The Panama Adventure

Cuidado de las mascotas

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Check the comments! Emma posted a link to a groupon page where you can donate to help these people continue their work.

Caring for the pets in the burg. This weekend Pedasi hosted some veterinarians and staff from FUNDACION SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS for the annual pet spay and neuter campaign. This event has been run for five years by two local women, and this year a few of us helped out. One of my amgia’s really took on the challenge, arranging for free food and lodging for the vet and talking to her vecinos about the clinic.

The Fundacion has a brand new mobile clinic constructed from a converted bus. Inside, there are two operating tables where a staff of three or four can work on the animals. I was fortunate enough to go inside the first day to see the staff at work. The animals are prepared for surgery on a table just inside the door and then they are moved to one of the two operating tables. When I was on the bus two cats were being worked…

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Back in the Neighborhood

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

It’s hard to believe we’ve been back for almost two weeks now. We’ve come back to our quiet life so there isn’t much to report since our return. We’ve been resting up, working in the yard, doing daily things, spending time with friends and neighbors, riding the bikes, and generally kicking back and enjoying life.

I have taken a few photos of critters in the neighborhood, some large and some small (bug and spider warning here 😀 ) You never know who is going to have what in their yard so it keeps life interesting. It’s rainy season here so we’ve been getting a lot of afternoon rains, some light and some heavy with a lot of noisy thunder. Mornings and early afternoons are usually sunny though, so we try to get stuff done in the morning and save afternoons for relaxing at home.

Our neighbor Roberts has a new calf. If I understood him correctly (always an IF) he is 2 weeks old and will be at the house for 9 weeks. Then he’ll go to the farm.

This is a very friendly and tame calf. He hangs out near Roberto’s house though he is free to roam as he pleases.

This very nice house had a beautiful horse in the side yard the other day.

Another very nice house had chickens in the front yard. Chickens in the yard are very common, even in some very upscale looking houses.

This tiny caterpillar was on our wall.

This gorgeous big guy was on a banana plant!

These were also on the banana plant not far from the spider. I don’t know if there is any relation.

We see quite a few of these lizards, but this one was just a baby. At first I thought it was an anole, a little garden lizard we were so used to in Florida.

This hawk was making a lot of noise up in the tree.

I was trimming the bushes and found this beautiful little bug.

Check out the gold eyes on this bug. Like most bugs here, it was very mellow and happy to sit on Joel’s fingers.

OK, enough goofing off and playing with photos. Time for Spanish study. I am going to get all those verb tenses straight, not today, but someday!

Posted in expat, Panama, photography | Tagged Chiriqui Province, David, expat, Panama, photography | 12 Comments

Yes there are Crocodiles in Panama

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Today we found a free sample of a newspaper Panamá América outside our gate. Inside was this insert:

We hadn’t heard much about crocodiles here. In Florida it is well known that they are everywhere and you don’t swim in fresh water. Here in Panama people swim in the rivers all the time, and no one has mentioned any dangers beyond the boys jumping out of trees into the water. But, someone did mention a crocodile attack in Pedrigal where the boats are docked, so this would agree with the information that crocodiles are often found in areas where the fresh water meets the sea, at mouths of rivers and in the mangroves. Oh, and we can’t forget the crocodile in da Campo watering hole

I was also happy to see the effort to protect the wildlife here, even including something as dangerous as the crocodiles.

So, in the interest of useful information and improving my Spanish, I figured I’d decipher this flyer. Watch your toes when you go swimming in Panama 😀 And, excuse the nasty teeth photo in the header. I couldn’t resist.

