Happy New Year

Happy New Year and Welcome to Panama!

Dear friends and family,

Everyone safely arrived here at the hotel. The airport was beautiful and the taxi cabs were varying in their level of excitement. 10 of us for example, piled into a taxi van whose driver drove us rather "legally". But then another group of us experienced the true Panamanian taxi adventure. Thus for some of us (Elyse, John, and Chase), the taxi ride was more dangerous than others. McMillen quotes, "You didn't even use a blinker... you swerved in and out of traffic, forcing even other taxi drivers to careen out of your way. I didn't think I would make it to the New Year", she says laughing and sighing. We convened at 11 p.m. on the relaxing pool deck while a loud, New Year’s Salsa party commenced next door. Then, there was a huge fireworks display off of a parking garage and we counted down 2014 in the local manner: "Cinco, Cuatro, Tres, Dos, UNO!".

It was memorable and fun...and loud! We were all really tired but excited to finally experience the culture, food, and history of the area. 
Signed, your day 0 bloggers,
Lara Sisman and Elyse McMillen