Day 14 - Palacio de Garzas and Cranky Cab Drivers

We woke early this morning, picked up Andres, and drove through Casco Viejo to the presidential palace, Palacio de las Garzas (Herons' Palace). A big thank you to Rafi's brother Luis for setting it all up for us! Before entering the palace we went through very tight security - he briefly peered into my purse and squeezed the bottom of it. No metal detectors or anything like we have in the states. Maybe the president wasn't there?

Here's some background for you.

• Construction of the building began in 1673, with the addition of a second floor in 1922 and the Official Presidential Residence, on the third floor, was added later.
• Previous presidents resided in the palace, but the current and previous two have not.
• The palace building has historically had many different occupants. It has been a school, a customs building and a bank before becoming the official residence of the President of the Republic of Panama.

Anyhow, we entered a marble courtyard with columns and a fountain where one of the herons was walking around. You could tell he was used to having fans. I think he was a he - just a gut feeling. Just like I have a gut feeling his name was Ernesto.

I enjoyed all the artwork, but this massive mola was my favorite. It is located in the Paz Salon, used for mediation meetings (hence its name). There were other oil paintings there, too, that supposedly were painted by students, as none of them were signed.

Up the stairs to the second floor we went. The floor is open to the courtyard below and features five statues representing the Five Virtues - Duty, Consistence, Work, Justice and Law. Also standing there was this guard. I couldn't help but think how boring his job must be standing there. Or heck, maybe he likes it. I know I couldn't do it. After thirty minutes I'd be asking for a stool to sit on. FYI, all the guards wear white shoe laces.

The next room, Salon Amarillo (Yellow Room), was... yellow. The chairs that lined the walls were all golden in color. At the end of the room was a chair covered in gold leaf. At the tops of the walls were many frescoes depicting Panama's history.

The large wooden doors of Salon Amarillo led us to a dining room. This room was ornate with carved wood. The paintings here showed the importance of the tamarind plant. It was mentioned (ahem, I won't say by whom) that this room was full of Panamanian porn. There were indeed naked women in just about every scene. I'm sure the men love this room.

That pretty much ends our tour. Wanna know what my favorite photo was? This one that proves I have a very good husband to hold my purse while I play photographer.

Oh, and nearby is Ruben Blades' house - the yellow one.

The rest of the afternoon wasn't nearly as mentionable. We cruised the mall. Mat ate treats. I got in trouble for Mateo gently putting a book on the floor in a bookstore (oh the horror). He rode various rides, and all four of us enjoyed the bumper cars (I'd forgotten they were so much fun!). Then Mateo had a meltdown. He was overtired. I think we all were. And then, Rafi tried and tried, we couldn't get a cab to take us home. They all refused. So we settled for a cab to take us to another mall where we waited for Rafi's dad to pick us up. Mateo scored a train ride, juice box, and chocolate cookie out of this deal. We all scored ice cream. His little dirt/tear stained face showed the wear of how I felt inside - done. But Rafi's dad came to our rescue, and home we went. And we took nice calming baths. And ate pizza. The end.

Day 13 - The mall, dinner, and Avatar.

This morning we went to Albrook Mall. Mateo was happy, as we used M&Ms and suckers to bribe him into staying in his stroller. Once again, we're parents of the year. After purchasing a few shirts and a scarf and riding the mall train (notice he's wearing his Thomas the Train shirt), we had lunch topped off with an ice cream cone.

I'm not sure what kind of Christmas message this is. We tried but couldn't come up with anything.

Once home I started on some laundry. Mat pretended to nap (we knew otherwise, as we could hear him quoting Finding Nemo), and after he awoke, I took a real nap while Rafi entertained him.

We want to thank Odelie for having us over for dinner. The chicken lasagna, Brie, and especially the Blue Nun wine was great! Her new apartment is very chic.

Rafi and I caught the late showing of Avatar at the VIP movie theater. Wow. That was an amazing film. Admittedly there is some stereotyping and some futuristic/scientific implausibilities/improbabilities, but the special effects are outstanding. It's a great film. Eye candy is everywhere. We plan to see it again at the IMAX theater in 3D once we get home to Austin.

So speaking of theaters, just as good as the movie was the VIP room. We sat in large leather reclinable seats, had fold out eating trays, wide leather arm rests, and had a server to take and deliver our order - chai tea latte, key lime pie, diet Coke, and M&Ms. Can't get better than that!

Day 12 - Panama Canal and FIFA.

I simply MUST stop going to bed at 3am. We drug ourselves out of bed this morning around 9:15 to find Mateo wide awake playing with his toys. Of course. But we got ourselves together anyway and schlepped over to pick up Andres in order to take a tour of the Panama Canal.

As we got out of the car, I told Mat I wanted to take his picture because he was so handsome. Then he kept holding up his hands like this. (Get it? HANDsome?)

