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Another Saturday and another giant snow storm.  Fortunately this time around the accumulation was not 22″, but a much more manageable 6-7″.  Just like before it snowed all day on Saturday so I was stuck in my house trying to keep myself busy.  On Sunday the snow was easy to remove thanks to my new shovel, no more bucket for me!  After a lazy morning I decided to go for a hike at Prince William Forest while the snow was still hanging in the trees and the ground was not to disturbed.  I also thought it would be a great opportunity to take some pictures.  I have been to the park in spring, summer and fall of course, but never after a winter snow fall.

Compare the same bridge as seen during Spring and Winter.

When I arrived I found the park was indeed open but the visitor center was closed and the gate leading into the park interior was closed.  It made sense, who knows what the roads looked like inside the park, near the entrance they where at least plowed.  My bright idea of visiting the park was shared by many others that day as the lots had over a dozen cars.  I expected some people to be there, just not this many.  While hiking I ran into several people on the trail, most of them on cross country skies.  We don’t get much good snow fall in the area so they where taking every opportunity to get some skiing in.  Getting a relatively late start, the skiers and other hikers packed the snow pretty well so I didn’t have to hike through 6″ of virgin snow.  I was actually hoping to find a little that I could hike through, but as far as I went into the park someone had always been there before me.

For a couple of hours I walked several miles through the park.  I was amazed at just how quite the park was, very tranquil and serene.  There was no noise form other people, or cars and most of the animals were hunkered down for the day because of the snow.  Actually it was kinda fun at times I would see loops of animal tracks in the snow, but for the most part there was no sign of life.  The trails I took eventually dumped me off at the main road.  I thought taking the road back to my truck would be easier and shorter than walking back through the forest.  When I was able to look at a map it was the furthest from the truth.  I should have just backtracked on the trail.  It would have been much better scenery and I could have avoided all the cars that started to flood into the park when the main gate was opened.  Most of these genius didn’t take the time to drive slowly on the icy roads.

Having hiked in the snow only once before, this was definitely a lot of fun.  The last time there was only a dusting on the top of Robertson Mountain.  Sunday in Prince William Forest was 6″ of wonderful snow and a heck of a lot closers to my house.

It was Nancy’s birthday the other day and we had a busy day planned to celebrate it.  The party started at a brand new winery in Fairfax, the first in the county in fact.  Paradise Springs Winery had their grand opening the same day as her birthday and what a perfect way to kick off a full day of celebrations.  Nancy and I arrived just after noon with few people there.  Because the place was hard to find and in the middle of no where, I thought the crowds would be pretty small.  Parking was easy and getting a tasting took only a few minutes.  However as the day progressed, more and more people showed up, literally bus loads at times.  By this time reinforcements arrived with food, my Dad and Pat.

We spent hours around this wine barrel we commandeered for the afternoon.  It allowed us a place to put all the food my Dad brought with him.  Fortunately Nancy, Tracy, Rob and myself arrived early enough we were able to get a tasting in before the hordes came.  It was to late for them to get a tasting because of the lines.  They trusted our judgment and got a bottle of Chardonnay and a Norton we all agreed was drinkable.  To be honest none of us were to thrilled with the offerings.  The wine was simply, ok.  Nothing spectacular and certainly nothing that blew our minds.  A pretty decent view more than made up for the mediocre wine.

Late in the afternoon after killing several soldiers we parted ways, Nancy and I continued our adventure in birthday fun and everyone else went home.  We headed back to her apartment with Doug who arrived supper late to the winery for about an hour before dinner at Alto Plaza.  This allowed us to change into appropriate attire for dinner, but more importantly, get some football in.  Doug and I couldn’t see the whole game, but we saw enough to know New Orleans was going to win against the Cardinals.