Largarto Aguja – (Lizard needle ? ) crocodylus acutus

Conoce y protege especies en peligro de extincion	Meet and protect species in danger of extinction
Riesgos/Amenazas	Risks / Threats
Principalmente esta especie es cazada por su piel y por temor a ataques; y también por la destrucción de su hábitat.	Mainly this species is hunted for their skin and for fear of attacks; and also by the destruction of their habitat.
Morfología y Tamaño	Morphology and Size
Es un animal de cuerpo alargado y robusto. Las patas son cortas y fuertes y están provistas de garras. La cabeza es triangular y el hocico alargado. En la espalda tiene un par de quillas que no se unen en la cola, la cual es musculosa y comprimida, y le permite nadar muy bien. La piel es muy dura y tiene un color gris verdoso, olivo o gris chocolatoso en la parte dorsal, y blanco cremoso en el área ventral.Es una de las especies de cocodrilo más grandes y puede llegar a medir seis metros, y alcanzar un peso de 400 kg.	It is an animal with a body elongated and robust. The legs are short and strong, and are provided with claws. The head is triangular and snout elongated. On the back is a pair of fins that do not join at the tail, which is muscular and compressed, and allows it to swim very well. The skin is very hard and has greenish gray, olive, or chocolate gray on the dorsal part, and creamy white on the belly area.It is one of the largest species of crocodile and can grow up to six meters (~9 feet), and reach a weight of 400 kg. (~880 lbs)
Distribución a nivel mundial	Worldwide distribution
Se localiza desde el sur de Estados Unidos hasta Venezuela y el norte de Perú.	They are located from the southern United States to the north of Venezuela and Peru.
Distribución en Panamá	Distribution in Panama
Se encuentra en todo el país, especialmente en los cursos bajos y las bocas de los ríos, especialmente los más grandes, y en manglares.	They are found throughout the country, especially en the lower reaches and the mouths of the rivers, especially the larges ones, and in mangroves.
Hábitat	Habitat
Permanece la mayor parte del tiempo en el agua y es más activo en la noche. Puede viajar grandes distancias por tierra. Es solitario y caza acechando a las presas. Pasa mucho tiempo en manglares y puede adentrarse bastante en el mar para cazar o viajar de un territorio a otro.	They stay most of the time in water and are more active at night. They can travel great distances by land. They are solitary and hunt by stalking prey. They spend a lot of time in the mangroves and can venture enough in the sea to hunt or travel from one territory to another.
Alimentación	Feeding
Se alimenta de peces, tortugas, y cualquier otro animal que pueda capturar.	They feed on fish, turtles, and any other animal that they can capture.
Reproducción	Reproduction
La temporada de anidamiento ocurre entre enero y febrero. Construye su nido excavando un heuco en las riberas de ríos o lagunas, que rellena con hojas y material orgánico en descomposición. Pone de 12 a 80 huevos de color blanco. La incubación puede durar de 60 a 90 días dependiendo de la temperatura que alcance el nido. Cuando los jóvenes salen del huevo emiten un llamado que atrae a la madre, quien los transporta al agua y los cuida por un tiempo.	The time of nesting occurs between January and February. They build a nest by digging a hole on the banks of rivers or lakes, which is filled with leaves and decaying organic material. It puts in 12 to 80 white eggs. The incubation can last from 60 to 90 days depending on the termperature that reaches the nest. When the young hatch they emit a call that attracts the mother, who carries them to the water and cares for them for a while.

I wonder if the neighbor’s dog hates crocodiles? He had taken their sample newspaper and shredded it into little pieces! I’m sure he just thought it was nice of someone to bring him a new toy to destroy.

Posted in Panama | 16 Comments

Return to Panama – post #300

Posted on August 31, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Somehow it seems fitting that a milestone post is about returning to Panama. We had a wonderful time but we’re glad to be back. It confirmed our feelings that this is a good place for us and we are happy here.

We arrived at the airport in Seattle as the sun was rising, and this full moon shone over the airport.

We flew over Mount Rainier, which is so high that it looked very close to the plane!

Then, we flew over beautiful deserts and rivers and fields and hills and more scenery than I can mention.

Many land formations look really interesting from the air.

Of course I’m going to love beautiful clouds from this new vantage point!

The daylight fades as we approach Panama City

This hotel room was our favorite so far!

We had a great view of the city from our room.

Thursday morning, we leave from Allbrook bus terminal.

The diablo rojos (red devils – former US school buses, now dangerous rolling works of art in the city) are still in town. They are replacing them with modern nice buses, but we saw a lot of them still on the road as we left Panama City.

We went over the Bridge of the Americas and the Canal

The Panama Canal – the Miliflores Locks are in the distance.

Then we head down the highway and through the beautiful green Panama countryside.

It was nice to be back in Panama with the warm, moist, balmy air. We’ve been staying at the Costa Inn in Panama City. It’s an older building but it’s clean and comfortable, and the price is right. When we landed in PC I went to the information desk and asked about the complimentary van to the hotel. The lady immediately knew what I was asking about, made some phone calls, and got me connected with the right man. There was a man in the airport with a sign looking for passengers, and when the van arrived he came and got us and made sure we got on the correct van.

