SAD GOOD BYE

Yesterday, Judy, Gerald and Marley took their plane ride back to Panama City from Bocas Del Toro. As fate would have it, they got a little taste of "life in Central America". When they arrived at their hotel they were informed that the hotel booking they thought was made for Feb 18-19, was mistaken made for March 18-19. Oops! And there was "no room in the inn". Double oops! Whose responsible? Somehow Paul got some dates mixed up in the email exchanges. And no one else caught the error. Triple oops! And insult to injury, Judy's luggage never arrived. Seems it was left behind in Bocas. Quaduple oops! Still lov'n the "good life" guys? Good news is that they managed to find other accommodations, thanks to a helpful contact in Panama City. We've still waiting to hear back about Judy's luggage.

Anyways, the week with them seemed to fly by, and we were all sad to say "good-bye". On the other hand, we'll be back in Canada in just a few weeks. So this farewell was simply "until we see each other again".

Our last Sunday together with them was a very lazy, quiet morning. Gerald and Marley checked out a local bat cave (yuck), and than we all headed up the muddy road from our resort to Paunch Point to check out some real surfers doing "their thang". Wow! They are good.

By the way, I have had a few emails asking about Paul's jaw. Update: all is fine. His lip is still a bit purple and swollen, but he can now chew with very little discomfort. There's just a little bit of swelling left on his chin. But he's on the mend. Back to my story.

The roads are pretty aweful here on the island, and sadly, one of them claimed the life of Marley's favorite flip flop. At a few points, it was safer to go barefoot so you at least had some kind of grip with your toes. It was gross. We all bleached our feet and shoes when we got back home.

Marley helping Judy cross the road. This is an actual road for that vehicles use. Note: this is dry season!

Later that evening, we were treated to a wonderful, yet very leisurely dinner at the Cosmic Crab (thanks guys). We put our order in around 7:45pm, and I think our food finally came at 9:00! Ahh, life on the island! My children have developed very expensive tastes. They love lobster, crab and shrimp.

One of the many lobsters we enjoyed that night. Look at the rice in the shape of a starfish!

On the water taxi ride home after supper (in the pitch dark, except for the flash light Marley held to let other boats know we were present) I thought of how small the world really is. One day's travel and you're here in the middle of Central America and South America. I was again reminded of how incredibly blessed I am to be able to do this trip with my family. Speaking of family, my Mom and Dad are next on the visiting schedule. They will be spending 9 days with us in Bocas, and 5 days in Boquete.

Until I blog again,

Linda