Breakfast with Papa Francisco

Once again we find ourselves tripping over a spectacular event that was totally unexpected. In Thailand we discovered the Songkran Festival celebrating the beginning of the Thai New Year which has morphed from pouring water over Buddha's to cleanse them to an all-out fun water fight for several days where everyone, locals and tourists, get wet. In Australia we tripped over the Byron Bay BluesFest where we got to listen to Paul Simon, Bonnie Raitt, the Zach Brown Band and other bands we were familiar with in a crowded but lovely outdoor environment. In India it was the Holi Festival, their beginning of Spring festival where everyone has fun throwing bright coloured Bindi powder (chalk) at anyone nearby creating a tie dye (head to toe) atmosphere for a day, and obediently ends at 6 pm. On all occasions we immersed ourselves into the local culture of these places and had a blast.

Upon arrival here in Panama City we quickly realized that something special was happening with many groups of young people walking around wearing the same coloured shirts and signage welcoming some dude called Papa Francisco. It turned out we were 2 days into the 5 day World Youth Day festival, a Catholic celebration held every 2-3 years around the globe.........and attended by the Pope. On our first day we tried to walk around the older Casco Viejo neighbourhood but found it barricaded off to all traffic. It turned out Pope Francis was conducting a special mass for the clergy in the Cathedral. Fortunately for us, the mass ended shortly after our arrival and 10 minutes later the Pope's motorcade passed right in front of us.....and the 3 to 4 rows of vocal supporters standing in front of us and on each side of the road......... so we got into the old city as soon as they opened the barricades. On Sunday I got up early to attend the Pope's closing mass wrapping up the WYD Festival with 700,000 people also thinking it would be a good idea. The organizers were well prepared for the crowd, with many large screens placed at various intervals within the park, and a good sound system, so that everyone could easily view the celebration. I estimate I was about one km from the raised main stage which I could barely see in the distance (but only 50 metres from a large screen). It was difficult to not be in a good mood for the duration of the festival, especially watching the many groups of young people from different countries around the world......we even saw groups from Iceland and the Cook Islands.....all wearing their country colours, singing, waving flags and enjoying themselves wherever they were in the city. It was a very special event that I will cherish for a long time.

We spent all day yesterday exploring the amazing Panama Canal. The day started early taking a ride on the Panama Canal Railway which took us from Panama City on the Pacific side to Colon on the Caribbean side with views of the canal (and the jungle) along the way. We made our way back south by bus to spend time at the Miraflores Locks where we were able to watch massive container ships (5,000 vehicles or large containers, $300-400K fee) or small sailboats ($2,000 passage fee) moving through both lanes of the canal in a continuous stream. We saw the same ship we took a picture of near the locks of Colon in the morning pass through in the afternoon. The Miraflores Visitor Centre was also excellent, featuring a museum, theatre and small grandstand area for viewing. Not all the WYD participants were on their way home as we anticipated so it made for a very busy spot but our afternoon arrival (recommended) worked out in our favour as the crowds thinned out after initially being surprised by the line-ups. The Canal is an impressive piece of technology, especially the newer locks (rolling lock gates, side water pools to recycle and speed up the water level changes) which were added in 2016 to accommodate the even larger Panamax ships which are charged $500-800K to pass through.

Today we took it easy in the 32C heat and walked along the scenic waterfront promenade which extends for several km's. It provided great views of Panama City's towering business and condo buildings in Central America's most modern city. Tomorrow we say goodbye to Panama and head to Costa Rica where we will spend much more time.

Panama City's Cathedral Metrolipano in the old town of Casco Viejo. We arrived shortly after Pope Francis had finished serving mass to the Catholic clergy. 

The new alter in the Cathedral that the Pope had just finished consecrating. Everyone seemed excited to touch the alter with rosaries or their hands hands.

A colonial municipal building in the Cathedral square.

Some church and convent ruins within the old town.

Pope Francis in his Pope-mobile on his way into the the Closing Mass. I'm pretty sure he gave me a personal wave but he turned the other way by the time I took the picture.

My view of the Papal Mass. the main stage is in the lower right side of the picture, just right of the American flag (elliptical shaped stage top).

