Blogs from Panamá, Panama, Central America Caribbean - page 58

November 8, 2005 (Panama City, Panama) Shannon: Sean and I have been in Panama for about a week now and have settled into something of a routine. We are using Panama City for our base of operations, making day trips to sights around the city (or overnight, as was the case this weekend when we ventured to Isla Taboga). It’s nice to stay somewhere long enough that you begin to have somewhat of a comfort level with the surroundings - we now consider Casco Viejo “our” neighborhood. We get our breakfast from “our” local breadshop and “our” local tienda (small grocery store), eat dinner at “our” comedor (small diner) and usually finish our day with a visit to “our” Internet café ($0.50 per hour - a great deal!). We’ve moved to a different hostel, one that ... read more

November 1, 2005 (Panama City, Panama) Sean: I’ve wanted to come to this country ever since I first heard Van Halen sing that refrain. I never understood the connection between the lyrics and the chorus though. But they were Capital B-I-G Rock and Roll stars and I was some punk kid listening to my cool, older brother’s cassette tapes, so who was I to question these powerful and all knowing gods? It must’ve meant something otherwise why would anyone listen to a bunch of grown men innocuously stringing words together and then periodically - for still no obvious discernable reason - yelling out the name of a random Central American country. It didn’t make sense, but then again it’s not like the members of the band were going out and buying my albums. And that was ... read more

Well I know I have a huge blank to fill in and this entry isn't going to do it. I'm supposed to be cruising at 40000 ft right now on my way to MIA but I'm not. Thanks to Wilma my flight to MIA was cancelled for the day. Of course I didn't find out until I got to the airport.... that is what happens when you are M-I--A in the islands of Panama for a week, with no phone, no light no motor car. Not a single luxury. I'm booked on the afternoon flight to MIA tomorrow and I'm going to go and try and fly standby in the morning. Probably just spend the whole day in the airport. Oh well. Its funny the morning flight to Miami went today because that plane had been ... read more

We gotta get out of this place...if its the last thing we ever do...sounds familiar?...well its been a few days and you're all probably wondering just what's going on...crikey, he hasn't written anything for a day or 2!..shock, horror...ahh, I know you're all suffering withdrawal but really, there's been very little to say....don't say it!....so maybe just a little picture of our town...like it is our town now..........we have become embarrassingly local, I know every crack in the footpath, how deep all the puddles are, where the pit-lids are missing (many), all the sharp bits of steel embedded in the path (many) right at toe-amputation level, all the buildings....our street is lined with tenement buildings, about 4 or 5 storeys high, 2 flats wide, balconies with elaborate wrought iron grilles, washing, mats and people hanging out ... read more

Time and the hour, going thru the same thing again, in your actual Panama City, right by your actual Canal...and trying to take the mind back to where the little note book says I last blogged...scrambled notes from odd opportunities along the road, when passions were high, death just a shot away, all the senses attuned to the present, head full of ideas, heart full of fear, love, scent of roses..whatever...now trying to interpret not only the writing but the sense also... So, out of Domenical and just drifting without any rush, south towards the end of Costa Rico...dense, green impenetrable jungle to the left, towering giants, draped in lianas and creepers, brilliant flowers, masses of insects, butterflies, birds and sure as sure, deep inside, the animals whose calls indicate many, very sharp teeth...on the right ... read more