A few months have passed since I left Panama. My memories of my experiences there, of Luis' family, of the colors, the people, and animals are still very much with me. For a while I was still dreaming of Luis' parent's house. I keep in touch once in a while with Alessandra on facebook and even spoke to her on the phone a few days ago. She's taking her English class while I am improving my Spanish. I am still basking in the glow of the time I shared with Alex, Joy, and Luis and his family and how magical it seemed to be able to spend those days together.
Strangely enough I find it difficult to write about my experiences since returning to North America. Although I see lots of interesting things going on and plenty of humor, in a way things seem more complex here.
I still remember relatively clearly a few of the stories from Panama that I never got to writing.
Luis' great aunt Nema who shares the same January birthday as Joy although she was born 60+ years earlier, lives in the house next to Luis' parents. Although I had been in Panama for weeks both the previous year and the current one, I had somehow failed to ever enter the house of Luis' Aunt Nema. Nema was one of the first family members I encountered in Panama and perhaps the reason I never made it into her home was because she was so often at Luis' house. It would be a rare day that passed in which Nema wouldn't stop by for a visit or at least press her face to the window overlooking the dining table from outside during meal times to exchange a few words and to check in on Luis' family before swinging the little metal gate that linked her yard to theirs and slowly steadily making her way back under the wide porch to her side door. I became accustomed to the sound of Nema sweeping in her back yard with her various chickens or the image of her in one of her light, loose sleeveless dresses carefully pinning her underthings out to dry or pinning up a men's shirt from one of the long term guest relatives who frequently took up residence in her enormous house.
Nema has lovely caramel colored skin which is still in great condition. It always glows a little bit. Rosalina told me that she is rather fond of fine perfumes and lotions. Perhaps that's part of her secret. She wears her hair cropped short. There's something sort of off center about her mischievous smile. A product of another time, Nema's sense of humor, full of teasing, took me some time to get used to.
Shortly before my scheduled trip back to the States, on a lazy hot afternoon, I made up my mind to go visit Nema. Rosalina agreed and we headed for Nema's wide roof patio with a brief overhead glance at the quickly darkening clouds. Nema looked pleased and a little bit surprised that we had come to visit her. Chairs were arranged in a circle and she invited us to sit down. After a little while it began to rain hard and Rosalina suggested we take a tour of the house. We first saw the spacious kitchen where I imagined Nema making her pulpy banana drinks and other special foods. The house was larger on the inside even than it appeared from outside. There were several lived in looking bedrooms, blankets cast aside as if someone had slept in them the night before, and finally a simple living room area with a few glamour shot style photos of family members and places to sit. We sat there a while wondering when the rain was going to stop, watching it drip and listening to it through the open doorway. There's something so comforting about rain, especially this hard kind. There is relief in the idea that you simply can't really go anywhere. You have to wait until this kind of rain finishes.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Two days left in David!
Hello! Well, there are only two days left in David now. Wednesday I leave with Luis´parents for Panama city. We´re staying the night there and then I will leave for my Boston flight and Jose and Rosalina for Spain! Pretty exciting. There are still several things that still need to be done in the next two days. I am hoping to go to Boquete to return a poetry book to Jose Luis tomorrow. Today Alessandra and I have some errands to do. I´d like to go back to Jackelita if I can to take some pictures of the iguanas.
Luis´family has been so generous and kind with me and Alex and Joy as well. I have learned a lot, improved my spanish, and had a lot of fun. Although I am excited to get back I am sad to leave. I am wishing the best for everybody here including Alessandra. She has her whole adult life ahead of her. I wonder what she will choose to study. We will keep in touch for sure.
It is hard to imagine the cold, but there´s still a good chunk of winter left up north! I will try and appreciate the heat and sunshine while I can. I´ll also try to eat a bunch of delicious fruit!
Have a great day!
Luis´family has been so generous and kind with me and Alex and Joy as well. I have learned a lot, improved my spanish, and had a lot of fun. Although I am excited to get back I am sad to leave. I am wishing the best for everybody here including Alessandra. She has her whole adult life ahead of her. I wonder what she will choose to study. We will keep in touch for sure.
It is hard to imagine the cold, but there´s still a good chunk of winter left up north! I will try and appreciate the heat and sunshine while I can. I´ll also try to eat a bunch of delicious fruit!
Have a great day!
Friday, January 22, 2010
The Supervisor
Good Morning from David. This morning Jose, Rosalina, Alessandra, and I went to the stadium to walk at 6 am. Actually Alessandra and I ran around 4 times and walked around 3. A couple of days ago she took the Jung Typology personality test in spanish on the internet and her result was ESTJ. She´s a supervisor, which makes sense. Immediately she stepped into her leadership role on the track.
"Now, we are going to start running." she said. "Breathe in and out through your nose. If you get tired you can breathe out once through your mouth. But, not much!"
A little bit later:
"Keep a steady pace. Don´t accelerate and don´t slow down! Go at the same speed."
A little bit later:
"Now, we are going to pass Rosalina. Keep a steady pace!"
A sleek dark skinned young man was running beautifully in front of us.
"You see him? He is an athlete." Alessandra said.
"Do you know him?" I asked.
"I did once. Not now." she answered. I saw her posture straighten almost imperceptibly as we neared the young man. Her focus increased. She looked straight ahead. I made a point of running steadily beside her so as not to embarrass her.
The sun rose so quickly. It didn´t seem gradual at all. One moment it seemed dark and we could see the stars. The next moment the sky was lit orange and pink, brightening a tree full Talingos singing and chattering obnoxiously.
Today is another quiet day. Jose and Rosalina are off somewhere both doing errands. Maybe Rosalina is at school this morning. I am not sure. They are still preparing for their trip to Spain. Yesterday Rosalina received the box with things from her cousin for the trip. Some wool sweaters, a large chic purse for Rosalina, a relatively light weight elegant men´s coat for Jose made of navy Italian wool (which he insists is too heavy and the "coat" (a men´s suit jacket) he bought the other day from the thrift store will be just fine) as well as a multitude of children´s clothing and toys (hand-me-downs from Rosalina´s cousin´s little grandaughter). Several of the kid´s clothes and shoes were given to Alessandra to share with her relatives. She also took a large well worn doll with a lavender dress, tired satiny shoes, blonde yarn pigtails, and blue eyes.
"What should we do with this doll?" Rosalina had asked.
Alessandra took the doll into her lap and folded it´s face into it´s cloth legs, hugging it to her body. There was a pretty set of four embroidered napkins in the suitcase, which Rosalina gave me to take back and use in our apartment. Some of the toys will also go to the baby next door.
During my first week here in Panama this visit, I became aquainted with the baby. The room I am staying in is close enough to the house next door that I can hear the baby crying with astonishing clarity. The baby often comes by to visit Alessandra and Angela for periods of time during the day. Alessandra is always happy to see her and will immediately hug her, kiss, and chatter in baby language to her. The 67 year old man next door is from India. Once in a while he´ll come by to drop off a spicy Indian dish for Jose and Rosalina to try. He lived in the US for a while going to University there. He´s married to a young Panamanian woman now and they have a baby. He doesn´t speak spanish. I often hear them "conversing" animatedly in a sort of english. It´s not that I aim to overhear, but I cannot help it due to the location of my bedroom. Once in a while I´ll hear her refer to him as "that gringo I married!"
