[Above: Nancy Olson, Adam Burgess, and Colin McAuliffe onboard the boat that took them to Isla Grande, Panama.]

Journal by Colin McAuliffe

Hey all,

I just got back from spending an extremely leisurely 4 days and 3 nights on
beautiful Isla Grande, off the Caribbean coast of ¨Panama. Contrary to its name, Isla Grande is TINY and consists of not much more than a few hotels, some private homes, a couple of stores and a few restaurants.

You may be wondering,"Colin, now what did you do on Isla Grande?" and my only answer is nothing. And I loved it. I just sat there and relaxed in a hammock and read. I read two books: The Razor's Edge and Tuesdays with Morrie, and I feel like I learned a little from each
of them. I also struck up a friendship with the owner of one of the local
resaurants, Carlos, and had some good conversations with him. I ate fish, I ate octopus, I ate seafood soup, I tried some handline fishsing, and I slept a lot. It was just what I needed before my return to the Drive Around the World fray.

And now on tuesday the team flies down to Ecuador to spend our holidays.

Colin
colin@drivearoundtheworld.com

Logbook for December 19th, Day 49
Start: Panama City, Panama
N: 8* 58.204'
W: 79* 32.085''
Finish: Panama City, Panama
N: 8* 58.204'
W: 79* 32.085''
Mileage: 000
Notes: With the the Certified, Pre-owned Discovery Series II expedition vehicles successfully loaded into two high containers at the port of Colon, the team geared up for some R&R. The team split into two groups, with Nancy, Adam, Neil, and Colin going to Isla Grande to enjoy the sun and surf, and Nick, Chanda, Todd, and Justin exploring the sights in Panama City. Everybody is happy. (N.O.)

Help support our cause: The LONGITUDE Expedition is the longest journey ever attempted with a focus on Parkinson's Disease. The Drive Around the World team aims to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research by driving four certified pre-owned Land Rover Discoverys around the globe following lines of longitude. Readers are encouraged to pledge small amounts of money per expedition-kilometer via a pledge form that can be found on our Parkinson’s page by clicking here. 100% of donations received go directly to Parkinson's research and all who donate $10 or more will be entered into a raffle to win an expedition-equipped Land Rover Discovery.