Keith's Panamanian Travel Ramble

The wanderings of Andrea and Keith around Panama

Posts tagged ‘church’

The Beauty of the Caribbean Side

Hi Travellers,

Panama is the only place on the earth where the Pacific and Atlantic oceans are just a couple of hour drive apart.  Another thing that will mess with your mind is the fact that the Pacific ocean is on the south and and the Atlantic is to the north.  We decided to take advantage of that and take a trip over to the Caribbean side to check things out.  Out target is a little town called Portobello which was a very important place to the Spanish, in the early 1600s.  Discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1502, he named it “Puerto Bello”, meaning Beautiful Port.  Founded by the Spanish in 1597, it became an important silver and gold exporting port, from the 16th to the 18th centuries, for plunder that was acquired by the Spanish throughout Central and South America.  Shipments were consolidated here for furtherance back to Spain and Portobello became one of the more important ports on the route of the Spanish treasure fleet.

With this kind of action going on, Portobello also became of interest to the pirates in the area and in 1668, Captain Henry Morgan with a band of 450 men captured it and plundered the city for 14 days.  In 1738 it was captured by the British who wanted a foothold in the new world and then recovered by the Spanish in 1741 (pay attention; there is a test at the end of this), at a cost of 18,000 British casualties.

Today, Portobello is a picturesque sleepy little Caribbean town of around 3,000 inhabitants hosting the ruins of several buildings and the fortifications built by Spain around town in various places.  In 1980 the ruins were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and you can see that restoration work is now underway.

Portobello is also the host of an important statue called the Black Christ which arrived here sometime in the 1650s.  While the details are a bit sketchy, it is known to have been carved in Spain, transported on a ship that was wrecked in a storm with the statue washing up on the shore in Portobello.   Many thousands of pilgrims descend on this small town every 21 October for the celebration and festivities.  The statue is carried from the Catholic Church around the community by 80 people providing a four-hour procession.

Or trip, today, was scheduled to avoid traffic.  You see, this is the last Saturday of Carnival and one of the busiest days.  As almost all of the festivities occur on the Pacific side of the country, we thought we would be able to avoid traffic by heading this way.  Sure enough.  The new toll road to Colon, accessed off Corredor Norte, was almost empty.  We made the toll road part of the trip in just over an hour before getting dumped on to heavy traffic once we were back on the normal roads.  You don’t actually travel into Colon but rather turn east just before the city.  Heavy local traffic eventually thins out as you get farther from the city.  Eventually, the road brings you along side of the Caribbean.

While there are some nice places here, generally speaking homes are not as elaborate or well-kept.  The beach frontage is built up with lots of homes including large, small, new and old places.  The beauty that may be missing from the houses in the area is more than compensated for by the natural beauty of the sea-side as we drive along passing small palm lined beaches and low bridges lined with kids diving off into the water of the rivers they span.

Eventually, we come to one of the forts of Portobello and park to prowl the ruins.  The landscape is a beautiful variety of greens with the Caribbean water showing its well-known aqua and green patchwork color scheme.  There is a large hilly island in the distance, perhaps a kilometer across the yacht strewn water.  The dark blue almost cloud free sky along with the aqua waters and snow-white hulls of the fleet of pleasure yachts moored in the area paint an incredibly beautiful seascape that is only complemented by the small pieces of history from the fort that I am able to inject into the images from my camera.  This place is drop dead gorgeous!

I admit to getting a little carried away with the camera here but I think you will agree that, just maybe, It can be justified!  Wandering around the fortifications I can’t help but think about what it must have been like when the Spanish were here.  The fierce battles, the blinding smoke from the cannons as they were fired, the stench of burning gun powder, the agony of the injured, the piles of dead bodies, the heat of the day on those heavy uniforms both sides wore and the deafening roar of hundreds of heavy canons seeking desperately to destroy their enemy.

The scenery would still have been as beautiful as today but as you walk the ramparts of this old fort where so many died in days gone by it gives me cause for just a moment of thankfulness that I wasn’t there during that time and that I have an opportunity to see such a special place today.

