The Trip

Arrived to Panama City, Panama after a 15 hour bus ride from San Jose, Costa Rica. Total distance traveled thus far: 535 miles.

The Trip - What

A 10 week, 5 country journey beginning in San Jose, Costa Rica on May 16th, and ending in La Paz, Bolivia on August 1st. The countries visited will be Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, with roughly 2 weeks in each country.

Some of the highlights will be: staying on a private island on an indigenous reserve in Panama, being present for an important presidential election in Colombia on May 30th, a visit to Cuenca, one of the oldest cities in South America in Ecuador, a 5 day trek beginning July 8th through the Andes in Peru to an ancient Incan city, and a bunch of other things that are not even on the itinerary yet, and let's face it, I have no idea what will happen.

Why

Why not? Being at a unique point in my life, having just finished 2 years in Peace Corps, and without any pressing commitments, I'm going to take advantage of the circumstances to see some places I've always wanted to.

The trip will be tough. It will oftentimes be uncomfortable and probably a little unsettling to be in South American cities and countries I have no experience with, but still being in Peace Corps "mode", now seems like an opportune time to do this kind of traveling.

Also, my Spanish language skills are probably at their best right now, so it should be interesting to meet and converse with people from these countries and learn about the culture, politics, and history.

Who

I'll be traveling with friends at times, and also alone in parts of the trip. For example, here in Panama I will be meeting up with a good friend, Michael, who I studied abroad with in Spain. And for Colombia, I will be traveling with a good Peace Corps friend, Derek.

On the other hand, in parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, I will most likely be going solo. It should be interesting.

Panama City

Having just gotten in to the town and arrived to my hostel, there's nothing really to say at the moment. Lots of tall buildings on the way here from the bus station. Panama City looks to be a pretty modern city.

The plan for the day is to go for a jog, get some dinner with some PC friends that are passing through to Venezuela, and wait for Michael's flight to get in around 1am tonight.