Here, there and everywhere....

After a quick visit to Calgary, I headed "home" to Idaho after saying goodbye to Roger in Panama. We figured I would be returning to Calgary to pick him up at the airport in about 10 days, but I had no sooner arrived in Idaho when he emailed to say Cabo had asked him to stay on for a few weeks while the manager, Herb, was on his time off in Canada. So, I'm here...he's there...

After experiencing a cold, wet, and sometimes snowy spring in Calgary, it was wonderful to pull into our property and see the apples trees in bloom, and the grass a dark green.

Sandpoint hosts "Lost in the 50s" every year which starts off with a parade of cars ranging from antiques to the latest hotrods. As you can see from the crowds, it is a popular event with some ladies dressing up in poodle skirts and guys looking like James Dean.

I decided since I was going to be spending the summer here, I wanted to do some volunteer work. My interest was piqued when I read in the paper the Ironman Triathlon in C'oeur d'Alene was recruiting volunteers to help take off swimmer's wetsuits -- apparently it is a much sought after job (wonder why??!). Those positions were filled by the time I applied, so I am now scheduled to volunteer at the Sunscreen Station! The triathlon is being held June 21st and I think it'll be a great experience.

I also emailed the Priest River Chamber of Commerce asking if they knew of any groups looking for a seasonal volunteer. They put me in touch with the Seniors Center in Priest River which hosts the Soup Kitchen - a community lunch held every Monday, and is also home to the Food Bank. I spoke to the coordinator, and they are always looking for help so I start this week. I'm hoping there will be other opportunities to help this lumber-oriented community that is having its share of difficult times.

I asked Roger to send me some pictures from Panama to post on the blog so we can see what he's seeing:

In response to the H1N1 virus, Panamanians used masks more than any other place I've seen.
The hotel where we stayed was stringent in their use.

There are always projects on the canal to either widen or dredge it to enable larger ships to pass through. Here is a barge with drills mounted to it.


The Cabo office recently moved their office to Howard Airforce Base - Roger is there on the right hand side:

When Roger is at camp, he often has to fly to the drill sites by helicopter. The area gets rain 350 days a year so while I didn't get a warm and fuzzy feeling from seeing the windshield almost obliterated by rain, Roger said the pilots aren't fazed by it.

Here is a picture of one of the drills doing exploration work:

The foreman that worked with Roger in Spain, Miguel, surprised Roger by walking into the office the other day. I was glad to hear he was working on this project, and that he is closer to his home in Chile.

Roger and I want to extend an open invitation to you to visit us in Idaho if your summer travel plans bring you to this beautiful part of the States. There is always enough food, cold beer, and watercraft to keep everyone happy! I've added our contact numbers to the sidebar of the blog, so you know how to reach us.

So from Panama and Idaho,

Hasta luego and see y'all soon!

Hasta luego, Panama!

You know what they say about "all work and no play".... We spent much of my week in Panama working on inventory, but on Friday afternoon, the Cabo Panama manager, Herb Butler, took the afternoon to show us some of his favorite spots. He is from Smithers, B.C. and has quickly transitioned to living and working in the Central America.


Herb (below with Roger) took us to Cabo's new office on the old Howard Airforce Base; it was interesting to see the huge infrastructure leftover from the America's time in Panama.

Here is a video (just click on the triangle) of some leaf cutter ants. We had seen them before and found them fascinating to watch. Leaf-cutter ants have powerful jaws which vibrate a thousand times a second to slice off pieces of leaf. Size for size, their bodies are amazingly powerful, able to carry pieces of leaf that weigh at least 20 times their own body weight - that's the same as a human carrying a one ton load.

Herb took us to a photo op spot, the Bridge of the Americas, and then to a local fruit market --Safeway's produce section doesn't look like this!


On Saturday, we hoped to take a half day trip on a boat that would take us through the locks. As it turned out, the tour was sold out, so we decided to take a taxi to the Miraflores Locks Visitor Center.

We had a great day as we lucked into getting a wonderful, informative taxi driver, Adriano, (with us below) from our hotel who spent a few hours with us as our guide. Our timing was great as we saw a huge container ship, plus 4 sailboats transit the locks while we were there.

As you can see with the photos and videos, the ships are guided into the lock by trains that use cables to slow the ship down, and then help it exit. This system has been used for almost 100 years, but in the new set of locks being constructed, tug boats will be at the bow and stern to guide the ships through.