Around 6 we finally left for the short drive to Alto Plaza where we had reservations.  We arrived right on time, but like usually we where the first to arrive.  When we got to the third floor they had a large table setup for us right next to a large bay window looking towards the mountains.  If the sun was setting it would have been a great view.  Being the first to arrive we decided to belly up to the bar in the lounge for a quick drink and to relax before things got crazy.  By about 7pm everyone else arrived; Jeremy, Nichole and Jeffrey with Rob coming from the winery like we did.  Dinner was fantastic.  The food was great and the service was impeccable.  The only issue we had was when we tried to pay the bill.  I had $225 in gift cards that I wanted to use, this would cut the total bill in half for everyone else.  Unfortunately the waitress said the gift cards where for the old restaurant and they wouldn’t’ accept it.  I was pissed.  Thankfully, she went to bat for us and they used all the gift cards.  If they wanted to get our business again this was what they needed to do.

After a wonderful meal our group again parted ways with some of our dinner guest headed over to Lulu Cafe for some karaoke.  Here we meet backup with Tracy and Bobby, Matt showed up as well for a loooooong night of singing.  We got there just before 10pm and snagged a private room in the back.  The guy showed us how to use the equipment and it was on after that.  The machine was in constant use till well after 2am when we finally left.  Everyone, including Matt, sang songs for hours.  By about midnight I wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep.  In fact several times I almost passed out in the back corner which was amazing considering how loud the music was.

Close to 3am is when we finally got Nancy back to her house.  It felt so good to finally go to sleep in a comfortable bed.  The whole day was great and a lot of fun, even if it did go to the wee hours of the morning.  Not only did Nancy say she had a great time, I could also tell because all day Sunday she was hung over and didn’t want to leave the house.  I was grateful to everyone that made it out for all or part of the day, it really made Nancy feel special having so many people show up.  Next years is a milestone year for her, she has kicked around a few ideas on how to celebrate it already.  It certainly a good idea to start planning 12 months in advance for some of these.

Gallery of the blizzard.

Long before the Skins season began, Nancy and I got tickets to two games.  Nancy picked the Bronco’s game which turned out fantastic.  We arrived with plenty of time to tailgate and the weather was perfect all afternoon.  It was a rather warm winter day.  I wanted to see a division game and the obvious choice, Cowboys was taken so I picked the Giants.  Without looking at the date it turned out to be a Monday Night game.  I was so looking forward to it, even being a night game on a work night.

I couldn’t wait to leave work early and cook some good food in the freezing cold.  The weather had other plans by game night for the entire Washington area.  Mother nature on Saturday blanketed the area in an average 20+ inches of snow.  Approximately 25 million pounds of snowed had to removed from the stadium alone.  The entire region was trapped in a day long blizzard that was just crazy.  For nearly 24 hours, it snowed constantly and was great.

Come game day the parking lots where nearly cleared, but not completely.  In fact two whole lots where never plowed and those ticket holds were funneled into other lots.  This caused a huge backup of traffic.  Matt and I got off the beltway around 7pm.  This was nearly 1:30 hours before kick off and a time I thought was sufficient to make it into the stadium.  Parking proved to be a nightmare taking nearly 2 hours before we parked the truck.  When we arrived at our seats it was almost the end of the 2nd quarter and we where loosing badly.  Listening on the radio didn’t prepare for what we saw.

I took the half time to use the restroom and grab another beer.  By the time I got back to my seat the 3rd quarter had already begun.  In short work the Giants scored another touchdown.  At one point Campbell was well into his own end zone and decides to throw an interception that was promptly returned for 6 points.  Did I mention this was the first down of the possession.  I turned to Matt just to make sure I saw what I did.  Things never got any better, even though we scored 12 points in the quarter, we were to far behind.

What the little hope I had left for a victory faded quickly in the 4th quarter with another Giants touchdown.  Matt and I left.  All night the stadium was pretty empty.  With each score by the Giants, more and more people walked out on the team.  It was just not worth it watching the abysmal game any longer.  Not when the lots would be a mess, taking hours to get back to the highway.  By the time we left it was mostly New York fans left, a lot in fact.

