The day arrives:October 28th 2007
Here´s our group: well first, here are the ladies. The next photo is of the gentlemen. Thanks goes to Ashley, Emily, and Rebecca for sharing photos, it's hard to photograph and BE photographed without becoming a nuisance.
Here we are in the principle park of Casco Viejo, facing the Canal Museum with our backs to a renovated church and square. The photos came first, then the formalities. Once inside the museum we listened to our group representatives, for both of Group 60's two sectors: Environmental Health and Economic Development. There were also speeches from the US Ambassador to Panama, H.E. William Eaton and Country Director, Peter Redmond which included a recognition and farewell for Meegan March, one of our trainers.
After the ceremony there was time to explore the museum but then we quickly regrouped and prepared to celebrate our successful 3 months of training.
Step 1 of celebration: go eat! We found a wonderful Italian restaurant in Panama City (just one block south of Via Espana): try the gnocchi!
Step 2 of the celebration: go to the beach. Before leaving the city and getting into our new sites, we made plans to celebrate our PC training survival with a trip to the beach: the highly recommended ¨Las Veraneras¨ - I hope to go back there someday! They have very tasty batidos (milkshakes) and offer 2-story cabanas with serious penca roofs (that is to say, rain can't fall through the leaves!).
You can see all of us crowded on the steps of the old church of Casco Viejo - on the same plaza as the Canal Museum. Here we number 36 - a huge group! I plan on returning here someday, this is an interesting part of Panama City that still preserves some of the old architecture and offers nice boulevard -strolling. Later I learned that there is an emerald museum kitty-corner to this church... hmmm.
Also, I had mentioned a really great Italian restaurant: That was where we had a final despedida with Meegan and our trainers.
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