Border Run!

After our visitors were safely home back in Syracuse, Molly, Margie, Nicole and I embarked on a four day "paid vacation" to Panama. See, since we don't have visas here in Costa Rica, we need to leave the country every 90 days for at least 72 hours to avoid being fined.  Last weekend fell just about 90 days from when we came back from Christmas break in the US and 90 days before our flight home in July, so we hit the road. Er, actually, we hit the road...and the bridge...and the water...and more water.  Our destination was Bocas del Toro, a touristy island off of Panama. To get there, we used almost every form of ground transportation we could...two cabs, a bus, two water taxis, and a slightly scary walk across the bridge that serves as the designated border crossing between the two countries.  The journey took almost 10 hours each was but was totally, absolutely, 100% worth it.

Our hostel was located an a smaller island off of Bocas on Red Frog Beach (yes, named in English). The hostel itself was really cool, and the four of us had our own very tiny room.   The beach was just a 10 minute 'jungle walk' away. The water was so clear that you could actually see through waves as they broke on the shore...it was amazing! There were very few people on the beach for most of the day, so it was quiet and pretty peaceful. The water was warm but refreshing and the surf wasn't rough at all...perfect for floating :) We had two absolutely perfect beach days and some quiet evenings in the hostel hanging out together, cooking dinner, playing ping pong, and relaxing. All in all, great trip! Panama was beautiful, and noticeably cheaper than Costa Rica (and on the US dollar).

our teeny tiny room

perfection.

Last Monday, the day after our trip, marked a brutal to the rainy season. It has been raining every day, just like it did back in the fall.  We've also had thunder and lightning almost every day which is different. I was back to work on Monday and all my coworkers were glad to hear that "everything was fixed" with my visa...they seemed a little concerned/confused that I had to leave the country! I realized also that I haven't worked a full 5 days week since February between my visitors, Semana Santa, Panama, and classes being canceled. On Thursday there was a strike (against a new budget for public employees, I believe) so we had no school. On Friday (and tomorrow and Tuesday) there were all day staff conferences for student analysis that I didn't need to attend, so I've been at the daycare with Margie! Working there is a really fun change of pace and the kids know me pretty well, which is nice.

This is what the street looked like in front of our house during the rain yesterday!

My weekend - the first in a while that hasn't been  on the road or with visitors - was pretty relaxing.  We checked out "la calle," a street filled with bars and clubs near the University of Costa Rica with some of our friends last night. It was hoppin', that's for sure. Even though we didn't stick around too long, it was nice to be around people our own age...the whole street certainly felt like a college scene!

That's all for now...thanks for reading :)