Salud!

I found the words to ask the young woman at the front desk of the hostel if she knew how I could get to La Palma, which is in the Darien. She did, and gave me the bus station I need to get to, and assured me that they run frequently. I'm pretty sure the bus doesn't actually run to La Palma (it appears you can only get there by boat or by plane), but that is alright, because my book tells me that if I take the bus to Metiti, I can get a boat to La Palma from there. And Metiti is also in the Darien, and according to my book, the boat ride is through virgin jungle and dense mangrove forests. So tomorrow morning I'll go early to the bus station to allow for the error factor-wherein I can't understand what I'm being told and have to ask multiple people and wander aimlessly for a while. I really hope she is right about the buses, because that means I can go to La Palma on my own, and possibly hook up with a tour guide there to go into the jungle. Possibilities abound, and I'm both relieved and excited. Perhaps being unprepared will end up leading to a better option in the end anyway. I'm showered and on my way out to visit an interesting looking bar I saw in my wanderings today. I'll drink a toast to you. Good night!