We had a room at the end of the hall this time, and the big windows looked out over the city and the water in the distance. In the morning we could see the ships waiting for their turns in the canal. The room was large with a big desk/table, and two bathrooms with what looked like a small kitchen sink in between. One bathroom had a shower, sink, and toilet and the other had a Jacuzzi bathtub! We learned that it is a good idea to get to breakfast early though because by 8:30 they were running out of things. But, they had a complimentary van going to Allbrook shopping mall and since we were going to the bus terminal across the street, they let us ride along.

So, for about $60 we got a free ride from the airport, breakfast, a free ride to Allbrook, and a comfortable room for the night with free WiFi. Not bad, eh?

We had a good bus ride with seats in the very front of the upper level where we could see everything! We relaxed, read, watched the movies, and enjoyed the countryside. We found our house in one piece, everything fine, not even much of a musty smell. Our neighbors had opened the windows to air out the place, closed them because it rained a lot, opened them again, and said they would have cleaned it but they thought we were coming back a couple days later than we did.

It’s nice to be back. It’s nice to reconnect with our friends and neighbors here. It’s nice to be back with the birds, the woods, the plants, the warm moist air, the roosters, dogs, locusts, and everything else that makes noise and makes this place feel so full of life. And, I am very happy to report that in spite of speaking English for a month I don’t seem to have forgotten what Spanish I know.

Posted in Panama, travel | Tagged Central America, Panama, Panama City, Travel and Tourism | 6 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Sea

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: Sea

The instructions are: Sea. What kind of emotions does the sea or ocean make you feel? Do you remember the first time you went in the water? Had a wave crash on you? Felt the sand burn your feet? Do you feel more peaceful around water? Do you hate the beach? What’s the most interesting thing about the sea for you? Lots of questions, lots of interpretations. Show me the different sides of Sea with your contribution! In a new post specifically for this challenge, share a photo which means SEA to you!

What a photo challenge for me, since I have just returned from a week on the sea! It will be a challenge not to post a hundred photos.

I love the sea. I remember going to the beach as a kid and hating to leave. One of the things that attracted me to Florida was being so close to the water. Even a short visit to the beach feels like a whole vacation. There is something about the sea that just says life, renewal, beauty, and reconnection. Here in Panama we aren’t close to the water but we can get there fairly quickly, and I do have the river behind the house which I love.

I went back through some of my favorite photos for a few of places where I have enjoyed the sea.

Florida – Siesta Key Beach at sunset.

Siesta Key Beach again, as the colors deepen.

We used to take weekend getaways to Key Largo, Florida and we loved the amazing sunsets.

Another sunset at Key Largo, Florida

Alaska on a calm and amazing morning.

A humpback whale breaks the glassy surface in Alaska

Las Lajas Beach in Panama. It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen!

Posted in Panama, photography | Tagged beach, Florida, Panama, photography, postaday, Sea, sunset photo | 13 Comments

Wrapping it up – leaving Alaska

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

I have a few more things from our trip to the US, but I’ve been neglecting the computer and doing other things for the last few days. So, since it’s raining and I’m inside, I figured I’d get back with it.

The cruise was great but like all things, it had to come to an end. Our last stop was supposed to be Victoria BC, but when we got to the area we were told that there was too much wind for this large ship to safely enter the harbor. Joel had spent the day resting and fighting his cold. We were not sure we wanted to go ashore anyway, so we were happy to stay on the ship and enjoy the beautiful evening and sunset.

Victoria – our destination

It was a beautiful evening

I loved watching the colors change

Sunset is coming

It was a beautiful sunset!

We spent the evening relaxing, and the crew spent it working. We saw them raising and lowering the lifeboats – drills, tests, and maintenance I’m sure. Others were repairing and caulking the boxes that held fire extinguishers on the decks. And, of course there is always cleaning in progress. We finally left the Victoria area after dark, and since it’s not far from Seattle we weren’t surprised to wake up to find we had arrived at port.

We have breakfast and enjoy the view of Seattle while we wait to be called to get off the ship.

This huge yacht was at the dock, and that’s a fishing boat in the foreground.

The yacht in the photo is “Serene”, one of the biggest privately owned yachts in the word, rumored to be owned by a Russian vodka tycoon. Read about it HERE, and I found this article about its visit to British Columbia. I took the photo because I thought it was a heck of yacht but I didn’t know how unique it was until I came home and did some research. It has a saltwater pool, two helicopter pads, a submarine, and more toys and amenities too numerous to mention!

