Grito de La Villa de Los Santos Parade

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

We went to another parade yesterday (Nov 10th) and I think it was even more fun than the other one we saw. This one had elaborate carts and many people in traditional Panamanian dress. I especially loved all the children who participated. This holiday celebrates the shout that happened in 1821 in Los Santos which was the beginning of the efforts to gain independence from Spain.

When we arrived, people were getting ready for the parade.
The girl for the Conway cart was a big hit.
There was also a devilish looking guy standing by for the Conway cart.
I’d never seen carts pulled by oxen before.
An Indian woman with a very interesting face is in the crowd.
Another cart with oxen is ready to go.
Something is happening! I think they are ready to start.
And, the parade starts moving down the street.
There were so many girls and women swirling their beautiful skirts, and boys and men in traditional dress as well!
There were quite a few carts also
Of course there were great kids everywhere.
And, there were great kids participating as well.
Another elaborate cart.
Beautiful!
I’m not sure what this was about, but they were sure interesting and fun to watch.
Some of the carts tossed out candy. I got a couple pieces and gave them to this little boy watching with his grandfather. Afterward, the granddad told him to give me a kiss. How sweet!
More beautiful children.
The press photographers were at work also.
As always, the police were present.
There is a better view of this interesting truck in the video.
This little girl was so adorable.
The ambulance and trash truck are at the end.
We also saw the cleanup crew get busy as the last parade participants passed.

I also put together a video of some of the scenes if you want to get a real feel for what it was like!

Posted in culture, Panama, photography | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Snake is Identified

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

A few days ago I posted a photo of a snake I saw in our yard. A very helpful reader suggested that I send the photo to http://www.lamica.org/teamsnakepanama.html for identification. Today, I got a reply and this is what they said:

Thanks for sending the photo! This is a juvenile Neotropical Racer (scientific name Mastigodryas melanolomus). It is a non-venomous species that feeds on mice, frogs, lizards, and some birds. As adults (yes, it will get bigger) they are mostly all brown with a light stripe on the side along the belly. They will often put up a fight and attempt to bite, but they are not venomous to humans. They are fairly common throughout Panama.

I’m glad to know what it is, and I’m happy to tell my neighbors that it isn’t venomous so hopefully no one will kill it if they spot it.

snake

I think it’s a very pretty snake, and I love the markings on the head.

Posted in Panama, wildlife | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Spider Pictures

Posted on November 9, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

You have been warned….  😀
There seem to be so many beautiful and interesting spiders around here that I’m always finding one I haven’t seen before.

These tiny, furry spiders can jump quite a distance.
I found this spider web shimmering in the sun one morning.
When the sun caught this web it was gorgeous!
I went to hang laundry and discovered this little green spider on a clothespin. I don’t think I’ve seen one like it before.
Then it was on a sock.
I guess it had enough of being my photography subject, so it hid in the clothespin.
Posted in insects, photography | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Mold

Posted on November 9, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

This is a very humid climate and mold can easily grow on many things, especially wood, leather, and clothes (anything with body oils). I bought plastic chairs and tables because they were inexpensive and easy to care for. But, we discovered that mold had been growing on the underside of some of our chairs. When given lemons, make lemonade and when given mold, make photos! These are just a few, heavily photo-shopped with contrast, color, and whatever else I felt like doing but I think they are sort of interesting.  Who would have thought? Mold is beautiful 😀

Posted in Miscellaneous, photography | Tagged , | 4 Comments

La Barqueta – a visit to the beach

Posted on November 9, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Sometimes I don’t think I have anything to say, and other times I have folders of things backed up waiting for me to get to them!  A few days ago one of my blog readers was in town as part of his trip to explore Panama. We had so much fun! He was curious about the beaches in the area, and you certainly don’t have to twist my arm to go to the beach. It was a lovely late afternoon that got more and more lovely as the sun started to set.

La Barqueta is an interesting beach. It’s really beautiful, and very quiet. There is a lovely resort there, Las Olas, a little local restaurant/snack bar, and some large homes that you can see in the background behind Joel and our friend, but otherwise it is very quiet and remote. Usually you only see a few other people there, and often you have the beach totally to yourself. It’s beautiful, but it can also be treacherous so if you swim there, be very very careful of the strong undertow and frequent rip currents.

Posted in Exploring the Area, photography | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Separation Day Parade

Posted on November 9, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Last Sunday, November 3rd was one of the many holidays at this time of year. This one celebrated Panama’s separation from Columbia, and there was a big parade in town. I’ve been hearing all the drumming and practicing for weeks, so Sunday I was very interested to see the results. There were many many schools and bands participating, and the majority of the parade consisted of beautiful young women dressed in their finest and very enthusiastic young men with drums. Of course I have tons of photos, so I’ll post them in groups in slide shows so you can flip through them as you wish.

Bands, School, and Groups

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Panamanian costumes and traditional dress

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Lovely Young Women

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I had a good time watching the many beautiful little children

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Vendors – it seems that anywhere people gather, there will be people offering food, drinks, toys, and anything else people may want to buy.

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Other photos of security people, parade set up and finish, etc.

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I also have a three minute video – clips of some of the bands and groups that participated. 

The next day, November 4th (flag day) was celebrated with an even bigger parade which included many government officials and community leaders. We could hear it from our house going on well into the afternoon. We didn’t go to that one, but we will be going to another parade next weekend for the Uprising at Los Santos, and then another on November 28th to celebrate Panama’s independence from Spain. Then there is Mother’s Day on December 8th, Christmas, New Years… This is definitely the season for celebrations and parties in Panama!

