Avery Praying

From dinner tonight.

Fun with Daddy

From last night.

Cows in the road, tire swings and the beach

A few videos from our weekend. The first one is from the window of our bus on the way to the coast (this was the second herd we saw from the bus; I'm sorry I didn't get video of the first herd because there were about twice as many and they were taking up the entire road). The second is in a little park where we stopped for breakfast. The third is the beach where our hotel was (and was within 5 minutes of arriving).

When we were on the boat, we explained to Avery and Audrey that if they fell overboard, not to panic. Their lifejackets would keep them above water and Daddy would be in right behind them to get them. We told them this every time we got on the boat, and they always nodded but didn't say anything. When we got home last night, Audrey was telling Elmo about our trip (she always likes to brief him about the things she's done and have him ask her questions). So the very first thing she started telling him after he said "what did you do this weekend" was "yeah, if you go in the boat, Daddy will help you put floaties on and then if you fall in the water, you don't have to be scared. You'll float and Daddy will come get you, so you don't need to worry, Elmo."

The Pacific Coast

We left early Saturday morning for a trip to some islands off the Pacific Coast. We went with a group from our school that, to Iain's disappointment, only wanted to speak English. However, the beauty of the places we travelled more than made up for the lack of Spanish.

We rode a bus for 2 hours to get on a small boat to take us out to a big boat for a 20-minute ride (think fast and fun!) to get on a little inflated dinghy to take us to the shore. We arrived at an island in the middle of nowhere, where a couple of Americans had built a house to take people on chartered fishing trips. I guess there were no fishermen this weekend, so we took advantage of their beautiful house and awesome cooking (it was 3 guys doing the cooking, so we weren't expecting much, but the food was way better than anything I've ever made). The 4 of us all slept on a full-size bed (it was the worst night of sleeping I've ever had, but the girls seemed to do fine).

Anyway, after we got off the dinghy, Audrey just wanted to strip her clothes off and run in the waves. It was awesome to watch her (and as soon as Avery saw what was going on, she was quickly following suit).

We saw a crocodile swimming in the water (the lagoon behind the house is apparently where about 10 of them live) ... don't worry, it wasn't swimming close to the beach. =)

On Sunday, we took the boat to another island which, again, was in the middle of nowhere. It looked exactly like the image you would conjure in your head of a tropical deserted island. On most of the island was thick vegetation. Then, in one little lagoon, was a perfectly white sandy beach with coconut palms in the background and crystal blue water. We had to climb down the boat ladder and swim to shore, which Audrey wasn't so crazy about, but both girls had their flugles on the whole time and did a super job. We just sat on the beach making sandcastles and running around, drinking coconut milk, and Iain and I took turns snorkeling. It was so much fun! And I think we managed to escape without any sunburns, which if you know our pasty white family, is quite a feat! =)

The entire trip was about perfect (3 minutes from arriving back home, Avery threw up on the bus, but as soon as we got off, she seemed to be fine, so I'm thinking maybe it was carsickness).

Pix are below. The pic of Iain and another guy (Gerardo) in red shirts are them showing off their Spain pride for the WorldCup final. (Yes, Iain quickly abandoned Brazil after they lost and became a die-hard Spain fan.) The pic of Audrey and the young Panamanian girl is from Audrey sitting in the front of the bus on the way home. She was SOOOOOOOO excited to sit up there and we could see her talking non-stop for the first hour (the second hour she slept). Anyway, we think she was speaking completely in English, and we don't think the girl understood anything Audrey said, but they seemed to be having an awesome time.

Shrek 4

We went with a group on Friday afternoon to the big city of David to see Shrek 4. We thought the girls would like it, but it was much darker than the first 3, so we ended up leaving just a few minutes into the movie. Anyway, we rode a bus (a schoolbus that just randomly pulls onto the grass to let people on & off) AND a taxi to get to the movies (something the girls have been begging to do since we arrived), so they had a great time. All 4 of us entered the movie for less than $8. Unbelievable.

Here's a pic of us in front of the taxi (they don't look thrilled, but believe me, they were).

The grocery store...

Yesterday, we were in the produce/meat section of a local, small grocery store. It smelled less beautiful than, say, a Publix. Iain was with the butcher and the girls and I were looking for some yogurt. Audrey said to me, in a loud voice, "what it smell like in here?" I said "it smells like a grocery store." She said, in an equally loud voice as the first time, "no, no, it smells like a dog."

Nice. As Iain says, my only hope is that the people around us didn't speak English.

Happy 4th of July

This is only my second 4th of July spent outside of our amazing country, and we had a great time (some Panamanians down the street even shot off fireworks around 8pm, but we think that had more to do with Sunday-night ritual than celebrations in honor of the US). =) On Sunday, we went horseback riding and then to some natural hotsprings. Both were awesome. We went with 2 guides (one was the driver of our 35-year old landcruiser with open back that the girls loved). I had my own horse, Audrey rode with Iain, and Avery rode with the driver, Bolivar. We rode for a little more than an hour, mostly walking, but when we took off at a trot, both the girls got HUGE smiles, and when we brought our horses back to a walk, Audrey yelled "MORE!" Toward the end of our ride, Audrey got to ride the guide's horse by herself while the guide led her along. After the ride, I asked her if she liked riding more with Daddy or by herself, and it was a cleary "by myself." I think Avery had a great time too, though at one point, she looked as if the slow, methodical walking was about to lull her to sleep. After the horses, we went to the springs, where we had to walk through some guy's backyard with a pet monkey (see pic below). This country is awesome. =) During the walk, Bolivar became Avery's best friend, and he carried her everywhere and she happily went with him. Avery tired of the hot springs about the same time I did (this was soon after she finished her last Ritz cracker), but I think that Audrey and Iain could have just camped out there for a couple of days. They were warm (3 different pools ... 89 degrees, 104 degrees and 112 degrees) and in beautiful surroundings with no other people around.