Back Online!!

Whew! We are finally back online after about a month-and-a-half of Blogger tech errors that prevented anybody (including us!) from viewing our blog! While we're aren't sure of what the problem was, it seems to be fixed (or maybe lying in wait for a future attack) and we have LOTs of events to update everybody on.

Our last entry was in November just before Thanksgiving, and we had a wonderful time in the beautifully lush and cool Panamanian highlands with the rest of Peace Corps-Panama and my stepsister, Catie. Cerro Punta, where we went for the two night party, is by far one of our favorite places in all of Panama and was a wonderful place to spend some time in "friendly" nature and relax. Cool and verdant, with daytime temperatures around 65-70 degrees, it is renowned as a strawberry growing region and one can find many roadside stands selling fresh strawberries-and-cream drinks and mixes to enjoy.

Anyway we had a wonderful time visiting with Catie, and it's only too bad that she couldn't visit longer. However, as she teaches at a school in Guatemala City it is understandable that she needed to return for monday classes. "Que va?" (what can you do?) as they say down here in Panama, an apt phrase for almost any situation.

A front shot of the Los Quetzales lodge and spa, where we gathered and celebrated Thanksgiving with Peace Corps-Panama. (www.losquetzales.com)

Catie and Amanda on a short hike around the lodge through some jaw-droppingly beautiful tropical cloud-forest.

The inside of the Los Quetzales lodge. While tranquil and empty in this picture, just imagine the 130 Peace Corps Panama volunteers packed in and partying for two straight nights!

A moss-covered stream on another hike around the Los Quetzales lodge. There are few places in Panama (or the world for that matter) that I would call "magical" but this is one of them.