Carnival… WOW!

Hi Travellers,

Nobody gets in the way of the Carnival celebrations which are a country-wide party that lasts a week here in Panama.  It’s way more extreme than the Calgary Stampede!  Businesses close, Panama City is abandoned, and music is everywhere as the worlds largest collection of sound systems comes together all over the country to blast pop, reggae and pop music to the masses

As with many festivals, Carnival stems from a Christian tradition and takes place 40 days before the Christian holy week. The name Carnival means “feast of the flesh” and is celebrated before the abstinence ordered by the Christian church.  Carnival dates back to the 19th century and is the most celebrated festival in the country.  All business and work stops while the streets are filled with masks, floats, parades, costumes, confetti, music and water.

 

 

It all begins with the selection of the Carnival Queen and her attendants who reign over the daily parades and official activities of the festival.  People are dancing and water trucks stand by spraying the active dancers down with cool water so the party is not disturbed by the tropical sun.  This is a practical Carnival tradition called mojaderas  which means getting drenched.  Water is a big part of Carnival where many people come armed with water balloons, small bags of water and squirt guns.  It’s like the worlds largest water fight!  Even the fire department gets in the act.

Each province carries out its own Carnival celebrations, trying to offer the public different attractions each year to draw people to their festival. The most popular place to party is in the small inland city of Las Tablas on the Azuero peninsula.

It is estimated that less than half of the population of Panama City remains in the city during Carnival, with most people opting for an extra long weekend at one of the smaller cities inland where the partying goes on pretty much 24 seven. As you drive through these smaller centers, you can hear the ear shattering pounding of base from massive speaker systems amplifying the music of some of the best bands in the country.  It’s an amazing party!

As a tourist, information about where specific events are and their start times are somewhat difficult to come by.  Staff at hotels should be a good source of information but we found varying stories of where to go and what time things happen.  This would be a great opportunity for the tourism industry to pull together to get guests in the country out and exposed to Carnival in a controlled way.  We followed some advice we were given about timings and a place only to find that the site was pretty much empty.  There was a strong police presence (a good thing) and you get a complementary frisking before you are allowed into the fenced festival area.  We walked around for a while and experienced the music and some of the dancing.  We were even approached by a young boy with a devilish smile and a squirt gun which he sparingly used on us.

This is also a great time to explore Panama City.  We found ourselves driving down empty streets that are normally heavily bogged down with traffic.  It is easy to get around while everyone is out-of-town but the downside is that many things are closed for the festivities.

Let me apologize for not having more pictures of Carnival.  In the interior, traffic is heavy so you can’t stop and I was trying to shoot from a moving car.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.  You just never know when you will run across something so you need to be ready all the time. When we got to the festivities in Panama City, there really wasn’t anything happening.  Also, I was reluctant about hauling my camera around to a place where there was a high likelihood of getting nailed with large amounts of water.  We did take in a Panama show at one of the hotels that gave us lots of examples of what some of the characters and costumes of Carnival look like, so I have included them here.

The El Cano Archaeological Dig Site Visit

HI Travellers,

A short time before we left Canada, a friend sent me a link to a National Geographic article on an important archaeological dig here in Panama.  The article outlined the history of a site called El Cano and another closely associated place called Sitio Conte, about two miles away.  This area was inhabited between about 200AD through 1500AD and at its peak it is estimated that it contained up to 40,000 people.  These people were called Nata and they were the ones the Spanish met when they first conquered this area.  This was the time when the Mayan civilization was beginning to wind down.

It was an interesting story of looting, persistence, gold, and ancient chiefs with an archaeological history dating back to the early 1900s and brings to mind the Indiana Jones series of movies.  The most current work was begun in 2005 and is being led by a young archaeologist, Julia Mayo who is associated with the  Smithsonian Institute.

So, in an attempt to add a little history to this otherwise entertaining blog, we decided to check it out and let you know what we found.

A notable sign that the Panama government is recognizing the importance of this site is the construction of a brand new road, that starts from just outside El Cano and ends at the gate of the fenced archaeological site.  Previously, the road was a rutted mud road that was impassable during the rainy season without four-wheel drive.

