The Foreman Update

Adios Santiago

2011-12-19T07:46:00.001-08:00

The snow and the clouds crown this beautiful city. Hope you can come visit Chile.

Hot in Santiago

2011-12-19T07:39:00.001-08:00

It is our last day in South America. We spent the night at the Santiago Marriott and this morning walked to the huge mall for some coffee. There is no pollution, the air is clear, the sky blue and the snow capped Andes are just outside our hotel window. It is going to be 88 degrees and it is hot here. At the mall a fantastic red race car is on display, complete with two beautiful girls. We laughed outloud as one car enthusiast asked the girls to move so he could take a photo of the car. He did not want the girls to be in the photo. A purist.

We have loved our time here. A wonderful trip in every way. But it will be great to be home again.

Cherries for sale

2011-12-18T05:55:00.001-08:00

Casablanca Valley

2011-12-18T04:36:00.001-08:00

Casablanca - Casas del Bosque

2011-12-18T04:33:00.001-08:00

There is a beautiful valley midway between Santiago and the ocean. It is a cool climate vineyard area that produces world quality Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. They also grow Pinot Noir and Syrah and bring in other varieties from the central valley, two hours drive to the south. We visited a wonderful new winery, Casas del Bosque. The vines were planted in 1998 and the winery built in 2000 but they are already winning awards. Their Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was fantastic and the Sauvignon Blanc won best of Chile in 2010.

The tour was delightful. They have 23 wind machines on their 245 hectares to protect from the spring frosts. But at this point there are plenty of small grapes growing so they have succeeded in protecting the 2012 crop. This is a beautiful land for both fruit and grapes..

Valpariso street art

2011-12-18T03:38:00.000-08:00

More street art

2011-12-18T03:36:00.001-08:00

Street art in Valpo

2011-12-18T03:34:00.001-08:00

Valparaiso has fantastic street art and graffiti everywhere you turn. Here is a sample of some of the best we saw, some real quality art and also some of the meaningless scrawls that cover most walls. Art must be in the eye of the beholder.

The old man and the sea

2011-12-17T04:57:00.001-08:00

We wanted to cross South America, from Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay to Valparaiso, Chile, from the Atlantic to the Pacific on this trip, and we made it. A great journey.

The Casino and the Clock in Vina

2011-12-17T04:51:00.001-08:00

Vina del Mar - Presidential Palace

2011-12-17T04:49:00.001-08:00

About 11 miles north of Valparaiso is the beach resort of of Vina del Mar. The two cities actually have melded together and over 1.6 million people live here. While Valparaiso is old and a world heritage site, Vina is new and beautiful. A beachfront condo here costs over $4.5 million US, more than an equivalent condo in Miami. The president of the country has a second residence here, called the Palace as contrasted to La Moneda, his home in Santiago. In order to divide the power, the Congress is located here on the ocean and the main offices of the government is in Santiago, about 90 minutes drive up the hills and into the inland valley. The beach is beautiful, but the water is cold thanks to the Humboldt current that brings cold water from Antarctica up the western coastline.

The port at work

2011-12-17T04:43:00.001-08:00

Valpariso - the Stock Market

2011-12-17T04:38:00.001-08:00

In Valpariso there are 16 elevators or funiculars built in the 1800's. Only six are still working but we rode up the hill on the big one overlooking the port. From the top we took a video of the bustling port. At ground level there is a stock exchange, the Bolsa. As the stocks go up and down, so do the elevators. While some things are very expensive here, these elevator rides only cost 300 pesos, or about .60 cents each so they are a bargain.

Templeman Street, Valpariso

2011-12-17T04:33:00.001-08:00

Washington Red Delicious apples in Chile

2011-12-16T10:38:00.001-08:00

Chile is a land of plenty. They grow wonderful fruits of all kinds. They are a tough competitor for our Washington apples, pears and cherries. You can imagine our surprise and delight to find Washington red delicious apples in our hotel fruit basket. They have fresh nectarines from Chile, bananas from Ecuador and apples from Washington state. Great work by the Washington Apple Commission and whichever sales organization sold them. Not quite like selling ice to Eskimos, but pretty close. :)

Art galleries and gourmet seafood

2011-12-16T05:12:00.001-08:00

It is a little disconcerting to get the bill for lunch and see it is $34,500. I handed the waiter $40,000 in beautiful blue paper money and thought back to my reading list on inflation and the perils of too much money chasing too few goods. Even at 511 pesos to the dollar, this is a very expensive country. The taxi drivers tell us a few people make all the money and the college students are protesting for fee tuition. Yesterday we saw a banner at the university: Education is a Right, it Must be Free. Is there a connection between a $10,000 peso note being worth $20 USD and demonstrators demanding everything be provided free by the government?

