Going with the flow

For a jaded New Yorker getting around while traveling just isn't the same as hopping on the subway or hailing a taxi around town.

After getting to the coast of San Blas, we peeled ourselves out of the Land Cruiser like we were olives in a press. The driver backed up a very slippery, steep, muddy hill and we retrieved our luggage. Then, we had to lug everything down the other side of the muddy hill with too few logs strategically placed too far apart for my short legs. How did the guys with their loaded-up bicycles and the women with their flipflops make it down!??! Well, somehow we all did and made our way into two long dugout canoes.

Floating down the river through the lush vegetation reminded me why I got all those shots and glad that I'm taking anti-malarial pills. It was beautiful. I had plastered on the sunscreen before we left but it was no match for the blazing sun beating down on us. The Kuna people paddling by didn't need hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, etc.

When we reached the Caribbean, the spectacular scenery changed to picture-postcard perfect vistas. The blue-green water with the puffy white clouds in the amazing blue sky framed by random lush green islands. As our boat paddlers glided us through the water, we reached some habited islands with a few sail boats anchored offshore. I saw one beautiful large boat and thought too bad we can't go on that one. But, then our canoe slid along side and we began unloading. This was it! Our home for the next five days and four nights-- Der Stahlratte.

How can I summarize five days and four nights?!

People
The wonderful, competent crew were 3/4th German-speaking. I was able to brush up on some German vocabulary (which actually wasn't so good for the rest of my trip because German words kept popping up when I reached for Spanish).

The other passengers were interesting, seasoned travelers from all over and most like Alisa were at some stage of their own amazing journeys.

The Kuna people who stopped by the boat to sell their wares provided a tantalizing glimpse of another world. There was a man with his son who provided healthy, fresh produce and took away the empty aluminum cans for recycling. I'm not sure why I was so disappointed to see the son eagerly hang around waiting for the crew to offer him a drink and then for him to quickly ask for a soda. But, check out my terrific ankle bracelet that a Kuna woman wove on me. Both of her legs from ankle to knee were beaded in a fantastic design.

The accommodations
When we first boarded, Alisa and I were not quick enough to claim bunks. So, the only two left were top bunks with guys on the bottom. It was a little awkward when my bunkmate threw open the curtains while I was changing clothes. Katya, one of the crew, was very nice to ask Paul, a fellow traveler, to give up his double room at the back of the boat for Alisa and me. And, wonderful Paul was more than gracious to do so.

The crew laid out the rules upfront. Yikes, I thought, one toilet and shower for 19 people. The rules included that men had to sit down (no exceptions) when using the toilet. But, they were encouraged if they preferred to pee standing up to aim over the side of the boat. Anyway, it all seemed to work out.

Food
The food was terrific. So, vegetarian-friendly. We each signed up for a day of kitchen duty. I think that added to the delight. Huge fresh fruit salads (please note, Nate, loaded with bananas). Delicious breads. Hearty soups. Exactly my kind of food.

Venue
There are not adequate adjectives for the idyllic settings. Even being there during the rainy season didn't put a damper on the trip. The islands with white sands looked like a movie set. I must admit though that my tender feet were not able to stand up to the little shells and pebbles that always seemed to be waiting wherever I stepped. But, it was beautiful to look at.

Note to self: I will need to toughen up my pampered feet if I'm going to survive on the open seas. I wasn't even able to climb the pole ladders on the boat unless I was wearing sandals.

The Boat
What an amazing, old-fashioned sail boat! We only had all of the sails up once when we first boarded and sailed to the uninhabited islands that would be our backyard for two days. But, even then with all of the sails up, the boat still had to operate under motor. When I asked the captain about this, he seemed surprised that anyone would even comment on this. (He didn't know he was talking to card-carrying member of the Manhattan Sailing Club!) He said that the boat was so old and big that only under very ideal situations with just the right winds could the boat go with only sails. The riggings are beautiful but it must be very difficult to tack and jibe.

But, when we were "sailing" at night, the engine was a little too loud, hot and oily for Alisa and me to sleep in the room next to it so we ended up sleeping in the common areas.

All-in-all, this was definitely a great way to start our trip.

August 19th Tuesday

I usually don't write travelogues day-by-day but also I don't usually go away for two weeks. So, it seems easier to keep track of events by day. What a luxury to be traveling for two weeks! I haven't taken a two-week vacation since I was at the Bank where it was required that officers be away for two weeks at a time every year (supposedly so they could see if we are cooking the books).

However, for this trip, I'm so far behind in journaling but here are some impressions.

Okay, it's not fair to judge a whole country after only 30 hours in its capital city. And, maybe I had high expectations based on a small sample size. How many Panamanians do I know? More than enough so that I can confidently make some generalizations -- warm, friendly, competent, courteous, suave (hmmm, now that I think about it, all my Panamanian friends are men!).

Maybe that's why the women we met in Panama are so surly -- they think that all the best men have left their country! Well, that's not true. The men we have encountered here are very nice, warm, friendly, helpful, etc.

We arrived to check in at the hotel a little after midnight. The clerk wants to charge us for three nights if we stay two nights because we arrived after midnight. What!!?! But, she will only charge us for one night if we leave by 3 pm. It doesn't make sense but we gladly decide that one night is enough at the Hotel Parador.

Anyway the food is good. Vegetarians can do fine in Panama even if the restaurant claims not to be able to have vegetarian food. We enjoy the rice, beans, picante sauce, veggies, fruit, etc.

