Update #15 - Havana-na-na-na

December 1 & 28, 2019

it's the last month of 2019....oh what a year it has been....pretty devastating in my life, but with rays of sunshine throughout....for those who do not know, this will be my last year in panama....it has been an interesting ride to say the least, but it is time for me to move on....and i am officially letting all of you know that i will be headed back to asia....china more specifically....yes, i am surprised by this as well, but the school that has hired me is one-of-a-kind....and i have friends who work there who have said this to me repeatedly.....so it is exciting....starting august 2020, you will be able to find me in beijing....working at the western academy of beijing, more affectionately known as WAB... you should look at their website....as it is a quite impressive campus and even more impressive to me is the program i will be working within....https://www.wab.edu/....check it out!!!!

i do have quite a bit of time still in panama and plan on visiting as much of here as possible...plus, i do have some amazing travel plans in the second semester for this region of the world....rio for carnival and iguazu falls, both in brazil....and diving in belize.....but this semester has been pretty spectacular as well....and the first destination in this semester was havana, cuba for a five day weekend....what a soulful, laid back, stuck in time sort of place...look below and you will understand what i mean.....

this is me on the plane headed to cuba.....soooooo excited for what lies ahead....

this is the newly renovated capitol building in havana....they finished it in time for the 500th anniversary of the founding of cuba by the Spanish...it is a a beautiful building....havana seems to be a place of continual, but very slow renovation....but much of the island runs slow....that's island time....

the old cars in havana always made me smile....i know my dad would have loved this about the city...when they are owned by the government taxi service, they are cleaned up and functional....but there are people not hired by the government that are still using these cars as well...but the ones around the capitol are definitely government run....loved the colors....

the other thing that always was present when we were in old havana was music...it was everywhere....i loved this band because the woman actually played a clarinet...i never got a shot of that, but it certainly made me smile....

one of the things i had to do was sit with this woman who was chewing on a cigar...she was willing to read my fortune, but it would have been in spanish and i would have missed half of it....she did have tarot cards and due to the doll next to me and the chewing of the cigar, i figure she also practices santeria....an afro-cuban religion combining catholicism and african beliefs brought to cuba by african slaves....she had an outstanding laugh.....

it is all about the cars in cuba....they are everywhere in old havana....i was always on the look out for a 1957 chevy...my dad's favorite....the cubans said all of the gringos from the states loved that car....so they were more difficult to come by....

above is the fountain of neptune....given to havana by italy....it actually was used as a source of water for boats moored against it....but was decommissioned in 1871 and now just looks over the city with the fort behind it across the river leading out to the ocean....

this is from the revolution museum, housed in what used to be the presidential palace...it was really interesting to see the history of cuba from the cuban perspective....just a bit different than what i was taught in history class....it covers the revolution from the 1950's when batista was ousted by castro up to today.....the building it is located in is stunning.....

of course within the revolution museum is all of the story about how castro came to power, where he was from on the island, the men that stood by his side - camilo cienfuegos and che guevara, and how they took the island back for their people.....i learned quite a bit from this museum....

this was my favorite piece of public art in havana....she is facing the sea down along the malecon....her name is primavera, which is translated as "spring" in spanish...the artist says she was created to represent the spirit of the ballerina Viengsay Valdes....a cuban national ballet dancer....

this building sort of represented some of the feelings i had while in havana...it is a place of old glory, that is being renovated for the 21st century....but only where the tourists go...this building is along the malecon (the sea wall that stretches for 8 km in havana) where people walk and sit and gaze out over the sea towards the states....as you can see, it is being held up by another archway from somewhere else....the buildings are old and falling down, but the past has held them up for a very long time and it will take effort to bring them down....it is a wild place....

this is an image from one of the main squares in old havana...no one seems to know what the meaning is behind it....it is a naked woman, riding  rooster, holding a fork...but she does have on a pair of stilettos....its is your decision as to what you think that means :)

the public art in havana was some of my favorite....it was so creative...like this wall piece, where the hair of the singer is actually created by 45 records....the store it was on the wall of had some really old tvs and radios and such throughout its shelves....it was a step back in time for sure....