Fortunately in short order we arrived back to my truck and took a back exit out of the parking lot.  This saved us a ton of time when you consider how far back in the lot we actually where.  The road back to the highway was long but free of traffic.  Once on the beltway there was an accident that slowed our progress even further.  I was so upset at the game, I just wanted to get home and sleep.

Late in the evening I finally did make it home.  Miserable, I went straight to bed.  I couldn’t believe I spent all that money and time going to the game.  It was not the weather or the cold that pissed me off so much, I was able to deal with mother nature.  It was the lack of parking guidance and delays getting into the stadium that flipped me over the edge.  Being such a blow out didn’t help the situation any.

I am not sure if I will be buying tickets for next years games after this experience.  I have seen several games of many years and never have they been as bad as this.  If I get tickets for next season it wont be early.  I would rather just buy tickets from a scalper closer to game day so I can make sure things turn out.  It is just not worth it when I can watch it from the comfort of my couch.  Lets hope during the off season the team can get their act together and perform better next year.

	1	2	3	4	F
Giants	7	17	14	7	45
Redskins	0	0	12	0	12

The very weekend after I got back from Panama, I was traveling again. Staying home and getting things done around the house would have been nice, but I had a concert to see. Heck I needed to unpack my suite case and do a mound of laundry. But that didn’t matter, Phish was on their winter tour. Every time they tour I try to catch as many shows as possible. For winter the closest show to my house, and the tour closer, was happening at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. I have seen several tour closers by Phish and they are always good, in fact this past summer I saw the summer closer in Saratoga Springs and it was fantastic.

The night before was spent at Nancy’s house so it would be a slightly longer drive to get to the stadium. I was giving myself what I thought was plenty of time because of the pretty heavy snow all morning long. When I actually left Nancy’s house there were a couple inches on the road already and very slow going to my house. Once at my house I got a few things done and headed out about 4 hours before the show for what is normally a 2 hour drive. Leaving from my house I cut through the state on a route I have never taken. The whole time I was driving it was snowing, thankfully it got lighter the further south I got, but that didn’t make traffic any easier.

After getting lost in Charlottesville, I was coming from a different direction than normally, I found the arena and it was smashed. Fans littered the streets and where slowly filtering in past security. Some hard core people where tailgating, I just wanted to find a place to park and get to my seat. I skipped the $20 cash lot next to the stadium and instead parked in a garage right next door for half price.

When I got through security and to my seat it was about 7:30pm so I could relax for a few minutes before the show started. My seat was stage right, almost parallel to the band. Not the best seat in the house, but it was a different view, allowed me to get a good view of the arena. My seat was the first row behind handicap seating which was nice. If my ankle started to bother me I could always sit down and still see.

When the show started the set started off pretty good with a few standards and Stealing Time from their new album. When Ya Mar started I quickly looked down at my iPod to scribble the song tittle. (As an aside, I remember writing set lists by hand many years ago.) All of a sudden I hear the crowd start to cheer, nothing to unusual, but it only gets louder. When I look up to my surprise I see a naked guy running around the stage. First time I have seen someone rush the stage at a Phish show. The crowd loved it and the band didn’t seem to phased by the act. All through the night they made references to the naked guy.

Other set 1 highlights included Divided Sky (because of the snow) with a super long break in the middle. Trey is just looking around the arena and the crowd volume went up and down, building to a crescendo when they finally started the song back up again. A good bluesy version of Sneakin’, something I don’t think I have heard since my first show over 10 years ago at Merriweather. Cavern, David Bowie with a mighty jam, and the Wedge were all great versions. I thought the closers of Bold as Love was lame. I hate it when they close a set with slow and melancholy songs. Set closers should be upbeat, leaving the audience wanting more.

Intermission was a time to rest and get off my ankle. I was standing for the entire first set and I could use the break. As the crowd around me thinned out I also spread out some. I always look around at every show during the set break. You see nothing but tired, yet happy people milling around. They might be headed to the restroom, talking with friends, smoking, what ever. But they all have smiles on their faces and are just having a great time.

