"Do not go where the path may lead..."

Day 10- August 16, 2015 A morning rainstorm and physical exhaustion from crossing the country on public transport kept us sleeping until 10am. We finally got up and started figuring out the details of the border crossing. Ben planned the first few days of the trip while I made oat pancakes and eggs. We received news from our travel buddy Seneca that he had been offered a job with the EPA! We were excited for his opportunity, but disappointed as it meant he wouldn’t be joining us as the third musketeer. Leaving Changuinola at 12, we arrived at the border by 1. Whilst getting the stamps and tax paid was not intuitive nor straightforward, crossing into Costa Rica was as simple as strolling across the bridge. The moment seemed so anti-climactic. I stopped halfway across the bridge and looked around. This was it, after living in Panama for 3.5 years, I was leaving, and all I had to do was walk across a pedestrian bridge. There wasn't even any mud to contend with, border police ...

Day 9- August 15, 2015 Up at 6, we ate quickly and were in the bus terminal at 8. Disappointed to find there was no daytime direct bus to Bocas, we settled for the longer Panama-David-Changuinola route. After 11 hours on a bus, the last 5 of which were incredibly trying due to an over packed bus going through mountain passes, we collapsed into beds at the Volunteer house of Chang just before midnight. Ben felt sick, I was exhausted, and it was raining.  On the way, we finalized our travel adventures wish list. Adventures should include, but are not limited to: ☐     Scuba Diving ☐     Zipline ☐     Tequila Night in Mexico ☐     Visit at least 1 PCV per country ☐     Climb an Active Volcano ☐     Cliff Jumping ☐     See Aztec Ruins ☐     See Mayan Ruins ☐     Swim in Lake Nicaragua ☐     Artisan Markets ...

Day 8- August 14, 2015 Maybe my host brothers were on to something- I woke up on the floor. My knots loosened in the night so my day started with my back straddling uneven floorboards and my feet up in the air. It’s a great way to start a travel day. We dashed off to see Victor before breakfast. We took pictures with him and his family and he gifted us GIANT cucumbers. All four of them were 3-5 inches in diameter. Diameter, not length. Back at Yuli’s, we had a fried breakfast smorgasborg of fried tortillas, fried corn mash, fried dough, fried plantains, cucumbers, and coffee. My last visit was to my second host family, the retired pastor and his wife. We chatted for awhile and he ranted about the terrible water system project the government had installed. He was right, it was a terrible system for the community, but every other person in town had ranted to me about it in the last 36 hours so I had trouble mustering up empathy. I gave Jorge a Spanish/English Bible, each pag...

Day 7- August 13, 2015 Standard Emberá morning: 6am, rice and chicken for breakfast, doing laundry in the river by 8am. My “little sister” 15-year-old Miliana, 13-year-old Celideth, and 19-year-old Melis, joined me and we quickly got sidetracked storytelling and teasing each other. After hanging out the laundry to dry, changing, and having another cup of coffee in the hammock, I heard a motor on the river so I set off down the bank to see if Ben had arrived. Halfway there, I heard Misael calling my name, “Djabawera! Who are you looking for?” I looked up and saw him sitting in Yesmelida’s house with Ben, each working his way through a plate of rice, beans, and fried plantains. Laughing, I ran up to join them and was handed my own bucket to sit on and plate of food. Misael retold us his version of the story of his house collapse from the week prior while we played with the puppies and toddlers in the house. When we were quite full but started to suspect that Yesme...