Hola Familias!
This is Marin writing to all of you from the beautiful & humid Las Tablas! Today we had a long, bumpy and music filled hour-long bus ride to a beautiful beach hostel/hotel at la Playa Venao. There, we played CAREFULLY in the surf with our attentive lifeguard José, took a dip in the pool, and took long walks along the shore! Many of us were very pleased with having lunch outside of our usual restaurant environment. We were able to enjoy the breathtaking view of the ocean and tree-filled hills while we devoured pizza and bottled Coca-Colas.
Although it was muggy, gray, and even a little rainy, it did not fail to impress. The scenery was like nothing I’ve ever seen before; lush green hills, dark soft sand, and comfortably warm blue water. It was exciting to see many people out in the water surfing and enjoying themselves in Panama.
Afterwards, we stopped by a very cute town called Pedasí where we picked up snacks, souvenirs, and walked around. Once back at the hotel, we did a reflection session on the effects of tourism on the community and the environment. We had many good ideas and thoughts based on our observations of today and the past week (which has its pros & cons). It was interesting to witness the development of a very remote area of Panama being filled with workers and visitors from all over the world.
Hope everyone is doing well back at home and we will see you soon!
– Marín Ruiz (:
Thanks for the update Marin 😉 I’ve been coming to the blog and refreshing all day! I was so excited to hear about your free day. Sounds like it was a great success! It’s good to have a little downtime. Can’t wait to see your face!
Love you!
Mom
Hi Anna!! FINALLY it is the week of your return. The first thing I do every morning is read the latest blog and see the great pics, then I spend the rest of the day missing you. I’m so happy your trip is filled with new exciting adventures with the most amazing group of new friends. I’m so excited to get my hugs and hear everything in 2 days. I hope your new and long lasting friends will visit us in Boston where we can take them on new adventures and make new memories, their parents are welcome also!! Me and your sister and brother miss and love you!! PS – Although you don’t have your phone, I text you everyday because it makes me feel better, haha
That beach looks so beautiful!!! Hope you are having a wonderful time, Avery!!!! We can’t wait to see you soon and hear all of the stories!!!
Hi Yareli, I hope you enjoyed swimming in the ocean since you can’t really do that in the bay without freezing, watch out for sharks, we miss you a lot, who would it though…….that 2 weeks are so long when you miss somebody, I think the next 48 hours are going to be pretty long and not knowing what time you are coming back doesn’t help either, specially for a helicopter, controlling mom like me,
Stay safe see you soon,
Love you more,
Mom.
Hi Dechen! We’re counting down the days until you’re home. I’m so glad you had some free time at the beach. All our friends are asking about you and can’t wait to hear about your trip too. Enjoy your last few days! Love you, Mom
We miss you so much mami. Please return promptly. Hope you’re having a lovely time in las tablas. Jared says he misses you. We’re all shaving our heads and getting tattoos of each other’s names. Come join the fun. Xoxo your favorites.
PS Collette asks about you every day