It's been a busy week! All of the REU students visited BCI for a night last weekend. It was really fun to have the whole group together. We did a few hikes, and spent lots of time practicing the final presentations that we're giving in the city on Friday. Dan and I took the boat and bus back to Panama City with the REUs when they left, and stayed with two of them on Saturday night. Dan was running a race in Panama City early on Sunday morning, and I had wanted one last chance to explore the city. It was a great two days! Dan's race was along Cinta Costera, a beautiful road along the Pacific Ocean that goes from center city to the historic Casco Viejo. He ran a very impressive time, and I hung out in a park with a book. It was a good morning!
We ended up walking 10 miles that day- along Cinta Costera (past parks, fountains, and the fish market), along Avenida Central (the street market in Casco Viejo), through Casco Viejo, and out on the Amador Causeway. The causeway is gorgeous- a narrow strip of land with a road going to the island of Naos in the harbor. The Smithsonian has a little public facility there, where we saw exhibits with frogs and sea turtles, and walked along some pretty little trails.
On Tuesday night, I was able to fulfill another goal for the summer: go night hiking! I was out from 10:30 to 12:30, and it was incredible! I was alone, which made it more nerve-wracking, but meant that I saw a lot more wildlife. I saw tons of bats and tarantulas, a peccary (only 10 feet away from me!), a cute little animal called a paca, and several animals high in a tree that I'm almost positive were anteaters. The most exciting and terrifying moments were when I heard movement, or saw eyes shining in my flashlight beam, but hadn't yet figured out what the animal was. I may have nearly jumped off the trail a few times because something startled me, but it was a fantastic experience.
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