PANAMA

Where does this story begin, well let’s just say everything had completely fallen apart.

Christmas was coming and it would be the first time in a long time that I had a stint to myself. I didn't have two weeks, but I had ten days, and that's all I needed.

I no longer had a commitment to fulfill, just a massive wound to heal. I wanted to slip quietly out the back door. Instead, I prayed.

Which turned into an exciting adventure to Panama. The actual isthmus, not northwest Florida like my neighbors thought.

So, I got on a plane and ventured off alone. I officially checked out from social media for a few days to recalibrate.

Before I left on this adventure, I watched The Holiday, one of my favorite Christmas movies, and thought, "I can do this." Except this is more of an Eat, Pray, Love situation. Except well, minus the love.

It was going to be an adventure with only one country and a slightly different plot line.

I arrived with no schedule or itinerary, primarily a paper book, a bikini, a backpack, and a drone. I was going to a little fishing village away from the city, where they mainly speak Spanish, and people from all over the world come to snorkel, free dive, or scuba.

I was nervous, actually very nervous.

But I had been told you must travel at least once alone to a new place outside of your comfort zone, so off I went.

It began with one night in the city, in a hotel by the airport because my flight arrived after sunset. I didn’t want to travel very far alone in the dark.

The most state side moment I had was not being able to turn the lights on in my room and then trucking it back to reception to figure out why the room wouldn’t illuminate. Not a single light. Nothing worked including the television.

There was a massive wedding going on down in the conference room and spilling over into the lobby. It was loud and the nicely dressed guests were in full celebration.

It was finally my turn to speak with the sweet lady behind the receptionist desk and she started laughing at me and said in broken English and many hand gestures later that I had to put my key card inside the wall mount for anything to work. Apparently energy in Panama is a sacred thing. It’s also a brilliant way to not forget your room key when you leave.

The next morning the real adventure began and there was a Christmas tree strapped down to the top of the Suburban while we drove from Panama City, crossing the canal to Santa Catalina.

When I arrived I immediately threw on yoga pants for mediation and yoga outside in the studio, while it was pouring rain in the jungle. A sweet release and a beautiful beginning.

I went hiking, had ants bite me, picked them off, spit on my skin, flew the drone, booked a beginners dive to Coiba National Park, snorkeled, saw tons of fish and white tip sharks. Should have brought a GoPro. Watched monkeys open coconuts, had the dominant male run up to me, show me his teeth and ended with me running away as fast as possible.

Met a lovely family on the boat from Montana, celebrated our dive instructors birthday later on in the week with a beach bonfire, ended up going on the private charter with a family from Montana to spear fish in Cebaco, crossed a river multiple times a day to play beach volleyball, watched surfers rip at the Point, walked country roads to eat wood fired pizza with girls from Quebec, biked everywhere else, went on a hunt for fresh aloe for my overly burnt skin, visited a farm and relaxed in tide pools.

The private charter to Cebaco however, might have been my absolute favorite.

We walked down to the beach that morning, got in a panga boat, and took off to troll for fish. We caught several bonito off the coast and the guides went in to spear dive along the emerald water. We quietly got out of the boat, snorkeled, and watched from above to see the caves and rocks they were climbing into underneath the water. A couple of hours later, we had fresh red snapper and conch.

This led to us anchoring on an island with no one in sight. They cleaned the fish right there on the rocks and cut it up for ceviche. Now, I had been a vegetarian for over a decade, but I thought if there was ever an opportunity to try fish, this was it. It was incredible!

We had coconuts found on the island and watermelon that the guide had brought to eat. The whole experience was a ten out of ten day. It was the nicest people, with the best laugh, all day long, and I will never forget what Pietro said to me as we were heading back in, "You come to Panama, and you become rich in happiness." That's it.

While I was there, I met folks from all over the world. I use alone loosely because I met so many wonderful people along the way. From Australia, Canada, France, Germany, South Africa, Italy, Venezuela, Colombia and Argentina.

I came home with the saying, "no necesito que sea facil, necesito que valga la pena."

I don't need it to be easy, I need it to be worth it.

Every single part of this adventure was worth it. I ate, prayed and learned to love again. Oh, and I’m not a vegetarian anymore!