The old city in Panama is beautiful. Like anyplace going through a rebirth, there are not so pretty and/or safe sections abutting the restored areas. The architecture is beautiful, a little reminiscent of New Orleans.

We were able to get a double room at a hostel for the second night. This is great because the van will pick us up here early tomorrow to take us to San Blas.

I couldn't help getting taken in by the travel talk by the wizened backpackers at the hostel. There was a fellow who had just made the reverse trip (from San Blas to Panama City) and he was full of horror stories -- slogging over unpaved roads in the rain, having to get out and push the van up the muddy hills, etc. I can't wait. As we crowd into the old truck, I'm not sure that the other women in flimsy flipflops or some of the unbuff men are going to be much help.

Apparently, the driver had been told that there was a mother and daughter traveling together. We were pulled out of the back and given seats in the cab. Thank goodness, I was very claustrophobic in the back not able to really see out the little windows. But, the cab was no bargain. Not much room for three people. Oh, hey, there's no glass in the side windows and it's raining. And, the door in warped so it doesn't close all the way. Hmmm, who needs to have a door handle since there's a hole to stick one's hand it to lift the latch?!! The mud quickly covers the windshield since there are no wipers. But, the driver seems competent and he weaves in and out of traffic.

Kuna Yala (San Blas) is an autonomous territory on the northeast coast of Panama. It consists of a narrow slice of land on the coast and about 350 islands -- most of which are uninhabited. How civilized! The Kuna people wanted to have their own government and so they do. The Panamanian (and the US) navy does not dare encroach their boundaries.

We'll be entering the world without an Internet connection, no newspapers, radios, etc. We're out of touch on what's going on at the Democratic National Convention. But, the Kuna people don't appear to be any the worse for it. I think we'll survive very well also.

August 18, 2008 Hitting the Road

Travel day is finally here. This is my first international trip with Alisa since 2000 (Ecuador). At that time she declared her independence and the right to travel from them on internationally without a parent. Spain in 2002 with her doesn’t count because she was the host in the country where she was spending her high-school junior year abroad. Since then, we’ve both been doing some traveling (she more than I) but in much different directions.

I couldn’t believe my eyes/ears when she asked if I wanted to join her as she started her current adventure. Well, of course, I do! But, I thought I better give her a chance to reconsider in case she really hadn’t meant to invite her mom. After waiting a measured interval, she again extended the invitation. I swooped it up and accepted without hesitation. This Japanese-American sansei didn’t demurely wait until the requisite third invitation was proffered before saying, Yes!

Sí, se puede! Now, we´re off, ready or not. For me, I’m just packed for a two-week trek. Alisa is packed for her two-month trek from Panama to Chile and then setting up a new home in Patagonia. Now, I’m a relatively light packer but she even more so. But, there’s no way I’ll be caught toting more luggage than she.

I´m so excited to be going to Panama. Ever since reading David McCullough´s Path Between the Seas book about the building of the Panama Canal, I´ve wanted to go. The flight was uneventful and even flying out of Newark wasn´t too awful. The flight was full but seemed more so with a couple of cranky babies.

But, we arrived and shared a ride into town and finally found our way to a hotel with a room and a pool. We were tired but excited to start on our journey.

Inoculation

OK, I’m armed and very dangerous. I’ve been jabbed and am stuffed with the kernels of all kinds of awful diseases.

But, I’m not inoculated against enthusiasm. Thank goodness. The days are counting down.

We went to the Travel Clinic at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital to get our shots and prescriptions. I told the guard handing out passes in the lobby which doctor I was there to see. He couldn’t find a listing even after I spelled the name several times. But, then, finally, success – I’m cleared to enter! So, in a loud voice he says, “You’re going to Infectious Diseases!” Was it my imagination or did the people behind me really give me a little more space!?! It happens that only Infectious Diseases healthcare professionals are able to give Yellow Fever shots.

Well, even the scary things that the doctor warned us about are not dampening our excitement for our trip. So, many things to do and so little time. We have to-do lists for our to-do lists.

Will this Type-A mom be able to chill and ride shotgun while accompanying her more laid-back, world-traveled daughter? Yes, definitely! Just glancing at my watch reminds me to take a deep breath and accept things for what they are and enjoy the serenity of not trying to change things that are not under my control (Hmm, am I talking baseball or life? Is there a difference?).

PRW

Education is the vaccine for violence. --Edward James Olmos

Look homeward, Angel

You can come home again (and again and again). It’s always magical to welcome family and friends back to the Big Apple.

How great to hear about Alisa and Nate’s travels across the country and Alisa's across many borders and get to share vicariously in the excitement of their adventures (especially when my most exotic trip this summer so far has been a subway ride to see to the new Madagascar exhibit at the Bronx Zoo).

It’s always wonderful to share good food and conversation with those we love. New, as well as well-worn, recipes just taste better when shared those we love. There’s even a temptation to get others to enjoy what we enjoy. !@#$%, I couldn’t sneak the bananas into the sorbet. Actually, I forgot that Nate doesn’t like bananas. Life needs to have an Undo button (what if there were a blender that could unpuree food?). Oh, well, at least he didn’t detect the bananas in the waffles when smothered with maple syrup. (Just kidding, Nate..or am I?)


Anyway, it's great to be able to experience the City through fresh eyes. Who knew that scorn was so readily available at such an affordable price ($1.25!!)? And, all these years I had been paying dearly for it. You can always get whatever you're looking for in New York for cheaper if you know someone who knows someone.

Hope you are able to enjoy a homecoming or a homegoing with someone you love.


PRW

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle