Picture of the Day: Ship Transiting Through the Pedro Miguel Locks

Pedro Miguel Locks
Canal Zone, Panama
6.2012 

Treasures From My Travels: Sea Glass Souvenir Display

When I posted about the souvenirs that I bought during my recent trip to Panama I forgot to mention a free souvenir that I literally picked up. On the day that Missy and I spent on Isla Taboga, an island off the coast near Panama City, we lounged at the beach for a good part of the day and cooling off in the water in an attempt to escape the ninety degree heat.

There was a lot of sea glass washed up on shore so we decided to collect some, rinsing the sand off in the ocean. I gathered a handful of pieces but Missy lives in the Caribbean and is a sea glass finding expert so she found a bunch and shared with me. That is sisterly love!

Now that I am home I wanted to do something cool with my sea glass. I found a tall slender glass apothecary jar on sale and thought it would be perfect to use. To make my display I started by printing out a little tag with the location and date and cut it out. I then put a little tape on the top back edge of the label and adhered it to the inside of my glass jar. I used some craft sand and filled up the bottom of the jar until the label was secure but not so much that the tape was covered. I then gently peeled off the tape and added more sand until I reached the level that I wanted. You have to be careful to slowly add the sand so that grains don't sneak in front of the label. Pouring the sand in the jar left a dusty residue on the upper part of the jar so I wiped it clean and then finished my display by layering the sea glass on top of the sand.

I think it turned out cute and it pairs well with the Japanese glass fishing floats that I picked up at the Toji Flea Market in Kyoto in December.

Do you like to collect sea glass? Do you have a fun way to display it in your home?

Treasures From My Travels: Panama Souvenirs

Yesterday I returned from a wonderful trip to Panama with my sister. We visited the canal, saw the old colonial city in Casco Viejo and went hiking in the rainforest. We spent a day in El Valle de Anton, a small town located in an extinct volcano crater, and a beach day on Isla Taboga, an island off of the coast near Panama City. During the whole trip we enjoyed some wonderful food and I especially enjoyed the ceviche and fried yucca.

While on my trip I also collected some new treasures to decorate my home. When Missy and I were visiting the Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal we popped in the gift shop. Although most of the items were a bit too kitschy for our tastes we really liked the plate with an old map of the canal and we both ended up getting one.

Throughout our trip we saw tiny paintings on feathers for sale and I ended up buying three. I love all of the detail on the birds and frog. I'm not so keen on the colors of the mats but that can easily be swapped out when I frame them.

While Missy and I were in El Valle we went to the artisans market and had fun wandering around. One item that we saw a lot of were bateas, which are wooden trays used for tossing corn and rice. Some of them were finely sanded and lacquered but I really liked the unfinished ones that you could clearly tell were handcarved. They also happened to be much cheaper which was another bonus for me. There were some really huge ones I wish I could have taken home but I settled for a mid sized one (B/.5) and two small ones (B/.2 each).

Also at the market, Missy and I couldn't resist getting ourselves some Panama hats. We looked at different hats with different quality of weaving and tried a bunch on until we found ones that we liked. I think it will make a great beach hat.

As much as I love all the things I collected on my trip, my very favorite is a mola that I bought from a lady at a stand in Casco Viejo. Molas are part of traditional blouses of the Kuna women, with one panel being used for the front and another for the back. The have very beautiful reverse applique designs in bright, intricate patterns. The one that I bought has bird and flower designs in orange, red, teal and navy. I absolutely love the design and how skilled the tiny stitches are. At B/.42 ($42) it was by far my most expensive purchase but I thought it was worth it for the craftmanship and large size of the mola.

Now that I have had the fun of acquiring these treasures during my trip I get to have the fun of figuring out how to incorporate them into my home. I am thinking of framing the mola for my guest bedroom but other than that I have no plans yet. I'll have to see what I can come up with.

Panamanian Balboa

I knew that Panama used US bills for their currency but before I was reading up on the country prior to my trip here I didn't realize that they used their own coins.

When Panama gained independence from Columbia in 1904 they adopted the Panamanian balboa as their currency and tied it to the US dollar at a 1:1 exchange rate. It was named after the Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa who led an expedition crossing the Isthmus of Panama making him the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean from the New World.

The balboa is divided into 100 centésimos and modern coins consist of 1 and 5 centésimos, 1/10, ¼ and ½ balboa coins and the recently introduced 1 and 2 balboa coins. Except for a brief week in 1941, Panama has exclusively used US dollars for their bills. Despite using US bills, it is still called a balboa and the stores mark everything as such using B/ to indicate prices.

While I have been here I have received all of the Panamanian coins except the 2 balboa. I find it really interesting that US coins are also in circulation and they are used interchangeably. Learning new things is always my favorite part of traveling.

Picture of the Day: Heron Along the Shore on Isla Taboga

Isla Taboga, Panama
6.11.2012 

Diablos Rojos in Panama City

One of things my sister and I have marveled at while here in Panama City are the city buses known as Diablos Rojos (Red Devils in Spanish). The elaborately painted former school buses cover the city and are quite ubiquitous. Missy and I have enjoyed pointing out various things (Look, there's Beyonce on the back of that bus!) painted on them as we have passed them by. Yesterday while we were at the Summit Gardens and Tropical Zoo there were two Diablos Rojos parked outside so we couldn't resist snapping a few pictures. My favorite parts are the zipper opening to reveal Harry Potter on the front of the one bus (if you look close you can even see Harry's owl Hedwig) and Al Pacino from The Godfather on the back of the other one.

Although the Diablos Rojos have a lot of flair, they apparently have a reputation for being unsafe and beginning in December 2010 are being replaced by Volvo buses. We have seen a number of the Volvo buses on the road as well and while I am sure they are better and safer, they sure don't look nearly as fun.

Panama Getaway Planning

My sister and I are trying to plan a little getaway together in June. It is always a little tricky for us to figure out where we can meet up. Since she lives in the USVI in the Caribbean and I am up in Ann Arbor it can be difficult for us to both find flights to the same place at around the same arrival and departure times for a reasonable price.

Her island has very limited flight options but after a some investigative work it is looking like we are going to be able to meet up in Panama. I am really excited. Not only does offer the chance to see the Panama Canal but there are so many other wonderful places to explore.

I want to visit the old city, Panama Viejo, as well as Casco Viejo to see some of the beautiful architecture. I also want to travel to El Valle, a small town situated in a dormant volcano crater, to enjoy the mountains and surrounding forests.

We are still in the early stages of planning (getting flights and working out some accommodations) but hopefully it all comes together. Do you have any summer getaways coming up? Where are you going (or wish you were going)? Are you in the midst of planning right now?