Valpariso, Chile

2011-12-16T05:03:00.001-08:00

Fresh fruits, vegetable and flowers fill the streets. Art galleries and gourmet seafood restaurants compete for travelers. We heard many people speaking French and there are tourists from the Eurozone and South America. We even met a man travelling from New Jersey.

Valpariso, Chile

2011-12-16T04:58:00.001-08:00

Valpariso, Chile

2011-12-16T04:55:00.001-08:00

High on a hill overlooking a huge bay, the port city of Valpariso spreads a colorful quilt over the surrounding countryside. This is another World Heritage Site, the gateway from Chile's mines, vineyards and orchards to the world. Cargo ships fill the harbor and crowds of people swarm the steep hills. Funiculars and elevators lift people from sea level up to the dizzying heights where they live in polychrome houses. But pictures are worth many words and here are some of our best.

Santiago, growing in every direction

2011-12-15T06:18:00.001-08:00

National symbol of Chile - the crane

2011-12-15T06:15:00.001-08:00

Santiago, Chile

2011-12-15T04:59:00.001-08:00

On December 13 we flew from Mendoza to Santiago, a short 75 minutes in the air. You may recall we planned to take the bus all the way across Argentina and then through the Andes mountains to Valparaiso, Chile on the Pacific Ocean. We did bus half way across the Pampas, but by the time we hit Cordoba, we were exhausted and it was very hot and so we stayed there for five days. We chose to reboot and are glad we did. We spent the last two days in Santiago and had some great experiences.

The Museum of History of the Nation is in the Plaza de Armas, right across from the Cathedral. Both places are beautiful and worth a visit. The history museum begins with the pre Colubian period and goes up through the colonial period, the expulsion of the Jesuits by Carlos (he was worried they had become too rich and powerful and could subvert his empire) and the development post the 1810 revolution, ending in 1973. Why end in 1973 when Chile has had such remarkable economic growth and success in the last 38 years?

In 1973 Salvador Allende, the Marxist president, was overthown by a military coup led by Augusto Pinochet. About half of the people loved Allende and the other half preferred the military. During the military period there were abuses of human rights and the nation was very much divided. The curator told us that the history is too painful and recent to be treated adequately in the museum so they have decided to wait until some future date to tell the tale. Meawhile the museum is full of furniture, painting, cannons, guns, uniforms, displays, maps and utensils from a rich history. It is a very nice museum to visit. But when you arrive at the final room and it ends with the shattered eye glasses of President Allende, for he committed suicide in the Presidential palace as the soldiers were coming to arrest him in 1973, it does give you an impression that the museum has already decided whose side they are planning to take when they bring the story up to date.

Next we walked several miles to the Museum of Pablo Neruda, the Nobel Prize winning poet. He was a good friend of President Allende, who appointed him Ambassador to France. He also was friends with Pablo Picasso, Fernand Leger, Diego Rivera, the Mexican muralist, and all the left winged artists and intellectual crowd of the 1950s through the 1970s. His home is fascinating, built of three structures on the hillside of the Cerro San Cristobal in the Bellavista neighborhood. He was a collector of things and has great paintings, glasses, furniture and objects throughout the three houses. The tourguide was excellent, and we had an English woman, a couple fro Brazil and the two of us on the tour. We see very few Americans here, but quite a few Chinese and Japanese businessmen hard at work doing deals to obtain copper, and other industrial materials.

The view from our hotel, the excellent Four Points by Sheraton, is amazing. They are building a skyscraper that is 300 meters tall, nearly 1000 feet. It is the Costanero Center. Construction began in March 2006 and they are getting close to the top now. With all the earthquakes in this country, their engineers have plenty of experience and are building dozens of new tall and magnificent buildings. This is a national capital of a great nation with a fantastic future ahead of it. It should name the "crane" as its official symbol as the sky is full of huge yellow cranes building for the future.

Cordoba, Argentina

2011-12-13T01:22:00.001-08:00

A magical place for an evening stroll.

