It's hard to believe that it has been three months since I last updated my adventures in Panama, but it has been a busy three months.  I have been busy getting to know Panama better, as well as hosting four different sets of friends from the States. 

My Visitors

LINDA:  My first visitor was my friend Linda, whom I have known for 20 years (wow!).  I first met Linda when I moved to San Luis Obispo, CA in 1982 and rented a room in her house, which has a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean and Morro Bay.  Over the years Linda has played the role of mother, sister, and - mostly - good friend.

We had a great, relaxed time.  Linda took a Discover Scuba course and had her first diving experience, which she thoroughly enjoyed.  My friend Jesse took us on a tour of what I call "The Jungle Road" which goes through what used to be Fort Sherman in the old U.S. Canal Zone.  We saw toucans, monkeys, sloths (including a mother sloth hugging her baby), coatis and ñeccas. We also went to the zoo at Gamboa, a bargain at 25 cents - and a real deal for us since we didn't get charged.  There we saw the rare harpy eagle, a species of eagle unique to Central America.

Linda and I shared a lot of laughs, and I sure appreciated her cooking - especially after she left.  I know that she enjoyed Panama, and will come back to visit again.

You can view photos of Linda's trip by clicking here.

Stu & Becky: I've known Stu and Becky for over 15 years, and also met them when I lived in San Luis Obispo.  They were excited about the visit, and before coming to Panama they enrolled in a dive course in order to get certified.  Their experience diving here was a tad warmer than their open water dive they did in the Northwest, the water temperature  here being around 80 versus the 50 degrees of the Hood Canal.

Our fun times included diving, The Jungle Road (where Stu showed his superior animal-spotting skills), and most unique of all, a trip up the Chagres River to a native Embera Indian village.  We were taken about 45 minutes up the river by motorized dugout canoe to their village, where the natives, dressed in ceremonial garb, met us at the shore of the river playing their hand made instruments and dancing.  We were led up a hill to their village, which consists of many thatch covered huts on stilts.  We were taken to their ceremonial hut, and were given a history of their tribe and village (translated by our guide).  They then prepared lunch for us, displayed their handmade crafts, and the shaman of the village took me on a botany tour of the local jungle plants they use for medicine (one of the plants - I don't know what it was - goes on record as the most bitter thing I have ever tasted).  The natives then showed us several of their dances, which the three of us joined in on.  Afterwards we went swimming with them in the river, and lastly they drew tattoos on us - temporary eight day ones. It was an excellent time and I highly recommend this tour should you visit Panama.

You can view photos of their trip by clicking here.

Rob:  Rob has been my adventure buddy for the past several years.  We have gone hiking, backpacking, snow showing, JazzFesting, and -mainly- partying  together since 1998.  He planned a short trip here, made even shorter thanks to an overnight delay by American Airlines.  While here we went on The Jungle Road, hung out (he's an artist so he painted quite a bit), swam, and went on The Hike From Hell (THFH).

Remember my friend Jesse?  Well he's a retired career US Army Special Forces soldier.  He told Rob and I about a hike we could do near Portobelo, crossing a nearby ridge and coming into the village itself.  I asked him if we needed hiking boots, and he replied that no, it's not that strenuous.  He then gave us a detailed description of the route, and guaranteed us we couldn't get lost. (Lesson One:  When getting this sort of information from someone trained in jungle combat, consider the source).

Well, he was both right and wrong.  No, we couldn't get really lost, because it was obvious which way the ocean lies and therefore eventually we would find it.  But as for the trail being clear -wrong.  Somewhere along the way the trail disappeared, and we ended up going cross country, up and down (seemed like mostly up) numerous ridges.  Our trekking was made worse by the fact that this was all steep land that cattle grazed on, and in past rains their hooves made thousand of nice holes, which were conveniently covered by grass and other plants.  So Rob and I - in our sneaker, in 95 degree heat and god-awful humidity, had to hike cross-country, getting our feet stuck and trying not to twist an ankle.  Things were made worse by the fact that I hadn't brought enough water and I have a very efficient cooling system - in other words I sweat like a pig.  We ended up coming across a Panamanian cowboy in the middle of nowhere resting in his hammock- no kidding - and I approached him with my limited Spanish.  His name was Nikko, and fortunately he had water to replenish my supply.  After pointing to which ridge we needed to go over, Rob and I set off, our spirits renewed.

Now came the really steep part.  Up and up and up we went, and down and down and down my water went.  We finally made it to the top, excited to look down on Portobelo and the bay with the same name.  So you can imagine how we felt when, at the top, all we saw were more ridges.  At this point we decided the hell with it, and decided to turn and just heard towards the ocean.  About 15 minutes later I stopped to rest and told Rob I wanted to take a nap.  He delicately explained that he was concerned that I had heat exhaustion and that wanting to sleep is a sign of that.  I decided to listen to him, and he went into "survival mode". leading us out of there, through muddy boggy swamps, through streams, under barbed wire and around bewildered looking bulls.  We finally came to a clearing with some native Panamanians working, and I can only wonder what in the hell they thought as they saw two mud covered, exhausted Gringos traipsing in from nowhere.  We made it back okay, and I am glad that Rob had the presence of mind to recognize what was going on.  Oh, and the beer later was excellent!