One day Angela was busy when the baby came to visit. I was in my room when I heard a knock a the door. Angela came bustling in with the baby in her arms asking me to please just watch her for a few minutes, because she was terribly busy and stressed with her work.
I had told her yes of course. Suddenly I found myself alone with this baby. The baby and I passed an awkward couple of minutes.
"hmmm.....What to do next.... Babies like to play I think." I arranged the baby on the bed. The air conditioning felt good. Soon I had the baby surrounded with things I thought she might find interesting. Among them, a pink ribbon, a strange wind up blue monster I found on the table in the corner, a stuffed cow, and two dogs holding paws that sing Sonny and Cher´s "I got you babe." The baby was hard to impress. I believe best of all she liked the pink ribbon. The two dogs scared her.
"Now, we are going to start running." she said. "Breathe in and out through your nose. If you get tired you can breathe out once through your mouth. But, not much!"
A little bit later:
"Keep a steady pace. Don´t accelerate and don´t slow down! Go at the same speed."
A little bit later:
"Now, we are going to pass Rosalina. Keep a steady pace!"
A sleek dark skinned young man was running beautifully in front of us.
"You see him? He is an athlete." Alessandra said.
"Do you know him?" I asked.
"I did once. Not now." she answered. I saw her posture straighten almost imperceptibly as we neared the young man. Her focus increased. She looked straight ahead. I made a point of running steadily beside her so as not to embarrass her.
The sun rose so quickly. It didn´t seem gradual at all. One moment it seemed dark and we could see the stars. The next moment the sky was lit orange and pink, brightening a tree full Talingos singing and chattering obnoxiously.
Today is another quiet day. Jose and Rosalina are off somewhere both doing errands. Maybe Rosalina is at school this morning. I am not sure. They are still preparing for their trip to Spain. Yesterday Rosalina received the box with things from her cousin for the trip. Some wool sweaters, a large chic purse for Rosalina, a relatively light weight elegant men´s coat for Jose made of navy Italian wool (which he insists is too heavy and the "coat" (a men´s suit jacket) he bought the other day from the thrift store will be just fine) as well as a multitude of children´s clothing and toys (hand-me-downs from Rosalina´s cousin´s little grandaughter). Several of the kid´s clothes and shoes were given to Alessandra to share with her relatives. She also took a large well worn doll with a lavender dress, tired satiny shoes, blonde yarn pigtails, and blue eyes.
"What should we do with this doll?" Rosalina had asked.
Alessandra took the doll into her lap and folded it´s face into it´s cloth legs, hugging it to her body. There was a pretty set of four embroidered napkins in the suitcase, which Rosalina gave me to take back and use in our apartment. Some of the toys will also go to the baby next door.
During my first week here in Panama this visit, I became aquainted with the baby. The room I am staying in is close enough to the house next door that I can hear the baby crying with astonishing clarity. The baby often comes by to visit Alessandra and Angela for periods of time during the day. Alessandra is always happy to see her and will immediately hug her, kiss, and chatter in baby language to her. The 67 year old man next door is from India. Once in a while he´ll come by to drop off a spicy Indian dish for Jose and Rosalina to try. He lived in the US for a while going to University there. He´s married to a young Panamanian woman now and they have a baby. He doesn´t speak spanish. I often hear them "conversing" animatedly in a sort of english. It´s not that I aim to overhear, but I cannot help it due to the location of my bedroom. Once in a while I´ll hear her refer to him as "that gringo I married!"
One day Angela was busy when the baby came to visit. I was in my room when I heard a knock a the door. Angela came bustling in with the baby in her arms asking me to please just watch her for a few minutes, because she was terribly busy and stressed with her work.
I had told her yes of course. Suddenly I found myself alone with this baby. The baby and I passed an awkward couple of minutes.
"hmmm.....What to do next.... Babies like to play I think." I arranged the baby on the bed. The air conditioning felt good. Soon I had the baby surrounded with things I thought she might find interesting. Among them, a pink ribbon, a strange wind up blue monster I found on the table in the corner, a stuffed cow, and two dogs holding paws that sing Sonny and Cher´s "I got you babe." The baby was hard to impress. I believe best of all she liked the pink ribbon. The two dogs scared her.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Perros Calientes
Oh yeah and check out the center picture in the group.
Perros Calientes......Hot dogs
Perros Calientes......Hot dogs
The Fair in Boquete
Rosalina´s cousin Mariela came to visit for a couple of days last week. She came to go to the fair in Boquete with her daughter in law and new grandbaby Monique. She´s a very proud grandmother and Monique is a very happy baby who is not camera shy. At the coffee shop we went to before the fair a man from Washington with a nice camera took a picture of all of us. Afterwards Monique tried to take his camera! Doesn´t the picture below look like a Spanish or Italian painting of Madonna and child?
Turtlecon
"errrr! errr! clucclucluclcuclukcluckcluck!" patio chicken.
Yesterday we went shopping for clothes for Jose and the trip to Spain. Jose and Rosalina are going to Spain for a couple of weeks soon with Jose´s brother Miguel and his wife and daughter, Anais and Diana and a group of people from the University in Panama City. Today a box of clothing (including a men´s winter coat) from Rosalina´s well travelled cousin Titi is expected to arrive. It is quite a challenge to find clothing suitable for winter in Panama! There are a few coldish weather options, like sweaters, even a few lightweight jackets. Last year Jose and Rosalina took me and Luis to Volcan where there is a little thrift store with quite a selection (for some reason) of Land´s End sample coats in big cardboard boxes. Some of the shirts and coats are embroidered with the names of companies and organizations like,
"Turtlecon Technologies."
"Turlestick Christian Ministry...."
There were some very nice ones. I remember Rosalina had said
"You can use these in Montreal."
At the time that seemed to make sense, after all when you are here in Panama it is hard to imagine the cold, at least not a cold stronger than a crisp mountain evening in Boquete. Luis found a navy blue jacket that says "Hunter" in black embroidery. You can barely see it and if you could it seems like the brand of the jacket. I chose a red one with the word "SAMPLE" written in black marker on the inside back panel. Sadly when we arrived in Montreal last year (where the cold hits you like a brick to the chest) and we had to crack ice off the taxi cab door in order to get into it, we remembered what cold is. At that point the new jackets seemed more like light raincoats for a late spring afternoon.
Yesterday we stopped by a couple of the nicest stores in David to find men´s clothes. In Conway the sales lady held up a khaki zip up jacket. Jose tried it on.
"What do you think Erika?" Rosalina asked. Jose was smiling feeling proud in the jacket.
"Alex and Luis have similar ones, but they are for spring and late summer." I said. His smile got a little bit smaller. In another store he tried a few jackets. A blue one looked especially nice on him.
"I can wear this with a scarf in Spain." he said smiling.
"No you need to wear a coat with it." I said. Again, his smile got a little smaller.
"This is not a coat?" he said.
"This jacket is good to wear inside." said Rosalina.
"How cold is it in Spain right now?" I asked.
