Panama City

[Eoin]

I made it to my goal destination, Panama. I'm in Panama City now,
trapped at the end of the road, and tomorrow I'm flying to Cartagena,
Colombia. I'm excited about Colombia because everybody I've met has
raved about it; I haven't heard so much about one country before. I'm
also excited about Colombia because my friend, Jessica Lord, will be
arriving in Bogota on Aug 21 for 10 days! OMG!!

When I stayed in Austin, TX with Ryan's friends Nick and Laura, Laura
told me that her mom, Gina, lives in Panama and owns a ranch/resort in
the mountains near Boquete. After talking to her mom, Laura told me
that I would be able to stay there when I got to Panama. Laura showed
me the website. Holy Crow!! http://www.ranchodecaldera.com

So I contacted Gina and she welcomed me in. Gina took generosity to a
new level as it was top-quality luxury, something I've never
experienced. I had a private "cabin" with king-sized bed, massage
chair, wifi, hot shower with amazing, huge shower head, satellite tv,
and grind and brew coffee maker. There's a chef who cooks beautiful
three-course meals every night. The most amazing thing was the
setting: up in the mountains and chilling poolside. I was anxious
about overstaying my welcome, but Gina never limited my stay and so I
hung on for four days. It was a great reward after getting to my goal
destination.

I've posted a few more entries, including my Nightmare Road experience
where I fell off my bike gashing my knee, and then hiked down a
horrible road, and camped -- lost, lonely and hungry.

Thanks for reading,
Eoin