State of the Blog

In the coming days I will try to get some good posts and pics up. The last few days were a bit disorienting; I had to postpone a trip to Bocas Del Toro this weekend (because I had to do someone's job for them) and now we have a ton of new volunteers with us. So, we may be busy and it may be difficult to get access to the computer. The day finds me in a bit of a bad mood because we couldn't go to the orphanage today and there are no English classes today or tomorrow because of the holidays. I'm also dedicating some comp time to the ol' soul-crushing job search.

But, I promise I got some good material forthcoming, including "More Pictures", "David: City of Wonder/City of Blunder", "More Amazing Stuff About Panama" and "Mas Que Un Amigo (More Than A Friend): The Tale of a Schoolbus Named Andresito, Jr." I actually have a lot of photos but they are currently stuck on April's camera or they are in my email and I can't get them to load properly.

Also, Carnivale is here and is a monumental event in Panama every year so expect a blog on that. How monumental is it? Put it this way: One of my students explained that when he was younger his friends used to pawn cherished posessions and sell their own blood to get money so they could travel for their Mardis Gras celebrations. This is a culture that takes their partying seriously. Nearby Dolega is supposed to have a wild Carnivale party. I may have to check it out.

Meanwhile, here is a mini-post:

On Thursday before I went to David, I hiked way the hell up into the mountains. In addition to some awesome sweeping vistas, I saw some interesting wildlife up there. On the side of the road I saw a bit of roadkill. It was a toad the size of my foot (I wear a size 12 Nike), and its guts had been squished out of its mouth not unlike when you accidentally step on a packet of mustard or ketchup. Briefly afterwards, one of the badass hawks that patrol the area did a few loops no more than 15 over my head, which was pretty cool. By the time I headed back down I was feeling a bit skittish and thats when I encountered a 6 foot snake (black with dull yellow bands around it) crossing the road. It took its sweet time and I kept my distance. It finally slipped
into the grass and through a hole in a rock wall and I was on my way. Other reptile sighting: one day when getting dropped off at InglesTec, the taxi driver brought my attention to a being snooping about the office's backdoor. It was a big-ass, ugly-as-sin iguana the size of an overweight housecat. It's tail was at least as long as its body, if not more. I went in the front door and came out the back to show my colleague, Milsiades. The thing was hard to see on the gravely parking lot but when it saw us it ran away like former San Francisco 49er Ricky Watters (I know thats an obscure reference but that's what it reminded me of).