Well Marina did not dissappoint this Hallowe¨en. Her Zoidberg costume rocked in the V-dot. Wish I was there to see it. Apparently it was a last minute jobby which makes the whole thing even more fabulous.

Another team event by the Tony and Elaine Twosome as Twin Peaks. Shelia plays an awsome Kyle McLaughlin guy. I forget what the hell his name is in that damn show. Then there is Becca and it looks like she has ditched her robot monster outfit, and thank god, because I cant tell you what the robot monsters have been saying about her. But it looks like

Damn I wish I was there.
Looks like it was an awsome time.



I am listening to the Leafs play the Thrashers on Internet Radio. Damn I love the Internet.

Pina

After leaving the locks we picked up some Pinapple from a roadside curb. It was a wagonwheel of pina. It hit the spot. Sweet as anything. Delicious.

Here are some picks of us mowing down.

the pina salesman



anne and the pina
charmaine and the pina
andy
iña and the piña




Pina

The Panama Locks. MiraFlores.

It was a day for visiting the Panama Locks today. A standard walk through the musuem. A bunch of numbers that amaze you but eventually forget. Pictures taken but not ever returned to.

Seing the canal was amazing. It is and still is a modern achievement in engineering.

If there was anything that did floor me it was about how the canal works. The canal is built over land, so it is kinda of like a bridge. The adjacent lands were flooded to allow water to flow in between the two oceans.

.I learned that there are 7 locks.
.That the highest fare for a ship was paid yesterday to a ship and it cost 250,000 to travel through the locks.
.also the water is transfered through gravity and not by pumps in between the locks

This is going to be Marina's costume for this year's Hallowe'en. Once again promising to be a prize winner.
Go get'em tiger.

palms

a spanish statue . an iconic monument of pananma

the beach before the storm

which way to the beach

These are some othere images i thought you would all enjoy.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ImageWork
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When I flash, I judge.

I am responsible to my object as I am different from it.
Photography is an action that imparts a permanence to the moment.
Then idea is mine. I possess it and I possess it without responsibility.
How can I even begin to claim it?
An image has no meaning by itself; it is as plastic as the film it is recorded on.
The memory of the mind and the image suffer the same fault;
they can “lie but never stand up”.

Each image is a claim and heresy at the same time.
“I wish I had a camera.”
“It did not turn out.”

The flash is a shot and it injures what it notices.
The image is a lie since it cannot be the truth.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-quote taken from Lou Reed “Pale Blue Eyes”.

Surfaces

I was at this street corner twice yesterday. Once on my way out and again when I returned. Alone both times.

What caught my attention here was man who was painting a driveway to a hotel. It was a small circular driveway. He was on his hands and knees, laboring to fill every crevice of cemented stone and shell that he could.

The instrument that he used seemed inappropriate for the task at hand. It was a brush in the form of a small artificially haired broom. He pasted on the color reverently. The handle of the broom short. Quite short compared to his average height. This meant he was hunched over as he painted. Almost buckled over, knees bent and all.

It was a bright lime green that he was using. A green that meant GO. It was slowly covering a basecoat of Clorets green. The difference in shade was minimal. But he kept on.

On returning to the same corner I remembered something significant of this spot. Not knowing exactly what it was, I kept on walking. Head in the air I geared down to a slower gait.

I remembered what it was when my attention was diverted by two men hanging over the driveway of the freshly painted driveway. They watched me step across the greenbelt.

I left them 3 dusty foot prints. Leftovers of my waddle, while I wondered where I was and why it was important.

a black to say hello to us as we arrive on hte island




a panamanian skyline

another image of the freeezone


couble click on this image for the real thing. its in the frerezone

Saturday

I dont know how many parks are in this area so I am sitting here. I am on the corner of two of the most familiar streets to me here in Panama City. Alongside runs the Internet Street, 3 blocks of Pan territoral satellite stations. In between are watch shoppes, hole in the wall food stations, variety stores and all that. Alls upported by the non-Panamanian shoppers rolling out fo the the two massive hotels just across from here. The Veneto and the Hotel Panama are the two monoliths, like two cruise ships permanentlly docked.

It is 7.30 am on a Saturday morning and it was easier to reacht ht spot I am now at. The via Espania was empty today. Everyone leaves on the weekend, at leas all of the Panamanians. The tourists leave too except they start from here. This part of town is Belle Vista, the financcial capital of Panama. The Frankfurt of a little Germany.

