Departed.

The morning we have been dreading has arrived...Tom packed his bag for the last time this trip and headed out the hotel, alone. Candice sat on the bed for a few more minutes, alone. Both alone for the very first time in a very long time. I absolutely refuse for this day to consist of a tear stained face and puffy eyes. Nope, there was no way Tom was walking out the door if he saw me in a mess. It is interesting to see how strong we can be if the situtation calls for it.

The last time we were seperated for more than a few nights was when I went to Europe last summer with my parents. But at that time we were only engaged, and seperation is a part of the engagement world. Not to mention he had his family with him, and I had my family with me. The only time I was actually truely alone was for one night during that trip when I ventured off to Germany by myself. One night. Now, three weeks??? Thankfully we have met some great people on this trip and some of them are only a taxi ride away. If any trouble should arise, I now have 2 Panamain nutritiontists two doors down the street. In their incredibly fast Spanish I heard "You hear a noise, you see something, or you just don´t want to be alone, you come here!" Awesome. Tracy and Rafael are just an hour´s taxi ride away (which would be, like, $15), and Matcha, Metcho, & Umberto are a quick flight and a taxi ride away too. And, of course, God is with us always. So, really, neither of us are totally on our own here.

Last night we moved from the hostel to an upper-scale hotel in David for our last night of the trip together. "Upper-scale" meaning hot water, A/C, and private bathroom to boot! Actually, in all honesty it is one of the top hotels in town, which means we paid $40 for the night. Prices here are so strange. For example, you can get a taxi ride from to anywhere in the city of David for $1.25. It´s a $1.50 if it is raining and only $1 if the driver is in a good mood. When you find a taxi you like, you ask for his personal cell phone number, and he becomes your ´chaufer´for the next while. We only do that for divers who didn´t try to rip us off when we got into the cab. I love being in one spot for long enough to know what they are up to and what the cost actually is. Dinner last night was awesome, we returned to a restaurant called El Fogon. They serve typical Panamaian food, and it´s really great stuff, with a wide variety and pretty inexpensive. It´s an classy resaurant, yet both times the bill was around $30 for an appetizer, drinks, and our meals. How awesome is that?!

I´m going to check out of this hotel soon and grab a bus back to San Felix. Carli and Marie-Pierre should be arriving from Soloy & Chortcha tonight as well. The Three Amigas!!!