Greetings from Panama

Hey y'all- This blog is coming at you straight from Panama City, Panama. When I decided to come to CR, they told me that I had a couple of options in th Visa department: I could go through the official channels and get a work visa and residence permit or I could just stay on a tourist visa, but I would have to leave the country every 90 days to keep it valid. So, here I am in Panama, spending 72 hours outside of the country in order to be legit for another 3 months.

The bus ride took 15 hours. I am traveling with the only other Habitat volunteer in CR, Dustin. We left San Jose at noon on Wednesday, and got to Panama City at 4 am. We hung around the bus station for a couple of hours, and then headed straight to the Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal. When we got there, we were informed that it didn't open for another 2 hours... so we waited some more =) . Once we finally got in, it was pretty impressive- we saw a huge ship get pushed through the locks on its way to the Atlantic. There was also a museum anda video- it was one of the more touristy things I have done since I left the U.S. I liked it.

After the canal, Dustin and I embarked on a search for our hostel. We took a cab from the locks, and told the driver what hostel we were hoping to stay at. He dropped us off on a corner, and told us that it was right around the way. Well, we walked to where it should have been, and discovered that it had been torn down =( The same story applied to our second choice. That cab driver is a hobo. Finally, thanks to Dustin's navigational skills, we found the Voyager Backpacker's hostel- not exactly luxurious, but it has beds, and only costs $11 a night (including breakfast).

Panama is WAY hotter than Costa Rica (especially in comparison to Santa Rosa). Our hostel doesn't have AC, but at least it has fans. I am super reminded of a hostel that we stayed in in Rome- The Yellow. It was hot and a bit sketchy, but had character. The rest of today we spent eating lunch, gelato, and window shopping. Apparently, everything is waycheaper in Panama, so our host families gave us lists of things that they want us to bring back. I just woke up from a nice nap, took a shower, and feel way less sticky and hot now that its dark out. Dustin is downstairs using a payphone, and then I think we're gonna get dinner. So, that's Panama so far.