"I don´t know. We´ll have to check the weather report." Rosalina said.
I am not sure how cold it is there. Probably not bitter.
Our next stop was a thrift store called "American Clothing"
There Jose found a very nice blue pure wool jacket from Ralph Lauren. It suits him and he is very pleased with it. It´s a bit big, but he´s going to have it altered. Jose is funny. He really likes shoes from the brand "Rockport." He borrowed a pair one time from Luis I think and thought they were so comfortable that he always wants to wear Rockport shoes. Rosalina got Luis a classy pair of black boots for Christmas this year. (They are a good addition to his soon to be Dr. Luis Miguel wardrobe.) When Jose saw them he had to have them too and went back to the same store for his own pair. (Maybe you saw the picture of them in matching boots I posted?)
At the thrift store when he saw a sign for Rockport shoes he got excited looked at me and said
"ROCKSport!" (With the emphasis on ROCKS)
Among other news, the term "turtlehead" has now officially spread to Latin America. I have used it a couple of times around Alessandra and now she likes to use it. She used it just the other day when she was frustrated with her boyfriend
"Que cabeza de Tortuga!" she said (What a turtlehead!) She has also said.
"Que Tortugota!" (big turtle!) hahaha!
Have a great day!
Yesterday we went shopping for clothes for Jose and the trip to Spain. Jose and Rosalina are going to Spain for a couple of weeks soon with Jose´s brother Miguel and his wife and daughter, Anais and Diana and a group of people from the University in Panama City. Today a box of clothing (including a men´s winter coat) from Rosalina´s well travelled cousin Titi is expected to arrive. It is quite a challenge to find clothing suitable for winter in Panama! There are a few coldish weather options, like sweaters, even a few lightweight jackets. Last year Jose and Rosalina took me and Luis to Volcan where there is a little thrift store with quite a selection (for some reason) of Land´s End sample coats in big cardboard boxes. Some of the shirts and coats are embroidered with the names of companies and organizations like,
"Turtlecon Technologies."
"Turlestick Christian Ministry...."
There were some very nice ones. I remember Rosalina had said
"You can use these in Montreal."
At the time that seemed to make sense, after all when you are here in Panama it is hard to imagine the cold, at least not a cold stronger than a crisp mountain evening in Boquete. Luis found a navy blue jacket that says "Hunter" in black embroidery. You can barely see it and if you could it seems like the brand of the jacket. I chose a red one with the word "SAMPLE" written in black marker on the inside back panel. Sadly when we arrived in Montreal last year (where the cold hits you like a brick to the chest) and we had to crack ice off the taxi cab door in order to get into it, we remembered what cold is. At that point the new jackets seemed more like light raincoats for a late spring afternoon.
Yesterday we stopped by a couple of the nicest stores in David to find men´s clothes. In Conway the sales lady held up a khaki zip up jacket. Jose tried it on.
"What do you think Erika?" Rosalina asked. Jose was smiling feeling proud in the jacket.
"Alex and Luis have similar ones, but they are for spring and late summer." I said. His smile got a little bit smaller. In another store he tried a few jackets. A blue one looked especially nice on him.
"I can wear this with a scarf in Spain." he said smiling.
"No you need to wear a coat with it." I said. Again, his smile got a little smaller.
"This is not a coat?" he said.
"This jacket is good to wear inside." said Rosalina.
"How cold is it in Spain right now?" I asked.
"I don´t know. We´ll have to check the weather report." Rosalina said.
I am not sure how cold it is there. Probably not bitter.
Our next stop was a thrift store called "American Clothing"
There Jose found a very nice blue pure wool jacket from Ralph Lauren. It suits him and he is very pleased with it. It´s a bit big, but he´s going to have it altered. Jose is funny. He really likes shoes from the brand "Rockport." He borrowed a pair one time from Luis I think and thought they were so comfortable that he always wants to wear Rockport shoes. Rosalina got Luis a classy pair of black boots for Christmas this year. (They are a good addition to his soon to be Dr. Luis Miguel wardrobe.) When Jose saw them he had to have them too and went back to the same store for his own pair. (Maybe you saw the picture of them in matching boots I posted?)
At the thrift store when he saw a sign for Rockport shoes he got excited looked at me and said
"ROCKSport!" (With the emphasis on ROCKS)
Among other news, the term "turtlehead" has now officially spread to Latin America. I have used it a couple of times around Alessandra and now she likes to use it. She used it just the other day when she was frustrated with her boyfriend
"Que cabeza de Tortuga!" she said (What a turtlehead!) She has also said.
"Que Tortugota!" (big turtle!) hahaha!
Have a great day!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Sun Time
Good Morning. Last night I could not sleep well. Maybe it was the 3 pieces of homemade pizza I ate last night pretty late. Alessandra and I made two vegetable pizzas last night. She says she has never eaten so many vegetables in her life. As a special treat we put a jar of artichokes on the pizza. Alessandra has tried a lot of new vegetables. She almost made it through the evening without trying an artichoke, but Rosalina soon asked her:
"Have you tried an artichoke Alessandra?"
She looked down at her plate with a little smile, as if she had almost made it through the evening without having to eat one and was caught just before she could escape. I had just served myself a piece with a big piece of artichoke on it and soon that same piece was on Alessandra´s plate. She looked doubtfully at it and began to look busy cutting it, separating the layers, and shifting the pieces around on her plate.
"What is it?" she asked.
"It´s like a flower." said Rosalina. Later after Jose and Rosalina had left the table Alessandra was still sitting there. She had managed to eat some of the artichoke piece, but some of it had been well disguised in a small heap of tomato sauce, green and red peppers, and onions in the center of her plate.
"You don´t like it?" I said.
"No! shhhh!" she whispered. The corners of her eyes motioning behind her toward the kitchen where Rosalina was arranging dishes in the sink.
" I´m full." she said.
"What?" I asked.
"I´m full!" she repeated.
"Oh, oh, you´re full." I said.
"What happened?" Rosalina asked.
"Oh nothing, Alessandra is full." I told her.
Alessandra and I had brought home a new bar of dark chocolate for Jose as a little present from our day´s shopping adventure walking around in David. The girl behind the counter at the pharmacy had made a face.
"Ewww. Are you sure you want to buy that. It´s gross. It has no sugar. It´s dark chocolate." she warned.
"It´s for a person who can´t eat much sugar." said Alessandra. (It´s so funny. Here in Panama everyone always has something to say.) She rolled her eyes a bit and smiled, as if to say
"Ok, suit yourself," ringing up the chocolate and a pack of orange flavored gum for me and Alessandra.
Jose was in the kitchen as well and closing the door of the refrigerator, came out with the tin of tiny swiss chocolates his son, Jose Agustin, had brought him as a gift from his recent travels.
"We´ll finish eating these one´s first and then we´ll eat the one you bought me. Are we agreed?"
"mhmm."
He passed the tin around.
"Alessandra?" he said passing her the tray. (hahaha a thin mint Alessandra?)
She selected a milk chocolate one with a tiny wafer inside. He gave me the tray and I took a pure milk chocolate. And finally with a big smile he took a dark chocolate one for himself and ate it with great pleasure.