The fenced site at El Cano has several unearthed burial mounds, a small museum, the remnants of an ancient temple, a covered excavation that has several sets of visible bones, and a National Geographic excavation that is now under way.  On the surface there is not much to see but just to be there and walk around the site evokes such a feeling of ancient history.

We took our friend Octav with us, which turned out to be a very good idea as our guide only spoke Spanish.  Octav was able to translate the information for us to make the visit to the small museum much more interesting.  While we were there, a small group of visitors was being guided through the site by Julia Mayo the responsible archaeologist.

We learned that an American archaeologist  visited the El Cano site in about 1924 and removed a series of statues from the temple area, leaving only the bases and taking them to the US where they still reside.  The current work is yielding large amounts of gold and a rich collection of burial paraphernalia that is being moved to Panama City for storage due to the remoteness of the dig site and concerns for security.  The Nata Chiefs that are here were buried with all of their immediate family, who were killed when the king died, with the exception of one son.

This is a place worth the trip.  Just go 27K west of Penonome on the Pan-American highway and look for the signs to the town of El Cano and the archaeological site.  When you arrive at the town, the road splits.  Stay on the road to the left of the church.  The site is about three kilometers down the road.  The entrance fee is $1 for adults and $0.25 for kids.

Impressions of Santa Fe

Howdy All,

Sadly, today we leave this beautiful place and head for our next destination which is at the beach in Gorgona and is about a three-hour drive without stops.  After another great breakfast, we packed up and hit the road.

Yesterday, I mentioned a blockade of the Pan-American, west of here closer to David.  It turns out that the local Indians (Ngobe-Bugle) had blocked westbound traffic on the highway for several days.  They were protesting the changing of some legislation around mining and the Cerro Colorado mine, which has one of the largest copper reserves in Latin America.  There have also been some short-term interruptions to traffic eastbound headed for Panama City.  The westbound blockade has held the second largest city in the country, David, hostage and there are reports of stores being short of food stuffs and fuel stations closing as they are out of fuel.  The police were directed to clear the road last night and the ensuing scuffle resulted in a number of injuries and one death.  Several police were hospitalized.  Further investigation into the death found that the bullet was of a caliber not used by the police.

President Ricardo Martinelli has blamed the opposition and “foreign elements” for inciting chaos.  I did a little Internet research and oddly found that an Indian band in Ecuador held a protest at the same time over a similar issue.  When you look at the pictures of the Panama protest, I cannot help but draw the conclusion that this was organized by someone or group other than the natives that knows the techniques of how to successfully protest today.

Now our friend Octav that left Santa Fé a couple of days ago, was headed to Boquete.  He took the bus from Santa Fé to Santiago where he found out busses were not running due to the blockade.  He had some quick scrambling to do but managed to secure a place back at the Bayview Hotel in Santa Clara, the other direction.  As it is on our way, we decided we will stop and see how he is doing.

We have only been in Santa Fé for a few days and most of that time was spent at the Casa Mariposa Boutique Hotel.  Our top 10 impressions of Santa Fé are:

1.  Book a few days here at the Casa Mariposa.  You won’t believe the experience.  See the link at the bottom of the right column under Businesses We Support;

2.  Don’t miss the “Lunch with the Toucans” at the Mariposa. You will love it;

3.  Be sure to top up your gas tank in Santiago before leaving for Santa Fé. There are no fuel stations in Santa Fé;

4.  Santa Fé is a hilly mountain frontier town, full of friendly locals, around 3,000 of them;

5.  This area is starting to develop, thanks to publications like International Living Magazine.  There is a growing expat community and people from all over the world are starting to settle here;

6.  There is lots of hiking and things to keep you busy in the area;

7.  Check out the Santa Fé National Park.  If you are a birder, your hotel can help you pick up an inexpensive guide to make sure you get to see what you want;

8.  Expect the place to be a bit remote.  There are only cell phones and a high-speed internet connection is still in the future;

9.  On the way to Santa Fé, don’t miss stopping to see the restored old church in San Francisco.  It dates back to 1621; and

10. Be open to all the rugged natural beauty and incredible variety of birds that you will find here.

The trip back to Santiago takes us through Santa Fé and the rolling hills as we proceed southbound back to the Pan-American. Along the way we met a herd of cattle being driven right up the road to us. The guys were friendly and waved as they forced the cattle off the road on the far side to allow us through. One of my favorite pictures so far is this one of the rider on his horse climbing the hill after crossing the bridge. It really kind of describes the character of this area; slow, casual and laid back.

