Panama City and beyond

Well i'm very much alive and kicking! It's been a fantastic first few days of exploring.  Stepping out alone as a young, white, blonde female is always a challenge to local men and the familiar cry 'que guapa' (something akin to what builders say in the UK) rings out from street corners, balconies and cars. It is not threatening or aggressive in any way and after getting used to it, it's absence can sometimes feel insulting, does my bum not look good in these jeans?!

Casco Viejo is the old fortified part if town that I have been staying in. Left to ruin by the city folk decades ago as the main city moved east to accommodate it's rapid growth, this old area has recently benefited from investment by boutique hoteliers, restaurants and bars, turning it into a new 'must visit' area of the city. It reminds me very much of Havana - seriously crumbling, derelict houses (still with inhabitants) rubbing shoulders with sparkling air conditioned marble floored coffee shops. It's an odd mix but strangely seems to work, contrasting to Havana (where locals are never seen in expensive places) a lot of Panamanians come here to relax and party. There is still of course a major divide between rich and poor, but it is a domestic divide as much as a tourist one so somehow it doesn't feel so bad.

I visited the 8th wonder of the world yesterday as National Geographic call it.. The Panama Canal. And what a sight it is! Huge, and I mean huge, ships navigate the same style of locks that you see on the Thames (slightly larger and more controlled I must admit). 10years, 250,000 workmen (many dying of malaria and yellow fever), millions of dollars and an engineering feat of it's generation likened to landing on the moon. Quite something to behold.

Today I flew to David to catch a bus up to Boquete -  a small rainforest village renowned for it's coffee (known as Geisha it broke records in 2012 for being the most expensive coffee in the world), hiking, white water rafting and importantly for me, it's Spanish school. I will be living with a local lady Miriam for the week and having 6hrs a day of classes in an attempt to jump start my learning and give me a better chance at communicating well with my future patients. I have plenty of reading to do - my Spanish GCSE revision book, phrase book, medical essential phrases etc.

Miriam, a widow, used to be a salsa teacher and apparently loves nothing more than to teach her lodgers to dance.. So here goes! My last salsa experience was in Santiago de Cuba where three girlfriends and I were adopted by this wonderful ancient couple (easily 85!) and taught to Salsa whilst their daughter kept an eye on the local boys and swatted away their advances! Just brilliant.

I arrived at her house today to find it full of life: a niece with husband and two small children, two dogs, a cat and a parrot (how the two coexist seems a mystery at present but I'm guessing the cat is well fed or the parrot's talons are sharpened).  It promises to be a busy household and I am looking forward to getting to know the family.  The only unwelcome inhabitants I have come across so far are the sandflies, they seem to be in their bazillions, which doesn't bode well for my avoiding leishmaniasis. Slightly over enthusiastic spraying of deet has commenced: I aim for complete eradication by the time night falls.

By nightfall also I will have sat my Spanish test (amusing for an onlooker I am sure, for the testee I feel it will be a sweatbox of confusion). The aim of which of course is to place me in the correct class... which is without doubt 'beginner' plus or minus a few points for wild gesticulation, giggling, excellent mastery of a phrasebook and international sign language. All of which will keep me in good stead over the coming weeks I am sure.

As for now I am going to wander into town and find an Internet cafe to ping this off to you all