Wow, what an incredible trip to the Pacific side! My brother came out to visit for vacation, and we accompanied some Rotarians to the town of Pedasi & Chitre. We first went to the Pollera Festival (the famous cultural dresses that the women wear....very extravagant and very costly). That evening I gave a short presentation at the Chitre Rotary Club. On Thursday, we went out fishing. Our friend, James, caught a 30 pound yellow fin tuna, which we ate the next day as sushi. Nothing like freshly caught sashimi! Delicious! We left shore that day at 7am and returned around 2pm. Even after applying SPF 50 two or three times, I still managed to get sunburned. Uh! But what an incredible day! We saw a whole group of dolphins that came swimming up to our boat, playing in the water and swimming incredibly fast in and out of the water right under our nose. There must have been at least 40 dolpins total, including those in the distance. Then, as if it doesn´t get any better....a huge hunchback whale jumped out of the water in front of us, and I just so happened to get a great shot with my camera. Incredible! On Friday my brother and I hung out for just a few hours at a beach called El Toro. We wanted to go to Isla Iguana and do some snorkeling, but our group accidently left us behind when they left for the beach to depart to the island. Oh, well. Next time. Friday night we enjoyed an incredible meal at the Chitre Rotary President´s home. People here are soooo hospitable! They are truly wonderful folks - everyone I have met. On Saturday night, we attended the annual Rotary ¨Toma,¨ which is where they induct and swear in the new Rotary President for the year. I met more incredible folks and enjoyed another great meal and great live music performed by a local group (all one family with amazing talent). When we dropped my brother off at the bus stop on Sunday to get back to Panama City....well, that is a long story that involves frustration. The people are truly wonderful here, but customer service....sometimes it doesn´t exist. At least it didn´t that day at the bust station. It was crazy insane. Everyone gave us a different story. And what should have taken 10 minutes took about 2 hours. Fortunately, my brother made it on a bus after all and safely arrived to Panama City and then back home. My whole experience here in Panama has all been bittersweet....it will be hard to leave in less than 2 weeks, yet I am looking forward to the next chapter in my life! I can hardly believe I will be back in the States in less than 2 weeks. This journey to Panama has been an unforgettable experience!
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