Posted in culture, Panama, photography | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Snake!

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Many of my neighbors are very afraid of snakes. They don’t want to walk in the grass, and they are especially afraid of mani (perennial peanut), a ground cover I love, because they think it attracts snakes. In the year I have been here though, I have only seen one snake, a dead coral snake in the road.

But, the other day I was trimming the yard with the weed whacker (the Panamanian way of mowing the lawn) and I disturbed a little snake. It was very small, not more than a couple feet long, and didn’t appear dangerous or aggressive. It only tried to get away from me and curled up farther down the wall.

snake

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I think the markings on its head are especially beautiful. So far, I haven’t been able to figure out what kind of snake it is. I hope it doesn’t go visit the neighbors!

Posted in wildlife | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Driving Home from Santa Catalina, Panama

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

This is the last set of photos from our recent trip, taken on the drive home. They are the photos that I like best from my collection of that day, and I hope some will give you a feel for the area and the beauty we saw on our drive home.

I snapped this photo as we left the hotel because I love these wood pillars. There is a lot of wood everywhere – the ceiling, furniture, trim, cabinets, lamps, everything you can think of. Someone there must be a good woodworker who loves this type of beautiful wood.
As we drove away from the hotel we saw this man walking up the road with a heavy bag on his shoulders.
Every typical mode of transportation in one photo – car, bicycle, and horse. Of course we can’t leave out the dogs.
We head to the center of town, this intersection with the convenience store in the blue building.
Traffic jam! Cars and horses try to make their way though while the school kids practice their parade marching in the street, and the policeman keeps order and watches out for the kids.
Just a guy on his horse
This man was stopped in the middle of the road to check on his horse’s foot.
Another man with his machete and work tools.
A dog taking a nap in the street.
As we drive, we go through more hills and it seems to get more and more beautiful.
Even in this rural and remote area, the road is in very good condition.
We saw some very basic housing, like this place made of thatched roof and walls.
Here’s another. The door is just a plank leaned up against the opening.
The rice is so green that it makes a beautiful sight.
More hills, more green….
A little housing complex?
A guy with a gas can on his shoulder walks along with his little boy.
More beautiful hills
It’s so pretty here that there are endless photo ops
The ups and downs make driving interesting
Seeing how people live in this area makes me feel like I have so much
More driving through the hills
Panamanians are concerned about skin health, and they don’t want to get any darker so umbrellas for sun protection are very common.
It seems to get more and more beautiful, and more hilly as we get closer to the PanAmerican highway.
A man with his machete walks along the PanAmerican highway.
Later we saw what appears to be a dam under construction. Panama uses a lot of hydroelectric power since there is a lot of water here.
The PanAmerican highway also goes through beautiful scenery.
Some men ride their hoses along the highway.
Clothes for sale – the type of dresses worn by the indigenous people of this area.
As we get closer to home, we see the huge waterfall in the distance.
Posted in Exploring Panama, Panama, photography, travel | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Playa Estero, Santa Catalina, Panama

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

We asked about a beach with sand, and were sent to Playa Estero, not far from our hotel. This is one of the beaches suitable for beginning surfers. Most of the beaches in the area had warnings that they were for experienced surfers only and booties were required because of all the rocks. This one was calmer and though there were rocks, it was mostly sand. It was very pretty and I enjoyed taking photos there.

oops, this is actually the beach in front of the hotel.
The sand makes some interesting patterns.
Another tree clinging to the side of the earth.
A boy came down the beach on his horse and the dogs all went nuts. When he came ashore on our side though, they kept their distance probably seeing the horse was quite a bit bigger than they were.

While we were at this beach I had a conversation with a couple guys who were collecting big pieces of bamboo and hauling them up the hill. They told me that they were building another room on a house. Many of the people in this area seem to have very little money and get by on whatever they can produce or scavenge. These men also seemed to talk a bit differently, perhaps a different accent? I had a hard time understanding them. But, they were very nice to us and seemed happy that we took the time to talk with them.

Little by little I’m getting caught up with the photos from our trip between getting distracted by things going on here that I also find interesting.

Posted in Exploring Panama, Panama | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Back to Santa Catalina, Panama

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

I didn’t want to write a single post with a hundred photos, so I broke up my collection a bit. Earlier was a post with some photos of the hotel and grounds. These are some photos of the town and a few beach photos.

Down the road from the hotel was a collection of signs for various other hotels and restaurants.
At the next corner were more signs.
Someone has a pretty nice house and probably a fantastic view.
This is the center of town, basically an intersection with a convenience store. This little barefoot girl had just handed off a large baby to another girl before she headed down the road.
A cool looking little bar down the road.
There were quite a few of these interesting trees with the big balls. Someone told me what they are in the past, but I don’t remember now.
Surf shop!
I really like the covers for the trash can area.
We gave you the room over the outhouse. Is that OK with you?
It seems like most of the locals live in tiny little houses like these.
I don’t think the gas station gets used much, by the looks of the grass.

Since it was just before the holidays parades, the school kids here were also practicing their drumming. I was a bit surprised that there was a school big enough, and that there was a parade for them to be in. This town is so remote that the nearest town with a store is an hour away. But, these festivities are very important to the Panamanians so I’m sure these kids were taken to wherever they needed to be.

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I will finish up with a few photos of the beach in front of the hotel.

The beach here is very beautiful, but also so rocky that it wouldn’t be good for swimming.
The trees hanging on to the side of the earth are very interesting.
Here’s another tree barely clinging on.
These two horses were roaming the beach. I learned later that they live at the hotel next door.
Posted in Exploring Panama, Panama | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments