Hi all - well, i am hopeful i will get this out to you all before i run out of time and am back on a plane to panama tomorrow.....this summer has flown....some good parts....some amazing parts....some busy parts.....some very difficult parts.....i have been trying to help my family deal with the business stuff in pennsylvania since my dad's death.....it is just hard.....but i also went to peru (machu picchu - a future update), saw family & friends, went to cape may with my mom for a few days away and to a friend's wedding in georgia.....a good, but very short 5.5 weeks of summer.....but now onto the update....and as always...this is written for my dad 💜
this past spring break i actually stayed in panama and took a road trip with my friends laurie and wendy....laurie, i have known since college and this was our first big trip together (hopefully not our last) and wendy, i have known since the ice and she is the one person in my life who has visited everywhere i have been since we met....sooooooo cooooooool.....we decided to check out the country i am currently living in for one more year....speaking of this, if you are planning on visiting, make sure to do it before june 2020....as that is when i will be moving someplace new....not sure where that is, but the job search will be commencing soon.....so let me know if panama is a location you are planning on visiting.....
so our road trip.....we went to three very distinct places in panama besides panama city...boquete - out in the west, santa catalina - the pacific coast & beach, and el valle - the center of an extinct volcano (which you have seen in my updates before).....plus of course the panama canal and casco viejo, of panama city......it was terrific trip and i think we saw a lot of panama as a country....after the road trip i have also included are a few shots from my long weekend in Cartagena, Colombia and a final few shots from my year of school.....i do not always show a lot of people, but i thought i would end with some shots of people that really helped me make it through this school year...on with the update 😎
our first stop was to boquete....about a 6-7 hours drive west of panama city....it is a completely different climate and where most of the coffee of panama is grown...it is also a retirement enclave for expats (people living away from their country).....i am an expat of the USA....so once there it was amazing how much english and german we heard....so many retirees....which shows that panama is one of the top ten best places in the world to retire....all over panama they have these signs now....can you find all three of us?????
this is the view of boquete from up where the sign is overlooking the valley....green, luscious, clean air and some beautiful mountains....definitely different from the streets of panama city ;)
boquete is also the location of some of the best growing coffee climate in the world...not too hot, a bit more altitude, good amounts of sun and rain....we toured a coffee plantation there called finca dos jefes....which means farm of the two bosses....it is run by a couple who bought the plantation when it was no longer functioning....their coffee is all organically grown....these are the drying racks for the beans once harvested....nice view :)
this is a coffee plant flower....they only flower for a very short time...and smell a bit like jasmine...these folks also grow their coffee in accordance with the schedule of the moon....their coffee is also direct trade coffee....which means they purchase directly from the farmer...no middle-men....this is much better than fair trade - as farmers and pickers do not get much from that agreement, but direct trade works with the farms & plantations themselves to honor the folks who do the work of planting & harvesting coffee...it is a pretty impressive place....check it out - finca dos jefes (click on name to visit their website)....and the coffee is pretty amazing as well!!!
while in boquete we also visited the bee and butterfly farm called boquete bees....it was terrific...we wandered the grounds learning about how they extract honey and then use it in many different ways....the picture above shows our guide and the old style bee farming methods....they still have some like these, but have started leaving hives in tree types that they have on the property...really interesting....they have a set of killer bees on the property....as well as many other types....no, we did not see any of the killer bees....thank goodness.....but they help the whole process, so they are not exterminating them....
the butterfly house was lovely....you can even do yoga there....they have space for the whole process of egg, pupa, larva and adult and make sure the butterflies have everything they need to survive....it was sooooo peaceful....
and then we did a honey tasting.....it was amazing....they produce 40+ varieties, with some added organic ingredients....plus honey wine and honey liquor....it all depends on the flowers the bees help pollinate and get nectar from...and each bee type has its favorite....so each honey tastes different from the one before...it was a lovely experience.....
from boquete, we headed to the pacific coast....santa catalina....there is a national park there called coiba...where we spent a day snorkeling and exploring.....above you see a shot from the island we had lunch on....the snorkeling was fun, except for the little, stinging jellyfish around the first island....you can see the boat we took around the islands for the day right in front....the pther boat is a floating restaurant/bar, but was not open when we had lunch....bummer....it was a 2-hour bumpy trip back into the mainland, but it certainly was beautiful out there......
