Liza Dolzhenko's Blog 1

Coming to Panama, I really didn't know what to expect and how much I was going to like it. Having spent one day here, I am very pleased to say that so far I like everything about this place. The hostel where we are staying is very cute, the staff is nice, and we even get free breakfast. Panama itself is gorgeous and people are very friendly and nice. Best of all, I like that I exploring this country with a very fun a friendly group. 

Today we visited the Embera tribe, which was much more interesting than could have ever imagined. We got there by bus where we were greeted by brightly-dressed members of the tribe. Before going to the tribe's village, we went to see a near-by waterfall. We started our journey by hopping into a large canoe and then hiked the rest of the way. The trip was a little long, however, it was more than worth it. The waterfall was absolutely gorgeous and the water clean and refreshing. We swam for a while and then continued with our journey to the village. We hopped back into the canoe and after a short ride we arrived at our destination where we were greeted by the whole tribe. They put on a music show for us, and later, they even danced for us. Also, one of the tribe members told about the history of their tribe and the current issues affecting it. After he was done with his speech, some of the local women served us lunch. It was was fish and plantains and was absolutely delicious. It was a great first day to say the least. 

In the evening we went out again. One of our drivers recommended us a local restaurant called Pencas. We didn't know what to expect from the restaurant; all we knew was that they served traditional Panamanian food. The restaurant turned out to be very nice, but still reasonably priced. The food seemed much healthier than the food served in the US restaurants, and it was much more delicious, at least in my opinion.