SPECIAL EDITION: Weekend Recap Days (6&7)

After a long week at school, Josey was ready for the weekend. 

After an even longer week stuck in boring, passport-demanding Houston, Sutton was even more ready to begin her Spanish immersion experience. 

On Saturday, we booked a trip to Isla de Monos to see the capuchin monkeys and titis (another type of monkey, to clarify). We met our tour guide, Aldo, and drove to the opposite side of Panama City. Here, we boarded a not-sketchy-at-all boat to ride around Gatun Lake, which is part of the Panama canal. It was rather intimidating to drive by three hundred foot long cargo ships, but we trusted our driver. 

When we arrived at the first island, the monkeys were a little shy. Nevertheless, Aldo showed off his impressive monkey-speaking skills and coaxed them to our boat with peanuts and bananas. 

After a few hours of admiring the monkeys and feeding them a nutritious breakfast, we headed to Parque Nacional Soberenía. There, we took a short hike down a trail surrounded by Panamanian rainforest. In the trees hung dozens of howler monkeys who were adamant about making their presence known with surprisingly deep howls. We also saw one very lazy sloth that has been in the same tree for three weeks! 

The next stop on our tour was the local Panama City Zoo. This zoo housed a plethora of native creatures, from monkeys and pumas, to jaguar and what seemed to be unlimited species of exotic birds. While it was interesting to admire the beautiful animals, it was really sad to observe the poor living conditions. Aldo explained to us that there is insufficient funding for the zoo, so many people try to buy the animals on the black market. The animals than bear the consequences of this corruption. On a more positive note, the zoo was full of families with kids who were passionately celebrating birthdays, which gave us flashback to our own many trips to the Houston Zoo. 

To close out an exhausting and very sweaty day, Aldo took us on a scenic drive over many bridges that overlook the canal. We also passed by the Panama-location of University of Florida State, the U.S. embassy, and Aldo’s so-called “special spot.” This is a small park that overlooks the entire city, complete with workout equipment. We were completely wiped out and disgusting when we drug ourselves up the four flights of stairs to the hotel. Fortunately, we were revived by a thorough shower and some snacks, so we went out to eat at Casa Blanca. We enjoyed traditional Panamanian dishes (ceviche, octopus curry, and tres leches). Within minutes of returning to the hotel, we crashed. 

After this incredibly adventurous Saturday, a relaxing day at the beach seemed like a perfect way to spend our Sunday. We drove to one of the nicest beaches near Panama City and spent the morning relaxing, enjoying the weather, and admiring some stunning seashells. Josey and I took long walks across the beach and used our direction skills to ask the staff where to locate the lunch buffet. While we were eating, a iguana came walking by and started harassing us. It had quite the attitude and was desperate for our fresh pineapple. It did, however, enjoy basking in the glory of our paparazzi behavior.

When Aldo picked us up, he gave us some hand-crafted headbands that his wife had made since she is a fashion designer. While our headband-wearing days have long passed, we were very appreciative and will keep them as souvenirs. That night, Josey cooked us an amazing meal of rice and beans, steamed yucca, and chicken empanadas. While watching the Oscars, we made a spontaneous trip to the store (only a block away!) to pick up a random slice of cheesecake and chocolate cookies. With sugar fresh in our bellies and Will Smith’s ninja moves fresh in our minds, we peacefully drifted off to sleep. Definitely a weekend to remember!