The last time I was in Panama was over 25 years ago. Even though I was younger than 5, there is actually something about my visit that I do recall: the Kuna Indians. The Kuna Indians, who mainly live on the islands of San Blas, are very famous for their artwork called Molas. The last time I was here, a Kuna Indian tried talking my mom into piercing her nose...and I cried. Instead of the piercing, she gave my mom a black line of paint down her nose and I thought it was a permanent tattoo..so I cried again. That was my Panama memory. I now have new memories of Panama...and I didn’t cry on this visit!What did we do in Panama? We tried different Panamanian beers (Balboa, SoberAna, Atlas...), tried different kinds of food (fried plantain, empanadas, sancocho), walked around Casco Viego (an older part of the city which is undergoing a number of renovations), visited the Panama Canal with Grant and Ligia (very close friends of my parents who came to meet us in Panama), spent the night in Panama City for an early train ride along the canal (Panama Canal Railway Company), and rode in a number of Taxis and one very scary bus (the driver was way too speedy around turns and I’m still surprised the bus didn’t tip over).Highlights:
-The Canal was very impressive.
-We bought a Mola with lobsters....wish we had bought more molas?!?!!?!
-My sister and I found an inexpensive store very similar to Target, but called Conway and much cheaper...
-Emma got a fancy pink and white Panamanian hat.
-Cory and I saw dolphins near the ship.
-We were able to spend time with close friends of the family (Grant and Ligia).-The Panama Canal Railway (1 hour trip from the Pacific to the Atlantic) was very enjoyable.
-We didn’t fall into the water getting into the tender, and the scary bus didn’t flip over!

#1 Highlight: Brandt used shoes (sandals) for the first time here in Panama...he’s starting to walk!!!Fortunately, this is the only port that we will have the experience of “tendering”. What this means is that the ship is actually anchored about a mile offshore. We couldn’t walk off the gangway onto shore, we had to take a tender (which is basically a lifeboat) from the ship in open ocean to land. It made things a bit trickier, especially with 4 young children. The first day in Panama we were almost not allowed off the ship (those with children and some adult passengers) because the sea was rough with swells which made it very difficult to get from the ship into the tender. We were finally given the okay..and we all made it (the crew actually had to carry Emma, Mariana, and Nikolas into the tender and Brandt was attached to my hip). I am happy to say that we experienced it safely (although it was a little scary at times).We will be sailing over the Equator tomorrow, and will be in Ecuador on the 5th of July!