Catch-Up Photos

A few photos to catch up...

Here we are in the Panama Canal about to cross below the beautiful Centennial Bridge

Emily driving the boat through Gatun Lake - maintain course and speed!

Ben waves to fellow cruisers transitting the canal, in the large Lake Gatun

Emily holding the port sternline taught in the Gatun Locks - she´s got nerves of steel to maintain her job with that huge cargo ship so close behind

Ben lounging at his post at the bow, enjoying his view down towards the Caribbean below, waiting for the water level to start dropping in the middle chamber of the Gatun Locks

Ben getting his first view of ´sea level´since entering the Canal seven hours before - the large steel chamber doors swing open to release us onto the Caribbean side

A top-down view of Barrigon, the community in which our friend Kayla lives and works for the Peace Corps

Emily and Kayla on the front porch of Kayla´s home - complete with electricity and running drinkable water...and cat and spiders and preying mantises (manti?) and loads of neighbor kids

Ben, Kayla and Kayla´s neighbor Julien at his farm, about a 30 minute walk up the valley. Julien´s crops include: oranges, yuca (a starchy root vegetable), beans, peppers, spinach-like greens, coffee beans and more

Kayla leading a community course on nutrition and well-balanced meals...´a little more vegetables, a little less rice´

Us with Kayla and friends, Brooke and Donny, with our giant cacoa harvest - each of these pods houses twenty or so cacoa beans which are removed, left to ferment for a few days, dried, roasted, and then ground into a powder, sometimes mixed with sugar to make a tasty dark-chocolate treat...a bit of work, but totally worth it!

Salomon and his family in front of their house - we hiked seven hours in to the Omar Torrijos Herrara National Park near Barrigon to meet and stay with them as well as hire Salomon to guide us to the beautiful Tife Water Falls

Their house, perched on a knoll, is part of the six-family community of Caño Sucio inside the national park...look close, it´s there

Emily on a treacherous bridge crossing en route to Caño Sucio

Ben getting schooled by Emmanuel, age 7 - Salomon´s oldest son

Emily and friends Katherine, Kayla and Micaela - bursting onto Panama for a raucous New Year´s Reunion

For more photos, check out Kayla´s blog: http://kaylainpanama.blogspot.com/