OUR VISIT IN MANTA

So far we've visited a couple of scenic beaches outside of Manta, done a little shopping, and lolled around the beautiful pool here overlooking the ocean! I've enjoyed the two rainy, cloudy days as the sun here is so intense I can't stay out very long. There are a lot of ex-pats living here, Justin says. He pays $900/month, overlooking the water, pool, lovely!! You can't find something like this anywhere in the states for that price!

Yesterday we stopped at a new mall and could have been anywhere in America! At a bar overlooking the main road and the Malacon (the strip along the main beach, with shops and bars, where the tour/cruise boats dock), we enjoyed a drink and some delicious sushi! (Bar was called Kobe!) Everyone is getting ready for this weekend when Carnival begins. I think next Weds. is Ash Wednesday and Lent begins in this Catholic country. so big doings next weekend! I'm assuming that will also be the case in Costa Rica. We'll see!

We came back to Justin's apartment and they had cleaned the pool and it was sparkling blue. Very cool and refreshing! Then into the hot tub which was lukewarm but bubbly and relaxing.

We haven't been able to watch the news as it's all in Spanish. So Netflix is their entertainment. One night we watched several episodes (I'd seen it before) about how Trump got to be president! Then I was just curious and was able to find Walk with Me, the documentary Max Pugh and Marc made from following the monks and Thich Nhat Hanh around for two years. I went to NYC to the premiere last year at the Rubin Museum in lower Manhattan. And I have my own copy. But we found it and watched it as Betty had never seen it and Justin was interested. It's about an hour and a half. Doug is in the first scene right behind Thay during a walking meditation, then later he's pouring tea on a bus when they are traveling and playing the drums somewhere at an event. Sister Peace (Jackie whom I met in Saigon in 2005 before she became a nun, was featured in this visiting her father in a nursing home in DC. She told me last year at the Peace Walk in DC Memorial Day weekend that he has since died. Also featured in it is Phap De, Adrian, former Catholic priest from Minnesota. He's setting up cushions for a dharma talk and runs into some guy who recognizes him from his pre-monk days! Phap De died two summers ago at 80! Rod and I saw him last in Magnolia Grove, in MS, when they were on the US tour!! He was special!!  Anyway it was fun to watch and talk about to Justin who knew nothing about this kind of life!

This morning we went out for breakfast: fish soup!!! The thought sounded disgusting! But I thought it was delicious! A tasty broth with chunks of tuna, probably caught fresh this morning, and some yucca and onions. I ate the whole bowl!! And it kept me filled up pretty much all day (we ended up not eating dinner until 7:30 pm. ) Since we were near it, Angie called her manicurist and we waited 20 minutes until she was ready for me. I wanted a French mani- and pedi- like Angie had. So we went to her home, where her 3 sons were around as it's school vacation! Their summertime! We ran into graduation parties yesterday at lunch. It was a neat experience to be in an authentic Ecuadoran home. She charged me $10 and I left $15! That would have cost me probably $40 or $50 back home. She did a great job!!

After coming home to change, we headed to a nearby beach in San Mateo where Justin rented a tent with hammocks. We lazed the afternoon away, jumping in the surf to cool off. It was a lovely afternoon.

After showering back home, we headed out to Angie's Tias (aunts who raised her) home in the suburbs. Her cousin Anita, 15, going into 11th grade, was there with her dad (he drives a truck), along with the oldest of Angie's dad's sisters - I think there are 6) Then Anita's mom came home from work; she works at a tuna factory. They brought out crackers and tuna and we had tea.

I'm going to post this now before I lose it again! More tomorrow!

FIRST DAY IN MANTA

After a late night partying on a Saturday night in Manta with Justin and Angie, we all slept in!!! Angie made a delicious breakfast of avocado toast topped with crispy bacon and sliced boiled eggs. Delicious!! We just spent a relaxing morning breakfasting out on their deck overlooking the pool and ocean. Even though it was raining, the view was great! We then took a walk down the ramp from the pool to the beach volleyball court.

Coconut water right out of the coconut!

Families out near a beach on a Sunday!