Soon Jose and Rosalina went to bed. I went into Alessandra´s room.
"Are you ready to watch the X-files?" I asked her.
"doo, dooo, dooo, dooo, do do do...." she sang the theme song. Alessandra and I have been making our way through season 2 of the X- files little by little. We´re on disc 5 now. In the hot afternoons we sometimes watch an episode with the luxury of the air conditioner combined with the fan. 45 minutes of bliss. Sometimes we´ll watch a movie on tv, usually a Hollywood movie dubbed in Spanish which Alessandra will understand better than I do.
"What´s happening?" I´ll ask, watching John Travolta´s mouth continue to move after he finished talking in Spanish.
We watch the x-files in English with Spanish subtitles. In last night´s episode a zoo was going through some financial troubles and animals were escaping somehow and running around killing people invisibly. I fell asleep after learning that Mulder suspected the animals were being abducted.
"Doo, doo doo doo do, do..." I awoke to the ending theme music and the credits rolling.
"What happened?" I asked.
"You fell asleep." Alessandra said.
"What happened to Sophie?" (the gorilla in the show) I asked.
"She died." she said.
"What? Oh my god! Poor Sophie" I said.
Alessandra laughed.
I fell asleep again for a while, but frustratingly, I woke up again and was staring at the air conditioner´s lights. It used to bother me at night when I first arrived. The light is pretty bright, and if you´ve ever seen "Back to the Future," it looks something like the flux capacitor, or part of an alien spaceship, a carnival of red, green, and yellow lights blinking throughout the night. My thoughts were caught in an endless loop. I could hear roosters conversing.
"Have you tried an artichoke Alessandra?"
She looked down at her plate with a little smile, as if she had almost made it through the evening without having to eat one and was caught just before she could escape. I had just served myself a piece with a big piece of artichoke on it and soon that same piece was on Alessandra´s plate. She looked doubtfully at it and began to look busy cutting it, separating the layers, and shifting the pieces around on her plate.
"What is it?" she asked.
"It´s like a flower." said Rosalina. Later after Jose and Rosalina had left the table Alessandra was still sitting there. She had managed to eat some of the artichoke piece, but some of it had been well disguised in a small heap of tomato sauce, green and red peppers, and onions in the center of her plate.
"You don´t like it?" I said.
"No! shhhh!" she whispered. The corners of her eyes motioning behind her toward the kitchen where Rosalina was arranging dishes in the sink.
" I´m full." she said.
"What?" I asked.
"I´m full!" she repeated.
"Oh, oh, you´re full." I said.
"What happened?" Rosalina asked.
"Oh nothing, Alessandra is full." I told her.
Alessandra and I had brought home a new bar of dark chocolate for Jose as a little present from our day´s shopping adventure walking around in David. The girl behind the counter at the pharmacy had made a face.
"Ewww. Are you sure you want to buy that. It´s gross. It has no sugar. It´s dark chocolate." she warned.
"It´s for a person who can´t eat much sugar." said Alessandra. (It´s so funny. Here in Panama everyone always has something to say.) She rolled her eyes a bit and smiled, as if to say
"Ok, suit yourself," ringing up the chocolate and a pack of orange flavored gum for me and Alessandra.
Jose was in the kitchen as well and closing the door of the refrigerator, came out with the tin of tiny swiss chocolates his son, Jose Agustin, had brought him as a gift from his recent travels.
"We´ll finish eating these one´s first and then we´ll eat the one you bought me. Are we agreed?"
"mhmm."
He passed the tin around.
"Alessandra?" he said passing her the tray. (hahaha a thin mint Alessandra?)
She selected a milk chocolate one with a tiny wafer inside. He gave me the tray and I took a pure milk chocolate. And finally with a big smile he took a dark chocolate one for himself and ate it with great pleasure.
Soon Jose and Rosalina went to bed. I went into Alessandra´s room.
"Are you ready to watch the X-files?" I asked her.
"doo, dooo, dooo, dooo, do do do...." she sang the theme song. Alessandra and I have been making our way through season 2 of the X- files little by little. We´re on disc 5 now. In the hot afternoons we sometimes watch an episode with the luxury of the air conditioner combined with the fan. 45 minutes of bliss. Sometimes we´ll watch a movie on tv, usually a Hollywood movie dubbed in Spanish which Alessandra will understand better than I do.
"What´s happening?" I´ll ask, watching John Travolta´s mouth continue to move after he finished talking in Spanish.
We watch the x-files in English with Spanish subtitles. In last night´s episode a zoo was going through some financial troubles and animals were escaping somehow and running around killing people invisibly. I fell asleep after learning that Mulder suspected the animals were being abducted.
"Doo, doo doo doo do, do..." I awoke to the ending theme music and the credits rolling.
"What happened?" I asked.
"You fell asleep." Alessandra said.
"What happened to Sophie?" (the gorilla in the show) I asked.
"She died." she said.
"What? Oh my god! Poor Sophie" I said.
Alessandra laughed.
I fell asleep again for a while, but frustratingly, I woke up again and was staring at the air conditioner´s lights. It used to bother me at night when I first arrived. The light is pretty bright, and if you´ve ever seen "Back to the Future," it looks something like the flux capacitor, or part of an alien spaceship, a carnival of red, green, and yellow lights blinking throughout the night. My thoughts were caught in an endless loop. I could hear roosters conversing.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Jackelita!
I think my favorite place in David is a little snack place called Jackelita. It was the place that I saw an iguana last year. I´ve been back several times this year for delicious cheese sandwiches (60 cents,) fresh juices, duros (natural popsicles,) and ice cream (35 cents.) Every time I go back I look around hoping to see an iguana.
This time Alessandra and I were lucky to see 5! Rosalina, eating a cone of pipa ice cream, asked a man in the back of the store if there were any iguanas and he said there were many and he took us to the backyard to see one. There were two trucks full of produce parked out back, including a white truck crammed past the brim with pineapples. (You have to admit there´s something funny about pineapples. They are neither pine nor apple and they grow together in fields like heads with explosive hair styles straight from the ground. They must have a sense of humour. I always laugh when I see them in their sun drenched fields.)
The first iguana I saw was a small, proud, bright green one scampering around in the trees behind the restaurant. Alessandra and I followed the man back behind the Jackelita parking lot. He told us there were as many as 30 iguanas living around there.
"Oh! There´s one! Back there!" Alessandra pointed to it.
"Oh I see it!" I watched as the large sand colored iguana slipped through the fence, his stiff tail dragging behind him.
We stepped slowly closer.
"Ahhhhhh!" 3 feet away a neon green iguana that had until that moment when he judged us too close for comfort, blended in perfectly with the green grass in front of us, scrambled in a fast thrash toward the chain link fence near the parking lot.
"hahahahahaha!" Alessandra and I laughed. Up in the branches of a shady tree we could see another sand colored one resting. Only the tips of his feet and end of his tail were visible from below and as if he knew we were talking about him and found it rude that we were making a spectacle out of him, tucked his tail over the branch as well so that only the tips of his claws grasping the branch could be seen and only by someone that really knew what they were looking for.
