ruthkennedysretirementblog

Ox Cart Parade

Each year Pedasi holds an ox cart parade. I did not have much luck finding out the history of this parade. Except that the carts are pulled by bulls and celebrates folklore history, and the different agriculture of surrounding villages.

The different parades follow a similar route, a big square that encompasses the town center and a section of the main street. We were able to get a shaded seat and order a cold beverage while watchimg.

The ox carts sure do clean up nicely. There is always so much colour.

The bulls were on a short leash but semed very well behaved, or managed!

There were the usual fabulously dressed ladies in polleras.

Even a puppy all dressed up.

Definitely not the Calgary Stampede, but sure lots of beautiful horses.

And whar would a parade be without fireworks off the back of a truck.

At the end of the parade this bull was released. We could not see much as we were behind the barrier. The cowboys quickly rounded him up.

Watching a parade for a couple of hours is hard work! It’t a great way to end a day with a nice beach walk.

Cheers

Ruth

The Parade of a Thousand Polleras.

What a parade! We watched for 4 hours and there was still more.

Las Tablas is the capital of Los Santos province in Panama with the city and surrounding area having a population of about 30,000. Every year Las Tablas hosts a parade celebrating the traditional dress (polleras) of Panamaians. This year the parade had more than 20,000 participants.

Generally the parades we have seen showcasing the traditional dresses have all the ladies wearing similar styles. They are absolutely stunning.

The parade in Las Tablas had many different colors and styles of dresses, most with the big pleated skirts. From what I have read, the skirt originally came from Spain in the 16th-17th century and gradually became integrated into the various Panamanian peoples.

The more money you had the fancier the dress and more expensive jewellry.

The dresses had a splash of different color in a pompom (I am sure it has a proper name) on both the front and back of the dress. Lots of ladies who wore hats had this same colored ribbon decorating it. And matchimg shoes.

There were people of every age taking part. The little kids were just as elaborately dressed as the big people.

Those dresses can be very costly, up to many thousands of dollars. They are all hand made and then embroidered or cross stiched (probably more techniques used but my sewing skills and terminology is lacking).

Every group in the parade also had men in traditional shirts. I think the groups are by town, but not sure. Each group had its own band. Most walked, some were on floats.

Some people wore incredibly intricate head pieces (tembleques).

Daryl read somewhere that generally 250,000 people line the parade route. We found a spot in the shade and stayed put. There were people as far as you could see.

And of course a little street food never goes amiss.

Such a vibrant, colorful day.

Cheers

Ruth

Alaya Panama, so much more than a restaurant

Daryl and I went for lunch at a restaurant in Cañas called A Taste of Alaya. It is so much more than an amazing restaurant. Its website describes it as “Panama’s first luxury glamping resort and retreat centre”.

It is perched on the top of a mountain. After entering the coded gate, we parked part way up the hill and walked a short distance to the top.

The restaurant is at the top of one hill but all around it are those geodesic domes. The luxurious glamping sites. You can even get a dome with a private plunge pool or a jacuzzi!

At the restaurant you have seating options. You can sit inside, although the sliding glass walls were wide open.

The middle of the display case opens to a wine cellar with a private table.

I liked the didgeridoo sitting in a corner. Ah memories.

We choose to sit in the outside dining/bar area as there was a good breeze and lots of shade. Also, with the temperature around 35C (feels like 39C) the wine cellar was freezing.

The bottles in the bar were a little wonky. Probably help in some situations!!

The pool had a great view too.

The food did not disappoint. It was absolutely amazing.

Our dessert was lemon cheesecake with blackberry topping. It tasted as good as it looked.

But my chuckle of the day came when it was time to go to the bathroom. You might need to zoom in!

Another restaurant that will be a favorite.

Cheers

Ruth

Building a mud house

Pedasi hosted a special event: Junta de Embarra. An embarra is the building of a mud structure. The story goes, years ago a community would get together and build a mud house for newlyweds. It was constructed of clay and straw that was made into mud and plastered against a frame. This was a standard type of building until brick blocks came along. The building will last for many years (60+) and the interior will stay cool in the heat.

The frame was made of wood and bamboo.

At the event we attended, a group of men did the initial hard work. Breaking apart this packed dirt with shovels while others dumped water by bucket fulls.

Then the fun started. Everyone was invited to join in and help mix the water into the soil by stomping on it. Of course we had to try.

Once this was sufficiently mixed, straw was added. Stomped in and more added.

It did not take long to absorb the moisture.

And some people had to get pulled out of the muck!

Once it was all mixed up, the next step was putting the clay mixture on the wooden structure. All hands on deck were required to get it done before dark.

Amazing how quickly it took shape.

Everybody pitched in. All ages. Teamwork accomplished a lot in one afternoon.

And some needed a good rinsing at the end.

A fun day with food, drinks and music. A great tradition to keep alive.

We went home full of mud and sunshine.

Cheers

Ruth

Merry Christmas from Pedasi

Pedasi has its Christmas parade after dark. Sure gives a different perspective. Even though there is no snow, Santa comes all dressed in red. This truck was pulling the big Christmas tree float.

A decorated boat makes a lovely ride for this snowman and Santa.

And another Santa!

There were lots of marching bands.

And kiddies on floats.

Then there is Minnie and I think Super Mario.

A lovely parade for this little town. There were more floats but my pictures don’t always turn out in the dark. And of course there were fireworks later on.

A very Merry Christmas from our house to yours.

Ruth and Daryl

Miraflores Locks,Panama Canal

Tours on the Panama Canal are currently happening only on Saturdays and Sundays. As this timeline did not work for Heather and Mike, we went to Miraflores.

