Panama   April 3-11, 2006

During their journey home, they saw Panama City both from the bus and the plane. Their last day was spent swimming, snorkeling, playing water polo & water aerobics, dancing the samba, playing billiards & fuse ball. Previously, while at the Panama Canal visitor center, students saw an exhibition of bugs.

Use these maps to educate students about their travels. The resort was near Santa Clara.

Days 6-8 - Students visited Valle del Anton (Volanic Valley), El Macho Waterfalls and Hot Water Springs. Only a half hour away from the resort, "El Valle" is one of the most famous sites in Panama. A few students bravely dipped into the hot springs and took "mud baths." There were incredible views and it was (refreshingly) much cooler in the mountains. It is a totally different environment where you can take nature hikes through the rainforest. Students first learned the story, then saw "Sleeping Woman" mountain. At a small village, they stopped at the local market where arts and crafts were being made and sold. They had fun souvenir shopping. They also took the tour bus through a very wealthy neighborhood where they saw huge, magnificent mansions.

Finding seashells continues to be a popular activity. Winners of the shell competitions won double desserts and extra pool time. Dane has educated all the students about fishing. Maya built a sand castle. Nathan and Austin have become good chums. Richard, Ben, Michael, Ana and Erica have all become friends and are often seen sitting together. Oddly enough, no one has asked to play with their gameboy.

Day 5 - The Panama Canal is beyond belief! It was a fantastic learning experience. They had a terrific tour guide, who learned every child's name quickly. They saw immense ships ready to go through the locks - you could almost touch the ships.

The Panama Canal was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama by the end of 1999.

On October 10, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson, 4,000 miles away in the White House in Washington, D.C., pressed an electric button. The impulse sent a flash over cables to set off a charge of dynamite. This blew out a temporary dike. A flood of water rushed through a rock-walled rift in the mountains, and the Panama Canal was a dream realized. The Canal Zone motto is "A Land Divided, the World United."

Last night, Brendan took part in a show on a big stage by choosing to go up on his own. Erika and Ben are low-key when they mingle with everyone. Eric is very sweet and respectful. Gregory's parents will not believe he's their same son. Luye has been a pleasure. She is her typical energetic self and great with the other girls. Dane has asked Maari's advice about all the girls who have a crush on him! Tristan has loved the pool. Kevin is the best swimmer and makes great handstands. The only one who has been misbehaving is teacher Victor --leave it to the P.E. teacher to cause a dunking game in the pool! Maari says they are all an easy group that's fun to be with. Tonight's dinner reservation is at the resort's most elegant restaurant.

Day 4 - Trippers enjoyed yesterday on the beach. In the shell competition Austin, Nathan & Richard won prizes for smallest shell/prettiest shell/weirdest shell. Dane convinced Maari to take everyone on a long walk along the shoreline, where they found beautiful driftwood. To stay cool, they hung out with an iguana under a gigantic, 500-year old tree with a wooden platform for sitting. When it was time to go in, they found outdoor showers on the beach to wash off the sand. During the hottest part of the day they stayed inside playing uno, chess, monopoly, twister, card games, puzzles, and coloring. Ryan has become close friends with Brendan Rome. Ashley is giving singing lessons and has her own hair salon in her room. Josh is a great listener so he has a lot of good friends on the trip. Katrina is friends with everybody especially Ashley, Josh & the older students. She has visited the other rooms quite often. Gregory is so excited he's about to jump out of his skin! Maya has been very active swimming like a dolphin and getting "horseback rides" on the backs of older students, which has given her a big appetite. Jenny has been really enjoying the trip and has bonded with the girls. She is smiling a lot and making jokes. Ana and Erika get the award for being the most punctual and organized. All trippers are feasting at the buffets. One night they ate steak and barbequed shrimp. For breakfast they're eating lots of fruit. They've enjoyed Mediterranean at Cafe Med, Italian at Restaurant Pannamei and buffets at Atlantis.

Day 3 - After dinner last night, OUR students performed a show. Jennie sang, Maya danced, and most students performed is some small way. Then all 20 went to the beach. Picture a magically quiet beach at night with the soothing sounds of the waves entertaining our kids for 40 minutes. Afterwards, the littlest went to bed and the older ones did a little dancing. Today the students are involved in a major competition to find the best shells and any other items to add to their growing collections. Teachers are also playing, but they "lose points" whenever someone forgets suntan lotion!" There's also a volleyball game planned and reading books by the pool. Dane is preparing for a fishing trip along the ocean shoreline.

Tomorrow, trippers will visit the Panama Canal.

Above is a Rendering of the Panama Canal from http://epod.usra.edu, "This perspective view shows the Canal with the Gulf of Panama in the foreground and the Caribbean Sea in the distance. The canal runs northwest-southeast from the city of Colon on the Atlantic side to Panama City on the Pacific side. Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the canal extends for approximately 50 miles, and is widely considered one of the world's great engineering achievements. This shaded relief was generated using topographic data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission."

An excellent website for kids is www.pancanal.com

Day 2 - Additional Update. Wow! The trip is already a huge success. The resort has 9 gorgeous pools and even peacocks!

Everyone is having adventures to discover the many pools. In addition to swimming, they are playing table hockey and ping pong. Eric, Ben, Michael and Richard played a game against the teachers. By the way, the teachers lost. Jennie and Katrina have become best buddies. Austin is giving massages and charging a nickel! Tristan is having a lot of fun talking. Luye and Ashley are sharing laughs about teachers' dumb jokes. Josh loves the water. Gregory wants to know how his dog is doing. Maya and Nathan are delightful! Brendan R. and Ryan are having a good time laughing together. Brendan H. started a fun water sports war. Kevin talks about EVERYTHING. Dane is up to his ears finding animals.

Tonight after a Spanish Style Dinner they plan to catch a show and then go to the disco! Don't worry, it's all "P.G."

Day 2 Morning- Sleep is not the theme! Twenty full-spirited children arrived at the resort last night at midnight! First thing they did was have a midnight snack of chicken, french fries & hamburgers (sounds like a meal!)

By 8:00am this morning they were already awake and on their way to breakfast. The resort, Royal Decameron, is very luxurious. Many rooms have ocean views. The resort grounds are so big there are even little buses to take people around.

Richard, a high school student is terrific with the little kids. Nathan is having a lot of fun already. Ana has quickly become everyone's big sister. Maya seems relaxed and enjoying herself. Katrina is talking to everyone! They're off to a good start with lots of laughter in the air.

A day at the pool is planned.

Day 1 - Currently they are in transit to Panama City.

Maari called to say they've just arrived in Atlanta. The flight out of NYC (#619) was delayed but we don't anticipate any problems for their connection. You can check Delta Airline's website for flight status of #663 from Atlanta to Panama City. Sounds like the students are already getting a lesson in being patient while stuck in airports. The report so far is that everyone has been great and students are excited about the journey.

The urban center of Panama City. It's possible students might see this view out the window of the airplane as they arrive into Panama City.