July 1 was the
Panamanian presidential inauguration. Banks and other offices were
closed.
We went to a combination
4th of July/Canada Day CASA event at Louise’s Bohio. She had hot
dogs, cole slaw etc. We left to make it to Spanish at Picassos. Amanda is
filling in for Claire since she is vacationing in Europe for 3 weeks.
Looking out at the ocean
one day we noticed a whole lot of fishing boats carrying lots of people in
colored jackets heading towards Gorgona. Normally, the fishing boats just have
a couple of guys fishing so this seemed quite different. So, a little research
informed us that:
“Every year on or around July 16th the
fishing villages along Panama’s Pacific coast gather together to honor Virgen
del Carmen, the patron saint of fishermen, worshipped by those who make their
living on the ocean. The “Patrona” is prayed to for protection and a good
catch. Here in Nueva Gorgona the heart of the celebration is a procession,
where images of the Virgin del Carmen are carried by foot and by boat. There
are 3 Statues of the Virgin del Carmen in the procession today. One is walked
to Gorgona from Punta Barco, the other is brought here by the Yaralis family,
who keep this statue in their home and the third belongs to the Fisherman
Co-operative of Gorgona.
The celebrations are launched
with a mass during which the priest blesses the worshipers and the images of
the Virgin del Carmen that are going to be carried in the procession. The
statues are then walked on a route that follows the beach, through the Fisher
Co-operative and finally to boats to continue on water. After the procession
the music takes a livelier turn. Traditional hymns are played with salsa and
reggae beats that people dance and sway to. There is even a mariachi band that
enlivens the atmosphere. It all makes for a very joyous and happy celebration.”
The Wednesday before
Picasso closed for a month we saw a couple who had been visiting family for a
few weeks in the States. They said how good it was to be back home. (here in
Panama) Several of us joked that we were even glad to see the trash after we
got back.
When we went back to
Florida last month I did wonder if I would feel like I missed it. But, no I
didn’t. The only twinge I had was in the Home Depot garden department. I do
miss having plants to maintain. However, not enough to want a garden here.
Yeah! I finally got my
cedula!! We both are completely done with the immigration process. Susan came
along so we both could get our U.S. driver’s licenses authenticated at the U.S.
Embassy and by Panama at a different location. Last week Greg and I drove to
Penenome so he could renew his license and so I could get my first one. In the
city it takes hours to wait in all the lines and in Penenome we were the only
ones there and got in and out.
The trip mall where the Driver's License Place is
We checked out some
birding areas close to there that have a lot of grasslands. One was near a
small cemetery. We saw a few birds, but not any new ones. Before getting the
licenses I needed to get my blood type done by one of their approved labs.
(they put that on your driver’s license) It was lunch time and they were closed
so we walked to a Peruvian place we had driven by earlier. Sabores del Peru. It
was really good! I found out later that it’s a chain and there is also one in
the city and I think a few locations in the States.
Eastern Meadowlark
Walnut & Yellow Ahi de Gallina
Walked back to the lab
and the guy did the “finger stick” and in a few minutes had my blood type
(correct too!) and the paperwork to take to the DL place. Didn’t take long to get
Greg’s renewed and mine started. We both did the eye and hearing tests and a
couple minutes later they had them printed and we were on our way. Greg’s
needed to be renewed this soon because the last one had his temporary visa
number on it and he needed a new one with his permanent visa number on it.
On the drive back we
went through one last birding area. It was an area with rice fields so there
were a lot of water birds there. On the other side of the road the fields were
full of Crested Caracaras. At least a couple dozen of them spread out. Then we
noticed what looked like vultures, but were shaped differently. They were
Yellow-headed Vultures. What was interesting is that they were hunting side by
side with the Caracara. So, one new bird on that trip!
Crested Caracara & Yellow-headed Vulture
Moo!
birds in rice field
Black-necked Stilt
Brown Ibis
White Ibis
Ani
Egret
beach at the end of the road
Walking the Sendero
Eisenmann is almost always interesting. We saw 3 or 4 Crested Caracara eating a
dead possum. It was the sound of the flies that made me even notice.
Crested Caracara
3 more Crested Caracara
Dead Possum buffet....no waiting!
The best find was an
anteater! We spotted him on the ground near the trail and watched him climb a
small tree eating ants as he went. We could have reached out and touched him we
were so close. He was adorable and he seemed to be smelling us. (snarfing
noises like a pig)
Northern Tamandua Anteater
Greg got a really good
photo of the Lance-tailed Manakin. He submitted it to the Neotropic Bird
website. He also submitted his Rufous-vented Ground Cuckoo.