Click on the button on the next 2 videos to see the tanker move through the Miraflores locks...

Afterwards, we visited the interpretive center which opened about 3 years ago and is an excellent place to learn about the canal system.

Did you know?

• A boat traveling from New York to San Francisco saves 7,872 miles by using the 50 mile long Panama Canal instead of going around Cape Horn.



• Ships transiting the canal must be raised 85 feet to cross the Continental Divide, and then lowered again to sea level - the transit takes about 8 to 10 hours



• The canal runs north/south --- not east west (which still confuses me)



• Tropical diseases killed some 22,000 workers when France first attempted to build a canal in the 1800s. The United States completed it in 1914. French artist, Paul Gauguin was employed as a labourer on the canal in 1887



• The Canal operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year



• Each lock is 110 feet wide by 1,000 feet long.



• Work is being done to widen the canal, as well as another set of locks is being constructed that will allow larger cruise ships and tankers to transit the canal



• There were 14,011 oceangoing transits in 2005



• The lowest toll paid was US$ 0.36 and was paid by Richard Halliburton who crossed the Canal swimming in 1928. The highest was over $300,000; the average tanker pays $50,000.
  

So, the "con-jungle" trip that we jokingly called our visit to Panama City is nearing an end. It was great to revisit the first place that got us thinking that working and living in another country would be something to go for. Fourteen years later we have learned and seen far more than we ever thought possible -- and we've only just begun.

Hats off to Panama!

This time I’ve heeded one of the adages of a good friend of ours, Dwayne Majcher. Aim low – avoid disappointment. I had been in Idaho for a few days when Roger sent an email saying, “Come down to Panama for a visit and we’ll see what happens”.

As we all know, in the last couple of years I’ve traveled all over the globe to meet Roger with the hopes of staying in one place for a while. Even though we’ve had some amazing experiences, stability hasn’t been one of them. So, this time I just went with the thought it would be great to see Roger and if it was just a week’s holiday, that would be fine and if it worked out I could stay, that would be even better. Packing was another story as I wasn’t sure if we would be in Panama City or the jungle, in a hotel or a camp, or if I’d be away for one week or eight! What’s a girl to do??

Three days after Roger's email, I was navigating my way through Calgary, Houston and Panama City airports which were using various levels of H1N1 virus precautions. It started off in Calgary with numerous hand sanitizing stations, to Houston where I saw about 20 travelers wearing masks (granted, the majority of them were wearing them as beanies on top of their head, or as neck warmers....) to arriving in Panama (with no reported cases) and having masked medical personnel meeting our plane as well as many more masked people throughout the terminal! I felt like I had stepped on the soundstage for the movie “Outbreak”!

The last time we were in Panama was 1995 and Roger was working on a project to widen the canal. I came on my first trip to Central America and we’ve seen a lot of changes. The country has prospered, but the slums, drugs, and corruption are apparently still a part of life. The country held elections this week, and a new president was named. Fireworks and celebrations in the streets took place, and time will tell if he brings about changes. Some workers told us it doesn't matter who is in power, but voting is mandatory and failure to vote can lead to imprisonment. The taxi drivers are great tour guides and most of them speak excellent English.

After a few days, we moved from downtown to a hotel at the entrance to the canal (which was closer to the office), and from our balcony, we worked on the inventory system that Roger is trying to set up. It’s really interesting watching the ships line up to be guided through a narrow channel just a stone’s throw away.

Bridge of the Americas at sunset...

Roger took the weekend off, and we spent Saturday exploring Casco Antigua (the old Spanish section of Panama City) where the narrow cobblestone streets reminded me of Spain.

It was neat to see this tree growing out of a chimney...

...and the plumeria were beautiful after a rainstorm.

This cat must have been smiling after reading about Roger’s “pate” incident in Spain.... (see previous blog entry in case you missed it!)

On Sunday we went for a boat ride on the canal to Monkey Island where we observed different species of monkeys, as well as reptiles including several crocodiles and their babies. So, we can officially say we went on a Panama cruise, albeit on a 24 foot tour boat...


On the way back to the marina, the heavens opened up and we got drenched despite wearing rain ponchos. It was a really interesting trip though – and of course, a Kinley being on a boat is never a bad thing.

Roger is headed back out to camp in a few days, and it looks like I’ll head back to Idaho. Will I continue to aim low to avoid disappointment? I hope not – but for this trip, I think Dwayne’s advice was right on the money.