Portobelo weekend

Panoramic view from the porch.  The island on the right is Isla Grande, a famous tourist spot. 

 This weekend, eight friends and I packed into a beach house on the Caribbean coast. We didn't do much besides cook meals, drink wine, swim, and read books.  And the house was literally 10 ft from the water.  While my friends waded through the coral shoals (and came back pretty cut up from some wave-induced wipeouts), I sat on the porch and read my book.

This is the upclose shot of the brave swimmers.  As I look again at this picture, I can see them gingerly picking their way across the rocks.  

Yandup Island Paradise

When Amanda, Nora, and Jen were visiting last month, we got on a tiny little airplane and flew to the unpopulated coast of Panama.  The native tribe, the Kuna, live there, and have tapped into the tourism industry.  Some of the Kuna hotels are dodgy, but we stayed an Yandup, the top of the line.  It was like staying in Bali. 

Amanda and I spent a lot of time on our back porch, reading legitimate novels and trashy magazines.  We even saw a baby swordfish and a stingray swimming around under our back porch.  It was pretty much like paradise. 

Morning birdsong in Penonome

A few weeks ago, some friends and I went to the mountain town of Penonome.  It was a lovely mountain town.  Turn up the volume on your computer, and enjoy a little piece of Panama. 

waterfall in Penonome

A friend and I went to Penonome this weekend.  We went with two septugenarians who also work at ISP.  It was a weird weekend, since the older ladies had planned a handful of "surprises" for us that we had no say in.  One of these was an early morning hike to a waterfall.  It was a gorgeous location, and once I got over the initial cold-water shock, it was very fun to swim in the natural pool.

I am the little white person on the left hand side of the picture- it was a pretty great swim.

And my friend Julia has a waterproof camera, with which I had a lot of fun playing.

Tropicana over-the-top costumes that put Vegas showgirls to shame

oh, the hats...

oh, the capes...

oh, the copious tassels...

oh, the feathers!

Oh, the sparkles...

Is it too much to ask to have CHANDELIERS attached to their frickin' heads?

scuba (s)cuba

Catching up on some photos from my fun filled Feb trip to a lovely island nation in the Caribbean.  I look kind of dorky when diving, but I just love it, and enjoy the peacefulness of being underwater hanging out with the stingrays and the coral.

Jim (a funny Brit who is a professional dive master, who was just happened to be on our dive), Andrew, Mallory, and I after a dive.

Katrina, me, and the Bun-Bun

At the family fun fair in March, there were mascots wandering all over the school.  For some reason, I fixated on the idea of taking a picture with the Energizer Bunny, and luckily, my friend Katrina was obsessed as well.