So we finally got out of Panama city, THANK god!! While at the bus station Claire(me) made a great investment of a beautiful pink watch, it is water resistant to 50M and has a light!! this has been a beloved possession ever since. So after a bit of shopping we got on the ice bus, air con on max and we had no clothes to keep warm….. 6 hours later we arrived at David (a town not kates new love intererst…) using our best Spanish (saying the name of the town we are looking for over and over) we found the next bus that was to take us in to the mountains to a small village called Boquete. Because its in the mountains it is really cold and rainy and cold and rainy, an eventuality we had not packed for!!The first night we went out for something to eat, a traditional panamainian beef burger and chips, not quite what we expected to say the least. We did however successfully order beers in Spanish and receive what we asked for, a big improvement.When beers are as cheap as coke it is hard not to resist! Obviously we had to receive a bit of unwanted conversation from drunken locals, NO WE DON'T WANT A TAXI RIDE!!

Second day in Boquete we went to some HOT springs (45 degrees) and a mini canyon, both lovely, and provided an afternoons entertainment. (there was also the springs resident baby monkey which was pretty obsessed with stealing anything it could which made leaving bags anywhere pretty difficult!)We then had dinner in a local caferteria, rice and beans, it was surprisingly tastey…we´ve discovered that this is the local dish. With a power cut in the village we returned to a candle lit hostel and the head torches got their first outing. After the electric came back on we snuggled down to indulge in a prison break session, a new found love for me. Third day in Boquete, we woke up to a familiar british sound of RAIN, we had planned to go rock climbing but infortunately the rain was here to stay so we made a wise decision to leave and move on to some islands on the carribean coast.

The bus ride there was interesting to say the least, I made a new best friend… It all started when we shared coffee sweets, we then spent the rest of the journey "talking" even though neither of us understood each other! Im confident he was telling me some interesting things, he also lovingly looked after our 5l bottle of water for the journey (he put it between his feet along with holding its handle for like 5 hours! - he really loved her…). Meanwhile Kate was throwing her self at the locals, trying to snuggle up to sleep on buses is not well received, the poor boy was forsed to squash himself to the window for the 4hour ride!

As we arrived at Bocas blue sky was starting to appear, it was then time to find a hostel, our first choice was full, the second didn't include a free breakfast(obviously a non starter!) so we found ourselves taking the last 2 beds at a cute chalet-like hostel, we are still here and I am still loving the wood! the first night was not all fun, we made the devistating discovery that I had left ALL the toiletries and medical supplies at the previous hostel! I was annoyed to say the least; we will just have to hope neither of us gets ill…. (I have not heard the end of this and I think that basically all the hostel residents haven´t either - especially with a few rums down her, she just can´t get enough of tolliteries!)Bocas is a party town, so first night saw us checking out the local bars and taking full advantage of ladies night free alcohol! A good night had by all, we ended up staying in the same dorm as some people we made friends with from the last hostel that left a bit before so they showed us the ropes for a good night out. The second morning we woke early, ready to go on a boat trip. Stomachs still feeling a bit delicate we braved it and had a fun day. Snorkeling, dolphin watching, beach bumming and I even spotted a shark. Unfortunately we missed the sighting of a Sloth; hopefully there will be many more opportunities. We returned back to the hostel and had a well needed nap, then taught a Frenchmanhow to cook pasta and sauce!! Cracking in to our $5 litre of Ron, we discovered some girls from the wirral and Newcastle, after a mandatory sinners and grammar school chat it was time to hit the bars which this time were on a different island so it was a boat trip across to it, another fun night of dancing and avoiding being thrown into the sea! Waking up this morning was more of a struggle, and we declared a day of rest was needed (especially for some….). So we set off to starfish beach for some relaxation and sun. we have just had a delicious bean and rice tea, time will tell if we can muster up some effort for another night out……

So after the first bit, I left Claire to go get a shower and I come back to find this!!! So I have some additions in bold.