Craig: I've known Craig slightly longer than Rob, and we too have shared adventures, including training for and riding in last year's Cycle Oregon.  We've also played a lot of cribbage over the years, but Craig was the undisputed champion while here.  The first days of his visit we hung out at La Roca, checking out the local sites and generally relaxing. But for the last part of his trip we flew up near the Costa Rican border to the province of Chiriqui, which is a completely different place than the Panama I have come to know.  For one thing, we were near the Baru Volcano, which towers over the province at a height of over 11,400 feet - higher than Mt. Hood.  It is beautiful country, and was named as one of the best places in the world to retire to (and that notoriety shows, as there are a lot of Gringos there and most places have signs in English as well as Spanish).  Our plane trip was uneventful, other than the fact that we learned that the Panamanian commuter airlines don't leave on time - they leave early!  Must be the only thing in Panama that isn't on "Panama Time"...

The rafting trip was with a rafting outfit called Chiriqui River Rafting, and they are an outfit that puts high priority in safety and customer enjoyment - in that order.  As luck would have it, we were joined by two separate Gringo couples, one from Florida and the other from Minnesota. Craig is an experienced rafter, having owned rafts in the past and having rafted the more exciting rivers in Oregon, some of the most exciting ones in the world.  Even so, Craig had a thrilling time, as did myself and the rest of the rafters.  The river had two class 5s and several Class 4 rapids.  The entire trip took over four hours and included lunch. I especially enjoyed being in front on the point, it's a non-stop adrenaline rush.

Within 15 minutes of our start we "highsided" and ended up being stranded on a huge boulder in the middle of the river, with rapids all around us.  It was especially harrowing for Allison from Minnesota, who slipped into the river and was hauled out by one of our guides.  But we were never in real danger, and our expert guides were able to get the raft unstuck from the rapids and had us on our way.  But believe me, after this when our guide yelled "highside", we listened and responded!

The next day Craig and I went to the valley on the other side of the volcano, to a place called Cerro Punta.  This is an amazing village, where a ton of produce is grown on extremely steep hillsides, farmed by hand and not machine.  That night we stayed in a cabana in the jungle, enjoyed a hot tub near a rushing river, and took turns getting a massage.  I slept the best I have slept in Panama that night.

You can view photos of our rafting trip by clicking here.

That's it for my visitors - so far.  Will you be next?

Senorita Update

OK, enough of you have been nosy enough that I've decided to post what's up in this department.  Isabela has returned to Colombia, so I am once again solo.  We had a great time together, but it definitely wasn't a forever sort of thing. Fortunately there's no shortage of pretty young senoritas...

Also, I'd like to add to my previous essay on the women here, where I commented on their figures (it's been said that the reason there are so many car accidents here is because the drivers are looking at the women walking and not at the road).  What I didn't mention is that they also have beautiful smiles, and dress very nicely and femininely.  I think that's the one aspect that the women here have that Western women don't - the ability to be feminine and equal.  Make no mistake - the women here are not second class citizens, they have equal jobs with men, and even the president of Panama is a woman.  But they haven't sacrificed femininity in the name of equality, they understand that while men and women are equal, we are also different.  I think it's better that we celebrate each other's differences rather than pretend they don't exist, and Panamanian society seems to agree.

On Speaking Spanish

In 1989 I went to the jungles of  Mexico on an adventure vacation rappelling into caves.  This was my first exposure to Spanish, and while I tried to learn a few basic expressions it was only afterward that I learned that instead of telling people that I don't speak Spanish ("No hablo espanol"), instead I was telling them that they don't speak Spanish ("No habla espanol"). Needless to say they figured that one out...when it came to Spanish, I didn't have a clue.

So when I came here, speaking no more Spanish than I did in 1989, I was determined to learn as best as I could.  So early on, in a conversation with a senorita, instead of asking her how old are you ("quanto años tu tienne ?"- literally "how many years do you have?") - I instead asked "Quanto anos tu tienne?".  Notice that the only difference here is in the letter "ñ" versus "n", which is pronounced "en-yea".  Doesn't seem like much of a difference, does it?  Well, it might not be except that "ano" (not año) in Spanish means "anus", so instead of asking her how old she was I instead asked her how many assholes she has! Not a great way to pick up chicks, guys...

Anyway, despite that, I have learned a lot of Spanish in my time here, a language that is easy to speak rudimentarily and difficult to speak properly -  especially with all of the verb conjugations.  I tend to sound like Tarzan, with everything in the present tense ("Yesterday, I go to beach, tomorrow I go diving") but I can converse well and overall am proud of how much Spanish I have learned.  I still struggle to understand what is going on when two or more Panamanians are in a conversation (do we speak English that rapidly?), but as long as people speak slowly, and to a certain extent simply, I can get by.  I generally have no problems communicating my needs.

So What's Next?

Good question, and one I am working on an answer for.  I really like life here in Panama, and want to stay here.  I have begun looking for work and/or entrepreneurial opportunities here.  In the meantime I need to return to the States at the end of this month to retrieve my cats and other things.  As it is for all of us, who knows what the future will bring?