Me and a Mermaid

Already we notice subtle differences from Afghanistan.

Here are photos of me and a mermaid.  I am the one wearing a shirt.

Lining Up for the Canal

Another view from the Amador Causeway.  On the horizon you can see ships lining up to enter the canal.  On the stern of the small boat in the foreground, you can see what appears to be one guy trying to drown another guy.

Jody in Panama

Walking along the Bahia de Panama.

View from the Causeway

We managed to make it to the Amador Causeway during rush hour, veering through lanes of traffic and fighting the buses, called "diablos rojos," to cross where we needed to go.  Still without GPS, we sort of navigated by instinct.  Coincidentally, we wound up at a Spanish wine bar.  The causeway is a road linking a series of artificial islands built to protect the entry way to the canal, overlooking Panama Bay.

Excursions

We're almost fully settled into the house, with nearly all the boxes unpacked and things put in a reasonably logical place.  So we drove around this afternoon.  We went to the neighborhoods where embassy families live and saw two of the schools.  We also went to the two Pacific-side locks of the Canal, Miraflores and San Pedro, and watched a couple of ships go through the locks.  Then we just drove around, because the GPS wasn't working and we didn't have any idea where we were headed.  We more or less made it back OK.  This evening we ate dinner outside and listened to the tree frogs, which I believe are scientifically called Space Invader Frogs, because the sound they make is exactly like some late 70s arcade game when you fire a missile at whatever is attacking you.  Interestingly, they go absolutely still if you stomp on the ground near them, then about five seconds later, they start up again.  We tried out the Mexican place near our house - so-so food, very nice margaritas.  I feel quite comfortable driving around the two barrios near our neighborhood, only somewhat less so as I go through the traffic roundabout I was told was nicknamed "Suicide Circle," but I get completely lost heading downtown.  I'm going to try again tomorrow, hopefully with a functioning GPS this time.

Panama Animals

 I don't know if I'll really keep this blog going.  It will depend on the photos, since there are limits to what I can write about.  First, I'll say that we have noticed some subtle differences between Panama and Afghanistan.  It's a bit greener here, I think.  Second, from our house, we're seeing some strange animals, though we usually aren't carrying a camera.  If you look carefully in the first one, you'll see an iguana.  Our street is called Paseo de la Iguana, and there are at least two gigantic ones and three mid-sized ones in our back yard.  In the second photo is a monkey; we counted seven or so.  There's also a pack of coati, two of which we've seen, but we haven't taken any pictures.  Eventually we'll get to the canal, which is about three blocks from our house, and take some photos there.  Anyway, this will have to do for starters.

The End

I don't see the need to keep this blog, at least with this focus.  We've been out of Afghanistan for three weeks now, and we can go most days without thinking about it.  We are almost finished with our time in DC, and soon after that, we go to a new continent and a new country.  We still won't comment on political issues related to Afghanistan or anything else.  So I believe it's time to wrap this one up.