smile and the whole world will smile with you :)

oh ya and the little creatures too :) (my pet cocodrillo...I wish)

Mercado Del Mariscos

There's nothing more I can ask for after a long night of partying, from the most charming Colombian roomate, Esteban, who doubled as a chef with amazing conversations about business and colombian telenovelas while walking through Casco Viejo in Panama City to buy our food to cook for breakfast.  We walked from our hostel through Avenida Central to Mercado Del Mariscos searching for aguacates and fresh seafood.  ...And I ofcourse can not forget to mention that my best Panamanian friend Larissa took us to the best ceviche place at Mercado Del Mariscos, which was near the end of the plaza facing the ocean. 

Red frog beach

While island hopping and taking one water taxi to another from bocas del toro. We spent a day trip at Red Frog Beach. A beautiful island that's rich in nature and wild animals, still pure until a dominating rich businessman tries to take over and turn it into a tourist money-making resort filled island- hm I should look into that, just kidding. A tiny island that almost reminds me of Gilligan's Island. There are a few volunteers that contribute to building plants, water pumps and decorating the beach house that are living under a few huts shared with the native Indio's that lived there long before any white man stepped foot on the island.

Bocas del Toro

A few years ago when I first started this blog, I made a post about dreaming over going to Bocas Del Toro in Panama. Funny enough, a few years later (this past April) I went. Bocas Del Toro is an island on the Pacific Coast of Panama. Its about a 1 and a half hour flight from Panama City, only costs $130, and the plane isn't as scary as the other backpackers make it sound out to be. This place has a huge influence from the Caribbean, it's obvious with the constant reggae and laid-back, NO PROBLEMS, kinda lifestyle. Bocas is a pretty small island, I'm sure you could see the whole thing in a day. It is very known for its popular Starfish beach- a secluded and more private beach that is a 15 minute walk along the edge of the island walking through palm trees, tropical plants and giant rocks until you finally find this hidden place- since there are no actual roads or paths built to get there. They have constant happy hours where they give away free liquor for a couple hours to get you hammered before it even hits 8PM and go to the three main spots to party. The best part about Bocas is that it is surrounded by other small islands that you can always hop in a water taxi and go island hopping. Anyways, you can't help, but love the place. No one ever actually leaves when they are planned to because they fall in love with Bocas for so many reasons, and I think one of them is that everyone knows each other by the end of the night-or after a few drinks and we all just can't help but come together and celebrate every night beside the ocean waves, while someone brings out their guitar or dance all night at the bar/streets. b

QUE XOPA

If drinking beers all day and dancing salsa all night wasn't enough for a couple months in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Cuba and Nicaragua, I found myself doing it all over again in Panama. If you didn't know Panama is the most Southern country in Central America, it connects Central America to South America beside Colombia. I found Panama to be a melting point of Chinese, black, white, moreno, and indio Latinos and a bunch of American expats. Panama City is actually the most beautiful AND SAFEST capital city I have ever visited in all of Central America. They usually tell you to stay away from the capitals because they are soooo dangerous, but not Panama City- although I know that it has its dangerous neighbourhoods from experience... When you're friend tells you she is positive she knows how to get to that restaurant(Cola Loca)in a country that she has never been to, you may want to double check the map before you let her lead you to the ghetto.

Guerilla Art

Guerilla Crochet

Jars of Love

Had the pleasure of getting these cute little Jars of Love gifts from my game night host last night!

heres a recipe I found for these cakes in jars

Depending on how you feel you can change the batter and make red velvet, tiramisu or whatever else you're heart desires!


Ingredients

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
8 straight-sided wide-mouth pint canning jars with lids and rings
Directions

Prepare the cake according to package instructions, or use any cake recipe.
In pint size, straight-sided wide-mouth jars, put 1 cup of batter in each greased jar. Make sure to keep the rims of the jars clean. Put in preheated oven 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place jars on a cookie sheet to keep from tipping over while baking.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.
While they are baking, have your jar lids boiling in a pan of water. When the cake is done, take one jar out at a time and add the hot lid and screw on your jar ring and let set and cool.
It will seal as it cools. Place the jars on the counter and listen for them to 'ping' as they seal. If you miss the 'ping', wait until they are completely cool and press on the top of the lid. If it doesn't move at all, it's sealed.
After it cools it will pull away from the jar and when you are ready to eat, open and pop out the cake and enjoy.
Unsealed jars should be stored in the refrigerator and eaten within 2 weeks. Sealed jars may be stored in a freezer.