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[letterhead]
HOTEL CENTRAL
CATHEDRAL PARK, PANAMA, REPUBLIC OF PANAMA
POST OFFICE BOX No. 976

Panama, April 11th 1917

Dear Mrs Morton.
It is quite a while since I have heard from you or you from me. We left Cuba March 15th and sailed to Costa Rica. The trip was very interesting our first stop on the way was Colon “Panama” a very dirty place our boat stoped here till Tuesday 5 o’c. The only thing that was lovely there was the Chinese & Persian stores but as “X” does not pay anymorely salary merely living expenses we could not spend very much. The food on the boat was love[ly] [page torn] On Wednesday morning we arrived at Bocos del Toros but we di[d] [page torn] not dock near land as the water is not deep enought [page torn] was very interesting to see the people shooting sharks one sailor hit a shark and killed him outright and oh [he?] [page torn] was a huge monster. In the afternoon we arrived at Almeranty which is up the Bay about an hours ride and simply glorious [sketched map of the area] with its Palms and Mountains lining the sides. We stoped over here and till 5 o’c. Then we went on land The place itself consist of just a few native huts and a few American h◊◊es hotel but the country around is lovely simply the wildest tropics you can imagine We only discharged cargo there. From there we sailed till the next day Thursday 22, to Port Limon Costa Rica where we went straight to the train for San José which is 5000 feet up in the mountains Well the trip up I cannot discribe for it was to wonderfull first th[r]ough absolute jungle then through fancy little villages & Banana Plantations and Cocoa plantations and then the wonderful valleys Mountains and river just below us and we right up on such dizying hights When we arrived at San Jose it was just lovely just like spring so cool and lovely so absolutely different from the atmosphere down below. We had a very nice Hotel there a french Hotel Francais. the food and all was delicious. The town itself was so quaint

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