Some holiday time, 2 weeks. Next stops: Panamá City and Colombia.
As per previous post, (decades ago I know!), after a week in Pacuare in Costa Rica with the Sea Turtles Conservation project, I was off to Panamá City on a very long bus journey to meet Hazel Mamá, the mother of my dear ex-colleague Ana Hazel Escrich.
When I organised this trip, I had no intention of spending any time in Panama, I was literally just going there to catch a flight to Colombia. However, upon Ms Hazel very kind invitation and persistence to come visit, we decided I'd spend 3 days in town to visit around and get to meet my friend's mother.
As Ms Hazel was n a working trip the day I arrived, she has kindly asked her family friends to pick me up at the station - the Jiménez Quiteño family:
This beautiful and kind family, took me into their home just as one more member of the family. They have kindly invited me for dinner, and to my surprise, they prepared Spanish Tortilla to make sure I felt more like at home!! :) The father and cook, Mr Ander, is originally from País Vasco, you can imagine how thrilled I was to find someone back from Spain!
While we waited for Ms Hazel to return from her trip, Mr Ander and his family were tireless at showing me around town.
We started with the Old Town:
The Fish Market:
Knowing my love for animals, Mr Ander also had the kind detail to take me to visit the Parque Municipal Summit, http://municipio.gob.pa/?p=466 , a very special place:
And, yes, we still had time to go visit the city - reminded me of Miami, strangely enough... La Cinta Costera:
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| Funny dried up marina when the tide is low :) |
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| Mr Ander |
We had an amazing afternoon at the park. While the children were playing their weekly football match, Mrs Yanira, Mr Ander and I went for a long walk through this amazing park. We found this gentleman who had this gorgeous bird as a pet. It would fly around him in circles, and then just return to his shoulders. While Mr Ander was speaking to this gentleman, he received a nice "visit" on his own shoulder! :)
I'd like to leave a deep heartfelt Thank You to this family for making me feel at home, for welcoming me into their family and for treating me so kindly during my days in Panamá. It really did mean a lot to me, and I can't wait to see you again, perhaps in Europe next time!
It was then time to let me go and hand me over to Ms Hazel, who had anticipated her flight to make sure she would arrive on time to have dinner with me. You can imagine how special that made me feel...
Further to my surprise, I learnt that Ms. Hazel happens to be no less than the Secretary-General of SISCA - http://www.sisca.int/
In short, SISCA is the technical body/authority responsible for the Social Integration of Central America. They offer regional-social integration services in order to help strengthen the institutional integration platform between the countries.
So, taking into account the nature of my trip, I couldn't be happier to meet the highest responsible person for programmes which help the local communities in Central America. Ms Hazel went to the extent to take personal time-off to spend time with me, showing real interest for my programmes - I couldn't be more appreciative of her kindness, attention, and making me feel like family.
Meet lovely Ms Ana Hazel Escrich senior :)
Now, you will not believe where Ms Hazel has taken me for dinner - one of the most impressive views I had the opportunity to experience while eating: the Miraflores Restaurant right on the Canal de Panamá, http://www.elpanama.com/best-restaurants-panama/miraflores-en.html
Here, while you're having your delicious buffet dinner, you can look at the massive boats crossing from the Pacific to the Atlantic and vice-versa, right under your noses.
If you ever go to Panamá City, this is a must-go restaurant.
Here are some pics to give you an idea:
The water system to lift up and bring down these massive boats was just impressive!
The following day, we had breakfast at the hotel where Ms Hazel has kindly offered me to stay (I cannot begin to explain to you how nice it felt to have hot water shower with pressure, a cotton towel, a queen-sized bed and a bedroom bug and mosquito-free after spending a week in the jungle), and then we went to visit SISCA HQ office. The area was beautiful and I got to meet Ms Hazel's team. All very lovely, nice and welcoming.
For lunch we went to this amazing new area in town called Causeway de Amador, it's a brand new built area where you can comfortably walk around or cycle, roller blade, etc.
We had lunch at the Restaurante Mi Ranchito, http://restaurantemiranchito.com/ ,where we had some lovely traditional food, and a freshly squeezed Guanabana juice.
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| (guanabana juice!!) |
After lunch, we went to Mi Pueblito, which is similar to the Poble Espanyol in Barcelona :)
It's a small closed area where you can see how the old Panama used to be:
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| Traditional Panameña Señorita |
We then went up to Cerro Ancón to have a look at some amazing views to the city:
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| The biggest Panama flag |
After this amazing, unexpected trip to Panamá, it was time to take me back to the airport, where I would catch my flight to Cartagena, Colombia.
I have met some very interesting and kind people in Panamá, and this is definitely what made this trip so intense. I am so happy that I decided to stay and make friends with such lovely people.
Ms Hazel Mamá, you will always have a spot in my heart for your kind-heart, patience, and friendliness. I will never be able to thank you enough for giving me this opportunity, and making me feel so special and welcome to "your" country. Thank you again very much for everything.
Big big special hugs to all and hope to see you back in Europe soon!
