

We had some spaghetti, bread and carrots for dinner, and had a good night’s rest. Check out some very cute pictures from the day, below.

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Sunday we went to church again in Volcan (we decided to stay one more night at Las Plumas rather than two nights in David). I got a bit more out of the lessons this week because I had my iPhone dictionary, but the girls chose to stay with us rather than go to Primary. We had a great time there, and said goodbye to some friends we’d met.

We spent the night in Hotel Iberia in David, which was just perfect for what we wanted. They had a decent restaurant, wifi connection, and hot water (after it was running for about 3 minutes).

The small airplane we flew in

The next morning we headed out for Bocas del Toro. We flew on a small airplane from David, which unfortunately wasn’t good for our stomachs. Emily and I both threw up (even though I took some motion sickness medication before we left). There were beautiful views, but it wasn’t a fun ride for us. Jen and Marie did just fine, though.

Once we got to Bocas, we were greeted by Gregorio who’s taking care of the property where we’re staying. We got some groceries, got in his boat, and he took us on about a 30 minute ride to the east side of Bastimentos island. The place we’re staying (Sal si Puedes) is heavenly! It’s so peaceful with the sound of the waves gently rolling in, soft sand all around, and an open and breezy house with light-colored furnishings.

This is where we're staying

When we arrived at our house, another couple workers greeted us and carried our luggage in the house. They then proceeded to work on the grounds. There was a woman in the house who had just finished cleaning. She comes three times a week. There was also a cute little boy who was fascinated by my video camera.

The girls immediately wanted to play on the beach, so we got their swimsuits on. The sand is so soft and the water is warm. It feels great here! It is a bit cloudy though. We haven’t seen the sun since we arrived, and it looks like it will be this way all week, along with some occasional rain. Oh well – at least we won’t get as badly sunburned. :)

It got a little rainy and windy that night, causing intermittent problems with the television and Internet, but they’re working now. The girls also played ball with some neighbor kids in our front yard until it started raining.

Getting ready to play in the water

This house is fully equipped and definitely up to U.S. standards. It even has a large refrigerator and full-size oven, which is rare here. Oddly, it’s missing a microwave.

The girls slept on an air mattress in the living room, and we slept under a mosquito net in our bedroom. We burned some coil by the girls that should keep the mosquitoes away. We also turned all the lights out, and stumbled around in the dark getting ready for bed – we were told that using as little light as possible would keep them from coming. They had some little lanterns but none worked, so the girls brushed their teeth by the light of my iPhone. And I think I only saw one mosquito all night, maybe two. And I’m not sure they were mosquitoes. Maybe it’s not as big of a problem here as they say…

Anyway, we had a great night’s sleep, listening to the sound of the waves and the animals and insects outside. What a beautiful place!

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