In Panama

Where to begin. Saying bye was very, very hard but I know this trip will be amazing. Our first flight went smoothly besides being about 30min behind schedule, which meant that we had to run to our next flight in Miami, FL. The first thing we saw after getting off the plane in Panama was a Subway. A nice bus with air conditioning brought us all (stl and kc groups) to La MICA and we all hurried to the station before it got dark. The local guys carried all of our big luggage which is crazy because without the luggage most of us were worn out from the hike. Dinner consisted of spaghetti, and unprocessed chicken, with freshly squeezed orange juice on the side, all of which were really tasty. The station is on a slope but we have everything we need (dorms, toilet, shower, outdoor dining area/classroom, and a swimming creek). The dorm is one large room that has a tarp divide between the males and females. I claimed top bunk and the beds have all been covered in mosquito nets.

Yesterday, we all hiked to town and met the local cops, got stared at by everyone, bought drinks (they have pepsi products and snacks), and bought our boots. Afterwards we all walked to Julie's house for lunch (rice, beef, pinapple, and watermelon. Then we got rides to the park and got to walk along a couple of the frog transects. I spotted three frogs yesterday and was able to identify two of them (Rhinella marina). The trails are steep and surrounded by vegetation, it will be interesting to navigate through during the night.

I've taken millions of pictures already and it is only our second full day here. I will be posting them on facebook asap. Miss everyone at home!

PS. my blog site showed up in spanish when I first logged in :o)