Set two was much more of a jam session with the first four songs flowing one after another. Tweezer was a great start and jammed for a long time. When it lead into Light I could tell the song changed, but I didn’t know what it was. The guy next to me provided the song title. We actually traded songs a few times, he was really good with the new stuff and I was nailing the old stuff. Near the end of Light the jam turned very dark and cosmic. It just blew my mind away, especially with the transition into Piper, I was floored. The guy next to me also caught the transition too and we both agreed it was stellar.

Once you build it you must sometimes destroy what you love and start all over. That’s what I thought of Sweet Virginia. Yeah it was great to have a song reference the state, but I thought it completely killed the mood by slowing things down. Moving on. Harry Hood had a pretty decent glow stick war and Golgi was good but way to short. By the end of the show Antelope was a great choice. When they eventually walked off the stage the crowd went nuts. After what seemed like an eternity they came back for Loving Cup (bah) and a Tweezer Reprise (no surprise there). All things considered it was a very memorable night, lest of all because of the naked guy.

I was not planning on staying the night in Charlottesville so that meant a 3 hour drive home. Because of the snow on the way down I decided to stick to the highways. Longer distance but safety out weighted the extra time I would spend driving. Bleary eyed, I arrived home well after 3am and went straight to bed with visions of naked woman dancing on stage.

Set 1: 7:58pm start
01. AC/DC Bag
02. Chalk Dust Torture
03. Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan
04. The Divided Sky
05. Ya Mar
06. Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley
07. The Old Home Place
08. Cavern
09. Funky Bitch
10. David Bowie
11. The Wedge
12. Bold as Love

set 1 ends at 9:24pm

Set 2: 10:00pm start
01. Tweezer >
02. Light >
03. Piper >
04. Free
05. Sweet Virginia
06. Harry Hood >
07. Suzy Greenberg
08. Golgi Apparatus
09. Run Like an Antelope

set 2 ends at 11:18pm

encore: 11:20 start
10. Loving Cup >
11. Tweezer Reprise

show ends at 11:31pm

Notes:
• At the start of Ya Mar, a naked guy jumped onstage and ran around for a bit before being rounded up by security, prompting Trey to observe that “Naked Guy’s” antics “took a lot of balls.” During Ya Mar, Mike changed the lyrics to “he was a naked pa.”
• Sneakin’ Sally contained a vocal jam.
• Trey sang the verses to Light out of order.
• The sound for Mike’s bass dropped out during Golgi leading Trey to label it the “trio version.”
• During the ensuing Antelope, Mike took a bass solo to make up for the bass everyone missed in Golgi.
• Antelope also contained several lyric changes referencing the naked stage crasher.

Photo Gallery

What an adventure it was going to Panama over the Thanksgiving weekend.  Many months ago Nancy and her sister planned this whole trip out to visit their Father and show Greg and I the place the both grew up.  A trip to a Latin country sounded like a good idea to me and I was on board.  Later I found out the trip would be over Thanksgiving weekend, the busiest retail weekend of the year.  This was going to be a hard sell to Gary to get the time off.  But with a little creative talking I got the time off, Nancy and I were headed to Panama.

As the trip approached I was getting more and more exciting.  This was a totally different place to visit than any where else I have been.  I have been outside the country, but never this far away.  Nor to a country where the primary language was not English.  Our flight left at 5:30am and when you start back tracking on time, it made sense to just stay up all night long and party.  However everyone bailed and we went to bed early for a few hours of sleep.

3am arrives early let me tell you.  The sun was no where to be seen and there was a thick blanket of fog hugging the ground.  When we arrived at the airport I was surprised that it was open and people where around, not a lot mind you, but there was a small buzz.  Everyone here this early wanted to avoid the holiday travel rush later in the day.  By about 6 our flight finally took off after a slight delay from the fog.