Our favorite hotel in Cordoba

2011-12-11T11:08:00.001-08:00

Azur Hotel in Cordoba

2011-12-11T10:51:00.001-08:00

We decided to change our itinerary and stay five days in Cordoba at this great hotel.

http://www.cntraveller.com/magazine/the-hot-list-2010/azur-real-hotel-boutique-cordoba-argentina

Azur Real Hotel Boutique

2011-12-11T10:41:00.000-08:00

We had no idea the Azur Real Hotel Boutique in Cordoba was listed on the "Hot List 2010" in Conde Nast Traveller magazine. We booked this hotel on the advice of Trip Advisor. It is lovely and the price was right. It is a boutique hotel with only 14 rooms. Here they provide all the comforts of home. I especially like their pillow menu (Menu de almohadas): Duvet, Cervical, Plumas, Soft, Firm and Latex. The message said, "To ensure your dreams are as sweet as possible, the following pillow menu is at your disposal". I decided I like this place! The location is a couple blocks from the cathedral in the city center. Two years ago an old townhouse was rennovated incorporating both traditional elements like exposed brick walls and wrought iron balconies with contemporary furnishings, glass sinks and interesting light fixtures. The roof top includes a soaking pool, gym and spa. The area is furnished with comfortable outdoor furniture situated under a canopy which makes for a lovely spot to relax and read. We have enjoyed our stay in this hotel so much that we have decided to extend our stay and skip Mendoza, a city we know and love from previous visits. That was a tough decision. Rather than continue on our bus journey across Argentina, we are opting to fly directly to Santiago, Chile from here. We found the travel from Buenos Aires to be exhausting even though the buses are very comfortable. The distances in this vast country are huge and the buses stop frequently making the journeys even longer.

Dale just finished blogging about both his reading list and reflections on the political and economic situation in Argentina and the world. I have a reading list too that looks quite different than his. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand, Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls, Water for Elephants by Sara Green, The Olive Farm by Carol Drinkwater, Shattered by Dick Francis and An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor. I had several other titles on my wish list to read recommended to me by my daughter in law but I did not realize that Amazon is not available for download in Argentina. Good thing I have the entire Sir Conen Doyle Adventures of Sherlock Holmes on my Kindle.....that will keep me occupied. Of course Dale and I can always switch Kindles.....hmm......if I am desparate!

Books, the economy and presidential politics

2011-12-11T06:33:00.001-08:00

One of the best parts of any vacation is the time to relax and read some good books. We have both spent time over the last two weeks reading on airlines, in buses driving across the Pampas, and now in this beautiful little hotel in Cordoba. A good moment to share my thoughts on reading materials for future reference. Warning: Gail says this is too long and no one will read it, so feel free to skip to the end.

I have been deeply involved in litigation resulting from the economic meltdown of 2008. Many of my clients have had their bank lines cut off or reduced and that led to all kinds of unintended consequences. I want to understand better what exactly happened, why and how to respond to the various attempts throughout the world to fix the problems. This has also been an election year in
Argentina (they had their own meltdown in 2000-2005, came out of it with a bang due to the rise in comodity prices, and are now slowly recovering from the 2008 recession that reduced their rate of growth.) They did reelect their president (it's the economy stupid and the economy here is doing better than most places.)

So I subscribed to La Nacion (Argentina's daily newspaper) last January and have tried to read a few articles on politics and the economy in Spanish every day all year long. Good preparation for this trip. It comes on my Kindle every morning and is inexpensive and enjoyable.

It seems to me that the main difference between our US government overspending and the Argentine version, is that we have the advantage of being able to print lots of our own dollars and other people accept them as if they are real money.
Few countries in history have had a golden printing press. Certainly no South American country has ever been given that luxury. So if they print paper money, other folks just ignore it, or laugh at them and refuse to take the pesos. If America did not have the Exhorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System by Barry , Eichengreen, we would be defaulting on our bonds right now. Excellent book. Buy it.

Now if you really want to be frightened, read Endgame: The End of the Debt SuperCycle and How it Changes Everything, by John Mauldin and Jonathan Tepper. Or, Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crisis by James Rickards. These authors know what they are talking about and it does not have a happy ending. Timing is everything, so we may be lucky and have a few more years or decades before the collapse, but when it comes it will be a doosey.

I just finished Churchill by Paul Johnson, and it is a great biography. Before leaving home I read Churchill and Ghandi, and that was also a fine dual biography. I like Johnson's even better and I really admire Churchill. He was a great leader, we need someone like him now to get us out of this mess (although he made some major economic blunders during the 1920's that hurt Britian's economy badly for three decades until Margaret Thatcher turned around the socialist ship of state.)

