Our morning has gone smoothly. We loaded our bus at the Los Quetzales hotel at about 5:00 am and then got underway about 5:20. We arrived at the airport in David in plenty of time. Our flight from David to Panama City (Albrook Airport) was smooth. We got picked by a bus at Albrook that then took us to the international airpot (Tocumen). We’ve now cleared immigration, and we’re now waiting at the gate to board the plane.I don’t know if we will get chance or not to update you in Miami. We will try to write a brief entry if we can get internet access. We don’t anticipate any problems and we look forward to seeing you all soon.
Cloud Forest Walk
Here’s the rest of Will’s blog from yesterday- the computer was low on power then, but it’s the continued from same entry from previous post-
“In addition to our projects, we had plenty of scheduled hikes and activities. Our guides, Abel and Jose, were quite a team– Jose was quiet and serious, but knew the forest like the back of his hand. Abel was animated and questionably sane, but was a fantastic naturalist and wonderful guy. (He also knew the best bird imitations of any guide I’ve ever worked with). We explored the mystical, fairytale-like forest in small groups, marveling at kinkajous and quetzals. Everyone enjoyed the peace and quiet, and notable lack of bass-boosted reggaeton blaring from windows.
There were no major hang-ups, either– the food was excellent (even the breakfasts we made ourselves!) and nobody got sick. The group dynamic was perfectly fine, and I certainly bonded with my cabin-mates. By the final night, we were hardly ready to head down to the main hotel, but had a fun day of hikes, horseback rides, and visits to a local orchid farm.
The group is now in Tocumen, where we’re sitting through a long layover. It won’t be much more fun in Miami Int’l, but we’re enjoying each other’s company and ipods. We’ll be arriving back in the states around midnight, ready to recap with you all and start posting photos (for real this time….)
Best,
Will Freedberg