After a long flight in a cramped seat I was so happy to finally arrive and get off the plan.  Walking off the plan I was hit with heat and humidity.  We left 50 degree weather and immediately jumped into almost 90 degree weather, it was a shock to my system that took a while for me to adjust to.  After catching my breath we headed off to customs and immigration.  Like most countries we pay a small fee for the privilege of entering the country, passed immigrations, and gathered our bags.  The real fun began when we tried to get the rental van from Dollar.  The cost was not like Greg had booked it online, the full coverage insurance was more, almost a $100 more.  In the end the full coverage was a good idea and I recommend it to anyone that travels in this part of the world.  We quickly realized you need to be “cautiously aggressive” to drive around in the country.  You must cut people off and muscle your way into traffic, no one is courteous like in the US.

Meeting us at the airport was Nancy’s dad Bill and his girlfriend Maru which was really nice.  After some quick hellos we were off to their house just outside the airport in Tocumen.  When we got to the house we didn’t stay long.  Long enough to dropped off our bags and we were off to explore the city.  Bill showed us some of the places we should visit and how to get there, but more importantly where not to go.  As we drove to the city center you see about 75 skyscrapers if not more dotting the sky line.  Right in the city you can have a $300k/condo apartment building and a few blocks away extreme poverty.

While I am on this subject a few other observations about the country.  They are definitely not a customer service oriented country, you always get the feeling you are bothering people.  There are also armed security guards at ever bank that limit the number of people inside at one time and frisk/wand everyone that walks in.  Apartment buildings have secure parking and controlled access.  High priced neighborhoods have a wall running around the entire complex with barb wire on top, also with armed guards and controlled access.  Coming from America it is such a shock to see this, but it is the norm down there.  Having said that, I would absolutely go back again to visit the country and explore other areas.  I never once felt unsafe, as a tourist you just have to be smart and you will be fine.

So back to exploring the city center on our first day.  We went to Casco Antiguo which is a world heritage site and is the best example of the haves and have nots.  Because of it’s designation everyone wants to live there and property values have sky rocketed.  However, old town was long ago abandoned and the place turned into a slum.  So the poor have had to be forced out and the buildings rebuilt.  You can see the line between the two extremes as the rebuilding continues and expands out.  You would see tourist walking around with police making sure the tourists were protected.  This is one place I would have like to visit again and explore some more on foot.

Later we traveled to Amador which was an old US Naval base and was giving back to the Panama, just like all other US property at the end of 1999 under the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977.  Amador has been turned into a tourist trap with a ton of restaurants, outdoor cafes and shopping.  This area is the only successful transition area, all others have not taken off.  Howard Air Base is suppose to be a free trade/tax free zone that sits mostly empty.  Another base has been turned into a technology center with only two universities right now.  They have all these great ideas, just not enough follow through.

When we arrived home we decided to hit a restaurant called Wine Bar along the causeway for dinner.  Bill and Maru recommended it to us for a good place with an excellent wine selection.  When we arrived, we where the only ones there.  Arriving for dinner at 7pm is early for the locals, we ran into this the whole trip.  Sitting on couches outside, Greg and I were able to smoke our cigars in peace.  We decided to just order appetizers and bottles of wine which were very good that night.

On Friday we headed off on our own to do a little exploring and reminiscing.  First was the old city, Panama Viejo, now just ruins that are slowing being restored.  The old city sites on the edge of the modern city and was built by the Spaniards in 15919 as the first permanent city on the Pacific Ocean.  The city was great to walk around, even in ruins.  It was a little crazy seeing this old city right in the middle of the hustle and bustle now.  While walking through the surrounding gift shops we ran into a woman that remembered Nancy from Howard.  It was over 12 years ago that Nancy lived at Howard Air Base, what an impression Nancy left with her.

The rest of the day was spending driving around all of Nancy’s old haunts.  The most important of these was her old house on Howard.  Her old house has not changed much.  It is a little run down seeing as no one has lived there for almost 10 years.  The surrounding neighborhood was just the same.  Kinda eerie seeing this ghost town that once was a vibrant community.