Later we went for a drive down the coast to a thatched roofed restaurant to sample an array of Ecuadoran food - from cerviche (LOVED it!), octopus and calamara, fried plantains substituting for fried potatoes eaten with ketchup, and an assortment of other rice dishes.

We then drove to Marianita Beach where lots of people were in the water even though there was some rain and lots of clouds! This is where you frequently see kite-surfers but none today. Justin bought us each a hacked-off coconut to drink from a cart rolling along the beach. A stop at a grocery store allowed me to pick up some wine, beer, oreo cookies, etc. for our Oscar watch this evening. So we're in for a relaxing evening.

UP TO THE CANAL LOCKS

Tried Uber again and this time it worked. $1.59 took us over to the Albrook mall to catch the Hop on-Hop Off bus at 10:15.  We got there early (after a wonderful breakfast of french toast, eggs w/cheese and a fruit smoothie!!) to check out the metro Billy told us about to see if we could get there by train to the airport tomorrow. No luck!! Betty was getting a water when I spotted the Big Bus outside the door. I grabbed my bag and dashed out but the bus took off! NOT even 10 second stop!! I was so ...... off!!!! There was a guy/guard at the door whom we had ASKED about what time the bus would be by so he KNEW we were waiting! He was absolutely NO help!! After a $10 taxi ride up to the locks (first stop by this bus) I was able to calm down!!! and BREATHE!!!

The museum (4 levels) explaining about the French attempt and then the US succeeding in building this "one of the 7 wonders of the modern world." - an amazing engineering feat through this pretty hostile jungle environment. This whole museum overlooked two rows of locks. Small train-like vehicles were running up and down on either side of the locks. Later we saw them tow a huge freighter through; watched them lower the water and come out the other end. This Miraflores Locks has been expanded in 2016 to accommodate the huge container ships.

Finally we caught up with the Hop On bus to take us down to the Casco Viejo, the old historical area of Panama. This did not have all the high rises we saw in the distance in downtown new Panama City. We decided to stay around this area and take a taxi back to Greg's when we stumbled across a wedding occurring in an hour, a 4 pm on a Friday evening. The church, Our Lady of Mercy, was beautifully decorated with white bouquets near the altar and alternating pews. We didn't know if we'd get in or not but hoped to kind of disappear into the back and watch.

The huge Cathedral was down the street so after a visit there, and a stop at a gelato shop for me (only pistachio and strawberry available but I made do!), we snuck into the church. Couples dressed mostly in long formal beautiful gowns were coming in. Everyone came in the side doors in the back until the bride appeared with her father; then they opened the large main doors! I teared up as they came down the aisle to Pachelbel's Canon in D, the same as Kerry had done 12 years ago! The bride was gorgeous in a long strapless (but with sheer sleeves barely visible) and long veil/train off the back of her head.

It was a very simple ceremony; everyone clapped when they were pronounced. It was then followed by a quick Mass. Ave Maria (also at Kerry's wedding!) was one of the music choices. There were a few other tourists viewing in the back by the time the wedding ended. It was all very festive and delightful! They walked across the street to the reception.

A burger place was down the street for dinner, with a Corona for Betty and Caipirenea (a Brazilian lime drink I favor when in Puerto Morelos!) readied us for the taxi ride home. Only $5 including the tip (my cell phone was dead; couldn't try Uber) probably was comparable to what they would have charged. We were happy to be home!

Justin, Betty's cousin where we're headed tomorrow, emailed her that they had felt a slight earthquake that occurred up in the Andes in Manta. Someone else also warned me that when they had flown to Quito, if it's cloudy, they won't land. They had had to return to Panama! Fingers crossed!

BTW, Greg has these neat water mugs with GLASS straws. I just knocked my water on the floor and it! Grrr! He said he ordered them on the internet; great reusable item; except when they break!!

PANAMA CANAL RAILWAY

At 6 a.m. Betty and I were outside on the street waiting for our prescheduled Uber. It NEVER showed!! My phone kept saying it was there waiting! The program seems to pick up some nearby business - in this case a dance academy - instead of where my phone is. I texted 4 times our address bur it said the driver waited 15 minutes and then left. As he had suggested, Betty woke Greg and he drove us over to the station. It seems like everyone else knew to get tickets online but us and one other guy! We were supposed to be there at 6:30 for a 7:15 departure, to pay an extra $10 to sit in the domed rail car to get the best view. No, we were told it was first come, first served!

