Kickapoo --> Panama --> Rice

Hey Everyone!

Sorry for taking so long to write a post. I think I'm the last person... (whoops).

Anyway, life has been pretty exciting for past couple weeks. Apart from an awesome Christmas (I'll explain why in a minute) we went to Panama from the 31st of December to the 7th of January. We stayed in three amazing places: the old colonial section of Panama City, a small town in the mountains called Boquete, and (much to our disbelief) an even smaller town on the coast called Boca Chica. Panama City was amazing, though a little quiet because of the New Year weekend. We had a great time though and went all over town and saw the Panama Canal. Dad and I were really impressed, especially when we got to see a cruise ship go through the locks. Mom on the other hand quickly tired of watching boats move really really slowly (go figure...?).We also ran across a small problem none of us had thought about at all. Turns out Latin American countries take their holidays really seriously, and as a result all the local restaurants were shut. The only places to eat that were open were a Lebanese restaurant, and Chinese restaurant. So on New Years day in Panama we had Lebanese food for dinner. Not something I would have called in advance... (it was delicious though).


After the big city we took a short flight to the western end of the country and rented a car to drive up into the mountains. Our first day we hiked up around a volcano, got really lost (my family and directions: bad, my family and directions in Spanish: catastrophic) but ended up stumbling across  several coffee plantations high up on the hill side. We ran across an old abandoned land cruiser on the hillside and tried to start it, only to discovery the engine had been replaced by a large bush.

Eventually we found the right trail and trekked for a few more hours up a narrow valley to a beautiful hidden waterfall.

Before leaving town we spent a day whitewater rafting, and we all agreed that it was one of the highlights of our trip. Not only did we have an excellent guide, but we also got to see the countryside from river. Our leisurely float down the Casco Viejo River was interrupted periodically by pretty intense rapids, and it only took me five minutes to become the first person to fall out of the boat and owe everyone else a round of drinks! Luckily I was spared from the shame, as one by one, everyone else proceeded to get tossed out. Coming out of a particularly violent set of rapids (proceeded ominously by advice from our guide "I would try not to fall out up here if I were you") we were all astounded to see the boat ahead of us floating along with nobody in it! All we could see were seven heads bobbing all around the boat. Everyone turned out alright though, and the rest of our trip proceeded without incident (we all become a hell of a lot more cautious).

Exhausted from our day rafting we went to eat at a small Peruvian restaurant. Now to this point I had been surviving on local and occasionally imported beer (Balboa, Panama, Heineken, Corona etc... all of which tasted as though the bottles had been left out in the equatorial sun for about a decade than lightly chilled and served.) So as I sit there and listen to the variety of beers at this restaurant I'm ready for the worst. The waiter reels off the names as he must do fifty times each night, "Balboa, Panama, Heineken, Corona, Dos Equis, Paulaner." Uhhh rewind? Paulaner is a really solid German beer that I would be delighted to find in the nicest places in Houston. Needless to say I was in love with that restaurant. The food was good too, come to think of it...

The next day we drove down to the coastal "town" of Boca Chica. In reality it was a small street with a half dozen houses hidden back in the woods 30 miles from the nearest major town, along roads that certainly voided our rental car contract (avoid unimproved roads... uhhh how??). It was beautiful there and we quickly settled in for what we thought would be a relaxing  two days snorkeling and hiking. My stomach on the other hand, had other ideas. After gamely taking several servings of campechana (pickled seafood salsa... yum!) a day for the past week, it  finally decided enough was enough and I spent the entire time in bed, watching Spanish TV and wishing I had paid better attention in Ms. Hill's class. Luckily I had my wonderful and caring parents along to help me in my time of need.

Here is an example of one of our conversations:
Mom: How are you feeling?
Me: *groan*
Mom: Oh thats good, I'm glad you're feeling better
Me: *groan*
Mom: So Dad and I are going sea kayaking for a couple of hours, we'll see you when we get back!

Much to everyone's disappointment I survived and we left Panama agreeing not only that it was one of the best vacations we'd ever been on, but also that I would only be allowed to come on subsequent vacations if my stomach behaved itself.

I've been back at Rice now for two weeks and have enjoyed every moment of it. The time has been extra special as a result of our fifth roomate, Sarah Palin. Let me explain. It turns out my mom and sister are peculiar people and for Christmas they got me a life size cutout of Sarah Palin. This is not without cause however. While visiting my sister a couple months ago in DC we passed by a souvenir shop with a life size cutout of Sarah Palin in the window. I commented on how awesome it would be to have one, and then as we moved on I promptly forgot about the entire thing. Millie on the other hand decided that the cutout was what I really needed for Christmas. I've lived with Mrs. Palin for a few weeks now and I must say, there is nothing quite as scary as opening your door in the morning to find Sarah Palin staring at you (We are trying to find new and more ridiculous places to hide her. We're thinking we might laminate her and stick her on top of a building in the academic quad.).

Anyway, I've rambled on long enough.

I hope you are all doing well wherever you may be! I look forward to hearing about how 2011 starts off for you.

-Robo