Carol's Travels

After breakfast we went to a room at the top floor of our hotel for a welcome meeting. One woman has been on 21 trips. This is my 10th and another couple’s 10th trip. There are about ten of us who have been on four or more trips with Grand Circle or Overseas Adventure Travel. Abdiel gave us an overview of the trip.

Then we went a bus tour of Panama City. We saw the tallest building in Panama. It reminds me of a fancy wooden box that I made for a college art project. We stopped at Iglesia de San Jose that had brilliant stained glass windows. This church has a huge wooden altar that is supposedly covered with two inches of gold. The English pirate, Morgan, had plans to steal it along with many other gold artifacts, so this church was built in such a way that the altar wouldn’t fit through the doors. We walked through French Park which was where the high level French lived when the French were trying to construct the canal.

After we walked through some of the old quarter, we had a delicious lunch at René Café which had a capacity of thirty diners at the most. Every dish was served family style. The salad had fresh tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and a delicious Italian vinaigrette. Small loaves of sliced French bread were served with a garlic basil butter. Paul and I had fried cod for the main dish. They served a special rice that was the best rice I have ever eaten. I complimented the owner on it and asked him for the recipe. His English communication skills were about like my Spanish skills which left a little to be desired, so I asked Abdiel if he could get the recipe for us. The owner wrote out the recipe ingredients and orally gave Abdiel more specific instructions. Our guide said he would tell us more about the recipe later. For dessert we were served brownies with slivered almonds on top.

After lunch we went inside a second church with even more stained glass windows. Then we walked around an Indian market in the square. We drove to the canal administration building which was built on top of an 85-foot-high mound of dirt dug out of the canal, and piled up on level ground. We were lucky to be admitted into the building where we saw large murals depicting the building of the canal.

This evening we drove out to where the American military base used to be. The restaurant where we ate our welcoming dinner was near there. The food was delicious. One of our travel mates was having a birthday so we shared her birthday cake as well as eating the flan that came with our meal. Paul and I had Panamanian soup, mahi mahi, mashed potatoes, and veggies. We went back to the hotel in the bigger bus we will be using for the next few days.

The tallest building in Panama is on the right.

Altar in Iglesia de San Jose

Painter at the Indian Market

One of the four murals under the dome inside the canal administration building

One of the beautiful stained glass windows

After breakfast we got our luggage ready to go out. Then Paul, Jodee, and I went for a flat walk beside the shore from the hotel to the point where there was a reef. Lots of people passed us on bicycles and motorcycles. Many carried surf boards. When we reached the point, we watched some surfers. After a while we walked back to the hotel.

At 1:00 the bus took us to town. Abdiel took us for a walk through town showing us where we could choose to eat lunch. All but two of the group ate at a local Panamanian cafe. Even though the local fish has been delicious, I decided to have a hamburger with tomato, caramelized onions, lettuce, and barbecue sauce, French fries, and a strawberry shake. Paul had octopus, coconut rice, salad, and Panama brand beer.

After lunch we walked to the only store that sells the local chocolate. I bought several bars. We went into the Indian craft market and some of the other shops too. Then we walked to the very small international airport. It was fairly easy to get through security since our guide got us through as a group. The machines had broken down, so they checked the carry-on bags by hand. It wasn’t too long until the plane arrived. We were next on the plane after the lady in the wheel chair. It was open seating and I got a bulkhead seats for Paul and me.

In Panama City we checked back into our first hotel where the group had left most of our bags when going to Bocas del Toro. This evening Paul and I just ate snacks in the room since we weren’t hungry. At the end of the day my pedometer read 7.75 miles that I had walked in Keen water shoes. No wonder my back hurts!

Sea turtle fountain at our hotel: Playa Tortuga

Walk along the shore

Store in town

We got to sleep later this morning.  We boarded our boat at 9:30 which took us to Sandubidi Village.  Abdiel, our guide, took us to this village instead of the village that most groups tour because these people are not so commercial.  The women  here only make a small quantity of beaded jewelry, bags, or shirts to sell.

We were guided through the village by Rose, a woman whose grandparents first came to the island to live.  Now thirty families live here.  Seven or eight people live in each house.  We got to visit the school which was not in session.  Children can attend school on this island through ninth grade.  For the last three years of high school they have to go to a bigger island or Panama City.  When they finish high school about 3/4 of the students return to the village.

As we continued to walk around the island, I spotted children playing in a picnic area.  I approached them with Cha-Cha-Cha.  As she sang and chatted with them in Spanish (with Abdiel’s language assistance), the children were smiling and giggling yet shy.  When we said good-bye to them to continue the village tour, they seemed to appear in other places.  We got to visit the village President’s home.  His wife was fixing spaghetti for lunch.  We peeked into the only small village store, then we got to look at the items the women were selling.  Several people bought some of the handmade items.

Next the boat took us to Coral Key where we ate grilled cod with garlic sauce, rice cooked in coconut milk, and deep-fried plantain.  After lunch we went snorkeling.  On the way back to our hotel, the boat took a side trip through an area of mangroves with a rainforest inland.  Suddenly Abdiel spotted a three-toed male sloth.  We saw a total of three of them.

We went to town for dinner tonight, and had seafood linguini.  We are enjoying eating the fresh local seafood here.   We have had seafood every lunch and dinner since we arrived.

Red Coral

My favorite house in the Indian village

The store in the Indian village

Carol and Cha-Cha-Cha with villagers in front of the store

Sailing Ship seen on the way back to the hotel

La Tortuga Hotel on Bocas del Toro where we are staying