Last week a group of us from the City drove out to Arenosa, a small (very small) village on the shore of Gatun Lake, for a day of fishing. Goldie (the experienced fisherman amongst us) organized the outing with Al, Mike and myself tagging along. After an hour’s drive we arrived at Dennis Melton’s waterfront home and boarded his pontoon boat (Armando was our friendly, knowledgable guide) for a day on the lake. Weather was great, just a couple of showers that cooled things off and even a little sunshine (we’ve had a lot of rain lately). We managed to land thirty-eight “keepers” (Peacock Bass, the primary species in the lake) and reeled in plenty of the little guys that we threw back - and, of course, we also had a couple of those famous “big ones” that got away. Read More . . .

Tags: Activities | Sights

Ever since my early travel days (Nigeria and Europe in the mid 60's) I've always tended to take the road less traveled. Motorcycling in the bush (jungle), hitchhiking - frequently taking the fork in the road that had the fewest cars, and riding the train - where I would pick a destination simply because it was in a different color on the schedule board. I've always chosen the unknown over the familiar - hey, we're living in Panama, so I guess not much has changed.

When Jane had a little break from tutoring it looked like a good time to escape the bustle and noise of the city for some peace and quiet. Looking at the possibilities I picked Panama's Azuero Peninsula (we hadn't yet visited this area of Panama) and after checking out the small towns of Las Tables and Pedasi, I spotted Cambutal which certainly seemed to fit my "the road less traveled" criteria. Only question, what (if anything) was there? Turns out, not much - a great beach that attracts serious surfers occasional and lots of small farms. But as is often the case a surprise or two - most importantly, the Hotel Playa Cambutal. Read More . . .

Tags: Travel | Sights

Yesterday we spent several hours at the Club Ecuestre Metropolitano watching a horse jumping competition. The competition was a qualifying event for an upcoming international event. Most of the riders were young (some very young) and the horses were impressive. It was an interesting change of pace (our first horse show) and we had a nice lunch (BBQ chicken and Papas Fritas) while we watched the festivities along with a fair sized crowd.

The challange (as is most often the case for us) is finding out what's happening before it's over. In this case we did - and enjoyed the afternoon. Read More . . .

Tags: Sights | Events | Video

Ellie and Barbara, two of Jane's teacher buds from Charlotte just completed their visit to Panama and are now trying to stay warm and dry after returning home to the North country. During their stay we did most of the mandatory tourist stuff - Casco Viejo, the Canal, Ancon Hill, Panama Viejo, Rainforrest Discovery Center, the Amador Causeway and a visit to Embera' Puru. The three ladies also managed a little shopping, maybe more than a little, and we hit a fair number of restaurants in our bid to help the local economy

It looked, and sounded, like they had a fun two weeks and they now have a few Panama tales to tell. Hey, the Diablo Rojos, taxi drivers and the general Panamanian way of doing things always makes an impression - usually good, because this place certainly isn't Kansas! Read More . . .

Tags: Travel | Sights