The man at Jackelita also pointed out something I couldn´t see in one of the trees called a squirrel bird which I will have to look up later.
When we came back into the restaurant Rosalina was in her seat at the booth next to the fish tank. The two pineapples, and bags of fresh vegetables that Rosalina bought directly from the distributors (the men in the trucks) all for less than 5 dollars were on the table. It was a hot day. She and Alessandra had finished their ice cream and I was still eating my flavour packed zarzamora duro.
"We can go now, it´s ok, I can finish my duro in the car." I said. I had already spilled the melty purple juice over my top and skirt.
"No, I want to see an iguana." said Rosalina.
"Go look back there. There are lots of them!" I said.
"No, I want to see one from here." said Rosalina. And it´s true she had a front row seat to watch the space in the gravel driveway where fresh green lettuce had been layed out as an offering for the iguanas´ lunch. We watched for a while.
"Why don´t the iguanas come eat?" Alessandra said impatiently. We waited some more moments.
I focused on my duro.
"Oh look!" said Rosalina.
I looked up. The King of iguanas, an extra large sand colored one with two black rings on it´s giant tail stood a few feet from the lettuce waiting for something, his eyes on the lettuce. Deciding everything was ok and the situation comfortable he walked calmy over to the lettuce and began to eat. Eating seemed like a big effort for him. He crunched the lettuce like the steady needle of a sewing machine. Snapping, open, close, open, close..... The lettuce being processed slowly but surely and snappily. The security guard at Jackelita (why does Jackelita have a security guard?) came to look at the iguana, a huge smile on his face. He obviously loved them and he answered our questions about what else they eat with great pleasure.
"I have seen them eat vegetables as well as the remains of dead animals." he said.
"ewwwww! Gross!" said Alessandra (the spanish equivalent anyway.)
This time Alessandra and I were lucky to see 5! Rosalina, eating a cone of pipa ice cream, asked a man in the back of the store if there were any iguanas and he said there were many and he took us to the backyard to see one. There were two trucks full of produce parked out back, including a white truck crammed past the brim with pineapples. (You have to admit there´s something funny about pineapples. They are neither pine nor apple and they grow together in fields like heads with explosive hair styles straight from the ground. They must have a sense of humour. I always laugh when I see them in their sun drenched fields.)
The first iguana I saw was a small, proud, bright green one scampering around in the trees behind the restaurant. Alessandra and I followed the man back behind the Jackelita parking lot. He told us there were as many as 30 iguanas living around there.
"Oh! There´s one! Back there!" Alessandra pointed to it.
"Oh I see it!" I watched as the large sand colored iguana slipped through the fence, his stiff tail dragging behind him.
We stepped slowly closer.
"Ahhhhhh!" 3 feet away a neon green iguana that had until that moment when he judged us too close for comfort, blended in perfectly with the green grass in front of us, scrambled in a fast thrash toward the chain link fence near the parking lot.
"hahahahahaha!" Alessandra and I laughed. Up in the branches of a shady tree we could see another sand colored one resting. Only the tips of his feet and end of his tail were visible from below and as if he knew we were talking about him and found it rude that we were making a spectacle out of him, tucked his tail over the branch as well so that only the tips of his claws grasping the branch could be seen and only by someone that really knew what they were looking for.
The man at Jackelita also pointed out something I couldn´t see in one of the trees called a squirrel bird which I will have to look up later.
When we came back into the restaurant Rosalina was in her seat at the booth next to the fish tank. The two pineapples, and bags of fresh vegetables that Rosalina bought directly from the distributors (the men in the trucks) all for less than 5 dollars were on the table. It was a hot day. She and Alessandra had finished their ice cream and I was still eating my flavour packed zarzamora duro.
"We can go now, it´s ok, I can finish my duro in the car." I said. I had already spilled the melty purple juice over my top and skirt.
"No, I want to see an iguana." said Rosalina.
"Go look back there. There are lots of them!" I said.
"No, I want to see one from here." said Rosalina. And it´s true she had a front row seat to watch the space in the gravel driveway where fresh green lettuce had been layed out as an offering for the iguanas´ lunch. We watched for a while.
"Why don´t the iguanas come eat?" Alessandra said impatiently. We waited some more moments.
I focused on my duro.
"Oh look!" said Rosalina.
I looked up. The King of iguanas, an extra large sand colored one with two black rings on it´s giant tail stood a few feet from the lettuce waiting for something, his eyes on the lettuce. Deciding everything was ok and the situation comfortable he walked calmy over to the lettuce and began to eat. Eating seemed like a big effort for him. He crunched the lettuce like the steady needle of a sewing machine. Snapping, open, close, open, close..... The lettuce being processed slowly but surely and snappily. The security guard at Jackelita (why does Jackelita have a security guard?) came to look at the iguana, a huge smile on his face. He obviously loved them and he answered our questions about what else they eat with great pleasure.
"I have seen them eat vegetables as well as the remains of dead animals." he said.
"ewwwww! Gross!" said Alessandra (the spanish equivalent anyway.)
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The Bridal Shower
Below I have posted some photos from a wedding shower I went to with Rosalina. This was my first time at a wedding shower. Rosalina told me that this was a wedding shower for refined ladies (yeyas) and that I had also been invited. I was very curious to attend such a party. I had an idea of what a bridal shower might be like. I pictured a small group of ladies gathered in a living room playing silly games, eating little cakes, and giving the future bride secret advice about men along with racy lingerie.
Rosalina and I arrived at the party. We were late of course. The party was set to begin at 4 o clock. When I emerged from the bedroom, dressed and ready to go at 4:05, Rosalina informed me that it was much to early to leave for the party. I believe we arrived closer to 6. A man stood in the yard of the house where the party was and directed us to a spot to park on the lawn. Rosalina and I began to walk towards the house which was a one story house and very long and wide. Once inside we found ourselves in an open air space with elegant tables overlooking the backyard. The mother of the bride, a lady with blue eyes who I recognized from a chance meeting in the parking lot of the new Conway department store in town, fluttered in and gave us each a kiss. A calm, statuesque girl in a strapless forest green evening dress approached us an welcomed us as well. This was her party and the other lady, her future mother in law. A woman in a tight black vest and matching pants with a white button up shirt immediately handed us each a tall glass of sangria. It was made with white wine, strawberries (which seem to be a more refined fruit in Panama than back home, like apples and grapes,) green grapes, and orange pieces. Other ladies in similar vests bustled in and out of the saloon style doors through which I could see a large kitchen. Two other ladies were also standing near with their sangria glasses in hand.
"Speak english!" the mother of the groom said with a flourish. The blonde lady she was talking to suddenly looked uncomfortable.
"She wants that I speak english, because I have lived in Minnesota." the lady said. (I actually don´t remember what state it was.)
"Everybody here speaks english!" said the mother of the groom.
We took our seats at a round glass table next to a lady with tissue paper skin who looked as if she felt a bit out of place. Several ladies had already arrived and more were coming at every moment. A lady in a black and white polka dot blouse and skirt entered the party and made a quick glance around the room while standing. Moments later a lady in a dark navy polka dot dress came in. Their eyes met for an instant and soon cast away again as the mother of the groom approached to greet them both. Rosalina introduced me to the lady at our table and the conversation quickly turned to her upcoming trip to Spain.
