There is this nice little town right on the Pacific Ocean.
There are many houses that front this beach.
That’s a serious longliner. Since when did they come with helicopters?
Looking at Costa Rica.
A dog enjoying the sand and a back scratch…
Capn Scott
I’m not wealthy… so I need to work and earn income occasionally. Found a cheap 2 bedroom house for rent ($130/mo.) and bought a cheap car. And, I’m now working with Antonio building boats. Presently I’m building a plug for a new boat design. When it is finished, we will build a mold over it and have a new design for sale.
I start out with wood.
And a set of plans.
Behind the shop is a river to launch the boats and the edge of the rainforest. This male howler monkey was pretty loud, and I got this picture of him…
Capn Scott
Buenos Aires, Argentina was nice. Though, I really miss the ocean and the incredible boating, snorkeling and diving in Panama. So, being that there really isn’t any work opportunities in Argentina for me, I moved back. Sold all of my camera gear and anything else that I could, to lighten up the load and such. Got a cheap flight on TACA. The flight flew from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Lima, Peru. Changed planes and then flew to San Salvador, El Salvador. Changed planes and then flew to San Jose, Costa Rica. Changed planes and then flew into Panama City, Panama and arrived around midnight. The next morning took care of some business and then bought a new Canon Powershot G9.
Took a ride out to Boca Chica to see the ocean. I thought that the name of this boat was appropriate (translated: The Sea is my Treasure).
Yep, lots of boats…
And the beautiful countryside… It’s good to be back.
Capn Scott
The history of Panama City is so rich. It includes Spanish Conquistadors and Pirates. Arghhhh… did someone mention pirates??? The pirate Henry Morgan is very influential here. He even seized the entire city once… And also Portobello. His name instilled fear into many men…
I´ve been in Panama for a couple of years and haven´t had a chance to visit the ruins. I guess it´s fitting on the day before I depart to do such…. Arghhhh….
The back of an old church…
One of the rooms off of the side of the church.
Looking out into the bay in front of the Panama Canal…
The church from the other side… Did I mention that I like to take pics of old churches???
An old courtyard…
One of the churches closer up…
An interesting shot… the old ruins of Panama with a picture of the future of Panama in the background…
More photos are located in the gallery here.
Okay… so everything is sold… And I just bought my plane tickets online. I´m sitting here in a local pub finishing up… And the sky opens…
That is some serious rain… No… that´s not a river… it´s the street…
Darn… looks like I´m stranded here in the bar for a while…
Okay!!! Time to play with the new lenses… I start out with my trusty 24-70mm2.8L… I take all the new toys to the Parque Cervantes in the middle of David, Panama
Nora in the Park… Pretty girl… Oh… by the way… I gave her an engagement ring…
Okay… this 100mm macro lens is quickly becoming one of my favorites.
Wow… that´s fast… did I mention that this is quickly becoming one of my favorite lenses???
a shot with the 50mm…
back to the 100mm macro and a shot of some sweetpeas…
oh absolutely… there are no flowers or insects safe anymore from my lens…
Okay… So, I guess I´ve finally graduated from the back yard. But then again, the back yard is a relative term. I´ve taken the camera on the road for some local rivers and streams. Panama has some great rivers and streams.
This is the closest nice stream to the house.
The colors and greenery are so lush.
Now we´re getting into some bigger rivers. This river got so forceful, that it almost removed the bridge. One side of the Pan-American highway is closed at this bridge until it is replaced.
Though, the bridge is still open for foot/horse traffic.
Almost makes you want to go for a little dip…
The Google Earth links for the streams for David, Panama are here, here and here
This is the rainy season here in Panama, so finding a sunny day is challenging. I woke up and noticed the bright sun and decided to get that shot of the waterfall that I’ve been wanting. I drive to Chiriqui and pull up to this old rock road. I speak to the old man living in the shack at the gate and ask him if the road will lead me to a better picture of the waterfall, and if so, for permission. He says yep, but you will need to do it on foot or horseback. I don’t have a horse handy, so I do it by foot.
That´s the waterfall in the background. And, this is the best that this road gets…
I’m figuring maybe 30 minutes, a few shots, and then back early for some breakfast. Five hours later, after crossing 3 roaring streams knee deep, and climbing what could only be described as a goat trail with full backpack of gear (laptop, 2 cameras, 3 lenses, 1 tripod, 1 monopod, underwater housing for my G7, etc…). I realize that I’m not gonna get that shot that I was looking for (frontal shot with vapor cloud). Instead, I’m at the top of the waterfall, and have taken more than 300 pictures.
This is the sound of the rainforest.
I stumbled into this group of Howler monkeys along the way (note about monkeys: don’t stand under them, they take great delight in peeing on you). Busted out my 70-200 and added the 2x multiplier and stressed my light aluminum tripod for these shots.
Nice shot of a very pregnant mom and baby.
The gate before you get to the waterfall.
This is pretty close to the top of the waterfall.
The tiny river that feeds this waterfall.
And, be very careful of your step. It´s a pretty long drop…
What an amazing view.
Not exactly what I had in mind when I began this journey, but well worth the hike.
This is the gear that I carried up the hill. It´s much heavier than it looks…
So… let´s take the new camera into the back yard and learn something. Put on the 70-200 2.8L lens with a 2x extender on a tripod and let her rip…
I didn´t actually see the white butterfly while I was shooting the pic. When I moved to the house, I planted every color of Bougainvilla that I could find. They are so beautiful.
Just love the flowers and the colors.
Okay… someone stop me when I’ve posted too many pics of the flowers…
So… I get handed a personal invitation to the bartenders contest at the Fridays in David. I figured, with the new camera, I´d put on the ef-s 10-22mm lens and use the flash and monopod and see what this thing will do. Amazing shots, stopping the motion and can even read the print on the bottles. This Canon 20D is a bit old, but still better than my abilities.
Little Orine gets things going with some throwing the bottles into the air. I think too many of them have watched “Cocktail”.
Freddy get 2 bottles spinning in mid air… Don´t try this at home folks… these guys are professionals.
Vanni steps up to the plate and puts her bottles in the air.
This reminds me of that “snoopy happy dance” picture. Vanni is having too much fun here.
Another bottle toss…
If you´re gonna do this… do it right… jump on the bar to finish up your routine. Needless to say, Vanni won the contest. And, went on to win the bartender contest for the country also in Panama City. That’s easy to do when you enjoy your job.
And, the winners circle mandatory beer spray… I think everyone got some of that…
The Google Earth link for TGIFridays in David, Panama is here.