Central & South America

Ok, so I've heard talk of a few parents calling one another wondering where the hell their children are and why they aren't keeping in contact! Well, the answer is, were living it up soaking up the sun on deserted white sand beaches. Actually, Costa Rica was a blur of experiences (To be blogged later) which left us exhausted, let alone no extra time to haul ourselves to the nearest internet cafe.

So here I sit in our hostel in Panama City blogging my ass off to keep everyone in the loop!

Alrighty, hold on to your hats, this plans gonna come out quick! First of, we are taking a sailboat from the Caribbean coast of Panama to the northern tip of Columbia. The sailboat, as we've learned today, is 47' cruising yacht capable of taking approximately ten passengers. The itinerary is this: Tomorrow afternoon we head to the coast to board the yacht and spend the night at anchorage. Saturday morning we sail out to the San Blas Archipelago, getting or exit stamps from Panama. There we will spend another night at anchorage, no doubt snorkeling to our hearts content. Next day we sail to another island in the archipelago and do it all over again, soak up some sun, bake on the pristine (nearly empty) beaches, and to cool off, snorkel for a couple hours. From the last of the San Blas islands, its a three day sail to Cartagena, Columbia. Here we intend to spend the only extended period of time in Columbia. SCUBA Diving, exploring the city, and a national park are all on the agenda. From there, we intend on taking four days to get to the Ecuadorian border and crossing ASAP. In Ecuador, a river rafting tour is a must, as well as a hike of some description. After Ecuador, Peru comes in fast! We head straight for Cuzco and Machu Pichu taking alost 50 hours in bus rides! AHHH! From there, depending on time, we go to Lake Titikaka for a few days and then off to the Nazca Lines. The Nazca Lines are the crazy designs you have all seen on the discovery channel that are still one of the worlds greatest mysteries. After our airplane tour of the Lines, its back up to Miraflores (outskirts of Lima) to await our flight home!

Its short but sweet, if much changes, you'll read about it in future blogs, possibly as its happening! Anyways I hope the parents can rest a little easier now that you've got a rough itinerary for the rest of our trip! (which by the way, only has 5 weeks left!! WOAH!)

take it easy everyone,

Happy trails,

Ryan

P.S.: Mom I'm going to try calling you at work tomorrow, it was much to busy in the common room here at the hostel tonight to have called. I'll try my hardest to get a hold of you, but just in case I don't, I am alive and well were doing gret, seeing some incredible things..still! I love you, I'm sorry I missed you in Costa Rica. Miss you,

Love Ryan