A Wonderful Visit

Today was our last full day in Panama. We swam in the morning and then right around lunch John and Doug, his teaching partner/friend, showed up! What an amazing surprise. They stayed for lunch and of course all three kids wanted to sit by Daddy. We then swam as a family one last time...and then John was gone again. It was so good to see him! He really enjoyed white water rafting- fell out a few times, lost his shoes (Opa's shoes actually) and seems really impressed with the students. His schedule for the next few days is as follows....

Jan 11 + Worship Service in Bocas Town and Bike trip/Cave

Jan 12 + SCUBA

Jan 13 + SCUBA/Surf

Jan 14 + SCUBA/Surf

Jan 15 + SCUBA/Surf

Marcie and the kids schedule for the next few days will hopefully go as follows....

Jan. 12- leave Starfish Reef at 6:30am to catch a taxi to Sixoala

-Cross the boarder into Costa Rica and take a 6 hour bus ride to San Jose

-Spend the night at a hotel

Jan. 13- Spend the day in San Jose, maybe go to the Childrens' Museum

Jan. 14-Fly to Houston and then to Detroit, finally drive to Temperance to stay with Marcie's parents

Jan. 15.- Drive from the Toledo area to Grand Rapids! Home after 3 months!

Where would you go?

Today the question of the day was...If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Grandpa Bob (John's Dad) said- England
Nana B. (John's Mom) said- China
Marice said- Europe
Micah said- Hawaii
Ethan said- HERE, Panama
Kendal said- ballet....guess she is ready to go home:)

We have 2 full days left in Panama before we travel home. We continue to home school in the morning and in the afternoon and spend every possible minute in the water swimming, swimming, swimming.

John Leaves for Interim

Today was John’s last day with our family for a while. We dropped him off at the water taxi in Almirante for a quick trip to Bocas town. From there he will fly out to San Jose, Costa Rica where he will meet up with his interim class. His schedule for the next few days is….

Jan 5 + Fly to San Jose, Costa Rica

Jan 6 + Rafting on Sarapiqui Rivers (hotel)

Jan 7 + Rafting on Sarapiqui Rivers and transportation to Paquare River (homestay)

Jan 8 + Rafting on the Paquare (camping)

Jan 9 + Rafting of the Paquare (camping)

Jan 10 + Transfer to Bocas del Torro, Panama

We are going to miss him a lot!!

Drago Beach and More

Today we spent the day on the boat touring the area. First, we went to Drago beach. It had perfect white sand and water so clear you could see your feet, not matter how deep. The kids collected starfish and made a starfish family. We even saw a dolphin swimming in the bay. We wanted to go to Bird’s Island, just off the coast. It is a famous island, only for birds, where bird lovers can see all sorts of interesting and rare birds. About half way there, out in the open ocean, Marcie requested that we turn around. The swells were huge and it was a bit frightening. So back to Drago beach we went for a bite to eat at a local restaurant. After a hike and more swimming we decided to try going to Bird’s Island one more time. This time we made it! It was pretty amazing. Then it was off to Dolphin’s Bay for some snorkeling. The day was bright and sunny and perfect for a day out and about Bocas!