A nice lady from the Cook Islands (tiny South Pacific islands) who gave me permission to take this picture. She was holding the table for her group of 14 who were all similarly dressed. It was her 6th World Youth Day journey and she was acting as a chaperone for the younger group.

Taken from a picture of the Panama Canal's Miraflores Locks. The older locks, which we viewed from the Visitor Centre grandstand are on the right. The 2016 locks on the left are 40% longer and 60% wider to accommodate the newer and larger Panamax ships. We didn't notice any ships going through the newer locks since non-Panamax ships are not inclined to pay the $500-800K fee). The pools on the right of the new locks are used for recycling water in and out of the locks to speed up the filling or draining time. The lock gates also roll across which saves time.

Smaller boats....tug boat and tour boat.... could fit into a lock with the larger vessels. The small grandstand announcer told everyone that this particular ship was carrying 5,000 vehicles and the canal fee was $350K. It seems expensive but that works out to $70 / vehicle and would be much less than the cost of sailing around Cape Horn.

Panama City's architectural award winning twisted tower. It has 53 floors and handles wind better than most skyscrapers.

A view of the towering waterside condos while walking along Panama City's promenade.

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

Jimmy Buffet had it right when he wrote this song about escaping normality and just enjoying life. We have now settled nicely into our travel happy zone, with warm weather, lazy days and fun activities.

We have just wrapped up our 3 week stay in Belize, with our final 7 days in the laid back seaside village of Hopkins. We stayed in a nice cabana with a small pool several metres from our deck and four other neighbour cabanas. A friendly couple from Parry Sound, Ontario were in the cabana next to ours and we quickly embraced the friendship, joining each other for many great trips during the week......Placencia (beach town) together with the Monkey River (where Caity enjoyed a one month U of C program studying howler monkeys), Dangriga town, a bioluminescent experience in a lagoon along the Sitee River and a fishing/snorkeling trip back out to the Belize Barrier Reef (near South Water Caye). Our fishing trip was very successful, reeling in 15 cowhead porgy keepers between the four of us and a stingray that gave me quite a battle, earning it's release following the photo op. When we were back on shore our guide filleted 6 of the porgys for us (each fish could feed 2 people) and that evening we hosted a fish bbq dinner for our other younger cabana neighbours......3 mothers from Alaska on a girl's trip and a couple from Denver. We were also treated to an evening of drumming and dancing by the local Garifuna  people at a local restaurant. With Hopkins being a fishing village we enjoyed fresh seafood throughout the week, and in our spare time enjoyed time around the pool or riding bicycles along the beachfront road. It was time to leave when Pocahontas had half her body covered with mosquito and sand flea bites!

Bus service in and out of Hopkins was complicated so we booked a driver from San Ignacio to Hopkins and enjoyed his local knowledge along the way, especially during the scenic Hummingbird Highway section. Fortunately for us he was also available to drive us today from Hopkins to the Belize City airport so we gained some more Belizian insights along the way. 

We are now in Panama City where we will spend 5 days, exploring the 80 km Panama Canal half the time. After being spoiled by English speaking Belize we will now have to reboot our limited Spanish vocabulary.

We had the Green Iguana cabana for our one week stay at Latitude Adjustment in Hopkins. The pool was a wonderful way to cool off at the end of the day.

The beach area, two hundred metres from our cabana. Similar to the cayes, the beaches were narrow but extended quite a ways along the seashore.

Enjoying our time at the Coconut Row beach bar. Perhaps some company could use this shot in a commercial!

During our boat tour along the Monkey River we came across these Fish Bats resting under the curved trunk of a riverside tree. We stopped a bit later along the river and did a short walk through the jungle watching and listening to the black howler monkeys interacting with one another.

Arriving back to the Placencia harbour. The majority of boats either went out on fishing or snorkel / dive trips.

Walking along the Placencia beach and it's colourful cabanas.

Out for dinner with our Canadian cabana neighbours and listening to some Garifuna drumming, with some local youngsters dancing to the rhythm. The Garifunas (West Africa heritage) were the original settlers of Hopkins.

Pocahontas enjoying her prize. Thought I would post this picture in case she tries to tell anyone how much larger it really was! It was still a very nice catch, large enough to feed two people.

Reeling in my stingray who gave up quite a fight. Before reaching the surface I was imaging a massive sized fish.  Our wonderful captain-guide Noawel held him for the picture and then cut the line to release the ray.