Then I told him to put his hands down and got this. That kid is a riot.

After Rafi nearly killed us by getting the stroller stuck on the escalator (ha!), we ate lunch at Miraflores, a restaurant that is on the Miraflores lock of the canal. This website has a live feed of the lock, as well as other points of interest in Panama. While there we ate their buffet lunch (good cheesecake, by the way) and watched a ship come through the lock. Mateo liked the "boat" and the watermelon.

Then we made our way back downstairs to the museum. Things have really changed since four years ago when we took my mom to Miraflores. They have some nice exhibits and even a lock navigation simulator, which we all really liked. It really made you feel like you were moving.

As usual, Mateo was in love with the fish.

They had a computer available for you to view the work records of those who had worked on the canal. Of course there were no Cadle records (I'm guessing the Scottish weren't too involved?), but there was one Campana. Rafi was happy.

At the top viewing balcony we watched a very large cargo ship (likely had 4,500 cars on it, I overheard) come through the lock with very little clearance on either side. I would imagine guiding that ship through must be very stressful.

Just about that time Mateo started to melt down, but cookies and iPhone games helped - thanks, Old Macdonald iPhone app! Then we watched a cruise ship from the Netherlands come through the lock.

And then we hung out at home. And watched football and cartoons. Not at the same time.

For dinner we had Chinese food from Don Lee (the best!), and then Rafi and his friends had a FIFA tournament at the house. As I'm writing this it is about 8:30, so I think I'll take this opportunity to shower and read a book. More tomorrow!

Day 11 - A day of rest. Almost.

Waking up at 5:30 in the morning isn't so bad when you fall asleep by 8:30 the night before. We had no power, so we got dressed by the lights of our iPhones. All hail the mighty iPhone flashlight app! After a breakfast of bread, jam, and coffee, we rode the boat back to the airport.

Once at the airport, the guys noticed something that excited them. Can you spot it?

Here's a closeup.

The Yandup Island Lodge owners were there with their kids, so Rafi chatted them up some more while we awaited our planes. After boarding one plane and then immediately getting back off due to lack of seats, we waited a bit longer and boarded our last plane home. After dropping Andres off at his "vacation home," Rafi and I headed to Niko's. Mmmm, Niko's. It's kind of like a cafeteria really, but it's better than that. I had patacones, salchicha, and a Panamanian tortilla. (FYI, Panamanian tortillas are NOT like Mexican tortillas.) So yes, my breakfast was a perfect example of health food.

Mateo was very happy to see us. From what I hear, though, he really enjoyed staying with his abuelos while we were away. He enjoyed some rides at the mall, a new toy, and not one, but TWO Happy Meals from McDonald's. Lucky kiddo!

I took a long nap that afternoon while Rafi diligently (and successfully) recovered our corrupted/deleted photos from our San Blas trip. Good thing, too, or I might've thrown up. Can you imagine taking a near trip of a lifetime only to have your photos disappear? Whew!

That evening Rafi's parents took Mateo for another Happy Meal and to a park to play (once again making for a very happy kid). Rafi and I had dinner with our friends Percy and Karen. We had some delicious Italian food (cheese tortellini for me) and white sangrias, which were so good I've decided to try to make some for my monthly Girls' Night In once we get home to Austin. Over dinner I discovered that in Panama I could get a haircut for $5, and the works (shampoo, cut, conditioning, color/highlights, blow dry) for $25. I don't even want to say what I spend, though I do admit for Austin I think I pay a reasonable price for my wonderful and talented hair stylist. (It's wise not to tick off your hairdresser - Hi, Jodi!! Yes, we share the same name.) Anyway, I pay about ten times as much for my dog's haircut as a person's haircut here in Panama. Sheesh!

Once we returned home, I put Mateo to bed and stayed up WAY too late working on the blog and editing photos while Rafi played FIFA with his brother and a few friends. Some things never change.

Day 10 - Yandup, San Blas, Panama

After a mere 2.5 hours of shuteye, Rafi, our friend Andres, and I got ourselves to the airport, checked our bug spray (the only luggage we checked), and boarded the plane. It was a tiny island hopper, and that's exactly what we did. Sitting directly behind the pilots on the second leg of our flight did calm my anxiety a little bit, as the tail (where we sat on the first leg) whips you around a little more. Plus I figured if the pilot is at ease enough pre-flight to put his feet up, maybe I should relax, too. The second island on which we landed was our destination, Yandup.

After we arrived at the airport (yes, that first photo is the airport) , we took a boat ride to our living quarters.

We stayed at the Yandup Island Lodge. Only Kuna people can own land in this area, and this island was owned by a Kuna man and his Spanish wife. (Incidentally, they met in Spain when he was studying there, which is quite an accomplishment for a Kuna person.) The island of Yandup is tiny. I mean really tiny. Like a city block.

