learning spanish - best books/resources?

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currently in central america for work and struggling language wise. i'm here for another 4-6 weeks so was thinking of ordering something from amazon to help me.

any recommendations for a course / book / audio cd? plenty of native speakers around for me to practice on.

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Some great responses, thanks very much.

Iphonedyou: some cracking links there. I have created a duolingo account. Unfortunately for me though I have a blackberry so no apps for me unless I go buy a tablet. Hmmmm, I wonder how much they are here......

Still interested in a book if you have any you'd recommend, I need to order some stuff for work on Amazon anyway.

Gracias!

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ended up with the michel thomas cd's, madrigal's key to spanish book, and duolingo.

i agree with the comment re: thomas sucking a lozenge. the male 'student' is really fking annoying though, i want to hit him for being so stupid.

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try the cd's. they're expensive but worthwhile. i like the approach, gives you a good command of how the language works and a large vocabulary in a very short space of time. i have it on in the car on my commute.

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i know what you mean. its quite amusing watching one of my english colleagues [fluent in spanish] talking with a native speaker. its like changing from 33 to 45rpm. they must also make for great digeridoo players as the length at which they can speak without breathing is quite astonishing.

one thing to note about the thomas method is that he doesn't care much about pronunciation - particularly the rolled R which i find unnatural to use.

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i'm in panama city so most likely. loving the fantastic condition roads and well mannered taxi drivers.

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as long as possible, makes a nice change from my usual locales.

depends how badly we're affected by the upcoming holidays [i need to get a lot of equipment through customs] but looking like another 2-4 weeks. then i think i'll take some leave before going home so i can do some exploring.

any decent restaurants here? i have been pretty disappointed so far.

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patience has never been my strong point, something i appear to share with my fellow roadusers!

well i'm drinking lots of good malbec and eating loads of ceviche which i've always loved. i think the best meal i've had was from a mexican takeaway/street food place, the best restaurant probably las clementinas as it was just simple, honest food. most places seem to sell overdressed and americanised fayre - slow food movement deffo not catching on! otherwise they try to do something experimental and it fails - case in point being sushi with tuna and cream cheese flambeed in drambuie!

i went to a lebanese joint in amador the other night and it was truly horrible despite being packed with panamanians. i'm eating our a lot and my dining companions think i'm a proper snob as i regularly fail to be impressed by the food. still to try a few more on tripadvisor's top 10 so we'll see.

anyway. yeah i saw an ad for the HHH in the paper but the web address didn't work. i'm not a great runner but liking the craft beers here so i'd be up for that. also would be good to meet a seasoned brit for a beer and a chat so expect a PM from me.

doubt i'll be here beyond november unless i get a job offer. doubt my elise would be suitable for import so if i do stay it'll have to be a full expedition spec patrol with cummins power and a train horn!