indescribable!!!

But I will try to describe it. Again, we are having some trouble finding computers that will upload from our memory cards, but will keep trying. We just came from three days on Bastimentos Island, off the Panama coast in the Carribean. This is a town of brightly painted wooden houses standing on stilts to avoid flooding.There are no cars on the island. A sidewalk leads through small but beautiful Old Town, past homes, restaurants, groceries, hostels, etc. The culture and feeling are really more Rasta than Central American. Most of the people are black,they speak a combination of Spanish and Creole/Rasta English. There are some folks from mainland Panama, Germany, and the shopkeepers tend to be Asian. Kids wander on the sidewalk freely and safe. They play marbles, and push brightly colored plastic boxes around in races. (My personal editorial note:KIDS DO NOT NEED COMPUTER GAMES!In fact, they are more creative, free thinking, connected with nature and their community, and adventurous without them. Enough of that.) People stroll and chat all the time; we befriended some of the local characters - actually everybody is a character! There is always reggae, salsa, or soul music being broadcast from the bars and cafes. One of the most relaxed places we have seen. One day we hiked to an organic cafe high on a hilltop over the jungle. The next we kayaked through an estuary, past short mangroves that border the water from the tropical forest. Yesterday we took a boat deep into the jungle, where we hiked with a guide. He took us to a cave where we waded knee deepp in water, and saw thousands of fruit bats. We may be nuts, but it was fantastic!! We hope to return some day. We are now in Bocas Town, on the main island in this chain, It demands exploration if it doesnot rain. Tomorrow we swing north into Costa Rica, fly back to the US in about 9 days. Believe it or not, the adventure will continue for a while. This is an experiment to see how we handle extended trips at this point in our lives... we will evaluate when we get home. We will first visit friends in Virginia and Pennsylvania, and familt in Pittsburgh - it sounds much hotter in those places than Central America has been! Stay tuned. Photos will come.