Where do I start? This trip has really been a year in the making and now that it's finally happening it seems...well, surreal. So I guess I'll just start where everyone does: at the beginning.

In my mind, our trip started with a weekend send off; first a local goodbye party (thank you to everyone for the overwhelming support- I really appreciate it) and the second was a series of goodbyes to family as we headed up to Portland. And then the morning of our departure arrived...at 3 o'clock in the morning (and yes, you read that correctly.) Our flight wasn't actually scheduled to leave until 6:00a.m., but you know how it goes flying internationally. Anyway, we all piled into the shuttle van from our hotel (mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, and Jess' family) and were dropped off at PDX to await the flight.

Goodbyes having been said (and yes, it was dificil-see I'm already using my Spanish)we boarded the plane and were on our way. We had one layover in Texas...which I will skip because nothing eventful happened. It was Texas (no offense to Texans:) Next stop- Panama City!

Right away I noticed that I would have to dust out the cobwebs of my brain and start practicing my espanol. No one at the immigration center spoke English, but they waved me through easily enough into the main entrance where a crowd of noisy people with signs and crazy clothes greeted us. Welcome to Panama. At first we weren't even quite sure how to get ahold of the hotel we had booked ahead of time (the hotel we chose for its free shuttle to and from the airport.) But soon enough Jess spotted a guy with a sign reading the name Costa Inn and we hauled our luggage into the back and hopped in. And when I say "hauled," I mean it in no uncertain terms (my bags are packed for 6 months- as in 6 MONTHS of my life!)
The ride into Panama city went as expected (crazy driving, no seatbelts, and beautifully lit buildings) and we reached our hotel, Costa Inn, in one piece. The hotel itself actually had a really attractive lobby and checking in was, yet again, more practice for speaking spanish.

The room itself was very clean (thankfully) and had three beds and two baths. After spending the whole day traveling, all three of us were thoroughly exhausted and wanted nothing more than to eat and crash, so we did just that by grabbing a bite to eat in the restaurant downstairs and hitting the sack. End of day one.