this is a shot of me and a statue of ernest hemingway....at one of the bars he frequented the most...el floridita....this was his favorite bar for the daiquiri he used to drink.....not very similar to daiquiris in the states....less fruity and more rum filled....one of the bartenders had been there for almost 50 years....simply amazing....and they had the best plantain snacks of any bar.....yum!!!!

more cars....and still looking for the elusive 57 chevy.....

above is the hotel nacional de cuba....which opened in 1930....this is the symbol of history, culture and cuban identity....visitors to cuba must get a special license to stay here as it is a national hotel...and the cost is quite extravagant...many past dignitaries and artists have stayed here....we just sat on the veranda overlooking the sea and enjoyed the house specialty, a mojito!!!!

on the outskirts of havana there is a part of town that has been reclaimed by a mosaic artist, called fusterlandia....created by jose fuster....who wanted to create public art spaces similar to gaudi in barcelona...he started off by turning his own house into a work of art and then proceeded to change the face of his entire neighborhood.....

his work has been compared to picasso...and is nicknamed the picasso of mosaics....i loved the colors and his use of all space...both in his house and around his entire neighborhood....

we visited fusterlandia on our car tour that took us around Havana and its outlying areas....this flower girl was located on one of the balconies of the house....what an extremely creative place to hang out....i loved it....

this is david and i on our old car tour....our driver was actually an engineer who worked for the government, but became an old car tour operator and driver to be able to afford his life in cuba....as an engineer for the government we was not able to make end's meat....driving tourists around has been more profitable for him....i asked why so many of the old cars were pink, and he replied because the women who visit cuba would prefer to ride in a pink cadillac....good business i think :)

this is a view looking back over the outlet to the ocean facing havana....this was taken on the top of the old fort overlooking havana, called the morro castle....we just stopped for the view on our car tour...

this is the view looking the other way from the fort....this a view towards the east side of the island and if you turned just a bit to the left and looked out over the water, you would be facing the united states, a mere 90 miles away....i never really realized just how close cuba is to florida.....

just like many parts of the world, havana has an imagine park...named for the famed john lennon song...and a statue of course is there.....he used to have gold rimmed glasses, but they had been stolen so many times that cubans employed an around the clock security guard to protect them for a couple of years....but then gave up, so the glasses were stolen one last time....

like many catholic countries, cuba of course has a national cemetery and most graves are in mausoleums....fidel castro is not buried here, as it is not where he was from....i had a beautiful day to walk around and see some of cubas most historical people....

i found it.....a 1957 chevy....that was in excellent condition....not a convertible though, which was a bit f a bummer....but of course, i had to take its picture in honor of my dad....he would have loved it :)

and the final shot....dani and a national beer....an amber to have to get out of the rain....tasty! and cheers to you from me....

so there you have it....my trip to cuba....four days in havana-na-na-na.....a place filled with soul and character, but one where the common person really struggles....if you have money or work for the government or are a tourist, cuba is an amazing place....but while we were there there was a gasoline shortage....and lines of cars, a 100+, were waiting for a tank....when a tourist old car pulls up, they jump to the head, fill up and go along on their merry way....difficult to watch....i also visited a grocery store....they did not really want to let me in, but i just wanted some water....it was interesting to see what was not on the shelves and what was....all food seemed to be "white" in color....white bread, white cheese, white pasta, white rice....and the thing that got me was how little of this food was even available.....

do i think people should go to cuba....i do....but make sure you try and give back to some folks and not just the government....the music and dancing and smiles make it worth it...and i am so glad i made it before wifi is available everywhere....time seems to move slower and you are definitely disconnected.....

i am hoping to get my next update out sooner rather than later....as i was in mexico city for day of the dead - dia de los muertos - and then did some amazing diving in cozumel.....again...a wonderful trip...more on that soon....happy holiday season to you and yours, from me and mine....
dedicated to my dad....peace out....
dani