A stiff wind blows through the streets this morning. It pushes and prevents an even faster speed of everything to anything that moves. It is a minute impact in a place that is concretely established and firm in its resolution. I looked for a part but was unable to find one. There are not many I can see. Streets, alleys and roads and the only free space that allows a vantage point of solace siin the balconys and the windows which line the verticle space above all the action below. These windows dont let me see in. Their hotel samness abounds. I see pleated curtains and slight differences in their openness.

The taxis are cheap here. One dollar per person within this part of town. Why walk far, the sidewalks are dangerous and the traffic signs are not obeyed. The pedestrian traffic is not encouraged here, the population inside air conditioning is. That is when I realize I am entering a store, when I feel that wall of air strike me. My sweat crystallizes on impact and leaves me with a salty imperceptible glaze.

There is money here in Panama but it is impossible to see. The traces are hidden from the common world. of light, blood and memory. Under the guise of tourism and poverty is a real Panama. It is speculating wealth that keeps this Isthmus afloat, money hidden behind walls like people and possessions, that cannot be seen because it is most protected when it is invisible.

The poorest city in Panama is Colon, which houses a gated metropolis named the Free Zone. Its infintessimal concreteness wants me to write poetry there. But such a freedom could not survive there.

A Black Jesus to Remember me By.

In the coast of the Carribbean we travelled. Our group of 16 we hit the hills to see the Black Jesus. It was on the day before the eve of an event where people make the pilgrimage from places as far as a country away. I heard some came from Costa Rica.

In purple shawls they walked to Portobello for this festival. We missed the festival because of some scheduling conflicts and there was some bitter faces because of that.
We passed them in our mini-bus. Walking down the road along this vast green and coconut filled landscape.

The air in the village where the black jesus is housed was just warming up. There was going to be a crazy party on the next day.


I entered the whitewashed church not knowing what to expect. The church was a cavern that rose to the clouds almost, with rafters hanging in mist above. In the corner was an encased figure hard to make out. The lighting was bad, the wood skin reflecting hot spots back to the audience. In front of our icon laid a stream of people prepared to recieve the icon. When I got there there was a cellphone perched high above the head of one of the parrissioners. No different than my shot here.


The Black Jesus is one of the most powerful of its kind outside of Africa. And through my limited knowledge of SPanish is all of the hard evidence I got. It was a fanatic and I have a couple of keychains to give away from it.

After that our group headed to the Caribbean for a weekend on ISla Grande. We spent a night there in a beautiful set of villas. We swam in the Caribbean Ocean for a couple of hours and were served Agua de Pipa/Coconut Water while still in the water.
We also sat out a rainstorm that lasted about 15 minutes. The rain was so hard we couldnt see in front of us. The salt water would splash into our eyes. The water was so warm it felt like it was being warmed up from the bottom.

I had a whole fried fish before going to bed and I can say I was in heaven.

the thatched rooves of the restaurant ---awsome

the corvina part two

inya and me -maybe posted already

here are a couple more from the same set


this is us out at a party on that same night
Breanne, Carlotta and olivia

and the drinks came on strong that right and inya to the left

this is andy on the right

olivia in style--2.00 map

the palm was huge

this is the cerviche

andy through a leaf at the park


The Corvina before it was gone


a view of the vista from the mountain in panama


Inya and Raffi

the group


ants

helicopter piece inthe park

Yesterday.

It is Saturday and my session with the class finished at 1:00. It was an update for tour class of 16. On Monday we will be in the classrooms. There are two schools which we will be teaching at, one in the city and another in a rural area outside of Panama. I will be in the rural school first, teaching a grade 3-4 class. I will be observing for the first week, then I will be taking over and eventually doing eighty percent of the class. Tell you the truth, no one knows what to expect. Should be interesting.

So after the session with the group we decided to go visit the National Park. As a group we have done alot of sightseeing and touristy stuff. A bunch of us decided a walk in the park was where it was AT! SO off we were. It was ANDY-my roomate, Inya, Olivia and Charlotte- who we nickname Carlotta. It works better with a Spanish accent.

So we took a taxi. It cost 2.oo and was not too far away. The cabdriver was friendly but not very useful. Like most people i have come across in Panama, he was eager to find out where we were from and why we were in Panama. That is the most amazing thing. When we tell people we are going to stay here as vistiors for 2 months they are usually shocked. *why would you spend two months here?*
So after being dropped off at the park we entered it for 2 dollars. We didnt know what to expect. The day before we had seen some small lizards, mischiveous monkeys, one sloth, and some small raiant butterflies. We entered the park and began our trek. It was a two hour hike up the mountain that promised an awsome view of the city. And it did not dissappoint. It was the enormity of the park that amazed us.

