Blogs from Panama, Central America Caribbean - page 4

Very few free moments and pure exhaustion (plus deep depression: Lost Lulu) prevented me from keeping up with our blogs while cruising the high seas. Time passed so quickly. You have heard “How Time Flies When Having a Good Time”....right? Well, that was our circumstance. Plain & simple. Now, we are all back on good, old terra firma. Debarked our ship on Sunday, February 2nd: Super Bowl Sunday and Groundhog Day. Much going on this day. Only delay after we left the ship was Cory going through customs because he had to declare his casino winnings. Had to fill out more paperwork, etc. The security staff as well as the Custom Agents said they had never seen a win as big as this on the cruise ships! Just doesn’t happen! But Mr. Lucky did it.....lucky, luckeeeeee. ... read more

I subscribe to the theory that says adventure can be found anywhere. I like the idea of choosing travel destinations by throwing darts at a map. I don't have darts, but a few months ago I saw the headline of a Trip Advisor article that listed Panama City as one of five underrated cities in Latin America. I didn't bother reading the article. I just bought a ticket, then called Jennifer in Texas and asked if she wanted to meet me there. "It won't involve mosquitos and camping in a jungle, will it?" she asked. "No," I lied. Going Native I found Anne on the Internet. A former Seattle zookeeper turned Hollywood animal trainer, she once wrangled jaguars for a film called End of the Spear, a true story about missionaries who tried to evangelize a ... read more

I was up by 6AM and was out and on a mission. I found Lake Gatun to be balmy, breezy and quiet except for the hum of the catamaran’s engine. No one was around. But I missed the southern cross. I later learned it is usually seen around 4AM. And sadly I couldn’t record the howler monkey’s morning calls, but the sunrise was spectacular. And the coffee and breakfast helped to ease the pain of my missed adventures. We cast off early in this sunny morning for our voyage on the open waters of Lake Gatun (and the Chagres River) crossing the division between the provinces of Colon and Panama, several times in fact. The Chagres River, marks the division between Panama and Colon provinces. It is the only river that flows into both oceans. We ... read more

This morning, our bus left the Holiday Inn in Clayton, and headed towards the Atlantic Ocean on Corridor Norte. While Roberto navigated our bus, Abdiel discussed Panama’s position on land preservation and environmental protection. He said that 42% of the land in Panama is protected by the government for green space allowing for water mitigation and natural flow to the canal. A portion of the same 42% of land is also used for parks where some of the protesting squatters live. He also informed us that Stanley Motta, who some may know from his calypso record label in Kingston, Jamaica, owns the Panamanian airline COPA (that some of us will use flying to Colombia). COPA makes up 14% of Panama’s GDP. Motta has become an extremely wealthy man and is very influential in Panamanian elections. Abdiel ... read more

After an equally delicious breakfast at the Holiday Inn’s Ship View Cafe, we left Clayton for the Chagres River (the native name for crocodile) to see the Embera Indians. Along the way we passed the US Embassy and some very expensive homes. A school for wealthy Chinese residents was very impressive. Abdiel said the Chinese run most of the convenience stores in Panama and have made quite a bit of money. The Chinese were smart opening their shops during traditional siestas when other stores were closed. Chinese men were brought to Panama to work on the railroad for the canal. After the canal was built some went to California to work on the railroads, but others stayed in Panama to open their now thriving businesses. As we were leaving the city, Abdiel pointed out the egg ... read more