"....Erika has been to many countries. Where have you been Erika? Were you in Spain? No, but last year you were in France, Germany, Switzerland...where else..." said Rosalina.
"Belgium and the Netherlands..." I said, but the lady was no longer listening.
Suddenly we had her attention again.
"Germany is absolutely beautiful," ("Is it really?" I thought.) "My niece spent 7 years in Germany. Lovely country."
Soon a lady arriving somewhat late came in. No one greeted her at first. I saw her take a moment to collect herself, a deep breath. She approached our table, placed her hand on my shoulder and while scanning the room, said "Mucho gusto." to no one in particular. Soon she was moving with a big smile toward the other side of the room. There was more noise in the room than I would have expected for the amount of people. The chatter increased.
Later we ate little cheese empanadas. I began to feel a bit awkward. I wished that Joy was with me. I busied myself with the slow nibbling of the tasty little empanadas, and with the act of fishing out an ant that floated among the fruit in my sangria, its legs splayed open, lifeless.
"Well, at least it died happy." I tucked it inside my napkin.
There was plenty of food to eat. The mushrooms were delicious. I ate them cap first. There were also three kinds of dessert.
When we came home that night it was fun talking about the different things we both noticed, like when the tall sangria glasses kept breaking, the party host, said over the noise...."Oh, no no don´t worry....they´re cheap!" And the horror on the faces of two ladies who came in wearing the same blouse.
Rosalina and I arrived at the party. We were late of course. The party was set to begin at 4 o clock. When I emerged from the bedroom, dressed and ready to go at 4:05, Rosalina informed me that it was much to early to leave for the party. I believe we arrived closer to 6. A man stood in the yard of the house where the party was and directed us to a spot to park on the lawn. Rosalina and I began to walk towards the house which was a one story house and very long and wide. Once inside we found ourselves in an open air space with elegant tables overlooking the backyard. The mother of the bride, a lady with blue eyes who I recognized from a chance meeting in the parking lot of the new Conway department store in town, fluttered in and gave us each a kiss. A calm, statuesque girl in a strapless forest green evening dress approached us an welcomed us as well. This was her party and the other lady, her future mother in law. A woman in a tight black vest and matching pants with a white button up shirt immediately handed us each a tall glass of sangria. It was made with white wine, strawberries (which seem to be a more refined fruit in Panama than back home, like apples and grapes,) green grapes, and orange pieces. Other ladies in similar vests bustled in and out of the saloon style doors through which I could see a large kitchen. Two other ladies were also standing near with their sangria glasses in hand.
"Speak english!" the mother of the groom said with a flourish. The blonde lady she was talking to suddenly looked uncomfortable.
"She wants that I speak english, because I have lived in Minnesota." the lady said. (I actually don´t remember what state it was.)
"Everybody here speaks english!" said the mother of the groom.
We took our seats at a round glass table next to a lady with tissue paper skin who looked as if she felt a bit out of place. Several ladies had already arrived and more were coming at every moment. A lady in a black and white polka dot blouse and skirt entered the party and made a quick glance around the room while standing. Moments later a lady in a dark navy polka dot dress came in. Their eyes met for an instant and soon cast away again as the mother of the groom approached to greet them both. Rosalina introduced me to the lady at our table and the conversation quickly turned to her upcoming trip to Spain.
"....Erika has been to many countries. Where have you been Erika? Were you in Spain? No, but last year you were in France, Germany, Switzerland...where else..." said Rosalina.
"Belgium and the Netherlands..." I said, but the lady was no longer listening.
Suddenly we had her attention again.
"Germany is absolutely beautiful," ("Is it really?" I thought.) "My niece spent 7 years in Germany. Lovely country."
Soon a lady arriving somewhat late came in. No one greeted her at first. I saw her take a moment to collect herself, a deep breath. She approached our table, placed her hand on my shoulder and while scanning the room, said "Mucho gusto." to no one in particular. Soon she was moving with a big smile toward the other side of the room. There was more noise in the room than I would have expected for the amount of people. The chatter increased.
Later we ate little cheese empanadas. I began to feel a bit awkward. I wished that Joy was with me. I busied myself with the slow nibbling of the tasty little empanadas, and with the act of fishing out an ant that floated among the fruit in my sangria, its legs splayed open, lifeless.
"Well, at least it died happy." I tucked it inside my napkin.
There was plenty of food to eat. The mushrooms were delicious. I ate them cap first. There were also three kinds of dessert.
When we came home that night it was fun talking about the different things we both noticed, like when the tall sangria glasses kept breaking, the party host, said over the noise...."Oh, no no don´t worry....they´re cheap!" And the horror on the faces of two ladies who came in wearing the same blouse.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Saturday in David
Hello! Today the sun is shining as usual and the chickens are clucking. Rosalina´s cousin Mariela is here from Panama City to attend the flower and coffee fair in Boquete today. I am excited to go. Alex, Joy, Rosalina and I went last week and we really enjoyed it.
These last couple of weeks in Panama are pretty low key. Alex and Joy and Luis are all gone and I am spending a lot of time with Alessandra who works in the house here. Today is her birthday. Yesterday we went as we like to do to the olympic swimming pool out by the airport. However when we arrived we found that it was completely full of kids and they turned us away at the door. We had fun being mad at the people who turned us away, especially a man with a bobbly head who told us to come back after twelve with a ridiculous smile on his face.
"There´s nothing funny!" I said and later Alessandra and I laughed and laughed about that. We were very hot and Rosalina had already left and was planning to pick us up in an hour. So we began to walk and Alessandra suggested we take the bus into town to see if the casino pool was open. So, I had my first David City bus ride. These are the sort of privately owned buses that move really fast and are already moving as you are stepping onto them. Big stuffed hearts we the words "I love you" on them and plastic beads and crosses dangle from the rearview mirror. It felt freeing to be on the bus with Alessandra and to feel the breeze through the half open window. I do not often go anywhere alone in David, in fact I don´t think I ever have. It is not like home where I wander outside looking in shops and stopping for a coffee and staying to write in my journal and people watch for as long as I like. Here I am pretty sheltered and Alessandra very much so. Alessandra asked the bus driver to let us out and we were on the street walking toward the casino. It´s quite an adventure to walk down a street in David. There are sidewalks, but they´re not always consistent and the cars are aggressive and don´t make a sign of slowing when people are crossing the street. The air smells of exhaust and dust. Pedestrians are accustomed and play games with their lives walking casually into the busy street, crossing randomly as they like. Dogs, chickens, and iguanas do the same, sometimes with very sad results.
Before we reached the casino we had to stop and try to reach Angela by payphone at the house to let her know what was going on. Two men in an old beat up truck honked their horn at us and out of the open window said the equivalent of "Hey Baby! hehehehe!" We entered a little store.
"Buenas!!!" Alessandra said over the counter of small bags of chips, gum, and candy. No one answered. Then a woman peeped her head out from a back room. Alessandra bought two small boxes of mint gum, one for each of us and dialed the house number. We tried several times, but Angela did not answer. We gave up and decided to see if the casino pool was open and try to call from there.