For lunch it was off to the locks at Miraflores, they have a small cafe that over looks the locks.  We got the complete package deal which allowed us access to the roof to get a better view, the museum, and a short video that we didn’t have time to watch.  This is what Panama is famous for, the canal and the locks.  I can now say that I have seen first hand one of the great industrial projects of the century.  After going through the museum it is amazing they cut the canal through the dense jungle almost a hundred years ago.  When you look at the equipment they had at their disposal, it is more amazing.  The place was great, but the food left a lot to be desired.  It was a very expensive buffet that was not worth the money.  Being the closest lock to Panama City it is definitely worth the trip, but bring a picnic and skip the restaurant.

That night for dinner we decided to cook dinner for Maru and Bill to show our appreciation for letting us stay at their house.  We tried to cook a meal from home, something they wouldn’t necessarily find in Panama.  We tried to do ribs but couldn’t find them at the grocery store.  Instead we parboiled some chicken and finished it off on the grill.  After dinner we sat around for hours just talking and emptying bottle after bottle of wine.  It was like being at home, the family gathered for good food and good wine, just talking.

Saturday was beach day.  With it being the rainy season we were taking our chances, but we all wanted a nice day in the sun at the beach.  We headed off to Santa Clara for the afternoon.  When we arrived we quickly found a bungalow to setup camp.  Inside there were two hammocks, this is where I spent most of my time.  I had a cigar in one hand, beer in the other, life was so good it was hard to leave.  I did manage to walk the beach for a few minutes and take some pictures.  I even meet a guy who went to the University of Arkansas while walking.  He saw my camera and we chatted for a while about photography.  In fact the whole time I was at the beach I only got into the water for a few minutes, and up to my knees at that.  I just didn’t want to leave the hammock.

Eventually we had to leave the beach and head back to the house.  We couldn’t stay in paradise for ever, we had plans to explore the city on a drunk bus.  We were suppose to meet the chiva parrandera outside the Hotel El Panama but that turned into a cluster fuck.  When we asked the hotel staff they said the bus wouldn’t show up till 9 or 9:30, we had arrived at 7:30.  So we killed a little time in the casino, but ended up spending most of our time standing outside the hotel.  Eventually two people came up to us, I guess we stuck out, and asked if we where catching the drunk bus.  We where on the completely wrong side of the hotel and they where waiting for us.  After  a short walk we made it onto the bus and got a much needed drink.

The next few hours where spent driving really slow through the city center trying to reach a small bar near Ancon Hill.  Never once did we have an empty cup on the way to the bar.  There they served some appetizers and we got a couple of beers while we smoked outside.  I was so proud of myself that I could order two beers and pay for them.  When I found out they where only $2/bottle I about crapped my pants, man it is cheap to drink in Panama.  After a short pit stop it was back on the bus as we headed back into town.  On the trip back we drank everything on the bus, yet still managed to partied like rock starts.  After a long night of drinking we were hungry and headed to Niko’s Cafe, and old haunt of Nancy’s.  This restaurant chain is a staple in Panama, they are found every where and open 24 hours.  It reminds me of a cafeteria in how food is served.  Excellent way to top off the evening.

Sunday, traditional a day of rest , was going to be anything but.  We were driving back to the interior and headed to El Valle which is a billed as a natural wonder in the country.  We got an early start so we could visit the market in town before it closed at noon.  But first we had to make a couple of stops.  The first was to a small memorial just across the Bridge of the Americas.  It is dedicated to 150 years of the Chinese being in Panama, kinda weird to see this pagoda in the middle of a Latin American country.  The other quick stop was to Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente with a great view of the surrounding mountains and valley leading to the ocean.  Normally there is a blanket of fog in the area, but since we arrived in Panama the weather has been anything but normal.

