Getting Close to Departure

Departure to Panama is getting close - only 17 days. I have my tickets and State Dept passport (no diplomatic immunity). My flight leaves Orlando at 10:20 , connecting in Miami, where I meet the 2 other Response volunteers headed to Panama and arrives in Panama at 2:30.

I've been passing the time reading all I can about Panama. Some inconvenient truths: the bus ride from Torti, where I will live, to Panama City takes about 4 hours to cover the 88 miles - about the same time as it will take me to travel from Orlando to Panama. I'll have to do this trip every week.

The manuals that they want me to write are pretty much done. One on Water & Sanitation practices and another on water system maintenance. I'll also carry my manuals on cookstoves, composting toilets and biodigesters.

The vacation research has been more uplifting. The beaches look fabulous and the water WARM. Time to dust off my old PADI dive certification card. Some of the smaller beachfront hotels are in the $50/night range. The canal trip is an all day boat ride, staying in Colon overnight, with a train ride back to Panama City. There is a jungle conservation area about 50 miles to the east that looks like a do-able day trip.

Packing is about half done. Fortunately Panama uses 110V power so no converters needed. 3 different insect repellents in hand. Zika research has found only 38 cases reported in all of Panama, all clustered in a remote region by the Columbian border. Not much of a worry, since it is in one of the "Off Limit" zones.