We went through the back parking lot where the last time we came we met a tired old woman sweeping the sidewalk with playboy bunny earrings swinging from her ears. Since then I have seen many people sporting the playboy symbol and it never fails to make me laugh at least inside my head. I really like it when men wear it! At the fair in Boquete we passed a man in a cowboy hat with a glistening silver playboy rabbit on it. Alex and I both looked at eachother laughing. Soon we passed a booth where a pile of similar hats were for sale. I considered buying one.
The pool was not open today.
I love my adventures with Alessandra. I am very curious about the vibrant street life I see in David. People wander down town in and out of shops. It´s fun to stop at a stall and get an agua de pipa (coconut water.) A man under a tent with a pile of green coconuts and a machete will slice you one open and you can pop a straw in for a refreshing treat on a hot day (any day.) I don´t know how people open coconuts back home, but a machete seems to be the way to go. The ground is littered with coconut lids. Another interesting treat I tried with Alessandra was at a fruit stand. A teenage boy with a butcher´s apron dirtied with pink and orange colored stains instead of red sells you a bag of pineapple or papaya seasoned with vinagre, salt, and pepper. A good flavor.
Among other news I spent the night with a gecko last night. There is a phenomenon that occurs daily, or nightly in Panama worthy of an x-file. It occurs when you enter a room and turn on a light. For an instant you will see something...and then "bam!" it´s gone and you wonder if you ever really saw it. At that point you have a choice, to investigate or to pretend as if you didn´t see anything. I usually choose the second option. I entered the bedroom last night just in time to see a medium sized gecko on the wall swiggle quickly behind a framed painting. I stopped for a moment and considered what to do. Soon I went about business as usual. A little bit later I heard
"cucucucucucucucuccuck." It sounded a little bit louder than usual, but nothing out of the ordinary.... "It´s good," I thought "he will take care of any stray insects for me." I have observed them to be excellent hunters and when they cling to the window screens it´s like a front seat at the gecko theatre. They move quickly toward a crunchy, powdery moth, then stop, observe, move again and "snap!" the light crisp delicacy is theirs. But, they don´t waste time. A few crunches are sufficient before swallowing and moving on to the next meal.
I have never been an insect lover. I respect them as creatures and I am sure there are amazing ones. Here in Panama there are various sizes of cockroaches and insects and they are pretty much a fact of life. Ants of different types crawl around. Some are big, some medium, and some tiny ones are very fast and move like drunk drivers swerving all over your dinner plate.
It has been a while, but I have been meaning to write about an amazing beetle I saw with Alessandra at the pool. I can´t remember the name, but I think I have seen them at the Insectarium at the Montreal Botanical Gardens. It is a giant one, black and the size of a small kiwi with a hooked nose. I believe they were the ones that I found cute that were sitting in a tank eating fruit. Well, somehow this poor black beetle found its way into the pool and was clinging to the divider rope that distinguishes the lanes. It was a hot sunny morning. A talingo swooped down to refresh its wings and belly briefly in the pool water. No one was in the pool except the two of us and the rope spun lazily around and around in the calm water, the beetle spinning with it moving under and out of the water, but never letting go. I was distressed, not sure what to do or if I could help it, feeling sorry for it, but also scared of it. I consulted Alessandra and suddenly screamed high and at the top of my lungs. Alessandra´s face displayed an devilish little smile as her fingernails touched my thigh hard and pinched pretending she was the bug landing on me. We both laughed, and the big bellied pool keeper came running out of the nearby pool house
"Hey! Hey! You nearly gave me a heart attack here!" he said partly annoyed and partly looking relieved. Alessandra pointed out the bug, the man observed it with no change of expression and went back in the pool house. I never found out what the fate of the bug was.
These last couple of weeks in Panama are pretty low key. Alex and Joy and Luis are all gone and I am spending a lot of time with Alessandra who works in the house here. Today is her birthday. Yesterday we went as we like to do to the olympic swimming pool out by the airport. However when we arrived we found that it was completely full of kids and they turned us away at the door. We had fun being mad at the people who turned us away, especially a man with a bobbly head who told us to come back after twelve with a ridiculous smile on his face.
"There´s nothing funny!" I said and later Alessandra and I laughed and laughed about that. We were very hot and Rosalina had already left and was planning to pick us up in an hour. So we began to walk and Alessandra suggested we take the bus into town to see if the casino pool was open. So, I had my first David City bus ride. These are the sort of privately owned buses that move really fast and are already moving as you are stepping onto them. Big stuffed hearts we the words "I love you" on them and plastic beads and crosses dangle from the rearview mirror. It felt freeing to be on the bus with Alessandra and to feel the breeze through the half open window. I do not often go anywhere alone in David, in fact I don´t think I ever have. It is not like home where I wander outside looking in shops and stopping for a coffee and staying to write in my journal and people watch for as long as I like. Here I am pretty sheltered and Alessandra very much so. Alessandra asked the bus driver to let us out and we were on the street walking toward the casino. It´s quite an adventure to walk down a street in David. There are sidewalks, but they´re not always consistent and the cars are aggressive and don´t make a sign of slowing when people are crossing the street. The air smells of exhaust and dust. Pedestrians are accustomed and play games with their lives walking casually into the busy street, crossing randomly as they like. Dogs, chickens, and iguanas do the same, sometimes with very sad results.
Before we reached the casino we had to stop and try to reach Angela by payphone at the house to let her know what was going on. Two men in an old beat up truck honked their horn at us and out of the open window said the equivalent of "Hey Baby! hehehehe!" We entered a little store.
"Buenas!!!" Alessandra said over the counter of small bags of chips, gum, and candy. No one answered. Then a woman peeped her head out from a back room. Alessandra bought two small boxes of mint gum, one for each of us and dialed the house number. We tried several times, but Angela did not answer. We gave up and decided to see if the casino pool was open and try to call from there.
We went through the back parking lot where the last time we came we met a tired old woman sweeping the sidewalk with playboy bunny earrings swinging from her ears. Since then I have seen many people sporting the playboy symbol and it never fails to make me laugh at least inside my head. I really like it when men wear it! At the fair in Boquete we passed a man in a cowboy hat with a glistening silver playboy rabbit on it. Alex and I both looked at eachother laughing. Soon we passed a booth where a pile of similar hats were for sale. I considered buying one.
The pool was not open today.
I love my adventures with Alessandra. I am very curious about the vibrant street life I see in David. People wander down town in and out of shops. It´s fun to stop at a stall and get an agua de pipa (coconut water.) A man under a tent with a pile of green coconuts and a machete will slice you one open and you can pop a straw in for a refreshing treat on a hot day (any day.) I don´t know how people open coconuts back home, but a machete seems to be the way to go. The ground is littered with coconut lids. Another interesting treat I tried with Alessandra was at a fruit stand. A teenage boy with a butcher´s apron dirtied with pink and orange colored stains instead of red sells you a bag of pineapple or papaya seasoned with vinagre, salt, and pepper. A good flavor.
