Nothing shows you the truth of a city like leaving the tourist areas. As we took a shuttle through the "other side" of Panama City to meet our boat and sail off, we saw just how much poverty and squalor there was to the dressed up city we'd been enjoying. I couldn't help but be reminded of Belize with the heaps of garbage and dismissive attitude of the locals. It always strikes me that I consider us to be "struggling", only a few years out from when we (gratefully) relied on food stamps, to see true hardship and that with our modest means, we can live the high life in these countries. Clearly there is much out of balance.
There really is no good way to segway from the 'Debbie Downer' moment I just gave you, to talk about the next leg of our adventure, sailing off on a sailboat to the private islands of San Blas. So I'm going to just let it hang there and talk about some serious white people's problems.
The shuttle picked up the other people we would sail with, a mix of Europeans, and we spent the next couple of hours getting to know each other. As we all introduced ourselves, we were relieved to find they were all incredibly bright, well traveled, very interesting people! This was going to be a blast. And they had the chance to get to know our son who is anything but an average 11 year old, clearly a relief to these couples who for a moment couldn't believe they had to spend their vacation with a "kid".
Driving the tangled, broken roads through rural Panama was a neon rainbow. Houses painted in mustard yellow, turquoise, hot pink and lime green pierced the juggle and dotted the shores of picturesque lakes. The van bounced and lurched at breakneck speeds jostling us about, foreshadowing the adventure ahead of us.
Once transferred to our 52ft sailboat, we were given our cabin assignments. This had been a point of high stress since boats are tight on space and our kid has sensory issues. Amazingly, this boat was equipped with 5 cabins with private toilets! Now you probably just jumped in your imagination to picturing some lavish boat with grand rooms and dancing space. WRONG! This was still a tiny boat for 15 people, but we had a bunk setup with a double on bottom and single (with very little head space) on top. The private toilet was just that, a toilet. There was space enough to stand and the toilet was crammed in next to a dollhouse sized sink. I was grateful I had dieted prior to this trip because my ass seriously would not have fit otherwise. But hey, it was all ours.
We set sail that night headed for the San Blas Islands. Our Captain was a man of few words so we knew no details, but the wine was cold and the warm breeze sweeping off the sails as the setting sun's rays twinkled on the aqua water made for a relaxed, excited start to what would be one of the most intense experiences of my life.
-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com
Running on Wine; from Marathons to Rafting to "Fueling" on the Patio, We are Fueled by Vivác.
Showing posts with label Panama City/ Colombia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Panama City/ Colombia. Show all posts
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Walk a Mile in My Shoes
So much has happened since my last post that I will really try not to make this " A Hundred Years of Solitude" style recap. But I can't make any promises.
Picking up from our time in Panama City; we strolled along the beautiful Cinta Costera boardwalk that offers views of the blue hued city skyline and manicured parks. The old town area that is being rebuilt makes for a charming, idyllic place to ooh and ahhh over the beautiful Christmas decorations. Lights dripped from every tree in the quaint parks, sparkled on every colonial building and dazzled in giant holiday themed sculptures. The area is in fact so adorable and the warm air, cooled by the ocean breeze is so enchanting that we decided to walk all the way back to our hotel. It is funny how I didn't realize that Panama City was built on a series of hills until I walked mile after mile in my sweet little Italian leather shoes. My feet were bleeding by the time we got home, and we didn't have any wine to kill the pain. Not the best planning.
As if we hadn't had enough walking, the next day we decided to take the much talked about jungle hike to the city's second highest hilltop for breath taking views. Being that I couldn't stick my bloody sausage feet into any shoes, I went on this hike in flip flops. I know, it is a ridiculous show of shoe choice in repeat. The hike was lush and humid with a well kept trail and jungle beauty like that of Tikal, Guatemala. Adorable little monkeys chattered to each other overhead while birds of all kinds wowed us with their stunning colors. Strange trees and vibrant flowers hugged the path and the 360 degree view of the city and valley from the top did not disappoint. On the way back down we finally spotted the proverbial "cherry on top" with a sloth hanging causally from a branch watching us. It was AWESOME. I also looked like I had showered somewhere along the way, emerging from the jungle literally soaking wet. Sweat dripped down my hair and stung my eyes and my shirt clung to me in a sticky mess.On the up side, I managed to escape without further damage to my feet...even with the long lines of marching ants that accompanied us.
Of course there are the things that made Panama City a challenge, like food my kid won't eat, trash strewn about and people living on the street. Things are a little confusing, it definitely isn't an intuitive city in layout and not speaking much Spanish is a definite drawback there. I found myself comfortable, yet uncomfortable. Needless to say I enjoyed the few days there and also was ready to move on. Move on to a far more uncomfortable leg of our journey; the boat.
-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com
Picking up from our time in Panama City; we strolled along the beautiful Cinta Costera boardwalk that offers views of the blue hued city skyline and manicured parks. The old town area that is being rebuilt makes for a charming, idyllic place to ooh and ahhh over the beautiful Christmas decorations. Lights dripped from every tree in the quaint parks, sparkled on every colonial building and dazzled in giant holiday themed sculptures. The area is in fact so adorable and the warm air, cooled by the ocean breeze is so enchanting that we decided to walk all the way back to our hotel. It is funny how I didn't realize that Panama City was built on a series of hills until I walked mile after mile in my sweet little Italian leather shoes. My feet were bleeding by the time we got home, and we didn't have any wine to kill the pain. Not the best planning.
