Panama - Sixth Full Day

Can I just say how much I miss pineapple yogurt topped with granola, sliced banana, and fresh coconut from the front yard with a cup of coffee and a view of the Caribbean??

(Laundry day)

This morning was off with a bang.  Our flight was at 5:45pm and we had a lot to pack in.  We packed up most of our stuff then piled into Pocho's boat and raced off to Dolphin Bay. 

 The weather was perfect and the water was smooth as glass - perfect to view the dolphins leaping around the bay!

 Brooke got so excited she decided she had to attempt swimming with them.

 And Dominique soon followed suit.

 Note all the boats full of fully dressed, properly vested tourists, gawking at us and our girls in the water.

 This taxi driver pulled right up to Pocho - "I envy you, dude.!"

Ha.

 Then we were off to Zapatillo, a small private island we could walk around in 25 minutes. 

 It was gorgeous! Perfect way to say goodbye to these islands.

 We stopped at a little restaurant on the water on our way back to pickup our bags from the house. 

By early evening we had our stuff packed and were on our way to Bocas Town's airport. 

 This would be the entire airport.

 And this would be exactly where we waited for almost two hours before learning the big plane that was scheduled to take everyone to Panama City had broken down and they were now shuttling everyone in smaller planes.  Our's didn't leave until 10pm.

Luckily, the California surfers in front of us were in the same boat, so to speak, and since we were all trapped for a few hours we decided to grab dinner and drinks until departure time. 

 We grabbed a water taxi back to Cosmic Crab and had a fabulous time getting to know each other and enjoying margaritas.

 By the time our plane got back, it was so late that the airport was closed.  They hurried us on the plane and quickly took off - without bothering to ensure our seat belts were proper fastened, our carry-ons properly stowed, or our electronics turned off.  Once in the air we were all served free alcohol and landed about 45 minutes later, again without anyone checking our seat belts, carry-ons or electronics.  Its a miracle the plane didn't fall out of the sky.

By the time we landed in Panama City (at 11pm), the airport had been closed for a few hours and taxis were nowhere to be found.  We entertained ourselves by belting out top 40 hits and James Taylor at the top of our lungs and thoroughly annoying the security guard.

Finally, shortly before midnight, our respect hotel shuttles arrived, saving the day.  Due to their surfboards taking up most of the room in their van, a few had to ride with us back to the Marriott, where we all said our goodbyes and called it a night.