Feb. 17, 2015
Day 7 in Panama
Day 5 in ITEC
Today was the hottest day so far, well into the 90s with no rain (finally). In the morning we went our separate ways and worked on our projects. Some of us went to the reef while others stayed closer to ITEC and ventured into the rainforest or worked in the lab. Before lunch, we had an intense game of Crazy Gin. Afterwards, we had some chill time. People took advantage of the weather and went outside to tan and play Frisbee.
We regrouped after relaxing to go to the Soropta Canal. Sadly, this entire area may soon be taken over by large companies hoping to profit from building a luxurious resort. Luckily, our guru Pete has a plan to save the land. He found a new morphotype of the poison dart frog and he aims to preserve the land as well as the frogs by taking the case to court.
Our favorite part of the day was when after going down the canal, we got off the boats and went to a secluded beach. The waves were very strong, and we had to be careful as we waded into the warm water. The sand was dark because it came from volcanic rock, and 
some people went into the water and used the sand as an exfoliant.
After a delicious dinner, we talked about the evolution of Bocas del Toro and the banana industry. We discovered the truth about tourism, the environment and the banana industry. We explored the positives and negatives of tourism and its effects on the Panamanian culture and economy. We ended the day with a little bit of Bruno Mars funky funk.
Xoxo
Rayna & Konstantina