The 6 porgy's we elected to keep, leaving the rest to Noawel and his son, who filleted them for us. The fish had been kept in a bucket with water and ice while we were on the boat so a few of them took on an unnatural frozen pose. They tasted wonderful that evening straight off the bbq.

x 

Cross Country Adventure

Our time on Ambergris Caye was more lively than our stay in Belize City. Beyond making the difficult decisions on which beach bars to go to each day we went on several excursions. One of those activities was an amazing snorkeling trip out to the nearby Belize Barrier Reef, the second largest in the world. While the coral was not as colourful as we found in Australia there were plenty of varied fish species to enjoy. We shared a boat with a young Vancouver couple, and our guide, Candyman, did an outstanding job delivering the 'candy' under the water. He would dive to the Caribbean sea floor, pick up a conch shell, then hold it close to the bottom of a coral colony, drawing a moray eel all the way out for everyone to see. Afterwards, we moved from the Hol Chan Marine Reserve area over to Shark-Ray alley he would gently gather up stingrays from the seabed (under his arms) and bring them up to the surface for us to feel. He did the same with nurse sharks that were a similar size to us, putting his arms around their bodies and then riding them to the surface so that we could feel their coarse, sandpaper like skins. When I noticed lots of fish following him around and not us, I successfully guessed that he was carrying some small dead fish in his bathing suit pocket, a neat trick. Another day we took a day trip, via water taxi, to nearby Caye Caulker which was small enough to walk around in an hour. It was also filled with beach bars and with no paved roads on the tiny island it was pleasant to walk around with very few vehicles interrupting pedestrian traffic. Lobster was a featured dish in most spots so we took advantage of this treat while there.

We have now moved back to the mainland and took a bus to the western edge of the Belize, into the small town of San Ignacio, not far from the border with Guatemala. Life is a bit more laid back here from the party beach towns but there is still lots to do in the area. We saw more Mayan ruins at Cahal Pech which was an uphill half hour walk from the inn we are staying at. Another day we took a day long trip south to the large Mayan city ruins of Caracol where 130,000 people lived during the Classic Mayan period of 600 - 850 AD. We spent several hours walking around the 7 km radius site that has been uncovered so far. On the return trip along the 'Massage Road' (bumpy dirt road ride) we made stops at the cascading Rio On Pools for a swim and later for a short but steep hike to the impressive Big Rock Falls (150 foot drop). On our final day we split up, with Pocahontas taking a cooking class featuring local cuisine (at our Rainforest Haven Inn) while I joined a tour to the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) Caves. The ATM adventure included a 45 minute hike with 3 river crossings (swim or rope hold) to reach the watery caves where we then had to swim. Our guide then led our group of 7 (6 20-somethings and an old guy) through the first half kilometre of the stream flowing cave......shallow walk / wade...... and then another half km of rock climbing / squeezing through narrow passages / walking through the dry part of the cave to see Mayan artifacts and sacrificial skeletons along with beautiful formations of stalagmites and stalactites. I arrived home to a delicious bread pudding leftover treat from the cooking class. We enjoyed our time in the Cayo province and would recommend it to other Belize travellers. Our guides did an excellent job of explaining the Mayan culture and we now have a much better understanding of their civilization.......however if you have any questions for us, ask them soon because I fear our knowledge of the Mayans will likely disappear as quickly as they did.

Today we had a driver take us across the country along the scenic Hummingbird highway. It was carved through the mountains and jungle, and led to the southern Caribbean coast of Belize where we will spend some time in the small fishing village of Hopkins. The seaside village has some decent beaches and will be a good base for some more day trips.

The Chicken Drop at Wahoo's beach bar on Ambergris Caye. Patron's could purchase tickets on which number the chicken would poop on. The winner had to clean up their square before collecting their winnings.

Snorkel shot we took in Shark Ray Alley, part of the large Belize Barrier Reef. The guide tossed some fish treats into the water to get the nurse sharks (bottom feeders) and other tropical fish to rise up to the surface.

A large stingray (metre long main body) swimming underneath us.

The popular Truck Stop bar on Ambergris Caye. They used shipping containers for the bar and food areas.

