great friends, crystal clear water & the canal

We're back in Minneapolis already; Panama was a whirlwind so I didn't get a chance to post anything until now. But we had a really great vacation. It was wonderful in that it was (1) extremely refreshing. We had a really easy pace, broken up by some more active days, but overall it was a great mix of relaxing, exploring and spending quality time with friends.

It was also (2) really meaningful. I loved getting to travel with KJ, learn from her perspective and see her creative photographic talent at its best. It was so fun to see Michelle step into marriage with such great joy. I deeply appreciated getting to see Lindsey enjoy her Colombian context and some really key relationships there, especially as she'll soon be saying good-byes and transitioning home. It was refreshing, easy and great fun to spend time with our friends Angie and Dave and to see how they've fallen into a sweet relational rhythm in their Spanish and in their marriage as they've settled into life in San Jose, Costa Rica.

And (3) I'm so very grateful to travel with Jachin. Can't wait to do more exploring with him.

But what's really new since my last post is all the time that we spent in Panama. We really enjoyed Panama! And would love to find reason to spend more time there in the future. Panama City itself is shocking modern - LOTS of huge buildings with modern/edgy architecture that has been built in the last 20 years. I didn't know what to expect, but I sure didn't expect that. There were really two parts to our trip. We spent time in Panama City hang out with Dave and Angie (who took the bus down from San Jose to hang out). We had a lot of fun exploring the city.






But then we also went out to the San Blas Islands, which is an archipelago in the Caribbean. We stayed on Franklins Island, which had somewhat of a rustic hostel (which means there was a generator for lights for a few hours in the evening and we could shower within a small window of time following dinner, otherwise it was just a handful of visitors, those that live on the island, beautiful white sand, warm and clear Caribbean waters, and a sand-bottom cabin to sleep in at night).





Two very different experiences, both great fun in their own right. I've posted more photos on my Flickr page - check them out, especially since blogspot isn't very format friendly for including photos.

We landed late last night and then turned right around and drove straight through the night again. Needless to say that it all went more smoothly following our well-rested nights of sleep, as opposed to the fiasco at the end of our last trip to Latin America. We came home very grateful to have electricity and a home that was still fully in tact, following a storm that rolled with the Twin Cities on Friday.

And now Jachin and I are both feeling ready to do some laundry, get back to work and get into a summer rhythm here in the midwest. Although let's be honest... I sure do miss the fresh juice, the warm culture, the awkwardness of my trying to speak Spanish, and all the newness that comes with travel. But there will be time for more of that again soon...