halloween

there is a mix of halloween and dia de los muertos here, but neither is too much fun when theres a bunch of rain. also, a lot is planned for the weekend, so were improvising here. i was advised not to go to the halloween rave tonight. i got myself a twix, m&ms, and a milky way for tonight. the whole hostel heard my disappointment when i reached in a saw the milky way, and not a snickers bar. i swear it was in the wrong box at the corner store. any other candy bars not being consumed because of dislike can be sent to chad broderick, 100 dotsam rd, reisterstown, md, 21136. looks like well stay in a hang out a bit tonight. drive thru is the movie playing in the cafe tonight. is it scary? found it on imdb, looks like a comedy..."Horror gets Super Sized when Horny The Clown, the demonic mascot of "Hella-Burger," starts slashing Orange County teenagers with his meat cleaver from Hell."

albrook mall and bus station

the main bus terminal in panama city is quite amazing. not only does it double as a mall, it has a movie theatre, bowling alley, and two bars. the place also has nautica, lacoste, and dairy queen, so its not all junk. i had a bunch of time to kill, so went and saw the movie premonitions, on my student id, and sat around for a bit watching the world series. talked for a bit with a panamanian baseball player. bus ride through the night was not bad, very few people, though the panama-costa rica border crossing was terrible once again. its because of the drugs we were smuggling. next four nights in san jose, then back to dc.

panama canal

pretty neat place. took a bus up to the miraflores locks, closest to the city, 15min bus ride, and has a nice visitors center. got there midday, went through the museum/vistor's center for a good bit. at first, only saw two small passenger vessels, the kind where you pay $125 for lunch and a short tour on the canal. museum had how was it built, how does it affect shipping/transport/panamanians... also had a new section explaining the expansion. very nice restaurant attached to the visitor's center, had a drink and watched some college football as the bigger ships made their way to the locks. they tend to come through around 3-5pm for some reason.

also took a long walk around the city in the morning. very interesting city with lots of new buildings going up. suppose to be the next costa rica, though san jose is not nearly as developed as this city.

panama

just like the van halen song. not quite. long trip from san jose, including a three hour stay at the border. no luck on running into jamal levy, anyone know where he is? bus ride all in all was not too bad. slept a bit, and served breakfast and lunch. got to watch white chicks as well - those wayans brothers sure can write a good film. had to wait five hours in san jose before the bus got moving, hung out with some people on the bus and were able to catch part of the world series. plans to see a bunch of the city over the next two days, very modern, obvious american influence. lots of casinos as well, 'chance games' was an option as a reason to enter the country, though i put tourism.

san juan del sur

the past two days have been spent at the pacific coast beach town of san juan del sur, nicaragua. i came down yesterday with 5 people i met in granada. one of my buddies rode down on our chicken bus with a chicken at his feet. town is quaint, a little more to do here than monterrico, big surfing town, attracting people from all over the world. electricity is shut off for half the day, so its a bit tough to work around, although the locals are well used to it. this morning we headed off to playa maderas, about 30 min in truck through rivers and jungle. beach is quite pretty, horseshoe shaped, and about 25 other surfers. had boards rented for the whole day, though only to the waves for about 2 hrs - quite fun. half took lessons, other half of us did what we could. spent this morning in a phone conversation with the bus station in rivas, trying to change my ticket so i dont have to go all the way back to managua to get to san jose, costa rica. we will see bright and early tomorrow morning how that conversation went - if i have an assigned seat or not. once im in san jose, ill make a decision to move onto panama or stay there for a bit. flight is out of costa rica end of next week. ive met a good sweets partner in charlie, and the ice cream + sprinkles is cheap enough here that we have slightly indulged ourselves.

granada

night three in granada, and all has been getting better over time. the first two days were more or less filled with rain, a continual problem, but the skies have parted and have made my time here more enjoyable. the town is very small and pretty, very colorful and people very nice. today i went on a 4.5hr kayak ride around 365 isletas in lake nicaragua. the weather may have been too nice, my skin not ready for all the sunshine - but nothing too bad. our guide, william, was very nice and energetic, it was good that he only spoke spanish, allowing me to practice. the rest of my time here has been spent watching movies, eating, drinking, reading, and sleeping. a lot of young people in the hostel which has been nice and different. i´ll finally get down to san juan del sur tomorrow with three other people, for two days in the sun - hopefully fishing and surfing.

urinating in the street

is quite popular here, on side streets and corners as well as in the middle of the market - punishable by a $7 fine is the police care. be careful when you walk around in sandals, or a four year old might hit you.