Further down the road, we spotted a hawk flying beside us.  We went around a corner and Andrea said the hawk had landed and was standing beside a blue bag on the road behind us.  I grabbed my long lens and got out of the car as quietly as I could.  This is a Yellow-headed Caracara, a beautifully marked bird.  He was very cooperative.  He posed on the road for a bit then took off away from me and circled back.  I think the markings on this bird are magnificent!

After negotiating Santiago we were again eastbound on the Pan-American, headed for the Bayview.  Watermelon is now in season and it is starting to show up in markets and roadside fruit stands.  We stopped at this place to stock up on some fruit for our next week and bought one cantaloupe for $1.50, three pineapples for $1 and a good-sized watermelon for $3.

We found him on the deck of the Bayview, entertaining a couple of young women from the US!  Octav wasn’t expecting to see us but was glad we stopped by to visit with him on the way to Gorgona.  We made plans to get together over the next couple of days for dinner and a visit then were off to Gorgona to find our new home, Sueno Mar, which means sunny beach.

On the Road to Santa Fe

Hi Travellers,

We checked out of our little resort and went for breakfast around 9AM.  We were at the Artash Restaurant to get one last bacon wrap and an Internet connection to catch up my posts before we left El Valle.

We had agreed to pick up Octav from the Bayview Hotel on the beach in San Carlos at around 11AM to give him a ride to Santa Fé.  Its only a couple of kilometers out of our way just off the Pan-American Highway.  We have been here before.  It has a restaurant right on the beach with a magnificent view from the deck.

On our way to Santa Fé, we decided to check out a little restaurant in a place called La Pintada (pronounced La Pin Tada) that we really enjoyed the first time we were here.  When we were here the second time, we drove up to find it closed and out of business.  Now, I read that it is open again so we want to check it out for a potential day trip with our friends who are coming in mid February.  La Pintada is 13Km north of Penonome (pronounced Pen a no me), which is on the Pan-American.  La Pintada is a beautiful small town with really nothing much to draw people but the restaurant.  We arrived to find the beautiful little town was once again equipped with a great little restaurant.  Restaurant Casa Vieja La Pintada!  If you are in Panama, this place is well worth the little scenic detour you will take to get here.  There is a beautiful small recently painted white church on one side of the well-kept square with this restaurant on the other side facing the church.  The restaurant appears to have fresh paint and our server was a little Panamanian girl who was attentive, had a big smile and spoke enough English for us to get by.  We just had a cool drink, snapped a few shots and were on our way.

On our way back to the Pan-American, Andrea spotted a small fruit stand in front of a house at the side of the road with a supply of grapefruit stacked on the shelf.  We stopped and this little guy sold us six beautiful big grapefruit for $0.50, (total, not each) once he had his mother’s permission.

We continued back toward Penonome but in a few minutes our GPS wanted us to turn west.  We looked at the road and found it wide and paved but with no lines.  Now normally, Andrea won’t take advice from the GPS but this time, with two of us encouraging her, she agreed to follow it.  It turned out to be a nicely paved secondary road that our GPS called “Road”.  It basically, just cut off the need for us to go back through Penonome.  It brought us out on the Pan-American 20 or 30 minutes west of Penonome after taking us through beautiful rolling hills and past lots of fields of cattle and horses.  Out in the back country I might have thought we would find unkempt properties and homes but that was not the case.  Homes were neat, tidy, artfully landscaped and painted bright colors.  There was no junk lying around.  Then I remembered, we were in Panama not Mexico and this is the norm here!  There is a pride of ownership that shows everywhere.

