Panama revisited

I know, I know...your on the edge of or your seat everytime you sit down at your computer wondering, What happened to the rest of the Panama trip???
Well, we have only been back a week people. And it has been nice, to say the least. We have been busy with work, but we have had NO dance this week so that was nice, and just getting back into the groove of things. Jaxon is still saying he misses us and Ali as well, is happy as a lark that we are back, so love has taken place of our importance to blog...
So here is your recap..
Day 3 started early with me heading in a different direction out of the hotel. I went to a mall that everyone said I should go to for gifts. It was a bust because it was a normal mall that I had back home and I wanted local junk from street vendor folk, so I jumped into another taxi and went to Parque Natural Metropolitano (or metropolitan natural park for the non Spanish speaking). Its the only Natural forest park inside city limits.
It was cool, well humid to say the least!!! Good thing I went alone because it was around a 2 hour hike/walk up "stairs", hills (steep) and natural canopies made by trees. Some trees were just huge. I had to set my camera on my backback for a self portrait of a few. He He.
Still NO monkeys, just a could of these large rat type land creatures and a couple butterflies, but the birds made me just stop in my tracks a couple of times due to their beautiful sounds.

There were some wonderful spots that made me just stop a take in as well. At the very top of the Parque, it was a breath taking view of downtown, turn and walk to the other side it was a great view of the canal zone and Casco Viejo ("Red Skull" the old part of town that isn't safe to walk by yourself, but I did).
I took one of the pictures below of myself just to show Laura how miserable she would have been. It was so humid, I was sweating bullets due to the canopies of the trees that keep the humidity on the forest floor, not allowing it to escape. I was drenched.
Speaking of being drenched. I thought it was fine, Laura freaked out. ..
So as I left the Parque it was raining. I asked the lady in the ranger station if she had a number of the cheap taxis in town and she said they don't have numbers, you just stand out there and wave one down. I thought, "Well, when in Rome...". So I went out in the rain and waited. One came and wanted $10, I told him he was "loco" (crazy) and shut the door. Heck, I made it over there in $6, just 'cause its raining..NOT. So as I waited, the same lady from inside came out to hail a cab. She was going to the university area. Same story with a cab for her, she said "Hay mucho senor" (too much) and shut the door. So we got to talking (in Spanish, course) and the Parque Ranger came by and asked the girl," if she wanted a ride." She said, "yes" and asked the Ranger, "if I could ride to a near by bus station once we got into town" and he said, "sure." So, I jumped in. I texted Laura to let here know what was going on and I thought she was gonna call the US Embassy. I was laughing... Sound crazy?? I guess, but he was almost a Police man (I would not have gone, if so), but he was a Ranger and she felt safe. They dumped me off at a bus stop in a part of Panama city that I had never been nor seen before. It felt safe and it was a busy bus stop. All I could do is get my bearings, figure out how to get back by whipping out my Spanish tongue and asking a stranger on the street and BOOOM, jump in a cab...Thank God for 3 years in school and all those years in the kitchen and learning Spanish. Laura was not happy, but Estoy Aqui (I'm here)!!!!!

The next day was the last real day and that meant a trip to the Mira Flores Canal. All Laura and I can say is WOW!!!! We could not believe that it has not changed since it opened since around 1915. First case of recycling I bet, since about 60% of the water gets recycled to use again. They are building newer and bigger Canals that will recycle 90%+ of the water that will be complete in 2014.

These ships are HUGE!!! They come in like this old looking thing (this was the ugliest ship we had seen) tie up to these pull along machines (4 of them). They are like tug boats on land. I showed this ship and its picture because the tug boat that is in front of it, snuck in front of it and went thru the locks at the same time.
It takes ships 8 hours to make it thru all 3 locks. Time to travel around South America is 18 days or so. Time is money, as they say. Each ship also pays about $72 per container. When the ships are loaded, it could cost around $700 thousand to go thru the canals. CHA CHING!!
We were at the Mira Flores Locks and they are located in the center of the canal or the second of 3 locks. The ships come in over 30 stories high and end up at ground level once things are all said and done in three different locks that take 8 to 10 minutes each. Amazing....

I liked the tug boat coming thru. I looked like a toy compared to the monsters ships...

Laura and I in front of the canal zone is pictured shown below.

The motorcycle below is the only one I got a picture of. These things fly all over the city. This one is from, yep, Burger King. Hilarious. We also saw one from Kentucky Fried Chicken flying all over, but I never did have my camera ready to click it. The first one I saw I tried to get my camera out of my back pack, but I was too slow. It was a UPS guy. I was laughing, but understood its importance since there is little parking and driving is nearly suicide in a car, not to mention trying to do it in a huge brown truck!!! I just wish I would have gotten a shot of it to show James that delivers for them and my grateful neighbor (that dog-sat for us) that retired from UPS this past year...

There ya have it folks. Panama. Feel lucky I didn't mention the meat market that I got the "pleasure" of walking thru or the guy that tried to sell me a whole fish (even after I told him that I had no kitchen). He was relentless for a sale...

Fun times. Been there, done that...