From the Isthmus: 2013

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Monday, October 21, 2013

Christian Skaters

We have been spending lots of Sundays at the skate park run by the Christian Skaters (CS) an organizination doing great work in Panama...

Finally on the water...

Finally Nomad is on the water...a great day with friends.

Weekend in Quebro, Panama Miles and miles of undeveloped beaches, amazing kayaking, world class fishing waters off Hannibal Bank and the Cerra Hoya National Park and Isla de Coiba, a UNESCO World Heritage site both a short boat ride away…paradise.

Stay away from Tre Scalini...

I have to start by saying that my wife and I have been going to Tre Scalini weekly for the last two years. It has been our Monday date night location since we arrived in Panama. Anyway this week we took our kids with us because we just arrived back from vacation and had little food in the house. Everything was normal until I got about half way through my meal where I took a bite out of a sizable piece plastic in my pasta dish. I showed the waiter the problem . He walked away and never came back. I decided to continue eating my dish after no one offered to take it away a prepare another. At the same time my youngest son who is 7 and who had filled up on appetizers decided he had finished and asked the waiter to box up the rest of the meal (he had ordered the same pasta dish that I had).

Nothing Finer than the Summer in Carolina

As an expat that has lived most of the last 13 years overseas...its nice to go home to the States and spend the summer. Here are a few of my pictures of our time in South Carolina...

Nice Find

If you are ever spending the day at the beach in Coronado you have to stop in for food and beverage at Cholo's.
Great Mexican food and great atomospher including the bongo drums.
The ice cream is not bad either.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g1022784-d1572852-r116359592-Cholo_s_Comidas_Mexicana-Playa_Coronado_Cocle_Province.html

Another Find in Coronado...A Great Beach

I am on a never ending quest to find the perfect beach. This weekend we found a good one in Coronado. If you have lived in Central America as long as I have its hard to find a beach that is clean and safe enough to swim. Coronado's beach is a find.
http://internationalliving.com/2013/02/coronado-a-popular-beach-town-for-expats-in-panama/

Life in the Foreign Service means you have to get used to saying goodbye.

We wish you guys well and we'll see you in some other corner of the world.

Gooooooooooooooal....

Panama vs Mexico
Im not a big soccer fan but you cant argue that soccer fans get into the game.

My only complaint is that the game ended in a tie...they should have a shoot out at the end to determine a winner...ties are very unsatisfying .

Saturday, April 6, 2013

My new favorite place...Pedasi

Carnival Graveyard

Pedasí is a town situated on the south-eastern tip of the Azuero Peninsula on Panama’s Pacific coast. It is located in the Pedasí District, in the Los Santos province. It is principally a fishing village with a population of about 2000 people.

Pedasí is known for lively annual carnivals, pristine beaches, and activities such as sport fishing, diving and surfing, as well as its proximity to several of Panama’s national parks and preserves.

Pedasí town consists mainly of a central road (Avenida Central), a plaza (city center) about two blocks away, and several nicely maintained civic buildings, surrounded by quiet, residential blocks.^[

With its quaint architecture and neatly laid-out streets, Pedasí is one of the main attractions of the Los Santos region.

Pictures from Pedasi

The work on the transmission and engine compartment continues...Nomad is almost ready to sail around the Isthmus. Electrical is next.

Pictures from the dive...Sea Star

Last weekend I had one of the best dives I've had in Panama. I saw sharks, turtles, eel and more fish than I have seen anywhere in Central America. Attached are a few of my pictures from the dive.

Isla Iguana is a Galapagos-esque island that sits about 15 minutes offshore the Azuero Peninsula – inhabited by rare birds, purple and red crabs, and giant lizards. It offers clear blue water and white sand as nice as any Caribbean island. An extensive coral reef surrounds the palm-dotted island, giving it a powdery, blinding, white-sand beach, and its crystal-clear, shallow waters offer some excellent snorkeling.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Nomad has a new engine. Electrical system another 3 weeks...goal to sail on April 15.

Max's birthday weekend at Nitro City…lots of skateboarding, wake boarding and more!

I have to say Skateboarding is not for 40 year olds...

http://www.nitrocitypanama.com/index.php

Embera in Pictures

These pictures are from our trip this weekend to an Embera village in the interior of Panama. The Embera are a indigenous people in Panama, living in the province of the Darien.The Embera were formerly and widely known by the name Chocó, and they speak the Embera and Wounaan languages, part of the Chocoan language family. The pictures tell the story of how they live.

Afternoon in the Hood

One of the things I really like about Panama is that my boys can walk out of the front door and play without having to worry about them... kinda like when I was a kid. It's also nice not to live behind big walls and barbed wire like we did in the last tour.