Shortly after getting back on the Pan-American, a motorcycle carrying a police man passed us at a high speed.  In a few minutes we came around a bit of a gentle curve and saw a little white car of some kind on its side in the middle of the median.  The shot is a bit blurry but I think you can get the idea.  There was shattered plastic everywhere.  We wonder what actually happened because the road was flat and almost straight. In a few minutes we saw an ambulance approaching from the other direction.  It was not in a hurry and the emergency lights were not on.

We arrived in Santiago on the Pan-American which is where we turn north for Santa Fé.  We joined a line of mostly little yellow taxi cabs at a service station to load up our trusty Toyota with fuel before leaving Santiago which, we were warned, is the last place we can get gas.  Strange!  This busy little fuel stop was the first service station we have found that takes credit cards.  We left Santiago, heading north along a nicely paved two lane road with yellow center line and white lines at both edges of the road.  The hills are rolling and every now and again you get a chance to see the beautiful hilly vistas from the road.

We had planned to stop in a place called San Francisco which is 17 Km along the road from Santiago, to see a very important historical church that dates back to 1621.  Restoration work has been recently completed.  San Francisco is a tidy small village with narrow roads.  The whole place looks recently paved and again we find the homes all beautifully landscaped and well-kept.  Here are a few shots of the church.  The interior is amazing.  It is full of beautiful intricately carved pieces that show so well because of the fresh restoration work that has been done.

We continued north on the little hilly road for the remaining 35 Km to Santa Fé.  The GPS is not up to date with the roadway.  It looks like the road has been modernized somewhat and the map has not!  It showed us travelling in the general area of the road but not on it.  We eventually met one of the little Toyota Coaster busses that runs from Santiago to Santa Fé and followed it part of the way.  There is very little on this road.  No houses, no cows, no people, just tall grass, fields of nothing, lots of vegetation, beautiful distant hills and one small Toyota.

Our resort had provided us a map to get us from Santa Fé to their property, which is just a little over two kilometers.  We got to within a couple of hundred meters from the main gate and, following the map, turned off the paved road onto a dirt one with a hill on it.  Now a dirt road here means slippery red clay with no gravel and lots of deep ruts.  When you add an incline and water from a recent rain to this recipe, you need four-wheel drive, which our little Toyota doesn’t have.  Andrea managed to get us almost up the hill before we lost traction and could not go forward.  I hope no one from Budget is reading this!  We were probably 20 meters from the resort gate.  I got out and walked to the resort to get help and she backed the Toyota back down the hill.

As I walked through the front gate of Casa Mariposa, I was immediately faced with terrain sloping off into the distance and an  amazing view of hills, mountains, and jungle that unfolded at my feet.  First impression?  I was mindful of Shangrala!  It was stunning!

I met one of the owners, Kevin, who said to take the car back to the intersection with the pavement, and that he would meet us there with his four-wheel drive to bring us and our luggage to the resort.

There are two new villas right inside the gate at the top of the hill.  Each is beautifully landscaped to maximize the privacy between them.  Our villa is called Toucan and the larger one is called Motmot, after the bird.  I will show you a couple of pictures of the Motmot in the next post.  We were warmly greeted and oriented to the ways of the Casa Mariposa by the owners Kevin and Erica, who are from Ontario.  The routine here in this brand new resort is like in a five-star resort.  We sat and visited with Octav on the large deck of the Motmot, where he is staying, trying desperately to take in all the amazing view.  Rachel came to explain the dinner specials and to take our order.  They have a menu of around a dozen items or so.  Graham, the chef will prepare the meals and he and Rachel will them serve them to us on the Motmot deck.  So far we have experienced friendly helpful owners, who are attentive and follow-up on every small detail as well as a wonderful gourmet dinner capably served in the most beautiful restaurant, the deck of the Motmot!

