I am staying in Portobelo for a couple weeks, a town of 3,000 on the Caribbean coast of Panama.
To reach Portobelo, I needed to take a couple buses, one from Panama City to Sabanitas, and a second bus from Sabanitas to Portobelo.
The Sabanitas - Portobelo buses take just over an hour to reach Portobelo and cost $1.30. But what makes these buses memorable are their distinctive colorful exteriors and interiors and their music (from rap to calypso). In fact, the only thing louder than the color scheme is the music.
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‘Extras’ playing Colombian soldiers on the set of a French-Panamanian film (Paradise Lost) being shot this week and next in Portobelo, Panama.
Paradise Lost stars Benicio del Toro (as Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar) along with Josh Hutcherson and Brady Corbet. The crew keeps stopping pedestrians and traffic so that the crew can control the shoot. My reasonable rates that I charge to play an ‘extra’ did not impress the crew guy I spoke to.
More about Paradise Lost can be found at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/19/benicio-del-toro-to-play-pablo-escobar_n_2161003.html
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On Sunday afternoon I explored Casco Viejo, the old town of Panama City, Panama. One of the treats in Casco Viejo is La Rana Dorada Brewery. The Golden Frog brews four different microbrews: a pale ale, pilsener, porter and a white Belgian wheat flavored with orange, lemon and coriander. You can find out more about La Rana Dorada Cervecería on its Facebook page or at: http://www.laranadorada.com
I arrived in Panama City, the capital of Panama, on Friday. I plan to spend 3.5 weeks in Panama sampling the culture and getting PADI certified for diving to the advanced level in the town of Portobelo on the Caribbean.
On Sunday, I strolled through Casco Viejo, the old town of Panama City. Much of Casco Viejo is under renovation, but a bustling, thriving Panamanian community still makes its home here. There are many colonial architectural gems, a few of them pictured here.
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On Friday I exited Peru after spending nearly seven months in that extraordinary country. I have heaps of fond memories, and I hope to spend another week or so in Peru in October. In the meantime here are some photos that capture some of the many facets of Peru that I had the good fortune to experience, from top to bottom:
1) Llamas at Machu Picchu last Dec 21.
2) A group of performers march through the coastal town of Paramonga as part of May Day celebrations.
3) Several of us trek along Big Tree Trail at the Atalaya Reserve near Manu National Park in February.
4) A glimpse of Machu PIcchu last Dec 21 shortly after dawn.
5) Mixed ceviche, a Peruvian seafood specialty, served in a restaurant in Trujillo.
6) One of the 30 students who participated in the After-School Math Program in Cusco’s barrio San Jeronimo last November.
7) Users of the Yungay Cultural Center await its opening on a weekday.
8) The view of the Cordillera Blanca from the Hatun Wasi Hostal terrace in Huaraz where breakfast was served each morning.
9) A couple delivering corn to the Paramonga market last Wednesday.
10) Huanchaco Beach near Trujillo on a Sunday afternoon in March.
On Wednesday I visited Caral, the 5000 year-old city of pyramids 200 km (125 miles) north of Lima, Peru. Caral was inhabited between 2600 - 2000 BCE. It is believed to have accommodated 3,000 inhabitants and contained temples, houses and an amphitheater.
Caral is the largest recorded site in the Andean region older than 2000 BCE and appears to be the model for the urban design adopted by Andean civilizations. Caral spans 19 other pyramid complexes scattered across the 35 square mile (80 km²) area of the Supe Valley. A collection of musical instruments, including 37 cornets made of deer and llama bones and 33 flutes of unusual construction were unearthed. The flutes were radiocarbon dated to 2170±90 BCE.
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Last Friday afternoon I swung by Sierra Andina Brewing Company, a microbrewery located in Huaraz, Peru. Sierra Andina currently bottles three ales and a porter. Paul from Baltimore (pictured here) serves up some tasty brews in the taproom. You can find out more about Sierra Andina Brewing Company at: http://www.sierraandina.com/Sierra_Andina
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Several days ago I visited the town of Yungay and its National Cemetery. Yungay is about an hour’s drive north of Huaraz.
Some background: on May 31, 1970 the Ancash earthquake (7.8 on the Richter Scale) caused a substantial part of the north side of a mountain, Nevado Huascarán, to collapse and an unstable mass of glacial ice about 800 meters (1/2 mi.) across at the top of Nevado Huascarán to fall. This collapse caused a debris avalanche, burying the whole town of Yungay and killing 25,000 people. More than 50 million cubic meters of debris slid downhill with speeds between 200 - 400 km/h (125 - 250 mph). Only 92 people survived, most of whom were in the higher elevation cemetery and stadium at the time of the avalanche.
The Peruvian government has forbidden excavation in the area where the old town of Yungay and its 25,000 victims are buried, declaring it a National Cemetery. Today the cemetery is home to wildflowers, rose gardens, commemorative plaques and picnic benches. The upper portion of Yungay’s church, one of the highest structures in 1970, still projects above the landslide debris. The current, thriving town of Yungay was rebuilt 1500 meters (1 mi.) north of the destroyed city.
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A group of us hiked to Lake 69 on Thursday. Lake 69 is located in Huascarán National Park at 4,550 m (14,928 ft) nestled in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca. An 18 km (11.2 mile) hike, 3 hours up, 90 minutes down. An altitude gain of 700 m (2,300 ft), and another meter might have done me in. A hike through lovely flowered meadows and canyons, over mountain streams surrounded by spectacular mountains, and the big payoff, Lake 69, a stunning lake with its own bridal veil falls.
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Several days ago I visited Chavín de Hunatar, the UNESCO World Heritage Archeological Site, and its museum near Huaraz, Peru.
Chavin contains ruins and artifacts constructed beginning at least by 1200 BCE and occupied by later cultures until around 400-500 BCE. Occupation at Chavín de Huántar has been carbon dated to at least 3000 BCE.
In its heyday the site suggests that people went to Chavín de Hunatar to attend and participate in rituals, consult an oracle, or enter a cult. Chavin contains a circular plaza an both and old and new temple. The nearby museum contains a model of Chavin, many busts, pottery and artifacts.
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