Luckily, we ended up anyhow in the one domed car. We settled in and waited for Betty to get her coffee which they came around and served gratis! We noticed that other guy sitting across from us by himself. We had arranged for Jose to drive north and pick us up in Colon at the end of the train line. He then was going to drive us around for 2-3 hours to Portobello where there was an old fort and cusstoms house; then he would drive us home for $90. At Betty's suggestion, I went across the aisle and met Billy, from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He said he had been told to sit on the left side for the best view so we moved over to his booth!

He had no plans at the other end and was going to take a bus back to Panama City so agreed to share Jose's ride with us - $30 each! (of course, later Jose informed me that because we had the extra person, it would now be $40 each!!!! Didn't cost him any more gas-wise or time-wise, but we agreed. Bill said he had planned to give him $40 with the tip, but now would not give a tip!

The ride across the Isthmus was amazing! We were surprised not to see that many ships going through. Someone along on the trip knew that those big container ships would pay $500,000 - $800,000 per passage through!!  (I later found out from Wikipedia that figure was exaggerated. Average is around $53,000 depending on weight. It takes 11+ hours to pass through. It's probably around 15,000 ships a year that go through; since the beginning around 815,000 have passed.)Jose had already told us that Panama was such a prosperous country economically because of these fees, since the Americans had turned over the canal to Panama in 1999. This came about because the US had put up fences, guarding the canal and resisting Panama's demands that it belonged to them. After WWII the US forced France and UK to let Egypt have control of Suez. So Panamanians put pressure around that time for the US to turn over the Canal. They agreed in a treaty that turned it over in 1999.

The French had spent years trying to build (DeLessups - the guy who built the Suez Canal) tried first but gave up due to illness and death of so many workers in the tropical jungle.  First the railway was built and then the canal followed the same route. Jackson asked me, when I mentioned the locks (there are 3 the ships go through), which ocean was higher, Atlantic or Pacific. Neither! The locks are needed because  of the mountains the canal cuts through. At the highest point, they built an artificial lake (at one point our train had water on both sides). The US under Teddy Roosevelt took over the construction in 1904 and it was opened in 1914. Panama had been part of Gran Columbia (including Panama, Columbia, Venezuela and Eucador, then Panama was part of Columbia when the US got permission to do this.

We arrived at Colon, the northern point on Atlantic side and there was Jose in his yellow taxi (he's 59, has two children and some grandchildren). He headed off toward the east to the port of Portobello, stopping at ruins of one of the forts guarding the lovely harbor. In Portobello, a small sleeping fishing village we visited the church where the Black Christ held a place of honor. Only myths about where it came from exist but every year on Oct. 21st there is a parade through town and a huge party all night! Up to 50,000 worshippers and partiers invade the town for that day.

Nearby was the Customs house where the trade route across the Isthmus would begin, first through a jungle trail, then later a train, before the canal. Both the forts and the custom house were constructed of coral.

We did a pit stop at McDonald's (I ALWAYS stopped there in Asia because I could count on a Western toilet!) and had some coffee, etc. before heading back. Jose dropped all of us at the Alwood Mall near Greg's house where Billy caught the subway back to his place and we shopped a bit, had some dinner and started to walk home.  Hot, tired, Betty grabbed a taxi who drove us the rest of the way for $2! A bargain!!

I forgot Billy's great "Titanic" story when we stopped for coffee. Turns out his father, grandfather, etc. were all in the ship-building trade. His dad was a riveter, quite prestigious and well paid in that world! Until WWII when they needed ships built much faster and Americans came up with welding plates together to make not as sturdy ships but much fast. His dad pretty much lost his career. BUT his grandfather had done riveting on the Titanic!  when the ship was almost completed they held a lottery and his grandfather WON the ticket for passage to America!! But he had a wife and little kid. So one of the young guys asked and the grandfather GAVE the winning ticket, not even sold it! to the guy! The rest is history and, as sBilly said, he would not be there talking to us!! Great story!!