Update #14 - Peru

October 12, 2019

hey there folks....how is everyone doing??? sorry its been awhile since the last update, but life is always busier when school is in session...peru was my end of the school year trip this past june...we have now been in school again since the last week of july....so life has been going at full tilt.....in the time since i have returned, i have had some fun weekends, celebrated my 50th birthday, visited cuba (which will be my next update - wow!) and have decided this will be my last year in panama.....it is time to move on after this year....so the job hunt is on for another school, in another country.....fingers crossed it turns out well.....i do have some things moving forward, so that is exciting!!!!

as for the trip to peru....i went on this exciting adventure for my friend nadine's 60th birthday...it was a bucket list trip for her and i was sooooo glad i could go with her for it....we had a great time and got really lucky for the biggest festival in cusco, peru just before the winter solstice.....it was an amazing experience....also went sand boarding for the first time in my life....tons of fun!!!! so, on with the pictures....enjoy!!!!

this is the main market in cusco, sometimes spelled cuzco, where you can find tourist things - hats, gloves, sweaters, key chains, chocolate - but also where you can find local goods - fruits vegetables, meats, drinks, etc....you can also sit down and have breakfast or lunch....which we did and it was tasty...rice with eggs and veggies....yummy!!!

these are just some of the potatoes you can find in peru....i was reading that peru has over 3500 different varieties!!!! how crazy is that!!! we had a bunch of different sizes and colors of potatoes while we were in peru....

we were soooo fortunate to be in cusco during the Inti Raymi festival - or festival of the sun...it is the week leading up to the winter solstice - june 24....it was amazing and packed with people....there were days dedicated to dancing (these folks were dressed in traditional clothes for one of those days) and a day for environmental floats and a day for saints to be paraded around the city....the festivities were everywhere and sooooo much fun to experience....

peru is where the incans lived - well actually all of the andes were home to the incans....they were amazing architects and builders...the stone in the middle of the picture is simply amazing....it is called the 12 angle stone...there are 12 right angles that have been cut and matched perfectly in this stone....just incredible...and all of the incan buildings were this well put together....just mind-blowing...

because of the raymi festival, many people came into the city for the festivities....which meant we saw tons of folks in traditional dress with their llamas....which was a great way for them to make a bit of money with the tourists...the rainbow flag you see is the city flag....they are quick to point out it is different from the gay pride flag...but it comforted me that this aspect of the flag does not really stress them out....and it meant we saw rainbows everywhere!!!!

some of the traditional dance outfits were wild...this one was worn by some of the tallest women in the dance group and represented a nest for a stork...not sure if they were hoping to become pregnant or what...but it certainly looked heavy to carry....but they carried it off with style and grace and danced with them on....

of course one whole day was dedicated to machu picchu...the incan town on the top of a mountain....many people walk the incan trail to get there, however we did not do that...we took a bus, train, bus and then walked a bit....it was a very early start, but here you see the four of us about to get on the train that takes you to the town below machu picchu....

here is the birthday girl, nadine, and i on the train to the base of machu picchu....very excited for the day ahead....brought snacks and warm clothes to get us through the adventure....

we made it!!!! this is the famous overlook everyone takes a picture at....so excited i got the shot below with no one really in it...as we were there with about 2,500 of our closest friends....but it is a town so people really just blend in i guess....this is an UNESCO world heritage site and is thought to have been built for the incan emperor pachacuti...the outside world did not know about this place until it was discovered in 1911.....it is sometimes wrongly referred to as the lost city of the incans...but that is still being looked for, as this is probably too small for the empire to have been a city of the incans....

this is the quintessential shot that everyone takes of machu picchu and i am so glad i got it....we also experienced a wedding proposal while we were at this point....so cute...and she said yes!!! it was so cool to reach this point and realize so much has happened before you have been around....history is just amazing.....

this is the whole crew at the overlook....we made it!!!!! once in a lifetime adventure with this bunch and it was great, even though two members had really bad altitude sickness - it is a real thing people! - that we all made it to this point to see this majestic place, rich in history and tradition!!!!

the building in the center of this picture is one of the things i really wanted to see....it is the temple of the sun.....the reason why i wanted to see this is because those windows line up astronomically with the pathway the sun takes on the two solstices (winter & summer)....plus, the building is curved which is rather rare in incan architecture....so the building was of some importance...the platform outside of it may have been used for sacrifices and the part underneath it, which you can see to the right, may have been where they buried important people...it is also where they may have honored pachamama....mother earth....just love this structure....

