27. March 2018
During our trip to Panama students were invited to participate in an Instagram photo contest by using the #sierratravel. Mr. Sheffield and Mr. Thornton sat down after getting back from the trip to pick a winner. The top photo wins a fabulous prize purchase on the trip. Congratulations to Kelsey for taking the winning photo. Her photo of the sloths has won her an hammock! We have included the images that took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place along with the honorable mentions. A big thank you to all the...
23. March 2018
Today we saw a lot of monkeys and sloths and had an adventurous end to our trip. We will let the students tell you more about the day when we get back. For our blog tonight we thought it would be fun to give you the chaperones top highlights from the trip. They are in no particular order. We hope that this list will lead to further conversations between you and your child. Enjoy! Taking pictures...especially of the monkeys Empanada runs 6 sloths We studied science at the Biomuseo Snorkel face...
22. March 2018
A short blog post tonight as we spent a good portion of our day traveling by bus. We had a lazy start to our day and didn't have to leave our hotel to till 10:30 am. Here are a few highlights from the day in no particular order. Empanadas - Gabe took us to his favorite restaurant for a empanada snack. Sleeping in is a rare treat on an EF trip. Panama Canal. So cool. It lived up to expectations for me. With our EF admission we were able to get a private tour and get on the floor of the locks as...
21. March 2018
Tonight we have two guest bloggers. I hope you enjoy their blog post below. It is hard to believe that we are past the half way point of our trip. It is at this point in the trip when things start to become bitter sweet. We have made many memories, made new friends, and learned a lot about Panama. We are eager to see more. Sad to know that our time is almost up, but excited to know that we will soon see our families again. Tonight we passed out the letters from all of the parents. Each student...
20. March 2018
Wow did we get up early to trek 4 hours across the country of Panama to the city of Chitre! Sierra travelers were awesome listening to Gabe as he told us about the different regions we travelled through from crossing the canal to developing a new hospital centered town. We made it to the farm "Las Cabras", run by a gracious host Maria, around 12:30. We were treated to traditional Panamanian food like whole chicken and local yam soup, and a drink made from sugar cane and lemon, which everyone...
19. March 2018
Tonight we have a guest blogger. I hope all the families enjoy reading the blog post from Noelle. We had another great day. It was really nice to have a slower paced day on the Caribbean Sea. We spent some extra time on the beach thanks to our tour guide Gabe. He was able to work it out so that our lunch could be delivered by boat to the little island we were spending the day on! Kids had a blast snorkeling, swimming, and kaiaking in the sea. Gabe also worked really hard and was able to deliver...
19. March 2018
Day 2 was another full day of exploring Panama city which means another full day of walking. The morning started with a visit to the Panama Viejo ruins. The ruins were awesome. They were also a great fist start to the trip as we learned a lot about the history of Panama. We even learned about pirates today! After the ruins we made a short stop at the Biomuseo. Parents ask your students about the video at the start of the museum. It was really impressive. The museum is right at the entrance to...
18. March 2018
Today may have been the longest 1st day to a Sierra Student Travel Trip ever! This does not mean it was a bad day at all. It was just long. Many of us on the trip are already confused on what day of the week it really is. Our day in Panama started at 4:30 am with breakfast on the airplane. Some of us slept on the plane better than others. After easily getting through customs and meeting our tour director for the day, Juan Carlos we drove into Panama City for some morning hikes. We started with...