The trees were a hundred feet tall and thin, the grass was over 10 feet and the birds of paradise were huge and plentyful.
Yesterday.

It is Saturday and my session with the class finished at 1:00. It was an update for tour class of 16. On Monday we will be in the classrooms. There are two schools which we will be teaching at, one in the city and another in a rural area outside of Panama. I will be in the rural school first, teaching a grade 3-4 class. I will be observing for the first week, then I will be taking over and eventually doing eighty percent of the class. Tell you the truth, no one knows what to expect. Should be interesting.

So after the session with the group we decided to go visit the National Park. As a group we have done alot of sightseeing and touristy stuff. A bunch of us decided a walk in the park was where it was AT! SO off we were. It was ANDY-my roomate, Inya, Olivia and Charlotte- who we nickname Carlotta. It works better with a Spanish accent.

So we took a taxi. It cost 2.oo and was not too far away. The cabdriver was friendly but not very useful. Like most people i have come across in Panama, he was eager to find out where we were from and why we were in Panama. That is the most amazing thing. When we tell people we are going to stay here as vistiors for 2 months they are usually shocked. *why would you spend two months here?*
So after being dropped off at the park we entered it for 2 dollars. We didnt know what to expect. The day before we had seen some small lizards, mischiveous monkeys, one sloth, and some small raiant butterflies. We entered the park and began our trek. It was a two hour hike up the mountain that promised an awsome view of the city. And it did not dissappoint. It was the enormity of the park that amazed us.

The trees were a hundred feet tall and thin, the grass was over 10 feet and the birds of paradise were huge and plentyful.
But what we were most amazed with were the ants. Never would of guessed that. We came across one colony just after we walked in, we must of spent 20 minutes just watching these things. We came across them in our path. There was a steady stream of them two inches wide, and there were alot of them. They had a train going on that led about 10 meters ahead up into a tree. They were taking little bits of leaves and stems from the top of the tree and bringing them to their nest. I could not even say how many there were. We saw about 5/6 of these ant colonies across the path.

After the park. We contacted a cab driver and headed for food. Having befriended a cabdriver named STANISLAV, we asked for cheap seafood to eat and he did not dissappoint. He drove us thirty minutes outside of town. We went to eat Peruvian foodat this place called CHIMBURASSO. It was actually the second time we had gone to one. So on Stanislav´s recommend we were taken for seafood that was not expensive and very delicious. We had a rockin´time in the car. A stuffed Toyota on its last legs filled with 5 hungry Canadians. Like other cab drivers in the city he was anxious to practice his English. In fact, I have had a couple of drivers already who have worked in Canada, in the Praries on a wok visa. To say the least they have all returned here because their VISA´s have expired.

He was sure to play us some Panamanian music inthe car. He proudly played something by Rueben Blades. He is one of the most famous Panamanians, an actor whowas in THE MILAGRO BEANFIELD WAR and someone who is renown for is music and his political aspirations, narrowly loosing a bid for the Presidency.

Well to the Pewruvian restaurant we went. We sat in these priovate huts with these thatched rooves, cozy as anything. So in we went with our cabdriver. It felt natural to bring him in, he was young, he knew English and he was nice enough to show us a good time.

We started off with cerviche. I have never liked it in Canada, but I can say after having it twice here at two different places. I really do like it. It is a mixed seafood salad where the meat is half marinated and half cooked in a lime juice sauce. To die for. The flavour is bright and refreshing and I can say that it is one of those appitizers that does what it is supposed to do....get you more hungry. With thty came a duople of jugs of the National Beer....PANAMA.

In came the main course, Corvina, which is a Sea Bass that is caught locally. It was w2hole with the head on, and it came with fried and baked YUCCA. I have to say for $14 per person I coulda died. We took the cab back to town taking the scenic route and arrived back at our hotel.

But not before one of our crew was held back fromt he rest of us while exiting the cab. Stanislav held back Carlotta from leaving. He held her hand as she was about to slide off the seat. He held her hand and said to her "remember me, remember me".

The men here are persistent and they love American looking people, especially women. There are whistles everywhere, hssesss, honks and all of that.

Carlotta got out safely and we got his number in case we needed a taxi or a beach house on an adjacent island. I doubt we will call because the offers have been plentiful from the Panamanians. Vewry friendly to us.