Silver Dollar Panqueques

              I've been moving.  From Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica to Bocas Del Toro, Panama to Panama City, Panama. Now in Panama city for three nights.  Three nights going on my fourth night.

Luna's Castle's Dining Area - One of the coolest hostels in Central America - Panama City, Panama

            After this trip I go home to the United States for a couple months. After a couple months I'm going to Spain and taking a month long course in teaching English in Barcelona. After the completion of the course I hope to stay in Spain with a job for 8 months or so. That number of months is highly questionable. My point here is, in one year I don't really know where I will be, but I like to have two things planned down the line. Two trips that is, at least until this crazy road I'm on has ended. A seed was planted in my head about taking a long touring bike trip after Spain, probably somewhere in USA and Canada . I don't know anything about biking, but it seems a pretty amazing thing to do, and anyways it's just an idea. Immediately have writing an email expressing my desire to do this to some friends I walked down the stairs of the giant mansion hostel I'm staying at and a guy comes riding into the hostel on his loaded up bike. He has been riding with his touring bike for 1.5 years. These are the coincidences in life that mean something to me. To me, these are signs.

We all have choices in this life. To go to work everyday. To buy a house, to take that trip, to buy that car. Why do you ultimately make those decisions? I'm quite sure you make those decisions based on a number of logical factors, all very logical of course, but I'm not sure all decisions need to be based on logic. This trip I'm on was because of a strange coincidence on my first trip to Mexico. A movie with a scene in it about traveling the world, which I had spoken about just before my trip was played on the first bus I got on in Mexico.

 My five month road trip around the States was basically decided because of my subscribtion to Backpacker magazine. I just became pissed reading about all the awesome hikes I could do all around the country and couldn't because I was in Connecticut. I'm getting off track here, but I like making sporadic decisions - major ones - based on something little like a coincidence or a feeling - major decisions are sometimes best made like that. My subconscience knows more about me than I do. If I tried to think about these things logically I'd just muddle it all up and wouldn't do anything. Yes, planning needs to be done consciencly, but the actually decision - go with the gut. So money willing - I'm on a bike some where in the world next summer/fall. Info or help on the subject is desperatly needed.

This trip has turned from five months into one week.  One week left of the greatest experience of my life.  Time is a funny thing.

Panama City from Casco Viejo