A bit of my Panamanian day for you.

Today was one of those days that really “pinched” my emotions, with plenty of ups and one down. My heart survived it all, so here I am, still alive, talking to you and that is good.

I met new people which was exciting. Four of them were Brazilians and the way I got to them was because they have a hobby… which is… guess… guess…. yes bingo, you got it… scrapbooking! Panama City has three scrapbooking shops. One is actually an art shop that has a small scrapbooking corner. The other is really good for stamps and the third one is pure bliss, pure scrapbooking and that is how I connected with one of these ladies who then introduced me to the other ones… you know how it goes, it’s the domino effect all over, really cool!

The other lady who I also met, is an American married to a Panamanian who has lived in Singapore. There, by chance, they met some good friends we have, who have, via the virtual world, introduced us to them. The chemistry was also a great one, especially when talking to each other, we found out that we had both lost long loving dogs in the same week. We lost gorgeous Carlota and they lost Bobby who was 13 years old. We also discovered that her hobby is photography, that as most of you know, is something very close to my heart too!!

Then, after these ups, along came the low. I went to the vet to collect Carlota’s ashes that came with a nice card from team there and once again, I was able to talk about her passing, confirming that her actual passing was peaceful without any fits nor painful for her. The infection that started in her intestine was already largely showing in her urine, hence the frequent peeing on her last night here with us. Joel and I will take her ashes to a specific Pacific Ocean beache she visited on a weekend outing we had. This way, we will have Siggy, our absolutely cute, gorgeous and so gentle Golden Retriever, who passed away while we were in HK and whose ashes were sprinkled on that extreme of the Pacific Ocean and now Carlota, sprinkled on this side of the vast Pacific. Who knows they meet halfway, hey?

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.Panama City has quite a few parks. One of them, is right by the sea and it's called "Cinta Costera" or Coastal Belt. It's really nice, loads of space for pedestrians, a bicycle route, playing areas for kids, parking and a wonderful scenery.

The way to Cinta Costera from our place.

Part of Cinta Costera, with the city at the back

Joel and Carlota enjoying the extreme heat (or not!). Punta Paitilla at the back on the right. If plans go as they are now, we'll live in the next Punta along from Paitilla, Punta Pacifica.
Part of old Panama or "Panama Viejo".
Pacific Ocean beaches in and around Coronado

On the way to the beaches, we passed over the famous and indispensable "Puente de las Americas" or Bridge of the Americas, built in 1962. In other words, for many decades, this was the quickest and most used way to cross over the magnificent piece of engineering, The Panama Canal. It connects the two mega huge pieces of land, South America to Central/ North America. Because it has this particular "connecting" feature, in my mind, it would be a massive bridge, with bands playing on either sides, neon signs saying something like "congratulations, you're the Nth car to cross THE Bridge" and a souvenir card would be given to you on the other side", but only in my dreams, LOL!! The Bridge is short, quick with no toll charged to cross it!