September 1 to 30

Happy birthday to Scott & Dad this month. We had a nice 3-way chat on SKYPE for the birthdays.

It’s been a fairly quiet month as most of our time has been spent wading through all of the photos from Africa. Finally got the blog updated and the albums finished on Picasa. Phew!

We went to the monthly CASA get-together. The local police surprised us with a visit. Louise has a lunch planned next month to have them speak and let the expats meet them. Maybe they got confused that it was this month, but a few of the highest ranked police came and addressed our meeting. Officer Howard spoke English pretty well (got the point across) and assured us he wanted to improve the relationship between Gringos and the police.

Since we no longer need our Christmas tree we looked so hard to find, we donated it to “Bid4the Beaches” an auction that raises money to give to the many causes here to help those in need.

B4B benefits the following not-for-profit initiatives:

Panama Helpline

Woody’s House of Hope

Conservacion Panama

PaCT Community Theatre

Spay Panama

Rotary Club of Playa Coronado

IFF Panama 

Our group dinner was at Vista Mar at Las Terrazas Restaurant. The food is really good there…especially the dessert which was “almost” too pretty to eat. (yeah right….) Sally got picks of us licking the plate. (OK, just pretending to lick them, but we wanted to) 

 

 Camarones Diablo Negro

Ice Cream, Hazelnut & chocolate!

We met Jim & Jennifer for lunch in Aguadulce (about 2 hours up the coast). We were headed to the Salt Flats in search of the Roseate Spoonbills reported to be there. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any, but saw lots of other birds. After lunch we went in search of freshly caught shrimp and the second place we went to had some! We each bought a couple pounds. We had a tasty shrimp scampi with half of them and grilled skewers with the rest.  They were a whopping $4.00 a lb!

 

 first place we tried to buy shrimp

 where we found and bought shrimp

bus stop across the street from the shrimp place

 end of the road......

 fishing village

 salt flats

 Little Blue Heron

 Black-necked Stilt

 Glossy Ibis

 Blue-winged Teal

 Glossy Ibis & Teal

 American Kestrel

 Brown-throated Parakeet

 

We had dinner at Cholo’s Mexican Restaurant with friends that had just returned from house sitting in Costa Rica. So, we swapped stories about our trips. They were kind enough to come back to the condo and let us subject them to some photos of Africa. They are headed to Ecuador for their next house sit.  

We are getting ready for our short trip back to Arizona on October 1 to 8. Since the flight is early we are spending the night at the Riande, a hotel close to the airport that provides a shuttle. We have 10 meals and have already planned our “feeding schedule” to fit in a few of our favorite restaurants.  

Since mediation is in the magistrates chambers we need business attire which is now lacking from our wardrobes. So, I will try to find a less casual top to wear with a pair of black slacks once we get there. It seems I have formal wear for cruises and casual wear for here and not a lot in between. Greg still has a couple of suits so he is good to go. We meet with the attorneys on Sunday afternoon and mediation is Monday morning. Looking forward to seeing Scott and family again and my BFF Mary. 

Here are a few shots of our daily walks:

 

 Owl Butterfly

 flowers along the trail

 Iguana high up in a tree

 I said don't take my picture

 Thamyra Satyr Butterfly

 Black and White Warbler

Yellow-billed Cuckoo 

 Super Moon / Eclipse from our balcony

 Semi-palmated Plover



Spotted Sandpiper

 

Until next time....

 

Final thoughts on our trip to East Africa

Most people assume all of Africa is hot and buggy. We saw 2 mosquitos our whole time there. (might be different in the wet season). It was also mainly cool/cold except for about 2 or 3 days here and there that were hot. I was glad to get home to warm toilet seats and not having to use bottled water to brush our teeth. The tsetse flies were relentless.

The animals were amazing and even though people said how close they would be, it was still awesome to have them so close with them going about their daily lives like we weren’t even there. While it would have been nice to see the Big Five (we never saw a rhino) and to see a huge river crossing, it was trivial compared to all that we saw and experienced. You can only plan so much and then Mother Nature takes over and the migration happens when it happens. Wilson said that 2 weeks ago they saw a crossing that lasted more than an hour. A week or 2 later (or even a day or so) can make a big difference and there is no way to guarantee a huge river crossing. We saw a mini crossing and it was awesome!