Forgot to mention this longest concrete suspension bridge 4 KM long, 3rd over canal. Not open yet. 

Back to our cool air conditioned rooms, with a little BBC news watching with Greg before sleep!
Friday we have to try Uber again to get to the mall to get on the Hop On-Hop Off bus around for the day! Fingers crossed!

OFF TO MESOAMERICA!!

The latest adventure had us (travel buddy Betty, from St. Paul, and previous travels to China + 7 other Asian countries two years ago, Egypt, Australia/New Zealand, and most recently she joined me on the last leg/week in Harpers' Ferry, WV, of the "Path of Happiness" (see pathofhappiness.org) into Washington, DC, last Memorial day! Anyway, Betty flew to Boston and Tuesday we flew to Panama on Copa Airlines (home base is Panama City). Flight went smoothly; we arrived in the afternoon and were met by Jose, a driver arranged by our Airbnb host Greg here in Alwood, a suburb of PC. Panama uses US $ as its currency so it makes life simple, with no exchanging money.

Greg is a California transplant who has had a treasure-hunting business down in this area searching for Spanish gold and other treasures! Now he does spear-fishing and diving (those spears are AMAZINGly heavy! And they dive just holding their breath, not with scuba equipment. He said he can do about 2 1/2 minutes!!!

His home is amazing, with two labradors, dad (golden) and son (black), who rule the roost, dashing in and out through several doggie doors to the enclosed backyard. Betty has her own room and bath upstairs and I'm on the ground level. Maria fixes a lovely breakfast with a fruit smoothie, omelet and a corn pancake, arepa it's called. The house has unusual decor

My room in Panama

Greg and his dogs

After a great night's sleep, Greg helped me order an Uber to take us down to the Causeway to a bike rental place. The causeway is near the entrance on the Pacific side to the canal and goes maybe 9 KM with water on both sides out to three small islands. Tourists can get ferries out to a couple of scenic beaches. It took me awhile (I'm still not totally acclimated!) to the heat and humidity! I wished I had worn a long-sleeved shirt as that sun just beat down!

In the distance was the unexpected skyline of downtown Panama with spikes of white apartment/business buildings. 

We first passed the BioMuseo, a biodiversity museum designed by Canadian architect Frank Gehry. He is married to a Panamanian woman but lives in L.A. We will visit this later on our way back. It was a beautiful ride, especially after mostly sitting (on the airplane) the day before. When we got to the end, there was a delightful Bike Club with  pretty young kids who were riding the same Causeway. Turns out schools are out until March for vacation, so lots of kids were around!

Yacht moored in harbor with helipad on stern

At the end of the Causeway

some of the prehistoric animals like Giant Sloth bigger than elephant

A huge container ship headed to Pacific entrance to canal

Closed Dinosaur mini-park on one of the islands

Cross between hawk and owl that I think is National bird

I was pretty tired on the ride back, as we returned our bikes and headed to the BioMuseo, that was a wonderfully displayed exhibit of the biodiversity in Panama. Lots of shopping at the gift shop!!

Having trouble here trying to use Uber! We waited at the museum for 20 minutes and no one showed up. So a taxi drove by and said he'd do the same drive for the $5 charge. We headed home!

I forgot to mention the night of our arrival, we walked the neighborhood spotting neques (tailless rodent-type animal about the size of prairie dogs) that are all around this neighborhood. We also walked by the Russian Embassy which is gigantic! Greg wasn't sure why they were building such a huge one!! 

We had the taxi driver stop at Greg's house where we dashed in to pick up a towel and bathing suits. He then dropped us at a local outdoor beautiful Olympic-sized pool! Which of course was closed for two days for cleaning!! We walked on and found a small restaurant to have a beer (and Margarita for me!) and some dinner. Then walked home! Exhausting first day!!

Greg helped Betty try to schedule ahead of time an Uber for 6 a.m. to take us to the Panama Canal Railway headed to the northern end of the canal at Colon!!