Panama - the country

hola. panama es muy bueno. there were four travelers in total, and it made for interesting times. mostly good. pics give an idea of the diverse landscape of panama. the first is in bocas del toro area where the boat solicitations are everywhere, and the second from boquete - land of coffee growers and eco-tourism. we started in panama city, of course, where uruguay street provided appopriate diversions (read british pub) from hectic airports and work schedule. boquete (hostel nomba) turned out to be a quiet mountainous village. hiked up volcan baru' (yes, all the way to the top reciting some kind of delirium mantras) after a rowdy night of poker.. but that's another story in itself. last leg in bocas del toro with snorkeling, scrabble, night boat rides (did lee really fall out of the boat?), bearded ballerinas @ mondo taitu, and a full moon. what a long, strange trip it's been...

Prague in January

in less than one total week, i planned for and signed up to head to prague for an extended mlk weekend. it was a great trip - as trips to europe go.. but the food was by far the greatest of the weekend. that is a grand statement in that i toured the pilsner urquell brewery and tasted the goods from a wooden barrel (only brewed for quality against the slick, metal types these days). cabbage soup is my nirvana. i could not get enough.. and who even knew that goulash was actually a tasty dish? overall, prague is a cold place. not necessarily temperature-wise as it was actually colder in atlanta that weekend. the people in their dark clothing and the dark architecture make for cold relations with the city.