Panama

I’m in Panama now, on the southern end in a little surf/dive town called Santa Catalina. It’s beautiful here! It reminds me of Hawaii. The rolling green hills with blue water, great waves and white sand beaches. Yesterday I went out to the islands, which were postcard perfect. I’m staying at a place that is on a cliff overlooking the ocean with a big wooden deck and hammocks, good seafood and fun people for only $8/night! It really is one of the best places I’ve been to. I keep finding beautiful spots that are a bit off the beaten path. It’s still rainy season, so it’s not too busy and we get bouts of rain, with either mornings or afternoons of sunshine. Regardless, it’s really spectacular.

I’ve having the time of my life! I’m really morphing into another Julie. I’m getting much better at my Spanish and learning so much about different cultures and traditions. I LOVE it! I don’t know why, but I feel like watching all of those “Romancing the Stone” adventure movies when I was a kid makes me want to live my life with adventure, but the yogic side of me wants the peace (Eat Pray Love). I’m getting exactly both during this time of my life. I had a goal, a set time in mind, when I left CA last year. To travel for at least 2 years. The first year was hard, an adjustment, but this year is so much better! I feel like I’m finding myself and figuring out my next step in life (where I want to live, how I want to make $) during this important self discovery time. I can’t even explain what I’m seeing and experiencing. But it’s all good! I feel like I’m constantly learning and seeing the world with new eyes. It’s humbling and exciting and spiritual at the same time. I’m very proud of my life and where I came from, but there’s something that the Latin culture has that American’s struggle with, a sense of community and simplicity. By slowing down, I can really experience life in the presence and live a less stressful life. It’s amazing to see how just a little change or tweak in plans, weather or time can affect our life and how things just seem to fall naturally into place, the way it should, without having to stress or cause dis-ease in the mind and body. Things just seem to work out the way it should. I know this sounds very hippie, but it’s truly what I’m experiencing. By living a simpler, smaller scale of life, without a lot of distractions, it’s so much easier to visualize this way of living. This experience will help me with all sorts of life situations in the future. It’s nice and I’m really happy.

Every week in Central America it seems like there is another “Independence Day”. I’m watching a parade right now. Everyone wants an excuse to not work, relax and enjoy their families. Speaking of which, there’s a TON of kids down here. Everyone has multiple children. Big families are extremely common among the Latin culture. I’m not really sure where they are getting the $ to support these kids, but it seems to work out in the community. They are all working together to raise the children.

There’s so much to do in Central America. I really enjoyed Costa Rica the most. It’s absolutely beautiful. On either side of the road, there are tons of colorful flowers, tropical vegetation and exquisite gardens. Most Costa Ricans are gardeners, I suppose.

I’ve met people from South Africa, Isreal, Brazil, Germany, Chile, England, Ireland, New Zealand and more...lots of places to visit and explore! I’m leaving for Cartagena, Columbia next week. South America, here I come!