So, our cruise ended in Seattle eating breakfast and looking at one of the most amazing yachts in the world. From there, we back to my daughter’s apartment where she kindly let us stay for another night before we made our way back to Panama.

Posted in photography, travel | Tagged Alaska, photography, Seattle, sunset photo, Travel and Tourism, Victoria, Victoria British Columbia | 1 Comment

Weekly Photo Challenge: Focus

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: Focus

The instructions are: For this challenge, get out there and take a picture demonstrating the concept of focus. Depending on your skill level or type of camera, tinker with the manual settings, use the auto focus feature, or play around with an app. Some ideas:

Snap a photo of something or someone in focus, against a blurred background.
Share a panorama or landscape in sharp focus, in which you can see details far away.
Use a camera app to force focus (or blur) in an experimental way.
Take multiple photos of the same scene or subject using different aperture settings and publishing the results.

IN A NEW POST CREATED SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO DEMONSTRATING THE CONCEPT OF FOCUS.

F stop 4.8 – background out of focus

F stop 10 – background somewhat in focus

F stop 20 – background sharper

I prefer the background fairly blurred because the seed head stands out well. I was fairly close, so I think I would have had to step back to get the background totally sharp and in focus.

F stop 4.8

F stop 10

F stop 20

I kind of like the middle one the best. The background is more interesting but still blurred enough that the lily stands out clearly.

This has been an interesting challenge. I enjoy taking this sort of picture with a sharp subject against a blurred background. It’s good for me to study this more so I”m clear on how to get the effect I want. I remember it by – bigger number on the F stop = more stuff in focus.

I’m also glad to be back in Panama. I went for a walk in our woods planning to photograph the heliconias, and found these other things I liked even better. Apologies for the banner photo to anyone who isn’t into spiders. When I disturbed the web of this one it landed on a leaf, and it was too interesting and beautiful to pass up!

Posted in Panama, photography | Tagged Chiriqui, David, Depth of field, Panama, Photograph, photography, postaday | 8 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Carefree

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: Carefree

The instructions are: Whether a good memory was made in years past, yesterday, or only moments ago, I love letting the nostalgia wrap me up — like a borrowed sweater on a cold summer night. Even more, I love making new memories: a carefree summer at the lake, a stroll through the park, dancing in the rain… then all I need to do is remember, and the same carefree feeling washes over me.

In a new post specifically for this challenge, share a photo that means CAREFREE to you!

I am behind on this photo challenge but I have a good excuse. I was being… CAREFREE! I was on a cruise.

Rain and all, it still is a beautiful sight!

We went on a cruise to Alaska. They take you to beautiful places. They make all your meals for you. They take care of your room every morning, and turn down the bed and leave you a cute surprise every evening.

Our room steward delighted us every night with a new towel animal!

They work hard to come up with many forms of entertainment every day. They have a huge staff who does whatever they can to take care of you and keep you happy. That’s pretty carefree, in my opinion, and we had a wonderful time!

If you want to see more of my Alaska cruise, check my recent posts. We saw whales, mountains, eagles, glaciers, salmon, bears, beavers, rode an old train, went out on boat trips, and had an amazing time. If you ever get a chance to go to Alaska, I would highly recommend it!

Posted in photography, travel | Tagged Alaska, Carefree, photography, postaday, Recreation, Specialty Travel, travel, Travel and Tourism | 2 Comments

Alaska – Day #6

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

August 18, 2013
Ketchikan – boat trip to see eagles, totems, lighthouse

We got up early this morning to find the usual – gray, rainy weather. Joel thankfully was feeling a little better and figured he’d brave going out for our excursion, even though it was an early one. Would our luck with weather hold up for yet another day? This was our last excursion so we only needed one more clear morning.

I booked the excursions so long ago that I had forgotten what was going to happen today – something about totems and eagles, just a short trip because we only had a few hours on this stop. We did well and arrived at the meeting place at 7:30 only to found out that no one was there because the actual time was 8AM. No matter though. It all came together eventually and we hopped on the bus headed for the boat. Another boat trip, eh?

Our driver told us a bit about Ketchikan on the way, unfortunately without a lot of enthusiasm or flare. We did learn that the town mainly runs on tourism and fishing, and there are three fish canneries that have been in operation for a long time. There are also named streets that are nothing more than wooden stairs and pathways up to houses on the side of the hills and mountains.

