Lest I have any doubts as to who was truly in charge of this honeymoon, our ride from the airport in Panama City to the Gamboa Rainforest Resort showed up with a sign, which read "Tiffany". There was no mention whatsoever of Darren, who was obviously under the false impression that a honeymoon involved both members of the wedding party. Any remaining hopes of equality on this journey were dashed upon arriving at Gamboa, as the room somehow ended up solely in Tiffany's name again. I had heard rumors during our engagement period that I would ultimately defer to Tiffany on anything and everything, but did it have to be put in my face during our first week of marriage?

The resort, nestled on the banks of the Rio Chagres and within a stone's throw of the Panama Canal, proved to be the perfect locale to begin our 3 month adventure around the world. Originally built to entice workers from the United States to move the Panama during the 1930s and assist with dredging the canal, the resort now entices tourists from the U.S. and the world with impeccable accommodations in the still pristine Panamanian rainforest. We were greeted during our first night at the hotel with a chilled bottle of champagne, a basket of fruit, and chocolates spelling out "happy honeymoon." I think we are going to like it here!

The canal was far more fascinating than either of us ever imagined. We were shocked to learn that 22,000 French citizens died during the turn of the century from Malaria and Yellow Fever trying to build the very canal the U.S. would successfully complete thirty years later. Almost as shocking is the steep price tag for ships to pass through the canal ... a cool $150,000 per trip for most cruise ships!

For our first lunch in Panama we chose to dine on the banks of the river at the Marina restaurant. While the food was certainly tasty, it was the ruckus going on ten feet below our feet that caught our attention. It was Tiffany who noticed the hundreds of sea turtles hanging out on logs and swimming in the river, but upon closer examination we realized that a few of the heads that emerged from the mucky water belonged, in fact, to crocodiles (we would later learn that these creatures were actually Caymans, not crocodiles, which seems to be a matter of semantics... they weigh in at well over 200 pounds and can kill a human being in seconds).

It being our honeymoon and all, we decided to wrap up our stay at Gamboa with a sunset champagne cruise. Besides the gusting winds, frequent lightening bursts and surrounding rainstorms, the cruise was just the romantic experience we sought. I learned that Tiffany was a true adventurer at heart, as it was she who chose to press on in light of the shocking weather conditions (a rainstorm in the rainforest is nothing to shake a stick at). I was ready to order room service, watch some Spanish cable television, and call it a night. Our unfortunate cruise guides, who clearly thought they were going to get the night off, informed us that Sting was playing in Panama City that night and would be visiting the resort the very next day. Although we were assured to the contrary, I am fairly certain that our cruise caused both of them to miss this momentous event.

We are now sitting in an Internet Cafe in Panama City, known in the U.S. as McDonald's. The San Blas Islands off the Northeast coast of Panama are our next stop. I know the honeymoon is off to a good start as the worst thing that has happened to date occurred last night in our Panama City hotel room... Tiffany's toiletry bag mysteriously rolled off the bathroom counter right into the toilet. I couldn't have enjoyed it more. We'll report back on the islands in a few days…

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