Swimming with crocodiles!

I went white river rafting. And to warn you up front: I did not take any pictures because I couldn’t take my camera with me because it’s not water proof.
There are certain tours I can take for free because I’m a new employee at the hotel and those tour operators want to show me how much fun those activities are and then they want me to recommend it to my guests.
So, today I went on the rafting trip with Panama Rafters. I have never done rafting before and didn’t really know what to expect. The operator told me to bring dry clothing with me, so I knew that I might get a bit wet. However, it was much more adventurous than that.
By pick up we went to the border area of Costa Rica and Panama and since from there we were 6 people (5 tourists (including me) and the driver) and 2 rafting guides, I and the two guides had to ride the last 10 km in the loading area of the pick up. I haven’t done that in ages, but it’s always fun although it messes up my hair.
After a 30 minute speech of the driver/operator about the dangers of the river, how fast you can get injured, and what to do when you fall of the boat, we finally went into the water. After 5 minutes I knew why I was told to bring some dry clothing because I was completely soaked! Our rafting guides were a lot of fun; they were making jokes, splashed us with water, and tried to pull us out of the boat. Some of the rapids were really strong and I nearly fell out three times. At one really strong rapid, our boat filled up with water and we lost one of our team. But the tour guide in the kajak rescued him. On our way, we saw monkeys, an iguana, two boas and lots of big birds which eat the fish of the water. One part of the river was slow and deep enough for swimming, so one of the guides, another guy and I jumped in. Five seconds later we were told that there are also crocodiles and piranhas in that river…thanks for the warning (which was too late)!
It was a fun and exhausting trip and I’m looking forward to my next rafting adventure with another company.

Aliens?

White foreigners (especially American immigrants) are called “gringos” in Panama. Usually that word has a negative connotation and I know why. I have already met quite a few very arrogant and ignorant white immigrants who have been here for more than 3 years and speak less Spanish than I do. I really try to learn more Spanish every day and try to get to know the Panamanians a bit. Of course, the gringos are usually much richer and think that they own the country. So far I have not met any unfriendly Panamanian and most of them seem to be happy people, but sometimes I wonder if they also think of me as a gringa.
However, there is something which really annoys me: When I go around town, lots of Panamanian guys honk their horn or yell something at me: only because I’m blonde. I do feel like an alien sometimes!

Sports

The dogs are a great way to get to the area because they have to be taken for long walks every day. The first few days (while she was still in Boquete) Eva showed me a few good trails close to Boquete. However, Eva is very fit for her age (which I won’t tell you) and a trail that you would normally walk in 1,5 hours, Eva makes you walk it in 40 minutes. I think after 6 months here I’ll be sporty and fit again.
Bajo Mono:

Palo Alto (those are the pictures from Guillermo, Eva's accountant, because I had forgotten my camera):

Boquete:
(And yes, there are people here who live in sheds like that. Some of the shed/houses even look much worse.)

Faial is the well-behaved and playful one. He always finds a stick to play catch with. Or he even takes lemons or oranges to make you through it. I find that very intelligent: it’s a ball with a flavour! He is known all over town and when I go through Boquete with him, every third person greets him. Moga is not quite so easy; she gets very angry when you get to close to her while she is eating and she is super protective of Eva. However, she has the funniest way of sleeping on her back! And Lakshmi, the cat, is probably pregnant and spends most of the day sleeping.