The accommodations arranged for us were at the home of his contact, the Rector/Owner of the university. It was a little strange to arrive at the house of someone I'd never met but that I'd be working for, with my whole family, knowing we'd be staying for a week! I'm so thankful for this rare opportunity, though. It was a side of Panama I hadn't experienced in Santiago. The standard of living seems to be a bit higher in David, and we were staying in an area where the city's wealth was clear. The girls had access to a pool, their own bedroom with a loft, and tons of toys they recognized from their baby years. On one of my days off, we were treated to a trip to the family's peninsula where they raise cattle and grow teak. It is also the site of a sustainable agriculture exchange program that's currently being revamped. The maid packed us lunches in banana leaf pouches, and we ate outside under the trees, enjoying the gorgeous Pacific view.
On another day off, we headed to Boquete, as it was the week of the flower and coffee festival. We ate gyros, walked around the fair, went to the climbing wall, where C got harnessed and climbed twice, and finished our day off with an excellent dinner at a place owned by an Italian chef. It turns out he also owns the pizza spot we enjoyed the last time in town. They messed up my order, and the chef came over and talked to us and offered a Nutella pizza for dessert. It was delicious. We also came across these interesting animals when we were looking for a map. The visitors center worker was feeding them cat food.
On my last day working at the university, my co-workers took me to a seafood joint for ceviche. It was excellent! I also got a bowl of guacho de mariscos, but I was too full to finish it. Because we were guests and our host was usually out, we ate lunches and dinners out each day. It meant a lot of restaurant meals! Luckily, we found a yummy burger, salad, and smoothie place, where C ate her first (and second, third, and fourth) turkey burger. We discovered a cheap taco place we liked, too. By the time we finished the week, though, I was so ready for a homecooked meal!
Each morning, the girls attended an arts and craft camp and come home covered in paint! The evidence of that week is all over their wardrobe now. They're going to need a lot of new clothes when we head home. Some days, I didn't have to go to the school until later on, so E and I would have a couple hours free to go to the gym or get coffee. It was heavenly to have time together without kids!
Other days, E took the girls to the public library in David to do school work. It had a tiny, three-shelf children's room. So thankful for our access to library books back home.
At the end of our week, we decided to make a border run into Costa Rica, since we were getting close to the end of our driver's license validity. Our US licenses are only good for 90 days after entry, and it had been almost that long since we returned from Colombia. I'd heard and read mixed experiences with border runs there, but we decided we'd chance it. We parked the car on a shopping street and got our exit stamps at Panama's immigration window. That's when they said we needed to stay out of Panama for three days. Without our car, without clothes, and I had to work the next day in Santiago! I begged for them to let us back in, but instead we had to be denied entry to Costa Rica first. In the end, they decided to let us leave Panama (a second time) and re-enter 30 minutes later. After we got back in to Panama, we were starving and tired and ready to be home, so we stopped for a bucket of KFC chicken and ate it in the car. It was the perfect antidote for our stress!