The Big 5: Lion, Leopard, Cape Buffalo, Elephant, Rhino (we saw all but the Rhino)

The Ugly 5: Warthog, Hyena, Wildebeest, Vulture, Marabou Stork. (we saw all of these)

The Shy 5: Meerkat, Aardvark, Porcupine, Aardwolf, Bat-eared Fox (Meerkats don’t live in East Africa and we only saw the Porcupine and the Bat-eared Fox of the possible ones we could see)

The Impossible Five: Aardvark, Cape Mountain Leopard, Pangolin, White Lion, Riverine Rabbit (didn’t see any of these)

The Little 5: Ant Lion, Buffalo Weavers, Elephant Shrew, Leopard Tortoise, Rhinoceros Beetle (we did see the Tortoise)

Our guide Wilson was really the best. He was so knowledgeable about the animals and their behavior and it was interesting to hear his stories of when he worked for National Geographic and the BBC. He was easy going and very humble as he stated “I am just a Bush Man”

Duma Explorer was a good choice for a safari operator. I would highly recommend them. I’m sure Stacy would work out a safari to suit your budget/needs. Everything went off without a hitch.

The Gorilla company was good as well. In hindsight, we could have booked directly with Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge and they would have sent someone to pick us up at the airport as well as their people could get the gorilla permits and provide our transportation to the National Park as well as the culture show or anything else we wanted to do. Not sure how the price would have compared, but it was quite doable to schedule it all directly with them. Not all lodges offer that service so a gorilla company would be essential in that case.

There wasn’t much I would have changed looking back if I had it to do over again. If money were no option then I would say go for all luxury tents for lodging, but the lodges were interesting, so no regrets there. One extra night in Tarangire Treetops in the treehouse would have been very nice and we would have enjoyed at least one night at Manyara National Park. But, you have to draw a line somewhere. For those on a tight budget, I’d say do it anyway you can it’s an amazing experience. Group tours can save money and staying at lodges or even pitching your own tent are ways to save. Everyone’s safari can be very different depending on the type of experience you are looking for and of course budget. Some people prefer to fly between the camps, but we actually enjoyed the drives through the countryside.

I think one of the most important things to remember while on Safari is to actually relax and spend some time just observing the behavior of the animals. We saw too many people, pull up shoot the photo and then quickly move on. (tick that box…..Elephant…. check, Lion…. Check etc.)

For those who are curious about my packing list I will summarize it below:

We each took 3 sets of SPF long sleeve shirts& SPF long pants. For the cool/cold nights I had lightweight Winter Silk under-layers and for the colder nights I had Patagonia medium weight under-layers. For the few places that were warm at night I had a normal night shirt. I took a fleece “sweater” and had fleece pants that could be taken off as it warmed up worn over the SPF clothes. I also had jeans that were easy to layer over them as well. I had 2 short sleeve t-shirts and 2 long sleeve t-shirts. (for wearing to dinner at night with the jeans) I left the travel hairdryer at home and used what was provided at each lodge. Laundry could be sent out at each place as well. So, there really wasn’t a need to bring more clothes. We had sunscreen and a few toiletries. (no makeup was worn while on safari) We travel with a mini pharmacy that included things for diarrhea, constipation, motion sickness, a “just in case” antibiotic, tums, Tylenol, cortisone for anti-itch, cough drops, lip balm bandaids and antibiotic gel, wet wipes to wipe the dust off our faces, we had bug wipes but did not need them . (everything removed from their bulky containers and put in snack-size ziplock bags and labeled with what it is and how to take it.) I wore sturdy brown tennis shoes and Greg wore his hiking boots. I also had a pair of Birkenstocks to wear around the lodges and often wore them to dinner. Of course a few pair of underwear, a few pair of socks and a couple bras. I had a bit of detergent to wash some things out by hand. What really took up the weight were the cameras, adapters for power, chargers and binoculars. We took my iPad mini and my Kindle Reader. Charmin TP to go rolls came in very handy. We had 2 small flashlights. We took a wildlife guide and highlighted it as we found new critters. We had no problem meeting the 25 pound limit for total carryon. Unpacking and packing every couple of days makes you appreciate packing light.

We saw at least 133 different types of birds in our short time there besides all of the animals. What a fabulous trip. The warm, friendly and helpful African people really made the trip extra special.

Iby’Iwacu Culture Village - Kigali, Rwanda – Amsterdam, Holland – Panama City, Panama August 25 to 26

After we checked out we met William and he drove us to the Iby’Iwacu cultural village. What a fun time this was. Here is some background on the village:

"Despite Rwanda’s limited ethnic diversity, the country’s 3 major ethnic groups (Hutus, Tutsis and Batwa Pygmies or just known as Twa) have bonded into almost one rich and comprehensive culture composed of various norms, values and traditions.

The cultural village was started with the intention to harmonize conservation and local community needs. Since poverty is the root cause of poaching in most African destinations, an alternative to benefit the community adjacent to the park and deter them from hunting down wildlife was highly sought after. Creating a cultural village would help to highlight the significance of tourism to the life of a local community member.