Even with these two stops we made it with plenty of time to spare.  After finding a place to park we walked the market and it was buzzing with energy.  Definitely a tourist trap with “high” priced goods, still very cheap by American standards.  I got a local orange for .30 (rip off down there) and it was fantastic.  While waiting for Greg and Maggie to finish shopping, Nancy and I decided to spoil our lunch and get a snow cone.  Nancy has raved about these for as long as I can remember and I must admit it, it was great.  They add condensed milk that adds an extra sweetness, and for .05 you can’t beat the price.

After working up an appetite we ate some street meat (against my better judgment) and headed to a real restaurant.  Here we ate lunch with magnificent fog drenched mountains in the back ground.  To boot my meal with only $5 which included a beer!  I couldn’t believe it, the presentation was excellent and the stewed chicken was awesome.  All the food I ate while there was top notch.  Eating local food was something I was looking forward to doing while there and I was not disappointed.

I was certainly going to need a good meal because I was headed into the forest for a little hiking.  No one wanted to join me, they all decided to go horse back riding.  After what happened on the trail, I should have gone with them.  They dropped me off at a small hotel at the end of one of the side roads and I walked the nature trail on the grounds.  The trail was great, well maintained, well marked and feature vegetation that was marked.  I certainly got some great shots, had some off trail adventures and saw things I have never seen hiking in the states.  When I reached the end of the trail I was running late in meeting everyone.  So I decided to run down the trail back to the hotel.  What a mistake that turned out to be.

I was doing very well in my out of shape state and making good time.  As I crested the top of a slight hill the grade went down and the trail appeared to be without obstructions.  However I stepped on a root or rock and my ankle gave up the ghost.  In an instant I was falling forward and my right foot wasn’t moving.  As I was falling towards the ground, trying to protect my camera that was around my neck, I hear a loud “POP.”  Oh shit!  I just broke my ankle in the middle of the forest.  Immediately I pick myself up and look at my ankle.  In the two seconds it took it had swollen up to the size of a baseball, not good.  I didn’t panic but quickly started to asses how bad things where.  Could I stand up, check.  Could I put weight on my foot, check.  Could I bend my toes, check.  Could I move my ankle, check but with pain.  I started to think it wasn’t broken, but definitely badly sprained.  The whole time I limped back all I could hear in my head was the loud pop.

Eventually was able to get back to the hotel and meet everyone else just as it started to rain.  Nancy could see something was wrong so I showed her my ankle and she freaked out.  Fortunately the day was over so we headed back to the house.  Me in the back of the van, leg propped up with a huge bag of ice to keep the swelling down.  When we got back both Maru and Bill did double takes.  Bill had broken his foot before and said mine looked worse than his did, not good.  Maru suggest we wait till the morning and reevaluate then.

I for one was not going to let this ruin my trip nor was I going to worry about it.  Here I am in a third world country, possible with a broken ankle and I was not worried.  I was in paradise and loving every minute of it.  After a quick shower we all headed to the Multicentro Mall for some food and shopping.  First stop was to the cigar shop to buy some smokes.  I am not a Cuban whore so I only got one, a Bolivar Robusto that I smoked that night on the back porch.  Great little cigar.  After a big meal at the food court I headed over to the casino for some gambling.  With my ankle busted up I didn’t want to walk around the mall.  The casino had mostly slots of a penny or nickle, needless to say I played for a long time.

The next morning my ankle was worse so we headed to Centro Medico Paitilla (a private hospital) to have a doctor look at it.  I was going to experience health care in a third world country, I was a little worried.  However, after talking to Bill and Maru things were going to be fine.  As long as you have money, things are fine.  There is free health care in the country but the lines are huge.  Here the wait was very short and the hospital staff was exceptional, most of them spoke English.  In the few hours I was there, I saw a general practitioner, had four x-rays, and saw an orthopedist.  All this for only $427, I was shocked.  If I twisted my ankle in the states it probably would have cost me thousands of dollars.  All in all a good experience.