Among other news I spent the night with a gecko last night. There is a phenomenon that occurs daily, or nightly in Panama worthy of an x-file. It occurs when you enter a room and turn on a light. For an instant you will see something...and then "bam!" it´s gone and you wonder if you ever really saw it. At that point you have a choice, to investigate or to pretend as if you didn´t see anything. I usually choose the second option. I entered the bedroom last night just in time to see a medium sized gecko on the wall swiggle quickly behind a framed painting. I stopped for a moment and considered what to do. Soon I went about business as usual. A little bit later I heard
"cucucucucucucucuccuck." It sounded a little bit louder than usual, but nothing out of the ordinary.... "It´s good," I thought "he will take care of any stray insects for me." I have observed them to be excellent hunters and when they cling to the window screens it´s like a front seat at the gecko theatre. They move quickly toward a crunchy, powdery moth, then stop, observe, move again and "snap!" the light crisp delicacy is theirs. But, they don´t waste time. A few crunches are sufficient before swallowing and moving on to the next meal.
I have never been an insect lover. I respect them as creatures and I am sure there are amazing ones. Here in Panama there are various sizes of cockroaches and insects and they are pretty much a fact of life. Ants of different types crawl around. Some are big, some medium, and some tiny ones are very fast and move like drunk drivers swerving all over your dinner plate.
It has been a while, but I have been meaning to write about an amazing beetle I saw with Alessandra at the pool. I can´t remember the name, but I think I have seen them at the Insectarium at the Montreal Botanical Gardens. It is a giant one, black and the size of a small kiwi with a hooked nose. I believe they were the ones that I found cute that were sitting in a tank eating fruit. Well, somehow this poor black beetle found its way into the pool and was clinging to the divider rope that distinguishes the lanes. It was a hot sunny morning. A talingo swooped down to refresh its wings and belly briefly in the pool water. No one was in the pool except the two of us and the rope spun lazily around and around in the calm water, the beetle spinning with it moving under and out of the water, but never letting go. I was distressed, not sure what to do or if I could help it, feeling sorry for it, but also scared of it. I consulted Alessandra and suddenly screamed high and at the top of my lungs. Alessandra´s face displayed an devilish little smile as her fingernails touched my thigh hard and pinched pretending she was the bug landing on me. We both laughed, and the big bellied pool keeper came running out of the nearby pool house
"Hey! Hey! You nearly gave me a heart attack here!" he said partly annoyed and partly looking relieved. Alessandra pointed out the bug, the man observed it with no change of expression and went back in the pool house. I never found out what the fate of the bug was.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Hello Panama Dreams Blog readers!
There are new photos now! The photos below and the ones that will follow in the next few days were taken by Alex and Joy! Keep checking in for more!
So much to write!
Hello everybody!
It has been an action packed couple of weeks. Alex and Joy were here and we had such a wonderful time with them. We were so busy with our activities that I didn´t have time to write. It was a very special trip and I am so happy that they were able to come.
We did many things despite the fact that Luis and Alex were in bed for a day or two each with a bad stomache virus that had been passing around. Luis´parents and brother both had it.
I haven´t been posting pictures because Luis´ digital camera is in the shop being fixed. Luckilly Joy and Alex took lots of fantastic pictures and Luis´brother Jose and his wife also took many pictures on their camera.
The time we spent was full of experiences that felt like something out of a dream. I know that sounds cheesy, but its true. My favorite was probably our trip to the Island Boca Brava. It is an amazing island about an hour from David where bands of howler monkeys live and we swam listening to their calls from the trees. We also had some close encounters with them. We walked through the forest to get to a secluded beach where we swam in tranquil warm water. There were many different leaves in the water and I made friends with a curious little fish that was fascinated by my bathing suit and white legs. At night we climbed up a ladder at our hotel to the roof of the restaurant where there is a small platform perfect for stargazing. The view is so startling it´s like a map where not only do we come to meet the stars, but they seem to come down to meet us. At night I woke up several times to the sound of thrashing on the roof. I believe it was the monkeys. In the morning we woke up early in our rustic hotel cabins and walked down to a little boat launching spot where purple flowers were floating gently on the silvery water fresh from a big tree. The air was humid and heavy with the aroma of plants.
Just as we were about to take the water taxi back to the mainland, I heard the dog that lives at the hotel barking excitedly. Alex, Joy, and Luis had already descended the staircase to the boat, but I went back to use the bathroom. I followed the dog back to the spot where we had slept that night and three monkeys were in the tree on the edge of the water. I was startled by their human like faces and by the expression of the largest monkey who moved defensively toward the dog his little fist raised like some strange shaman. The barking dog, a rotweiler, got as close as possible to the group of monkeys and I was worried that she might follow the unsettled twigs, leaves, and dirt that rained off the steep cliff edge just beyond her paws onto the beach. I ran back to get Luis, but by that time the monkeys were already gone.
The day Alex and Joy arrived in David was Joy´s birthday and to celebrate we went to a farm not far from the sea where a group of Guacamaya´s live.
Ok well I´ll write more later!
Take care!
It has been an action packed couple of weeks. Alex and Joy were here and we had such a wonderful time with them. We were so busy with our activities that I didn´t have time to write. It was a very special trip and I am so happy that they were able to come.
We did many things despite the fact that Luis and Alex were in bed for a day or two each with a bad stomache virus that had been passing around. Luis´parents and brother both had it.
I haven´t been posting pictures because Luis´ digital camera is in the shop being fixed. Luckilly Joy and Alex took lots of fantastic pictures and Luis´brother Jose and his wife also took many pictures on their camera.
The time we spent was full of experiences that felt like something out of a dream. I know that sounds cheesy, but its true. My favorite was probably our trip to the Island Boca Brava. It is an amazing island about an hour from David where bands of howler monkeys live and we swam listening to their calls from the trees. We also had some close encounters with them. We walked through the forest to get to a secluded beach where we swam in tranquil warm water. There were many different leaves in the water and I made friends with a curious little fish that was fascinated by my bathing suit and white legs. At night we climbed up a ladder at our hotel to the roof of the restaurant where there is a small platform perfect for stargazing. The view is so startling it´s like a map where not only do we come to meet the stars, but they seem to come down to meet us. At night I woke up several times to the sound of thrashing on the roof. I believe it was the monkeys. In the morning we woke up early in our rustic hotel cabins and walked down to a little boat launching spot where purple flowers were floating gently on the silvery water fresh from a big tree. The air was humid and heavy with the aroma of plants.
Just as we were about to take the water taxi back to the mainland, I heard the dog that lives at the hotel barking excitedly. Alex, Joy, and Luis had already descended the staircase to the boat, but I went back to use the bathroom. I followed the dog back to the spot where we had slept that night and three monkeys were in the tree on the edge of the water. I was startled by their human like faces and by the expression of the largest monkey who moved defensively toward the dog his little fist raised like some strange shaman. The barking dog, a rotweiler, got as close as possible to the group of monkeys and I was worried that she might follow the unsettled twigs, leaves, and dirt that rained off the steep cliff edge just beyond her paws onto the beach. I ran back to get Luis, but by that time the monkeys were already gone.
The day Alex and Joy arrived in David was Joy´s birthday and to celebrate we went to a farm not far from the sea where a group of Guacamaya´s live.
Ok well I´ll write more later!
Take care!
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