Un buen viaje!

Well, we are back from Central America, and I even successfully managed to host book club the evening after we returned home from Portland/Seattle. The trip was good, we saw so many interesting things, and a multitude of cool animals and plants. This evening I'll start the massive project of putting photos online, though I have to work tomorrow, so probably not much will be completed.

I knew things would be different in Central America, particularly in Panama, and they were. Some places there have such a vastly different culture and lifestyle, it's amazing. We mainly stayed in small, family-owned B&Bs or cabinas, and I got good practice using Spanish. We both got sunburns, saw amazing creatures, went snorkeling, met fascinating people, went on long and exhausting hikes, got bitten by strange insects, and had trouble sleeping due to heat/humidity/noises/unwelcome multi-legged visitors. I'm sure I will write a more comprehensive report later, once I have photos to go with it. We both agree that Drake Bay on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica was certainly the most enjoyable and interesting part of the whole trip.

On a completely unrelated note, we got a $150 speeding ticket on our way up to Seattle last weekend, due to poor signs (we logically assumed that the speed went back up to 70 once the construction area ended, and there was no sign until just PAST where we were pulled over to indicate otherwise) and a jerky cop (he accused us of "making him run us down" because we didn't immediately slam on the brakes and pull over to "the only spot for miles where it's safe to get out of the car," lord knows how we were supposed to read his mind on that issue). This made me realize that I have never once had a good interaction with the police or met an officer I would consider friendly and helpful, and I am what you would call a "straight arrow," not a rule-breaker or one who causes problems. I certainly don't feel "protected and served," but rather frustrated and taken advantage of. It was certainly a change from Panama, where there are police wandering around all over specifically to protect tourists-- welcome back to the US, where if you're from out-of-state, we'll target you for an outrageous, unwarranted ticket because you can't show up in court, haha!