Miraflores is one set of locks that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The museum here is temporarily closed, however we had previously visited a museum in Casco Viejo that gave a good history of the canal’s construction.

There was security, we had to go through metal detectors and there was fencing all around. This canal provides a vital link for shipping!

Looking east and west.

The locks run 24 hours a day, going half a day in each direction. When we arrived the change over was happening. We had time to go to the Imax theatre before seeing our first ship. Morgan Freeman narrated a 3D movie about the Panama Canal history and operations. It was well worth seeing.

On a Tuesday afternoon there sure were a lot of people to see the first ship through the locks. It was an oil tanker.

Some of those big ships have only a foot of space between the ship and the side of the lock.

There are two channels in the Miraflores Locks that are alternated, with the water going up and down from one side to the other. We next saw a container ship that was in the far channel. It was too big to fit into my picture.

Then we watched a cruise ship go by. It was massive.

Definitely an interesting afternoon. Of course we just had to stop on the way out for a Christmas photo.

Cheers

Ruth

More Anton Valley

After our fabulous early morning hike to La India Dormida, we had a few more stops to make before our one full day in El Valle de Anton was over.

Our first stop was at the Butterfly Haven which is right in town. It was so worth it! Our guide said there are 23 species and about 8000 butterflies. A couple of times the guide would shake a tree and literally hundreds of beautifully coloured ‘jewels’ would go floating through the air.

The entire presentation was well done, with lots of information and visuals of the short life cycles of those creatures.

Our next stop was to Aprovaca, an Orchid Nursery and Conservation Centre. This too, was located right in town although tucked away and not readily easy to find. We had last been here four years ago. It was beautiful, but not as many flowering orchids as previously. Most of the flowers were smaller than my baby fingernail.

Well, not everything was an orchid. There were some people, gourds and lots of flowers. In both the butterfly and orchid places, we were the only visitors.

We saved the Pozos Termales for the end of the day so we could relax in the hot springs in the jungle. The water was more warm than hot.

Upon entry we were each given a little pot of black mud for a facial. This could only be kept on our face for 10 minutes and had to be washed off before going in the hot tub.

At one point the rain came down the valley fast and furious , it felt wonderful. 45 minutes was the maximum time to be in the hot tub.

El Valle de Anton has a lot to offer. Being in the mountains, the day was hot but it was a little cooler in the evening. Although I am not really sure 24C can be considered cool. All in all, a very good day.

Cheers

Ruth

El Valle de Anton

With Heather and Mike’s vacation coming to an end, we went to El Valle de Antón for a couple of days. Anton Valley is a lovely town located in an extinct volcano, surrounded by mountains. Of course we had to take the scenic route through the mountains. I forgot to take pictures as I was too busy holding on.

It truly felt like we were on top of the world.

We found a unique little hotel halfway up this mountain and just a few minutes out of town.

On a Monday night we were the only guests. We sat and listened to the sounds of nature surrounding us while the family cooked us a home cooked meal. ‘Twas sweet.

Bright and early the next morning we hiked part of the La India Dormida trail.

La Dormida is in a protected area and is several kilometres long. The path starts out wide and paved but fairly quickly becomes a rocky climb. Wet leaves can be pretty slippery too.

We met a couple of policemen who told us people whose ancestors have lived on this land for centuries continue to live in this area.

This gigantic rock had some pretty spectacular hieroglyphics. Apparently they are thought to be 14,000 years old.

Heather and Mike went further up the trail than Daryl and I. They found more hieroglyphics.

We walked besides a series of falls all the way up.

And then we went down.

Too bad we weren’t properly equipped to do the loop, but with only one full day there is much to see in Antón Valley.

We will be back.

Cheers

Ruth

Surfing in Venao

Since Mike and Heather have been visiting, there has been nothing but blue skies and sunshine. Sure makes great weather for surfing. The goal was to spend a couple of days surfing at Venao, and it happened. On the first day Mike was the sole surfer, the rest of us were content to sit and watch.

The surf shop we went to for rentals is not big, but it sure gets busy. It looks like Mike is the only person in the water, but there were lots.

Even when not surfing, seems like Heather and Mike had fun playing in the waves. Have to be careful, that board gave a good bonk on the head.

The iced coffee was good too,

Our second day at Venao Daryl, Heather and Mike went surfing. I was the official photographer (what would we do without phones!). It was incredibly hot. My phone said 33C but feels like 37C. The sand felt even hotter, it would burn bare feet in a flash.

Unfortunately those pictures of Daryl were taken directly into the sun. Look at that man go!!

And Mike is up and going.

Heather had never been surfing before so a lesson was just the thing to do. And she’s up.

And they are done for the day. Time to hose the boards and bodies off and hit the road.

After all that work we had to stop for a bite to eat and watch the sunset in this little corner of paradise.

Another couple of good vacation days. Time is flying by.

Cheers

Ruth

An entertaining hike

There is a well marked ‘jungle’ hike that is basically across from the town of Venao. It is fairly shaded which makes a great hike in this heat.

It only costs $4 per person to access this private hike. The grounds and path are nicely maintained. Other than having to ‘rock walk’ across a couple of streams, the path itself was quite dry.

We weren’t very far into our hike when we started hearing howler monkeys. Luckily Heather and Mike spotted them and we were able to watch an entire troop cavorting in the trees. We often hear monkeys when out walking, however this is the first time seeing so many in the wild.

There are several labeled trees . The Barrigon is called ‘big belly’ because of its ability to store water during the dry season. It sounded hollow when you tap on it.