It must be said: Panama is one of my favourite countries in Central America. Panama, Guatemala, and Mexico. Sure, Costa Rica has lots of nature reserves and monkeys, but it is also the most expensive country down here.

I like Panama because most of the people are really nice. And the food, well, it´s okay. The only thing people eat is chicken and rice. However, we have found a restaurant near our hotel that serves chicken and fried bananas! So we have been frequenting that place.

Oh dear, I think I´m getting ahead of myself. I should have started by saying this: We´re okay now! We flew out of the Caribbean islands to the Pacific side, and are currently in Panama City. It is beautiful! And it´s not so big, either. We have walked or driven through almost the entire city.

On our first day here, we walked to the Old City. It is where the wealthy spaniards first lived. The streets are narrow, and the buildings are falling apart. To get there, we had to walk on the outskirts of a slum. We almost walked into one area, but some dirty people stopped us and told us to turn around! They said if we went down that street, that we would be robbed at gunpoint. See how nice the people here are?

On the second day we walked to the new city. The winding, confusing streets lined with skyscrapers and expensive malls were difficult to navigate, as there were no sidewalks half the time. And in Panama City, the pedestrian does not have the right of way. At the end of our walk in the new city, we found a mall where we had supper - Subway.

We did not like the new city area so much. It seemed like any other major city we have ever been in, and far too rich for our blood. I much prefer the Old City, with holes in the sidewalks and friendly people that always say hello. The rich people don´t seem to do that.

We also met a wonderful man named Elja from Finland. He has been travelling south from Mexico and is continuing on to Argentina, and he is 85 years old! And he is travelling just like we are, with small packs that are easy to carry on the chicken bus! He was great. We spent three breakfasts with him, and one lunch. He has continued south now, but we definately appreciated our time with him.

Then we spent two days doing nothing. I´m not sure why - we just read our books and watched some TV. But today we went to the Causeway - a manmade landbridge that stretches from Panama City to four small islands that have been developed for the wealthy. A bottle of water cost twice as much here, and there was practically nowhere to walk. I guess everyone there is expected to own a car and drive five blocks for a four dollar bottle of water.

It was beautiful, though. We had amazing views of both the old and new cities, and spent a good deal of time watching the seabirds.

Tomorrow we are taking the bus to Santa Catalina, a small beach town where we can snorkel! I have discovered that I love snorkelling, and the ocean is not a scary thing! I am so excited!

Tomorrow is also the official start to our journey back north. We are going to travel up the Pacific coast into the northern part of Costa Rica, where we will spend Christmas hopefully with some other travellers. Then we are planning on flying from Costa Rica to Guatemala, and thus skipping the dreaded Honduras and Nicaragua. I´m sorry Honduras and Nicaragua, but you did not treat us well.