Continue reading Carl and Julie depart – December 11, 2012

Today was a day straight out of National Geographic magazine.  More than ten years ago, several families of Embera indians original from the remote rainforest tribes of Darien’s jungle migrated to Chagres River’s bank, situated at less than hour and half from Panama City.  The villages are built on a small rise, set approximately 100 feet in from the river. The houses of the village … Continue reading Embera Village, Panama – December 10, 2012

The ship ported an hour north of Panama City, in Colon.  Carl, Julie, Dave and I rented a 3 bedroom condo in the city and toured from there, walking along the broad walks next to the sea investigating the ruins of the original Panama City, sacked by Captain Morgan of the famous rum brand.   The night view from our apartment was breath taking.  As you … Continue reading Panama City – December 8 – 11, 2012

We woke up at 2 am to watch our masted boat go under the bridge of the Americas.  The captain must give control of his boat to the Panama Canal authorities, and this entrance to the canal zone must occur at low tide.  Even so, there was only 6 feet between the top of our mast and the bottom of that bridge.  Laying on the … Continue reading Panama Canal – December 6, 2012

A six masted, 140 person, luxury sailing yacht.  Our home for 7 nights and 8 days was glorious for so many.  reasons.   We could unpack, relax, settle in.  The moment that was completed we could explore, visit far flung national parks, go to the beach with toys (Carl went water skiing, Julie went paddle boarding, Karen & Dave went kayaking), we snorkel in reefs teeming … Continue reading Wind Star Cruise – December 1 – 8, 2012

What a treat! I have never been so close to so many macaws flying freely in my life. El Manatial takes in abandoned, injured and illegally captured birds, rehabilitates and breeds them for release into the wild.  Additionally, the government brings animals, mostly monkeys, which were kept as pets or confiscated in ports (being smuggled out of the country); they cannot be returned to the … Continue reading Colorful Macaws, CR – November 30, 2012

The goal was both micro and macro…..   For the big picture, our cruise later that week departed from the town just down the road, and in the interest of clean laundry, and returning rental cars, it made a lot of sense to stay near the port.  But the micro level was a lot more fun.  Our hotel had the longest zip line in Costa Rica, … Continue reading Miramar (Adventure Park), CR – November 29 – 30, 2012

We came only for a day, in search of sun — in search of wildlife, and beach and we found it all.  It is the most visited national park in Costa Rica.  With the establishment of Manuel Antonio National Park in 1972, the people of Costa Rica decided to preserve, for future generations, one of the most beautiful and bio-diverse areas in the world. Although … Continue reading Manuel Antonio, CR – November 28, 2012

What lives inside a cloud?    Um, rain…… .  Um, duh…..    Um, oops. Imagine a blizzard… What comes to mind?  High winds howling, occasionally shaking the windows, wet; the air is colder because of humidity,  snow moving horizontal across your view, and a deep desire to wear all the warm, soft clothes you own while drinking tea.   If you took the single instance of snow from … Continue reading Monteverde Cloud Forest, CR – November 26 – 27, 2012

The mountain stopped spewing a couple years ago, up to 40 something times a day, the literature told us…… And yet, the area still attracts visitors gazing upward hoping to catch a glimpse of this oft shrouded peak.    The groundsman was our best advisor . . .  “6 am, that’s when the mountain comes out”.  So we were up at 6, and discovered that birds … Continue reading Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica – November 23 – 25, 2012

We rented a house near Playa (beach Hermosa) on the Northern Pacific Coast of Costa Rica and spent 5 wonderful days enjoying the private pool and some downtime. It felt like we were home. The house was a 4 bedroom beautiful home is owned by a family in Dallas. We had Internet, american TV and even a Dallas phone number. It was truly amazing and … Continue reading Private House, Stars and Beaches – November 11 – 16, 2012

There are two national parks that really drew us to the Caribbean coast.  And back again now that school is over.  The first is Cahuita. This national park is rarely visited, Luckily for us, the manager at our hotel, Pierre from Montreal, loves to hike and photograph every day, and invites his guests to go along.  He is a learned naturalist and can spot animals … Continue reading Cahuita National Park, Costa Rica – November 6, 2012

Our hotel highly recommended a visit to the local rescue center.  The story is 2 retired zookeepers from Madrid would find sick animals on their doorstep, so one thing led to another . . . .   The government gives no assistance so public support pays the bills.  It was fun to do, they had 20 to 30 animals, all with a story, birds with broken … Continue reading Animal Rescue Center, Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica – October 20, 2012

Our family gave us each a bike to use as transport on this island with virtually no cars. David and I biked to the far end of town for lunch, and after, Dave hopped on his mountain bike and headed toward the street.  Mountain bike, right, no problem!  Unfortunately, his foot came off the metal, serrated pedal as it went over a curb and the … Continue reading 12 stitches $2; emergency room fee $8; an afternoon in Panama urgencia, PRICELESS – October 29, 2012

A component of immersion Spanish was having a host family.  Ours was the Morales Campbell family, Papa, Momma and two kids.  Their names were so hard for us to pronounce, we simply called them momma and papa.  They were great, ever helpful about where to go and with homework when we could not understand the instructions. The family provided a bed, board and a bike … Continue reading Morales Campbell Family/Bocas del Torro – October 21 – November 3, 2012

Habla ya Is “I speak” in Spanish.  Unfortunately, neither of us did that…speak Spanish thing.  So with some trepidation, we began an immersion Spanish experience.  Oh la la.  We really lucked out and we were the only two people in our class, so basically it was  private lessons.  We spent two very short weeks in school, 4 hours every morning, and the afternoons with extracurricular … Continue reading Habla Espanol – Boca Del Tores, Panama – October 22 – November 2, 2012

After mating at sea, the female sea turtle return to the beach where they were hatched to nest.  The female turtle hauls herself onto the beach, nearly always at night, and finds suitable sand on which to create a nest.  Using her hind flippers. She digs a hole 18 inches deep.  After the hole is dug, the female deposits around 50 eggs.  She refills the … Continue reading Sea Turtle Young and Old – October 20, 2012

Located inside the wonderful Parque Nacional Tortuguero in Limon province, the tiny town of Tortuguero is truly a magical destination. The most important turtle nesting site on the entire western half of the Caribbean for the Green Sea Turtle, Tortuguero sits along a network of narrow canals. To get to Tortuguero you have to either use a plane or a boat, we chose the 3 … Continue reading Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica – October 16 – 19, 2013

Continue reading Costa Rica and Panama – October 15, 2012 – January 15, 2013