Luck was with us again. By the time we arrived at the marina the weather had cleared and the sun was peaking through the clouds. We boarded a nice boat with an attentive crew and went out in search of eagles. It was only a few minutes before we spotted the first one. Many more sightings followed and a number of nests were pointed out. We also saw the totems, some harbor seals, the promised lighthouse, and learned quite a bit about the history of the area and some of the homes that we passed. We had seen many eagles when we lived in Kansas and Florida but I’m still always thrilled to see them, and the scenery was beautiful so we were glad we hadn’t skipped this excursion.

Our weather luck didn’t hold all morning though, and a light rain started up again. There were inside spaces in the boat but I managed to get somewhat wet going outside for photos. It could have been much worse though because it was raining hard by the time we were back on the ship. We looked out on the dock a bit later and there was a long line of people outside waiting to get back on board. We were wet and cold enough, and happy to be back indoors instead of out in that line.

After warming up and getting some lunch, we went to a very interesting lecture by Michelle, the ship naturalist that had been making all the informative announcements about the area and the whales. She told us a lot about the whales, orcas, porpoises and other life that lives in these waters. She really put the whales in perspective when she stretched a rope across the stage equivalent to the length of a humpback, and unfolded a piece of material that was a life size cutout of a tail. It took up most of the stage! You don’t always realize how huge they are when you look at them at a distance from a large boat.

After the talk, we decided to go to the upper deck and watch the world go by for awhile. We were heading to open water which was rougher and the boat was rolling and pitching some, and it seems to bother less when you can see out over the water. Since the rest of the day and most of tomorrow was on the ship as we made our way to Victoria, it was time to relax, read, sort photos, and enjoy the down time.

Good morning, Alaska! (There is a camera on board that you can watch on your TV)

Good morning, Ketchikan

We watch the guys fasten the ropes to secure the ship to the dock as the line of buses waits to take people on excursions.

We were instructed to meet by the rain gauge. Yes, the record is 202 inches! No wonder they usually measure the rain in feet.

It’s a beautiful calm morning at the marina.

I enjoyed the interesting boats and beautiful reflections while we waited to board.

Here’s our boat.

It looks like we’re in for another morning of gorgeous scenery!

There used to be logging in the past (but no more to preserve the forests). The loggers built platforms like this, and there were whole towns built on the platforms with houses, schools, stores, etc. When the loggers got moved to another location they would just tow the town to the new location so they never had to be separated from their families.

This is another bit of “Loggerville” that still survives.

A beautiful eagle in flight!

Oh yes they are magnificent birds

Ut oh, the rain is coming back

An eagle nest with a chick (center of the photo, looks like a pile of sticks with a brown bird sitting on it). Young eagles are all brown and don’t get their white heads and tails until they are 4-5 years old.

Fog, rain…

The Indian totems. They built them to tell stories. When the Christians came they made the Indians stop making totems thinking they were using them to worship other gods, but later they understood they were just stories so the Indians were allowed to resume the practice. Colors are iron ore, copper ore, charcoal, and ground seashells mixed with chewed salmon eggs for white paint. They have trouble getting the women to chew the salmon eggs now though, so they often just go to the hardware store and get exterior grade latex paint.

The Indian lodge with the totems out front. This is only accessible by boat.

If you look very closely, you can see two harbor seals on the right at the end of the little island.

The rain lets up as we return to the dock, giving me another opportunity to enjoy the boats and reflections.

The airport, as seen from the bus in the rain. It’s on the next island because it’s one of the few flat places where they could build a runway.

You have to take this ferry to get to the airport.

Posted in photography, travel | Tagged Alaska, Alaska Ketchikan, Eagle, Ketchikan, photography, Travel and Tourism | 1 Comment

Alaska – Day #5

Posted on August 24, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

August 17, 2013
Juneau – whale watching, the Mendenhall Glacier

At this point I started having trouble keeping up with writing and photos because every day we were too busy doing things and taking more photos!

We woke up in Juneau, which looked like a busy city compared to Skagway. Again, we woke up to rain and fog. Would our luck hold for another day? Would it clear up or were we going to spend the morning on a boat in the rain?

