Walk a Mile in My Shoes

So much has happened since my last post that I will really try not to make this " A Hundred Years of Solitude" style recap. But I can't make any promises.

Picking up from our time in Panama City; we strolled along the beautiful Cinta Costera boardwalk that offers views of the blue hued city skyline and manicured parks. The old town area that is being rebuilt makes for a charming, idyllic place to ooh and ahhh over the beautiful Christmas decorations. Lights dripped from every tree in the quaint parks, sparkled on every colonial building and dazzled in giant holiday themed sculptures. The area is in fact so adorable and the warm air, cooled by the ocean breeze is so enchanting that we decided to walk all the way back to our hotel. It is funny how I didn't realize that Panama City was built on a series of hills until I walked mile after mile in my sweet little Italian leather shoes. My feet were bleeding by the time we got home, and we didn't have any wine to kill the pain. Not the best planning.

As if we hadn't had enough walking, the next day we decided to take the much talked about jungle hike to the city's second highest hilltop for breath taking views. Being that I couldn't stick my bloody sausage feet into any shoes, I went on this hike in flip flops. I know, it is a ridiculous show of shoe choice in repeat. The hike was lush and humid with a well kept trail and jungle beauty like that of Tikal, Guatemala.  Adorable little monkeys chattered to each other overhead while birds of all kinds wowed us with their stunning colors. Strange trees and vibrant flowers hugged the path and the 360 degree view of the city and valley from the top did not disappoint. On the way back down we finally spotted the proverbial "cherry on top" with a sloth hanging causally from a branch watching us. It was AWESOME. I also looked like I had showered somewhere along the way, emerging from the jungle literally soaking wet. Sweat dripped down my hair and stung my eyes and my shirt clung to me in a sticky mess.On the up side, I managed to escape without further damage to my feet...even with the long lines of marching ants that accompanied us.

Of course there are the things that made Panama City a challenge, like food my kid won't eat, trash strewn about and people living on the street. Things are a little confusing, it definitely isn't an intuitive city in layout and not speaking much Spanish is a definite drawback there. I found myself comfortable, yet uncomfortable. Needless to say I enjoyed the few days there and also was ready to move on. Move on to a far more uncomfortable leg of our journey; the boat.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com