here we are - laurie, wendy and i....hanging on the beaches of the coiba islands....it was a stunning day....relaxing and we saw some great life while snorkeling...i am hoping to get back to this region to dive this year before i leave panama....i would really like to do this in january when the manta rays are jumping and whale sharks are around....fingers crossed....
our last stop before heading back was el valle....one of my favorite locations in panama...a town that was built in the crater of an extinct volcano...we spent on morning birding with one of the best guides in all of panama...here you can see our crew with mario the birding guide!
do you see the birds???? where??? look at twelve o'clock to spot them....my favorite spots of the day was a pair of toucans we followed up the valley....such cool birds....ad a green headed parrot hanging around having breakfast....
and then it was back to panama on good friday....a few days before easter....panama's main religion is catholic, hence the pope's visit earlier this year...so on good friday, no one in the country is allowed to purchase/sell alcohol....except restaurants or hotels if they choose to sell any....this is from our road stop on the way back to the city....no beer for you!!!!
of course we had to visit the canal....and even though i have been here a multitude of times, i learn something new every time i go...it was a beautiful day and we watched quite a few ships go through the locks....the engineering of the locks is just mind-blowing....this is a shot of the first set of locks of the old set....adjacent to the pacific ocean....
we also went to some of the areas where you could see all of the city....as you can see it was/is the rainy season....which is happens in panama approximately for nine months....but the skyline is still fabulous to look at....
here's a shot of laurie in the old town, casco viejo, of panama city....these are the "bones" of an old church there....they have definitely been working to make this part of a panama city a tourist destination....but like the gentrification all over the world....this has good results and not so good results....but overall it was a great visit....
one last shot of the three of us from the beaches of santa catalina....we had a lovely trip and fun traveling together....here's to the next destination....
here is a picture from this past year's science team....we were dressed for pink shirt day at my school - which is an anti-bullying day that was started in canada, when a boy was bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school...other kids saw it happening and came to school all wearing pink shirts the next day to stand up to the bullies...this has continued around the world and now pink shirt day is a yearly tradition at many schools including ISP.....
my last quick jaunt of the year was to cartagena, colombia, to meet up with my friend genevieve before she left the area to teach elsewhere.....it is a lovely, beach side city...the old section is quaint and beautiful to stroll through....lots of art and artisans there and bars, restaurants and cafes to hang at....it was a great little get away.....
we had sundowners at the famous cafe on the wall of the old city...lovely views and a huge colombian flag....what a fun, but hot place to wander in and explore....
this is genevieve and i toasting her next big adventure...she is headed back to the continent of africa...i hope to get in a visit...but much of it depends on where i end up next...cheers!!!!
we spent a day on one of the islands off of cartagena....we were some of 80 people in total on this beautiful island where we went snorkeling and had lunch and swam and lounged around...it was terrific...look at that water color!
i figured i would also include a shot from one of my last classes of the year....the picture credit goes to one of my students....this is what happens when you drop pure sodium metal in water...it is extremely reactive!!!! i love this shot....
this image is one of the last pictures i took in panama....off of my balcony...i really do get amazing sunsets and love this view....the pointy buildings are also really fun to watch during a lightning storm...simply incredible...panama was saying "hasta luego" to me for the summer....
and what would an update be without a beer shot....here i am with my good friend spicer on his last day in panama...him and his wonderful family are moving to bali to work there in the coming year...i will certainly miss our discussions at rana with our beers about science, books, music and life...i wish him & his family all the best and to the rest of you i say "cheers to wherever you are in the world"!!!
and so there you have it...my road trip and some others from panama and colombia....it was a crazy school year, with lots of travel and fun....but also the passing of my dad....i have one more year in panama and really do enjoy parts of this country.....soooooo if you are planning on stopping by, you have until june 2020 to do so....just let me know.....
i do have one more update to get out, which i will try and do before school starts next week...as all of you know, i run out of time more quickly then...it was of an amazing bucket-list birthday trip for my friend nadine....we did peru & machu picchu....simply incredible on so many different levels...fingers crossed that gets done sooner rather than later....
remember, if you have any questions about this update....send them my way.....
hope you are enjoying your summer/winter wherever you are and thanks for joining me for my latest update....and as always, this is dedicated to my dad 💚
peace out....dani
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