Home Sweet Home

This past week Brennan and I had to make one of the most difficult decisions we’ve ever made.  Due to some ongoing health issues we have returned early from our Peace Corps Service.  We both came to the decision that health is of highest priority.   I took advantage of all the options Peace Corps had to offer in order to see if this was something that could be treated in Panama, but as time went on it became clearer that being in the States and close to family was our best option.  There is no need to worry about me; I am getting the help that is needed.

From reading our blog we hope it’s evident that we absolutely loved our community Calobre, the people, our host family and our job opportunities.  This is why it was such a hard choice to leave Panama.  Along the way we’ve made great friends, a new Panamanian family, and experienced a culture completely different from our own.   We will never regret taking on the challenge of being Peace Corps Volunteers, however, we also do not regret the decision to come home.

Right now we are not looking into the past, but living in the present.  Even though we will miss our Panamanian life, we could not be more ecstatic to be around family and friends.  Thanks to all of you who have followed along in our great adventure.  We appreciate knowing that people enjoyed hearing about our life experience through the blog.  Hopefully we can keep you all updated on our attempts to make our way North to Portland.  Let the job searching begin!

Here are some pictures of our last week in Calobre and all the people we fell in love with while in Panama:

Pupa and Chala, sisters who were generously offering us their apartment to live in.

Nicholas and his daughter Bella, two of our closest friends in town.

The kids just love him.

Maestra Juaquina, so passionate about her job and being with the kids.

2nd grade

3rd grade

You can tell they will miss him.

Elizabeth and Jessica, Brennan's English Teaching Counterparts

Boys being boys.

Justine, Milagros and Valeska, some of my favorite girls.

Yamizel and Yhomaris, very diligent 6th grade students.

Love their PE attire.

Saying our goodbye's to Pastor Heitor.  He is such an incredible man and is doing so much for his community.  We were sad to say goodbye.

Now Brennan is officially Panamanian.

Aralis, my Environmental Conservation counterpart.

Leaving our Panamanian family was not easy.  They blessed us greatly the three months we got to spend with them.  We will miss their restaurant too!

David, one of my most vocal students.  He's going to make a great actor someday.

And now we're officially home and spending as much time as possible with this little munchkin.  We love our little niece Everly.

Santa Catalina and Isla de Coiba

Thanks to Becca the organizer extraordinaire we stayed in a great house in Santa Catalina, Veraguas.  We stayed for two nights, made all our own food (chili, cornbread, tacos, pancakes, potatoes, eggs), basked in air conditioning, strolled around the town and explored Isla de Coiba. We were going to try to spend the night on the island, but prices were too steep so we settled with a little day trip.  Here are some pictures of our vacation.

Nico and Brennan on the beach at Santa Catalina waiting for our tour guide to boat us out to Isla de Coiba for some snorkel action.

Nico working hard on the chili.  Turned out delicious.

Off to the island.  We enjoyed an hour and half boat ride to get out to the island.  We even were delighted to see tons of dolphins along the way.

Approaching our first stop to register with ANAM.

Couldn't be more picture perfect.

Yes there are crocodiles!

Group 70 Veraguas.  Love this group of people.

Ready to see some sea life.

Not only did we see some amazing looking fish, but we also saw white tip reef sharks, stingrays, and sea turtles.

Had the island all to ourselves

My balancing act.  I could have been a gymnast.

Our last morning spent at the beach in Santa Catalina

Such a great trip with the group and just the vacation I think we all needed.  Again thanks to Becca and Katie for organizing the trip!  I would highly recommend this spot for other adventure seekers.

El Valle

Saturday and Sunday we traveled to El Valle in Cocle.  We had heard great things about this place and once we arrived we weren't disappointed.  We also ran into some other Volunteers and spent some time exploring with them.  Here is a little view of our weekend.

We visited the Artisan market which contained not only beautiful handmade crafts from the indigenous tribes, but also colorful fruits and unique plants.  Of course the succulents caught my eye.

I wish I could take these home.

Doesn't this fruit look delicious.

Sydney, Austin, Catherine, Brennan and I went to the hot springs which came with a complementary mud facial.  We had some fun exfoliating our faces.  Austin learned what exfoliating actually meant.

Trying a tough face.

Brennan's face is better.

This is the beginning of our hike up "La India Dormida" (The sleeping Indian).  It was a beautiful hike, but definitely not easy.

View from the bridge.

One of two waterfalls on the trail.

Almost to the top.

View from the top.

Accomplished the two hour hike with no problems.

Our little friends we found in a bush outside our cabana.

We also went to the El Valle zoo which was not too impressive because all the animals were behind big cages like this one.  More than anything we felt bad for them.

Trying to make some money.  Pretty cool wardrobe I must say.

We had a great time exploring El Valle and we didn't even do everything they had to offer.  Tomorrow we're off to Santa Catalina near the beach.  You'll be hearing more about that soon.

Casco Viejo

A meeting in the Peace Corps office in Panama City gave Brennan and I the excuse to visit Casco Viejo once again.  I can't tell you how much I love this place.  There was a lot of construction going on while we were there, but we still managed to get some good sightseeing in and take a few photos.

I love street art

Dinner at Per Due a little french cafe.  I had pesto pizza which always hits the spot.

I love the look of this swanky restaurant.

The texture of this building is beautiful

We thoroughly enjoyed our walk with all the stunning views.

Again loving the texture.

Reminds me of Europe.

Enjoying some delicious chocolate mousse cake and caramel banana cake.

This is the hostel we stayed at in Casco Viejo.  If you're ever in the area we highly recommend this hostel.  Lovely staff, beautiful architecture, and great location.  Not to mention not a bad price as well.

You never know what you'll find around every corner.