they had quite a few temples and this was the one to the condor....the part of the building you see is shaped like a wing of the condor...and the tree to the left, is one of the only full sized trees they left standing once this place was discovered, to show just how difficult it was to find machu picchu...when it was first discovered it was all trees and vegetation that had to be removed to see what was underneath it....just incredible!!!! if you have not been to this location on the earth, you really should go...it is fantastic.....

this is nadine and i after we have come down from machu picchu....we are celebrating with a passion fruit pisco sour....pisco is a national alcohol, which is distilled from fermented grapes....but is nothing like wine, if you have never had it....later you will see a shot from a pisco distillery....cheers, we made it!!!!

another day of festival in cusco involved the national dish of peru, cui, pronounced quweeee....this is also a dish served in ecuador, so i had experienced it before....also known as guinea pig, this is a roasted cui....you should have seen how many cui stalls were in the square on this day....so many people enjoying this national dish....i however, did not partake ;)

nadine and i hopped a bus 24 hour bus...may be the last time i ever do this....to make it to see the nazca lines....but unfortunately along the way we ran into a farmers protest that shut down the road and made our trip 28 hours instead and we missed the nazca lines...i hope i do get to see them some day, but it was not to happen on this trip...i did see a tuk-tuk like cart that had sylvester and a dolphin on it....my current school's mascot is the dolphin....so i had to take a picture.....

this was a shot from the bus of a lovely sunset picture and the coast of peru....at this point i just really wanted to get off the bus, it was hour 23 at this point....long and tiring....but comfortable for the most part....just not something i am interested in repeating again.....

but once we arrived at huacuachina, the only oasis in south america, we said maybe the 28 hours was worth it....ummmmmmmm....these are the sand dunes and all of the dune buggies in huacauchina...it was a wild location....

here's the pisco distillery we went to....all of those bottles you see on the bar are different piscos...we taste tested quite a few and enjoyed our time here before the last part of the trip in huacuachina....

the sand dunes!!!!! it was incredible and i really had no idea how huge they really were....we dune buggy-ed and sand boarded....some folks used snow boards to do this....and stood up...most of us did not....but these are the dunes around sunset....just lovely....

this was our sand dune buggy....it held about 12 of us and the driver....who was a man after my own heart and loved to drive uber fast down the dunes...it was awesome!!!!

it was also quite sandy, so most of us had something to cover our noses and mouths....not that it mattered once you did the sand boarding...sand just got everywhere....

me and the sand board...this was my last run down, as i wiped out by putting my foot down too early....you can go on your knees or stomach when there are no straps....if it has straps, you can stand and use the board like a snow board....it was a blast!!!!

these are some of the other buggies at sunset....turned out well with the silhouette... it was a great time before we hopped on the last part of the bus extravaganza back to peru....not sure i will do a 24 bus ride again....but the sand buggies and sand boarding were a lot of fun!!!!

this is the coastline in lima, a lovely city, with tons of surfers all year round....it was great to be in cooler weather and to watch them surf from high above.....i wandered around lima for the day and had a fun time in that walk-able, excellent food focused city....maybe some day i will go back....

and for my last shot :) of course, it is me with a beer....the interesting thing about this beer is that it is a national beer with cocoa leaves in it....peruvians chew cocoa leaves to deal with altitude sickness....i got this beer at a tasty place in cusco that served stews, which were perfect for the cold, winter weather....overall peru did not disappoint....machu picchu was incredible, the inti raymi festival was an added bonus and the time of sand boarding got my adrenaline flowing....if you get the chance, i highly recommend visiting....and as always, this post is dedicated to my dad....mulu....

i hope all of you in the northern hemisphere are enjoying fall....please savor some of the color for me...this is the one time of year i really miss the seasons...as the only seasons we have in panama are rainy and dry...enjoy sweater weather for me too.....if you have any questions about this trip, please get in touch and i hope everyone is well and happy.....
peace out....
dani