The Demers (Phil, Karen, and Nicki) visited us for 2 weeks
over Christmas and New Years. They flew
in on the 23rd, and after a loooong day of travel, they caught a
couple short Zzzzs and then we were off to the Pearl
Islands. We stayed there for 2 nights
and it was our first hot, beachy Christmas ever. The island is pretty small, but we decided to
rent a golf cart (mule) in order to get around quickly and easily. We found a beach after checking into our
hotel and spent the day lounging, resting, and swimming in the ocean. 
On Christmas Day, we paid a guy to take us around on his little fishing boat. We attempted to fish, but it didn’t work out well. We stopped and snorkeled a few times and saw lots of fish. We even saw a shark! Yikes! Nicki and I quickly swam back to the boat after that one. He also took us to an island called Mogo Mogo, which was the island where they filmed Survivor for a couple seasons. It is a deserted island, but there are still remnants of the show, like benches they built and ropes they used. The water was clear blue and green and about as warm as bath water.
We made our way back to the city on the 26th. Here we are “checking in” and waiting at the “terminal”
for the ferry.
The 27th was Karen’s birthday, so we decided to
go to the local fish market for some fresh lobster tails and have a big
birthday dinner. The tails were huge and
delicious!
We headed out to the Caribbean side the next day and stayed
at Scuba Portobelo
for the night. Typically a low-key area,
the place was packed with divers and vacationers. We checked out the town (see the other Portobelo
blogs for info on the town and ruins) and then we decided to grab dinner. We settled on a place called El Castillo. There were only 2 other tables of people so we
figured it would be quick and easy. Not
so much. We ended up being there for 3
hours because 3 tables of customers was waaay too overwhelming for them. At one point, I decided to just grab the pad
of paper and take our table’s order. I
took it to the kitchen and told the chef what we wanted. On the way, I checked in with another table
to make sure they had ordered as well. A
few minutes later, we needed more drinks, so, naturally, I went behind the bar,
picked out a bottle of wine, added it to our tab, and we had what we
needed. While we waited forever for our
food, we met a very nice man from Wyoming named Kevin. His family had just bought a vacation home
about an hour outside of Panama City and was down vacationing for a couple
weeks. We had a nice chat with him, met
his family, and talked about exchanging information. Our food finally arrived and it was worth the
wait. Unfortunately, amidst the scarfing
of our food, Kevin and his family left and we were unable to get his contact
information. Bummer.
From the Caribbean side, we then ventured toward the
mountains to El Valle, one of our favorite places. We stayed at The Golden Frog and it was
gorgeous. Both the town and the hotel
(more like B&B villas) were amazing.
We spent 2 nights here, New Year’s Eve and Day. Since it’s a mountain town, it was slightly
cooler and breezier, which was perfect after being in the high heat of the city
and beaches. We explored the town
market, hiked up to some waterfalls, and swam in the river. One of the nights, we took a night hike
through the jungle with an experienced guide.
It was creepy to hear all the animals and bugs and not be able to see
anything. We saw lots of huge spiders,
some small snakes, many other insects, and only one sloth. For New Years Eve, we were able to watch all
the different fireworks shows in the surrounding towns from the balcony at the
hotel. Have we told you how much Panama
loves fireworks?? It was quite the show! On our last day in El Valle, we stopped to
take a dip in the river on our way out.
Nicki, Alex, and I decided to hike a little further up the mountain, so
Dad and Karen waited for us below. When
we came back down, they had great news for us.
They coincidentally ran into KEVIN!
What are the odds?! They exchanged
information and Kevin invited us over to check out the house on the way back to
the city. We thought this would be a
great opportunity to make a contact, so we went. Kevin has an amazing house on the beach! He has a main house, a guest house, and a maid’s
house with a 24-7 maid. He told Alex and
me we could use the house anytime we needed a getaway from the city. Awesome!
Super excited to take him up on that offer!
As the Demers visit was coming to a close, the Woods were
starting to arrive! Bill and Koi flew in
a couple days before Matt, Daniel, and Roxc.
We had a couple day overlap of exploring some city sites and the Canal. We all went to dinner at the Miraflores Locks,
where Alex and I went with the school when we first got to Panama. As you eat dinner, you can watch big ships
move through the locks . Very cool!
We were very sad to say goodbye to Dad, Karen, and Nicki! We had a great 2 weeks exploring LOTS of
Panama!
Next up, The Woods!
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