The dinner selection I chose was horseradish and parmesan encrusted red snapper filet with home-made rye garlic bread and braised green beans.  Andrea chose the homemade french onion soup featuring Erica’s homemade bread, then the stuffed chicken with mozzarella, shiitake mushrooms, olives and bacon served with a shiitake mushroom white wine sauce along with purple nayami (a local root vegetable something like potato)and braised green beans.  For dessert we chose the pineapple upside down cake with a ginger sauce.  Amazing!  Now tell me!  What other jungle can you think of that serves gourmet food like this with such a view from the dining room?

El Valle Final Impressions

Hi Travellers,

It rained a bit during the night and the normal winds that keep our cabana cool were with us again.  Today is our last full day in El Valle and the weather is, once again, beautiful.

Breakfast was at Brochettes in the Anton Hotel.  I think this is the most westernized restaurant in town.  You even get jam with your toast!  It is right on the main drag across the street from the library and they have WiFi.  Bacon and eggs for two with fresh juices and coffee $15.  A day without bacon is a day without sunshine!

I got thinking this morning that I may have given you the wrong impression about El Valle.  We really haven’t done much of the tourist stuff here because we have been here before and already done it.  There is a good supply of things to keep you occupied for about three to four days according to out hotel.  We have stretched the time out a bit to meet our next reservation block which starts tomorrow.  When you come here there are waterfalls to hike to and mountain hikes that will keep you in shape, a small zoo to see with the endangered golden frog, a serpientium if you are into snakes and bugs, zip lining to get your adrenalin flowing, the public market on Sunday to empty your wallet, the Orchid Garden for some of natures beauty, hot springs or rather warm springs to experience, horse rentals if you are from Saskatchewan and square trees.  Yes, square trees!  (some imagination required) There are no banks but there are two ATMs.

Our impressions of El Valle are many but I will try to distil the list down to a top 10.  They are:

1.  Don’t miss it.  It is cooler than the beach areas and almost always has a cool breeze.  Don’t worry about the threatening clouds racing through the sky.  If they do give a bit of rain, it doesn’t last long;

2.  Be careful driving here at night.  I have never seen a place where people walk and ride bikes with no light-colored clothing and no lights or reflectors on their bikes.  People stop and talk in the middle of the road and don’t move quickly to get out-of-the-way.  That combined with very few street lights makes it really difficult to see.  The whole town is posted at 40K and that is plenty fast.  Also, dogs are slow to get up from their naps in the middle of the road;

3.  Experience the market on Sunday.  The crowds are invigorating;

4.  Take in the zoo but be ready for a place that does not house animals to the standards you are used to seeing.  It is worth seeing because of the variety of local species they have;

5.  Don’t be afraid to try any restaurant in town.  We never found one that provided a bad meal.  Like at home, some are just better than others;

6.  Enjoy walking around town.  There are some beautiful estate homes to be seen by just walking down a side road for a few minutes;  There is a bus that runs around town that you can always grab if you get tired.  I think the fare is $0.50;

7.  If you have a sweet tooth, take in the bakery.  It is right on the main drag across the street and down a little from the public market.  Your dentist probably wouldn’t be happy;

8.  Internet is available at the public library next to the church;

9.  Enjoy the people.  We have met some great folks here.  Everyone is so helpful; and

10. Don’t just come for the day, as many do.  Stay a few days and really get into this slow-paced place called El Valle.

We headed out to dinner intending to try O’Pedros Pub.  We killed some time there waiting for the Casa de Lourdes Restaurant to open last night.  The menu looked interesting and the interior of this place is done in stone and dark woods.  Besides, a pub called O’Pedros can’t be too Irish, can it?  When we arrived we found a tour bus and a buffet dinner set up and the place closed to the public.

On the way back into town, on the main drag, we saw red and blue flashing lights off in the distance and a crowd of people.  Just as we were thinking accident and that we should find a way off the street, a police truck approached and pulled across the road, effectively blocking it for oncoming traffic.  At first I thought the police had finally figured out where Andrea was but it ended up being traffic control for a procession.  Now almost every time we have been in a Latin country, we have at one time or another, encountered a procession.  Some are large and elaborate some are not.  The procession here today was a solemn event led by what looked like the Catholic priest and others in Catholic garb.  There was a statue on a wheeled cart being borne down the street and then what looked like most of the town following.  It was interesting to see the level of involvement by the citizens here in this church based event.  This was a procession for Saint Don Bosco who was responsible for taking care of the young.

