I don't have pictures of the food, but I have some pics from our ride in a canopy crane and should be getting pictures of other sites from my fellow travelers. I hope one of them got a good picture of the steps on Barro Colorado Island--the hillside was steep, the steps were many and the air was thick. But the air didn't bother the Howler monkeys, they were making a real racket when we arrived at the top. We also visited Bocas del Toro (up-and-coming eco-tourism hotspot), Gamboa, the Punta Culebra Nature Center, and Naos Island Laboratories.
In summary, the food winners were corvina ceviche (the fish, not the grape), mango, fried (whole) corvina w/garlic sauce, mango, yucca fries, pineapple, shrimp in coconut sauce, some sort of corn ball (for breakfast), mango, patacones (smashed and fried plantains), mango, and a green sauce called chimichurri (I brought home 2 bottles). I'm not a coffee drinker, but my companions said it was great.
The wildlife we saw included iguanas, sloths, sharks, sea turtles, raccoons, fiddler crabs, an assortment of colorful fish, frogs, and birds, and way too many bugs.
On my last night in Panama I won $400 in the hotel's casino. I needed to because I over-tipped like crazy for everything during the trip...because of the extreme poverty visable in the country-side, Bocas del Toro and much of Panama City. Panama is pouring billions into upgrading the canal (which will raise the water level and flood some of our buildings). I hope that generates sufficient return to allow the country to put more money into education and social programs.
A few pictures from the crane:
The crane itself (pic from their website):
The forest canopy:
An iguana in the canopy: 
A sloth in the canopy: 
I don't know what your job really is but damn I want a boat ride now. Such rich wildlife... I'd love to visit the Americas one day!
ReplyDeleteIs this trip related to your museum job or was the latter a while back?
ReplyDeleteYou sounded like you went out in the jungles to film a programme for National Geographic! There are so many new words (local names?) I don’t understand but it sounds like you had a fun trip save for the humidity (you should never step into singapore) and the bugs. Congrats on winning $400. Not everyone is so lucky at casinos! I guess the guy up there recognises that you’ve been such a humanitarian and decided to reward you.
Oh nicely taken photos! And well done for winning at the casino (:
ReplyDeleteWow, awesome pictures! Now I'm interested in your job, becuaes what job brings you such cool business trips, lol.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's our Rick, always caring for others and helping wherever he can :-) Congrats on winning in the Casino, what a lucky guy you are! XD
BTW, I changed my blogs url, so please be sure to update your blogroll to follow me further on! Sorry for such inconvinience! Greets :-)
http://welcometorainydays.blogspot.com/
It sounds like you had a great time! Being in a humid tropical climate is a unique experience isn't it? You can walk out the door to your hotel and in five minutes be as soaked as if you had just stepped out of the shower. The food sounds like it was good, especially the mangoes. :-) I was surprised to see raccoons on your list of animals. I had no idea they lived there.
ReplyDeleteHey Rick, sounds like you're back in good health. I am glad. You certainly have a great job, packaged with leisure.
ReplyDeleteSo where to next? If you can survived Panama's weather, I guess the weather here in my country would be no problemo to you.
wowser 6 flights. But at least you traveled which i'm jealous of! and humid would beat the rain here :(
ReplyDeletebtw what does RicAdeMus stand for?
wow! good to know everything went well with your trips! pictures are so beautiful. thanks for the visits Rick:)
ReplyDeletehow many pounds did you gain on this trip? lol. i hope you have recovered from the exhaustion of the long work week, though i think its really nice you get to visit other cities and experience other culture while still accomplishing work matters :)
ReplyDeletecongrats on winning some moolah! ;) you deserve it!
lovely pictures, and speaking of poverty.. currently in taiwan and there are some really poor people here, I feel so bad for them. damn the government for being so corrupted!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the photos! You described Panama well enough for me to imagine what that country looks like :)
ReplyDeleteyay for winning at the casino!
woot woot for winning $400! its so nice of you to tip them so generously! i think i would do the same thing too. i hate seeing poverty at it's best :[
ReplyDeletei can't believe you saw sea turtles!!!!! O_O i wanna see some!! ahhh im so jealous!
oh and thanks for the recommedation! i'll definitely check out the Smithsonian magazine ! {: ohhhh and it's funny how we both had a hard time in our little journeys but i definitely agree that the scene that i saw and what you saw is WORTH it! ^__^
ReplyDeleteDespite the weather, I'm happy to hear you had a good time. (I'm sure the $400 really helped. :P) Though I can't say that I've seen extreme poverty, the hubs and I have a tendency to tip in US dollars sometimes when we are traveling abroad in Asia. It's always appreciated. :)
ReplyDelete(Thanks for the note! I'm doing well. :) I tend to get lazy on the weekends and am not on Blogger as much...hehe. Btw, it's not modesty. My legs could use some improvement. T_T)
!!!! Right?!?! I don't like it when people shove their beliefs on my face just because they think that what they do is the "normal" thing to do. I usually like to settle situations like that by saying "let's just agree to disagree." LOL! I totally agree that if everyone just had the same opinion and taste that the world would totally SUCK!
ReplyDeleteWow how'd you win $400?! Sounds like you had a great trip and nice to hear you're a fellow mango lover :) Welcome home!
ReplyDeleteWow! Welcome back! Glad you had a good trip. :)
ReplyDeleteSo that's where you've gone!!! LOL missed you too Rick!
ReplyDeleteOh I would love to visit Panama someday, lucky you, you got to visit it for free! I remember Survivor doing one season there :)
Sweet, I've always wanted to see a real live iguana in its natural habitat. Sounds like a good working vacation, despite the heat and humidity.
ReplyDeleteThe food sounds really good too.
Tours and good food = fun! I hate humid weather, I have never had to experience that until I went to Vegas...EEK and I can't imagine how it is in Panama! Kind of a tropical place right?
ReplyDelete