Again, we had no trouble finding our tour and soon we were on the bus heading for the boat. It was a nice drive and we were able to see a lot of Juneau on the way. We could stay indoors on the boat if it was raining, but again it seemed that luck was turning in our direction and the weather was clearing up. By the time we got to the dock the rain had stopped and bits of blue were starting to show in the sky.

We were seated behind the boat captain (Ally and Derrick on the Raven – so I can remember and write a note on Trip Advisor) and we could hear him talking on the radio to other boat captains who were reporting the locations of whales. Clearing skies, whales in the area, things were looking good!

We stopped near some other boats, and there were whales everywhere! First we spotted a mother and calf. Then we spotted some other adults. I think altogether there must have been close to a dozen whales! It was amazing. We would be watching for one to resurface, and we’d hear another blow on the other side. Or, we’d see a group of two or three coming up together, while a few more were blowing farther out. Sometimes it was hard to figure out what direction to look because they were all around us! At one point, a whale surfaced right behind another tour boat. Those folks must have been so excited.

Watching the whales was such an amazing experience that I hated to leave, but we had the glacier waiting for us. This is the same glacier we had seen on Thursday, but today we were going to see if from land.

The glacier was also amazing. It was made of compacted snow that had fallen hundreds and thousands of years ago! What a thing to be so near such an enormous force of nature. This whole area is full of glaciers but most of them are high in the mountains. We were told that in centuries past there were many more glaciers that carved the earth into the huge mountains and valleys that it is today, and some volcanoes also forced lava up through the ice to make some mountain peaks.

We returned to the ship about 1:30 PM which was good so we could catch our breath a bit in the afternoon. We went to the deck to watch the boat leave port which I always find interesting, and then I settled at a table on an upper deck to watch the scenery and do some work on the computer.

The day wasn’t over yet though! We were going through the same water where we first saw the whales on Thursday. The naturalist announced she was going to keep an eye out and let us know if we passed any whales. Sure enough, first there were a small group of them on the starboard side, and a short time later there were more on the port side. Then, she announced there was a whale being very active on the surface, and as we came closer we could see it leaping out of the water and breaching over and over! Wow, that was totally exciting and I was really glad that I saw it and also caught a couple shots with my camera.

This was all the excitement we could handle for one day. We got some dinner and watched the views roll by the windows until it was too dark to see, and then we went back to our room and turned in for the night. We were tired and had an early morning coming, and Joel was coming down with a cold and feeling under the weather. Hopefully he’ll get a good night’s sleep and he’ll feel better in the morning.

By the time we arrived at the dock it was turning out to be a really beautiful day.

WHALES!!

An eagle in a nearby tree.

A mom and baby whale!

Mom and baby again

A glacier in the nearby mountains.

There was a group feeding together. Here I see two backs, a tail, and maybe a fin?

The group again

The people in that boat must have been excited

A gorgeous day, and we didn’t know this was only part of our whale watching for today.

We headed back to the marina where this big yacht was parked. The guys were cleaning it barefoot because the owner didn’t want footprints on his boat (according to our boat crew).

Next we head to the Mendenhall Glacier. Mama bear had been fishing in the salmon stream, and one of her babies was still asleep in the tree over the parking lot. (that black clump is a baby bear in a tree)

We were told that this type of salmon is called “Christmas salmon” because when it’s spawning time they take on these red and green colors. There were many of them swimming upstream here, and the water was perfectly clear so it was easy to see them.

Again, do not feed the bears, not even by accident.

An Alaskan bee!

The glacier kept the whole valley cooler – natural air conditioning (quite unnecessary in our opinion. It was quite cool enough even in the sun)

Kayakers paddle to the glacier for a closer look.

The view from the visitors center. Note the lake area part way out to the waterfall.

We saw something in the water and thought it might be the ducks we had seen enter the water a minute earlier.

When the picture is enlarged, that is not a bunch of ducks! It had better not be a bear because it’s headed towards the path that goes to the waterfall. It’s probably a beaver, but who knows for sure?

Joel checking out the 200 year old piece of ice. It was as clear and pure looking as glass.

Some people hiked to the base of the waterfall.

Time to head back to the ship. It was lightly raining again and everything was wet, but still pretty with buckets of flowers everywhere. the cables ahead are for cable cars that take you to the top of the mountain.

The ship pulls away from the dock – sideways!

Another beautiful hazy gray afternoon in the rain.

The sun came out just enough to make this huge rainbow for a few minutes. The photo definitely does not do it justice. It was a full arch across the sky and the colors were intense.