Once on the island, we ate a pancake breakfast (Rafi and I both had coffee!) and then went to our cabana to settle in. We all three packed in backpacks, so it didn't take long. The cabana itself was marvelous. Everything they make by hand. You can see the craftsmanship in everything from the bed to the joints in the walls. Even the bathroom, though minimal, is beautiful.

What were really useful were the hammocks on the porch. Later after lunch Andres and I enjoyed our naps in them. Rafi napped on the bed.

A couple of hours we were feeling refreshed, so we took the boat to another island to snorkel. A couple of leaky snorkels for me later, we were enjoying the ocean life down below. Lots of sea urchins. My favorite part was this little blue fish that circled around Rafi's bathing suit and waist like an orbiting planet. He stayed with him from beyond the reef all the way up to the beach where the water met the sand. Cute little guy, he was. I kick myself for not bringing an underwater camera. After a rock skipping competition (I lost), we returned back to Yandup with only mild snorkeling sunburns.

Lunch awaited us after we took quick showers. What a lunch it was! And I mean that in a good way. We had fish soup (delicious), fried pargo, potatoes, and salad. Now I'm not a huge fan of seeing a face on my plate, and at times I did cover the teeth up with a napkin, but that fish was good. Very tasty and not fishy at all.

After our previously mentioned naps (Rafi napped inside on the bed), we felt refreshed and ready to go on our second outing. The scheduled tour was of the Kuna cemetery, but we didn't have the required hiking boots and jeans (where was that memo?), so we got a special tour of the community where they actually live. From the boat it looks like a tiny island cram packed with palm leaf covered huts. The homes are side by side along most of the edges of the island with the walkways on the inside. Some Kuna were in their kayukos fishing or traveling to different islands.

Wow. It was so informative and amazing. I am now really glad we got to see the real thing up close and personal. I did take a few photos, but as we were walking through the town (which again, is in total the size of a city block), it dawned on me that this was very personal. We were seeing their homes, their children, their personal moments. Kiddos ran playing in the streets - sometimes sans clothing. Moms breastfed their children. A family held a birthday party. The albino kiddo that tried to sell me a wind chime had lots of personality. He had a baby brother, too. As it turns out, albinism has high incidence among the Kuna, and those with the condition are considered special. Anyway, it just didn't seem right to take photos. So I didn't.

Our guide Uti (Oo-tee) was very kind and patient. He showed us their churches, their "congress" house (the three heads laid in hammocks while a man stood and plead his case for his issue), their ways of life. Some Kuna women sold their hand stitched molas on their main street. One woman really captured my interest. Because Spanish is their second language (their first being Dulegaya), her Spanish was very precise and slow. I understood her perfectly, and somehow she understood my Spanish perfectly. I regret not asking her name. From her I purchased a mola headband, and down the road I got a new mola for our collection and a "wini" (Win-ny). It's a long, single string of beads that is carefully tied tightly around the wrists or ankles. I got a small one, but as you can see they were long, intricate ones.

This little guy scavenged for spare bits of coconuts. I witnessed one man with a small dog like this one on a leash as they went out with machetes to the forest, so I'm under the impression they don't see them as a hindrance. Since they scrounge for their food, they may help to keep the community clean.

That said, I'm not sure what's going on with this.

The Kuna are a very self-sufficient people. They sleep in self-made hammocks. They live off the land, fishing and gathering for their food. Thanks to the Panamanian government, they have small solar panels to help them with their electricity needs, as well as radios. When I first saw the pile of trash (plastics, aluminum, food bags, etc.) all along a shoreline I was saddened. But then Uti explained that that's how they build up the island. In fact, the opposite shoreline that now had a solid row of huts was their old landfill. They are now adding their refuse to the new site in order to build the island outward.

And then we saw the oddest sight. I never in a million years would have expected to see it - Mormons. In white shirts and black pants. Going hut to hut. Doing the same thing they do here in the US. As we were walking they spoke to our guide (interestingly never to us), so as we walked back to the boat we asked Uti if he was converted. He politely laughed, smiled, and said "No."

Our ride back "home" for dinner was more quiet. The tour had given us lots to think about. Dinner, however, was different. We played dominoes while we ate and after. Rafi won most of the games. Boo. I hate to lose. Our dinner was a pasta/coleslaw salad, yucca, lagostine (I traded mine with the guys for more yucca), and green beans. Quickly our energy level went downhill, so we drug ourselves back to our cabana and were in bed by 8:00. The lights out by 8:30, we slept to the sounds of ocean waves crashing a mere 30 feet away. (I shouldn't mention that these same crashing wave sounds might've been what made all of us potty two times each during the night, but I must for the sake of full disclosure.)

They have such beautiful sunsets.

And beautiful other things, as well.