Sailing in Paradise

So it is a new year... 2009, and I have high hopes for this year and so far it has started out very well. We have had an amazing influx of Oregonians in the past month or so... some of my favorite people! Hopi was able to spend Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's with us... which was amazing, then Kelsy came down just in time for the New Year's party bus, then Katie came down in time for our sail, and Meagan and Mary were here when we got back! What awesome friends we have... making us feel like we aren't so far from home. So after New Year's Kelsy, Hopi, Katie, Adam, Dain and I went on a 3 days sailing trip through the San Blas islands... which I have to say is the most beautiful place I have ever been... hands down. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.


Arriving at our private island


Arriving at Caye Hollandeses right at sunset


The sunken ship right by our private island


Enjoying the sunset before swimming to the island


Look at all these beautiful people!


One of the most beautiful islands I have ever seen.


Chillin on deck between islands


Our dinner freshly caught... lobster and langostinos... mmmmm


Me and my 3 favorite people


So there it is... our trip in paradise. My first sailing trip... and it just made me want to buy a boat and sail the Caribbean forever! Then staying on our own private island was amazing as well. This trip was nice because it reminded me of why I love Panama as much as I do... even though I forget sometimes living in the city.

Luna's Castle Adventures

So life at the Castle is as exciting as ever... literally never a dull moment (unless I seek it out). The last couple months have been a whirlwind of adventure, change, loss and excitement that has left me loving Panama, but also missing home to a degree I have never experienced. We have had several more of our friends from home come through and we have steadily increased our ranks of long term and return guests that make the Castle feel that much more like home.

It seems that the happy is always mixed with the sad... se la vi. Dain gave me a ring made of tagwa and asked me to marry him, so after 7 years we are officially engaged to be married! Very exciting! I have never been happier about anything in my life.
Two weeks later we found out that one of our best friends from home, David Minor, was struck by a car while riding his bike and died shortly after. Dain, Meredith and I all flew home after we found out as we soon realized that this was not something that we could cope with from afar. Being home and being around all of our wonderful friends was exactly what I needed... and going through that process with everyone who knew and loved him was the only way I could have gotten through this. The outpouring of support and love was overwhelming, and even back in Panama we are still processing the loss. You are deeply missed David!

We are slowly working back into the routine of things, and we have an awesome group of people here that are incredibly supportive of us. I love my Luna's Family!

So many friends have come to visit in the past couple months, which helps me feel like I am not too far from home. It was very exciting to see Shauna and the Joshs', who came down from Honduras for a quick vacation. We had some fun adventures, some tasty food and many good laughs... I can't wait to see you guys again at Fair! Then Todd, Justin and Mike came down from Oregon... and proved all the doubters wrong. We got to stay on our own private island in the San Blas archipelago for my birthday and I even got in a few days in Bocas del Toro before having to resume my duties here in the city. Then my friend Heather, who I hadn't seen in about 4 years, arrived last night from Oregon for a couple weeks here in Panama. We had a wickedly debaucherous night at the music festival that was going on here in Casco Viejo. There were 7 different stages with live music ranging from Reggaetone and Rock to Classical and Jazz... all within a couple blocks of the hostel. Awesome!





Luna's is doing fabulously... and keeps me thoroughly entertained. I have met some of the coolest people, some of whom I will hopefully keep in contact with for a long time. We have been having way too much fun... we have been having a lot of BBQ's, with the biggest feeding 71 people, 10 of us piled in a van and went to a World Cup qualifying fubol game, El Salvador vs. Panama (Panama won!), we rocked Casco Viejo for the music festival this weekend... even got to see DJ Black (chucha tu madre), watched some horse races, and many nights of clubbing and other debaucherous activities. We have been very full lately with the busiest time being last week... almost all week we were over full with several people sleeping in our movie theater (73 people was our max), so the energy here has been very busy and fun filled. I love my Castle!!

Luna's Castle Hostel is Rocking my World!

View from Luna's Castle balcony

So we have almost been in Panama for two months, and the time is really flying by. In the past month we have seen some of our favorite people from home come and go, we opened the hostel, we celebrated Carnaval and Dain’s birthday, we’ve spent time at the beach and we have explored the city…all in all it has been a good month! So let me break it down for you…

So first things first…we have officially opened! It has been very exciting meeting people from all over the world and hearing how much they love our place. We have had many friends, new and old, from home and abroad, that have been a tremendous help in this process and I want to take a quick second to thank all of them!! Our artist Corrina has been amazing, and has turned our white walls in our common area into a funky, fun place to kick it. Our friend Strom from Costa Rica (originally from Oregon – representing!!) was amazing in his motivation to build us our massive dining room table, front desk, computer desks and the beginning of our stadium seating in our theater. Peter and Brandon picked up where Storm left off and added their own touch to our three story stadium seating (including blood and sweat!), and other projects around the house. Adam has become a semi-permanent member of the Luna family and I have to say it wouldn’t be the same without him, his crazy personality, great attitude and Panamanian work ethic have been of irreplaceable assistance. Harmony and Nate joined us for a brief period of time and brought a little of home to Panama for us. Kelsy teased us with a couple weeks of her presence in Panama, and her absence has been felt ever since…I have never felt too much at home if she wasn’t around, I guess that is what best friends are for…you are truly missed! Heather came for an action packed vacation of Carnavales all around, Kuna beads and beaches…her spunky fun brightened our days. Elke rolled through and completed the package of Oregon craziness…and then she was off for more south of the border fun…que le vaya bien! And now with most of them off on their own adventures once again, the Luna team has daily made new friends yet we can’t hope that the rest of you fools will come keep us company.

We have now had time with each of the owners, and it has been exciting and fun getting to know each one on an individual basis. I have a new found love for all of them, each in their own special way. I love Bean like a big brother, we always seemed to be on the same wavelength, like we had known each other for years. Sme is Sme and there isn’t much more you can say…his crazy style, his love of Jack Daniels and his expertise in the kitchen made him a shoe-in for my list of favorite people. Dan is new in our lives but I can already tell que nos callemos bien. I love it when he plays guitar and sings for us, his rational, organized way of thinking is so in line with my own and he never fails to provide for good conversation. I love you guys and am so happy to be a part of the family!

Dain has been enjoying himself more and more, learning more Spanish, playing basketball with Adam and the local kids, working his butt off and making me happy everyday. It has been amazing having so many people from home here, to make it seem less like we are so far away. We are expecting some friends of his soon, a change from all our Oregon girls, which will be a nice taste of home for him.

Meredith has been rocking it as my trusty partner in crime…aka. Ms. Luna Moonbeam, and seems to be thoroughly enjoying her time in Panama. I stand by my original statement of what an amazing team we all make. I feel blessed.

So Carnaval was a whole new experience filled with confetti, reggaetone, crowds, beers, rain and an amazing amount of fun. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

I got brief beach time with Kelsy and Heather, and a recent trip to Bocas fulfilled my need for sunshine and warm ocean waters. We got to work a little at Mondo which was fun and different, and just being out of the city was a nice change. I hope that we can make this a frequent escape/work exchange.

All in all, life in the big city is amazing and I have loved every exciting minute of it. I have realized that Oregonians travel more than anyone else…so I hope you can all help support that theory. I have also realized that although Canadians might sound like us…they are not American and would prefer that you didn’t confuse that. Sorry guys…at least I now know about the Pig War…we are all learning! Hope all is well at home and never forget to stay in touch!

This is the James Bond movie set here in Casco Viejo...they changed the Casa Cultural into this hotel...so keep you eyes peeled in the movie!~