The cultural village helped in rehabilitating the ex-poachers who realized the impact of the wildlife they were hunting to the lives of their families and future generations. The village was also to act as a preservation means for the Rwandan culture as most youth were ignoring important cultural values and norms."

Our guide said that the Twa have a similar village, but tourists don't like it very much. He said they smoke a lot of marijuana and you have to get there early or they are too stoned to give a tour and they have a strange sense of humor, being a bit mischievous and they often come grab your purse and run off with it.

We were welcomed and had to walk under the arch.

We were greeted with this guy chanting in our faces and musicians playing drums. The video is hilarious.

we had to walk under this to get to the King's house

We were taken to a replica of the King's house and they made us honorary King & Queen. While it was great fun once we were inside the house and they explained the lifestyle, it kind of went on and on. (wanting us to ask questions or comment and there really wasn't anything else to ask) Plus, part of the role of King and Queen was us removing our shoes....I guess we both were just too tired at this point to want to, so they allowed us in with our shoes on.

 going inside

 she was asking our permission to enter the King's house

 then, she dressed us

 we were presented to the people

 the place where the many wives waited to be called to the King's bed

the King's bed

We then were introduced to the Medicine Man who was a hoot. He explained the various natural remedies and showed how to mix them. After that they had me stand next to him for the photo op and he holds the muddle stick at his crotch and demonstrates what one of the herbs is for. I laughed so hard!

 our guide William & the Medicine Man

 

We then moved on to see how they made fire.

 

Then on to the shopping stop. Unfortunately they didn't have much. After having so much at the village in Tanzania I held off buying things because I thought I could get them here and at the same time support the locals. I did buy a couple of small pictures for a $20 donation plus we donated at the end after the final performance.

Next we tried our hand at grinding grain.

 

After that we got to try the bow and arrow. They had us hold the arrow with 2 fingers that just didn't seem natural. Eventually I got the hang of it.

the target

Next they showed us a typical wedding ceremony. Showing everyone bringing lots of food in their baskets and the bride being carried in. They go inside the wedding hut to consummate the marriage. They all listen at the door to make sure it's a success. (we hear her moaning that it was a success) So everyone cheers and the celebration begins.

 

We are then seated for a final performance of their dances.

 

Now it was time to drive the couple hours back to Kigali Airport for our return flight home. We arrived an hour too early to get into the airport, so we waited at an adjacent coffee shop and then went through the TSA check point to enter the airport around 5:30 for our 8:15 flight to Amsterdam and connection to Panama City.

We were told there was a good restaurant (one person said 2) so we waited to eat there. Once we got there the only restaurant was the same coffee shop as the one outside the airport and it was smaller so for food they went downstairs and outside to get it from the other restaurant. Food was not bad and we had some time to shop a bit. I finally found a magnet and a Christmas ornament for Rwanda.

We had hoped to get right to sleep after getting on the plane, but they were a bit late taking off and then after we were in the air they served dinner around 10:00. It seemed everyone else on the flight was wired and it took a while for them to calm down. We both “slept” through dinner. We arrived in Amsterdam at 7:20 in the morning. We had a bit of breakfast on the plane, but we wanted to have another one of those huge chocolate muffins at the airport. After that we went in search of the hotel that had showers for 15 euro. We were pleasantly surprised that the small rooms (shower, sink and commode) were very nice and clean and the shower helped us feel a bit more human. We stopped to buy some Neuhaus Belgian Chocolates. (we wished we had bought more of them, they were so good)

We waited for our flight that left at 1:05 in the afternoon and we arrived in Panama City at 4:55. (27 hours and 35 minutes total travel) A drug dog checked everyone as they boarded the plane. We skipped the space cakes on this trip (did that last time). Then, as we landed in PTY our names were called over the loudspeaker. There was a lady with a clipboard and she had us do a medical questionnaire verbally and then she declared us healthy and gave us a note with that on it. I guess since we had been if Africa....

We had planned to take the bus to Albrook Bus Terminal, but opted to grab a taxi since we were kind of worn out. We had a nice driver (no English) who was very interested in our African trip. Back to reality and it was hard getting back to Spanish as tired as we were. We got tickets for the bus to Coronado and even though it was a small Coaster they stowed our bags and it was a nice ride. We waited about 5 minutes for a cab that could bring us into Coronado. At least 4 pulled away as soon as we told them where we needed to go. (not all taxi drivers have the card to get in) We were thinking we needed to call Sharon to see if she could pick us up when one finally pulled up and took us in. Finally home! It was about 8:00 or 9:00 at night when we finally made it. Phew!