Dinner was at Pinocchio’s Restaurant and Pizzeria.  We were the only ones there.  We ordered a house special 12 inch pizza and a couple of drinks for a total of $13.  Nothing special but adequate.

Tomorrow, we move from El Valle to Santa Fe. We will head down the hill to the Bayview Hotel, in San Carlos, on the beach to pick up our friend from Victoria, Octav, who will accompany us to Santa Fe for a couple of days. We have been cautioned that high-speed Internet connections are limited in Santa Fe so my posts may be a bit more sporadic for the five days that we will be there.

The Mystery Car

We awoke this morning to the distant beat of jungle drums echoing off the mountain walls as the sounds made their way down the valley to our ears.  When I opened my eyes, I realized it wasn’t jungle drums at all but rather the base from some Panamanian dudes stereo off in the distance being played at the only volume setting permitted for music in Panama, that being maximum!  The always barking distant dogs were strangely silent this morning as if they knew why the veterinarians that I told you about yesterday were in town. Oh well, there was still the roosters!

Breakfast today was at the Restaurant Artesanias in the Hotel Residential El Valle.  It’s right on the main drag and looked inviting.  It was also close to the already busy public market where we were headed after breakfast.  The menus here, as in most other places have the offerings written in Spanish with the translation to English in brackets following.  It works pretty well and we have not had too many surprises yet.  Today we ordered fresh fruit smoothies, pancakes and coffee.  I can’t believe a day without bacon!  The food was fine, nothing special but the smoothies were huge and very flavorful.  Breakfast for two $10.  This place would be worth another try but we are running out of days to double up on restaurants.  Give it a try if you are in town.

Last night, while at dinner, we saw a beautifully restored old car drive up and park in front of the Catholic church.  The occupants headed in for Mass.  I had left my camera in the car and the lighting was poor so I did not get a picture of it.  Today, it was loaded aboard a trailer hooked behind a Toyota Tundra capped pickup and parked by the side of the road.  I got a couple of shots of it but still don’t know what make it is.  There was no recognizable (to me) insignia on the car to identify it.  Maybe someone out there could tell me what it is so I can pass it on to the other readers.  I took a pretty close look and the quality of the restoration workmanship was perfect.  Even the wide white wall Firestone tires were in perfect condition.  I love the color, which I know could never have been authentic.  Can anybody help?

The main drag was starting to back up with all the traffic headed to the market and the church.  Crowds spilled over into the street.  Lots of small vans from resorts in other places arrived filled with tourists looking for bargains.  A couple of large tour buses were parked in an empty lot across from the church.  When we walked around the market it seemed a bit smaller than we remember from earlier years.  The back part of the market behind the plant section is empty and not full of vendors selling plants and flowers.  The tent behind, where many of the Kuna artisans display their Molas had fewer tables.  Up front, in the craft area was still busy with many good quality Panamanian crafts being offered.  The fruit and vegetable part of the market is a bit bigger with fresh product piled high on the tables and lots of locals availing themselves of the expansive choice.  I prowled and got a few pictures to give you an idea of what goes on here on Sunday at the market.  Tomorrow, the streets will be empty again and El Valle will return to its more normal slower pace of life.

We headed back to the resort for a little quality hammock time.  I have to keep my tan up!

For dinner tonight we decided to try Chinese.  There is one Chinese food restaurant in town in a new mall called Pekin.  It has a convenience store, hotel and a Chinese food restaurant all called Pekin.  We went in and ordered.  We found the food a bit disappointing compared to the other meals we have experienced around town.  They don’t take credit cards as many of the restaurants now do and the servers appeared to speak no English where most other places we have been they can at least speak some.  The food was hot and the service adequate but we wouldn’t bother with it again.  It was an unremarkable meal.  Dinner for two $23.