Our day trip to Caye Caulker found us having lunch at Chef Kareem's on the beach where delicious BBQ items were being served up. My lobster kabobs were delicious.

The Mayan Ruins at Cahal Pech in San Ignacio were well worth the 30 minute uphill hike from our inn. I gave a short inspiring speech to my audience but I'm not sure my better half was even listening.

A stall at the daily market in San Ignacio.

This was only one of the many ruins we enjoyed at Caracol. This picture was taken from the top of Sky Place, 43 metres (150 feet) above the Royal plaza in the background below.

Big Rock Falls which we were able to hike down to on our return trip from Caracol. The water dropped 150 feet to a nice swimming hole but we had already had a dip at Rio On Pools 30 minutes earlier and we didn't relish putting our wet bathing suits back on.

Rhonda's finished meal at the end of her cooking class. It featured rice and beans (a Belizian staple), stewed chicken, fried plantain (3 different ways) and salads. She also learned how to make tortillas and fry jacks.

The entrance to the ATM Caves which required a short swim to get to a spot where visitors could wade further into the caves. No cameras were allowed in the caves because previous tourists had dropped cameras on to precious Mayan artifacts damaging them. The tour company sent everyone pictures of a previous tour so that we would have lasting memory of the amazing sights within.

Toes in Sand, Drink in Hand

To be honest that hasn't happened yet. We stopped into a beach bar (Sandy Toes) today in San Pedro on the small island of Ambergris Caye near Belize City. With a brief shower underway we opted for the covered bar area rather than the beach chairs in the wet sand. But it will happen soon!

We arrived here yesterday taking a 90 minute water taxi (catamaran) from Belize City. Although we are here in the 'dry' season, there have been short showers each day. The temperatures are in the high 20's C so everything dries up quickly other than some sand puddles that refuse to drain. A short boat ride (15-30 minutes) away is the second largest barrier reef in the world (behind the Great Barrier Reef in Australia) so scuba diving and snorkeling are very popular over here......along with the many beach bars. We have already found several beach bars to our liking and will go snorkeling over the next few days.

Our Central America trip started 5 days ago in Belize City. The city has surely seen better days and without the daily cruise ship traffic it's slow demise would be complete.  Most of the main attractions (Museum, Anglican Cathedral, House of Culture) were either closed or undergoing renovations during our visit so perhaps we just arrived at a slow period. The best part of the city was the waterfront promenade with some tourist shops and bars, but interestingly it was intended strictly for cruise ship traffic. We managed to find a way in to the secured area on our second try but only by appearing respectable......not as easy as one might think when we are backpacking for a long period of time.......and leaving our drivers licenses at security in exchange for a 'visitor pass'. In any event it wasn't that exciting observing cruisers purchasing overpriced items and bored couples sitting in the bars awaiting a return to their ship. The best sightseeing opportunities were actually out of town, so we hired a driver - guide for one day to take us to the Altun Ha Mayan ruins (only partially uncovered) and then the Community Baboon Sanctuary which actually has never had any baboons but is filled with black howler monkeys. The term 'baboon' was used to describe the monkeys a long time ago and this preservation area stuck with the name. The howlers tend to stay high up in the trees but our guide was able to 'howl' to them and a family came down for a visit and a banana peel offering.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates to come as we explore other parts of the country.

Belize City sailboats were moored in Haulover Creek, protection from Caribbean storms even though the sea has been very calm since our arrival.

Photo from our visit to the Altun Ha Mayan ruins. This was the Temple of Masonry Alters where holy sacrifices to the Sun God were made. Our driver - guide gave us good advice to go there on one of the few days that cruise ships were not in the harbour, so there were very few people walking around the site.

The Black Howler Monkey family coming down from far above at the beckoning of Robert for a small piece of a banana peel. The head of the family let out several very loud howls before descending with the rest of the family following.

The Belize City 'private' promenade for the cruise ships. There were 2 large cruise ships in the bay on this day and this 200 metre long area was still not overcrowded. Many of the cruisers must have signed up for out-of-town activities or already returned to their ship.

San Pedro (Ambergris Caye) waterfront rainbow. There were many tour operators along the shoreline eager to take visitors out to the barrier reef for snorkeling or scuba diving. We decided to wait for a nice sunny day.