As if we hadn't had enough walking, the next day we decided to take the much talked about jungle hike to the city's second highest hilltop for breath taking views. Being that I couldn't stick my bloody sausage feet into any shoes, I went on this hike in flip flops. I know, it is a ridiculous show of shoe choice in repeat. The hike was lush and humid with a well kept trail and jungle beauty like that of Tikal, Guatemala. Adorable little monkeys chattered to each other overhead while birds of all kinds wowed us with their stunning colors. Strange trees and vibrant flowers hugged the path and the 360 degree view of the city and valley from the top did not disappoint. On the way back down we finally spotted the proverbial "cherry on top" with a sloth hanging causally from a branch watching us. It was AWESOME. I also looked like I had showered somewhere along the way, emerging from the jungle literally soaking wet. Sweat dripped down my hair and stung my eyes and my shirt clung to me in a sticky mess.On the up side, I managed to escape without further damage to my feet...even with the long lines of marching ants that accompanied us.
Of course there are the things that made Panama City a challenge, like food my kid won't eat, trash strewn about and people living on the street. Things are a little confusing, it definitely isn't an intuitive city in layout and not speaking much Spanish is a definite drawback there. I found myself comfortable, yet uncomfortable. Needless to say I enjoyed the few days there and also was ready to move on. Move on to a far more uncomfortable leg of our journey; the boat.
-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com
Monday, December 18, 2017
Starting the Adventure
To start a big adventure like living in Colombia for 2 months, you start with a laborious travel day.
Living in Northern New Mexico has many advantages, until you want to go somewhere else. We live 2 hours from the International airport in Albuquerque and our flight was leaving at 5:10am so we had to leave the day before and spend the night in a hotel. Then we had to get up at 3:00am in order to park the car and check in. THEN we flew to Dallas...and Miami...and finally Panama City at 8:30pm. It was ridiculous.
That being said, we all managed to stay in good spirits and even lucked into an "International Flyers Welcome" at Miami airport with Perrier Jouet Champagne and French macaroons. You had me at hello Miami, you had me at hello. When we finally arrived at the hotel in Panama City, we were on sensory overload and the party atmosphere of Friday night surrounding us was a bit overwhelming. We hunkered down in our spacious, modern hotel room and gazed out the floor to ceiling windows at the magnificent architecture of down town. Just as we said goodbye to the heightened travelers energy and started to climb into bed, we heard a series of loud bangs. Of course having been indoctrinated as Americans to fear all other countries, we looked at each other in shock and all wondered if it was gun shots. Cautiously peaking out the curtains revealed an amazing fireworks display! We glued ourselves to the air conditioned glass of the windows and enjoyed front row seats to a fantastic show. It was a perfect welcome to the city.
Waking up in Panama City, our 1st day on our adventure, was leisurely and pleasant, like the warm air that bathed us as we meandered the twisting streets. Striking, beautiful sculpture like buildings rose up around us, while the street level entertained us with high-end dress shops, cafes and restaurants. The tropical trees gave spotted shade and the sidewalks offered a gauntlet of ways to trip and kill yourself. This city has an International feel, filled with beauty and yet also tinged with the signs of despair. Some buildings are dirty and in need of repair, while small casinos shine bright on every corner. It is the strangest mismash of cities I've seen. It is like Rome, Vegas and Bangkok had a baby.
Needless to say, the adventure has definitely begun!
OH and I almost forgot the most important part, there is wine here! I worried that it would be like when we went to Belize and I couldn't "Belize" it (I can't help that dorky joke), but they had no wine. Wait, no they had some wine...horrible crap I would never pay the $3 they ask for at home that in Belize was $28. But I digress, they have wine in all the little corner markets and not outrageously priced for decent stuff! It is a very fun discovery indeed.
-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com
Living in Northern New Mexico has many advantages, until you want to go somewhere else. We live 2 hours from the International airport in Albuquerque and our flight was leaving at 5:10am so we had to leave the day before and spend the night in a hotel. Then we had to get up at 3:00am in order to park the car and check in. THEN we flew to Dallas...and Miami...and finally Panama City at 8:30pm. It was ridiculous.
That being said, we all managed to stay in good spirits and even lucked into an "International Flyers Welcome" at Miami airport with Perrier Jouet Champagne and French macaroons. You had me at hello Miami, you had me at hello. When we finally arrived at the hotel in Panama City, we were on sensory overload and the party atmosphere of Friday night surrounding us was a bit overwhelming. We hunkered down in our spacious, modern hotel room and gazed out the floor to ceiling windows at the magnificent architecture of down town. Just as we said goodbye to the heightened travelers energy and started to climb into bed, we heard a series of loud bangs. Of course having been indoctrinated as Americans to fear all other countries, we looked at each other in shock and all wondered if it was gun shots. Cautiously peaking out the curtains revealed an amazing fireworks display! We glued ourselves to the air conditioned glass of the windows and enjoyed front row seats to a fantastic show. It was a perfect welcome to the city.
Waking up in Panama City, our 1st day on our adventure, was leisurely and pleasant, like the warm air that bathed us as we meandered the twisting streets. Striking, beautiful sculpture like buildings rose up around us, while the street level entertained us with high-end dress shops, cafes and restaurants. The tropical trees gave spotted shade and the sidewalks offered a gauntlet of ways to trip and kill yourself. This city has an International feel, filled with beauty and yet also tinged with the signs of despair. Some buildings are dirty and in need of repair, while small casinos shine bright on every corner. It is the strangest mismash of cities I've seen. It is like Rome, Vegas and Bangkok had a baby.
Needless to say, the adventure has definitely begun!
OH and I almost forgot the most important part, there is wine here! I worried that it would be like when we went to Belize and I couldn't "Belize" it (I can't help that dorky joke), but they had no wine. Wait, no they had some wine...horrible crap I would never pay the $3 they ask for at home that in Belize was $28. But I digress, they have wine in all the little corner markets and not outrageously priced for decent stuff! It is a very fun discovery indeed.
-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com
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