Lance-tailed manakin
Cane Toad
Lizard Love
Speckled Racer
The pond always has
birds, lizards and caimans. One time we saw a dozen or more turtles.
Caiman
Iguana
Iguana
immature Yellow-headed Caracara
Jesus Christ Lizard
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Walking the beach is
always peaceful and the migrating shore birds are starting to come back.
crab stuck in a scallop shell
cool bug and Greg's toe
Moon over the ocean
It’s been a very dry
start to our wet season. We did have a wind storm one day and we got back from
our morning walk almost in time. The wind was whipping through the parking
garage and a trash can took flight and bashed into my leg. OUCH!
I finally got the
correct amount of my meds delivered from the States and the cost corrected. It
only took a complaint with the BBB and disputing the credit card until the
right amount was charged. That had someone with the corporate office get
involved and he corrected everything. He didn’t know how so many things went
wrong, but at least he corrected it all. Hopefully, next year will go better.
It’s been a while since
I have mentioned something that is a “Panamaism”. It’s with the carts in the
grocery stores. In the States you can push your cart through to the front as
you go through checkout and even push it out to your car with all your
groceries. Here there is very little room in the front of the store and instead
of pushing the cart through, you unload your groceries onto the belt and then push
your cart back past all the rest of the people standing behind you in line and
leave it in the isle just where the line starts. They do come and collect them
frequently, but sometimes it’s hard to get past the people in line to do that.
Then you have 2 choices for getting your groceries to your car. Carry it all
yourself, or a kid with a different kind of cart takes it out for you.
(normally tip a buck).
Picasso reopens
officially Saturday, but she is having a drinks only Wednesday Happy Hour
tonight. She is still getting things ready after being closed while on a much
needed vacation for a month. She is breaking out a new menu and some other
improvements. She was running short of working capital for some improvements
and offered a deal of depositing $100 into her account and receive $150 worth
of credit to be used by the end of the year. She also offered for $500 you
would receive $1000 credit. We wouldn’t spend $1000 before the end of the year,
so we went with the other option. She really has created a fantastic
environment for expats and locals alike to meet and greet. Can’t wait to see
the new menu!
This morning we walked
to the pond and it was like we stepped into an episode of Wild Kingdom. We saw
a caiman catch a fish and toss it up in the air and eat it, a heron eating a
fish, a Jesus Christ Lizard (same cute little guy that seems to love his
picture taken), Yellow-headed Caracara, a Kingfisher fishing, an iguana chasing
a bird, a large caiman on shore and a couple of small ones swimming by, a
Sandpiper on a mud flat, and Frigate birds flying overhead. Everything was just
so active! On the way to the pond we saw a beautiful butterfly that looked like
it just was unfolding and not “dry” yet. It’s a “Rhetus Arcius” or the common
name “Long-tailed Metalmark.”
good sized Caiman
small caiman
Cormorant
Iguana
Night Heron
caiman catching a fish
he tossed it in the air and caught it
Yum!!! the fish was good....
close-up of caiman
Jesus Lizard
Sandpiper
immature Blue Heron eating fish
part of the pond
pond
We saw an anteater again
yesterday and today. It was quite a bit smaller than the first one we saw. We
got a couple more photos of it and watched it searching for ants for quite a
while. We also saw quite a few very young male Barred Antshrikes. Very cute and
unlike the parents that are quite loud, they make kind of a breathy peep. Plus
here are some other photos from this month.
crossed the trail right in front of us
tasty ants....
immature Barred-Antshrike
Anteanter climbing head down the tree
Squirrel Cuckoo
Roadside Hawk
Pachylis (cool bug)
wasp nest
teeny tiny dragonfly
Blue Morpho
male Honeycreeper feeding the baby berries
male Goldfinch
female Yellow-faced Grassquit
Parakeet
Night Heron in goofy pose....
dog relaxing in front of Machetazo Supermercado
Chachalaca
cool insect...
Sunday we are off to the Pearl
Islands to celebrate Greg’s birthday. We will spend 1 night in the city and
then get up to catch the 7:30 ferry to Contadora Island for 3 nights. Hoping to
do some snorkeling and a whale watching tour.
I’ve added 2 albums to the Picasa
site. Penenome and Morning Walks. We have a couple of videos of the anteater
and manakins, but I can’t get them up on the site…they just won’t finish
loading. The anteater had found a lot of ants and you can see them swarming on
the tree trunk and his tongue licking them up.
Til, next time…..
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