The other shock of the day was Nancy.  While I was in the hospital she was off getting her hair straightened.  When she walked into the house I was amazed at how good she looked, it was like looking at a different person.  I think it would almost be worth the trip to Panama every six months.  Once we both got reacquainted we ate some fantastic food for lunch.  I was not going to let my twisted ankle slow me down on this trip.  We planned on going to the zoo and Gamboa before heading out to dinner on our final night.

We had some more bad luck while getting to the zoo for when we arrived at 4 o’clock is exactly when they close to the public.  Couldn’t believe we missed it.  So we decided to just head into Gamboa and get closer to nature, but we got horrible lost.  Come to find out when we left the zoo we should have turned right and we would have been right there.  But instead we decided to drive around for about 40 miles, almost reaching Colon at one point.

Late in the evening we arrived and walked around the Gamboa Rainforest Resort and their beautiful vista.  Their hotel looks across a wide section of river that leads down to the canal.  Off in the distance a small mountain covered in trees and fog.  All over the hotel grounds is a splash of purple to mix up the dominate lush green of the forest.  Very nice place for what I have seen in the country.  But you will certainly pay western resort prices for the privilege to stay here.  Prices start for $180 and rise to over $400 per night.  The hotel is know for its ecotourism so it offers plenty of diverse excursions into the jungle and along the water.

Once we finished up it was to late to head home to change for dinner, we would have to slum it.  We headed across the causeway back to the Wine Bar however it was closed.  Later we found out most places are closed on Mondays.  Luckily Bucanero’s at the very end was open.  There was only one couple in the restaurant besides ourselves.  This dinner was a great way to finish off the trip.  We sat down for a good meal and a couple of bottles of wine while we reflected on the whole vacation.  We had seen so much in our limited time in the country, a full week would have given us more time to explore further out in the country.

Our last stop on our vacation was to Vasco Nunez de Balboa Park right along the water.  It is a park that sits between Avenida Balboa.  It has many activities and is a favorite among the locals.  At all hours of the night you will see people walking and having fun in the park.  We took the opportunity to smoke one last cigar as well.  We stopped not only at the monument of Balboa but at the sea wall as well.  It was crazying looking across the black ocean with the lights from the city reflecting off the water.  Casco Antiguo was bathing in different color lights and really stood out from the rest of the city.

Tuesday came to early for me but there was nothing I could do about it.  We had a late flight so the day became like any other day there, after breakfast we head out into the city.  We decided to do some last minute shopping and to kill time.  The only other thing I wanted to do was mail off some letters.  I was only able to write three letters while down there.  It cost a mere $2.50 I sent all three letters airmail to the US, later I sent over a dozen post cards and that was only $3.50.  Understand, there is no home delivery service any where in the country.  If you want mail delivery you have to go to the post office and rent a mailbox.  Most bills are handled by a curry service that deliveries to the home customer.

The day just seamed to drag on as the flight approached.  Check in was long, security was long, the food was awful, and my ankle was starting to hurt.  I was miserable.  The 5 hour flight back turned out to be better than I thought, I switched seats to get the aisle.  It was from a kid that recently finished college and was hiking from Coasta Rica to Columbia.  He just finished his journey and was headed back home to his friends and family.

The night just never ended.  After landing it was off customs, baggage claim, taxi ride to Greg’s, then driving to Nancy’s apartment for some much needed sleep.  All this and me being the supper hero I am I had to be at work at 8am the next morning.  It sounded like a good idea at the time, but when it came down to it, I should have taken Wednesday off like Nancy did.  Even with just four hours of sleep, it was still good to be home.

The trip was an experience I will not soon forget.  Bill and Maru where very accommodating to us all and Nancy and I can’t thank them enough for their hospitality.  Not only did they provide a place to sleep each night but a wealth of local knowledge that made things easy.  As poor at the country is, it is very modern in many aspects.  If you travel there buy the full coverage on any rental vehicle, be careful where you travel, and just enjoy yourself in this amazing place.