Next, The Party: The Secret World of China's Communist Rulers by Richard McGregor. The Chinese economic model has done very well by taking all the earnings from the people and reinvesting it into infrastructure. That will not last forever and when the people are tired of being abused by their leaders, we will all hear the explosion.

A little business history to put anti trust law into perspective is in The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America by Marc Levinson. I grew up with an Atlantic & Pacific grocery store in Seattle, most people in America today do not even recognize the brand. It would be like if 40 years from now no one recognized the name WalMart. Who knew that the Robinson-Patman antitrust law could cause so much destruction, and not even with good economic reasons. The antitrust law was debased and became a politcal witchhunt. We would not have WalMart or Costco or Target or BiMart today without the pioneering cost saving work of the Hartford family. They created the Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company which grew into the biggest grocery chain in the world, thousands of outlets, and saved the average American family ten percent every year on their food budget. What did the Congress give them in return? Prosecution (and conviction) and persecution for decades. Why? Because the populist congress, led by Wright Patman an ambitious small town Texas congressman and state legislatures wanted to save the little guy, protect the small grocer from competition. This is beginning to sound like a theme, eg big is bad, soak the corporations, break up Microsoft and the banks, raise the taxes on millionaires and billionaires, etc, etc, etc. The more things change, the more they remain the same. So you better read and understand history or we will make the same stupid political decisions that got us into the soup.

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis is excellent and tells the secrets of the Wall Street bankers who thought 64-1 leverage with other peoples money was a good idea. Argentina 2001-2009: From the financial crisis to the Present by Rosanna Zaza, is a Kindle booklet that has solid data. When Money Dies by Adam Fergusson traces the disaster of hyperinflation in Germany in the 1920's and the consequences. Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World by Margaret Macmillan, gives us the historical background for the German hyperinflation.

There are more books I could list, but you get the idea that things tend to repeat themselves. Economic cycles, populist movements, religious revivals, materialism, antimaterialism, socialism, antisocialism, colonialism, anti colonialism, dictators in Latin Amereica followed by dictators in Latin America, the ebb and flow and ebb of human rights in China, and in the Arab world, and the need for freedom of speech and assembly in Moscow and Boston (the NYTimes yesterday had photos of police manhandling anti Putin protestors in Moscow and police clearing out the Occupy protesters in Boston...irony anyone) and so goes the human parade.

There was a great parade here last night, we watched them march through the streets of Cordoba, cheering the fact that today, their Presidenta was sworn in for another four year term in office. The demonstrators were carrying banners with photos of Evita, their last heroine and compare her to the new new thing Christina. I watched the live speech the Presidenta made (how could I miss it, it was carried on 10 different channels live and with repeats on the news on all the other channels later). Her one great applause line brought a standing ovation in the Congress with ten minutes of cheering and pounding and joy; the cameras panned out to the Plaza de Mayo in front of the Casa Rosada as the thousands of flag waving Peronista supporters cheered her promise. Let me try to quote her:

"Yo NO soy la Presidenta de los corporaciones, yo soy la Presidenta de la Nacion, de los Argentinos..." She actually sneerer when she said the word "corporaciones."

She promised to fight against the corporations, against the International Monetary Fund, against the bankers, and against Wall Street and for the people of Argentina. She promised more money and benefits for the people, economic development and jobs, jobs, jobs. and the people cheered. I do not think the people who invested in Argentina sovereign debt bonds will ever get paid back.

It felt like I have seen this movie before. And we will see it again. And meanwhile the dollar will depreciate and the cost of living will increase and people without a good education will play video games and not study hard and ask for a free lunch and the world will look for a savior.

There is none except Him who was born in a manger. We did go to church last night at the Church of the Good Shepard,the priest was a kindly old man with a strong voice and the beautiful old gothic church was crowded with sincere people who greeted one another with the Peace of Christ and are looking forward to a somewhat different happy ending. Enjoy reading and also spend some time praying for the future of our world.

Reflections on the Advent Season

2011-12-09T06:33:00.001-08:00

December 1st we observed that Christmas decorations were nowhere to
be found in Buenos Aires or Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. Now we
understand the reason this was so. Yesterday, December 8th was a
national holiday and all the stores were closed. It was the day of the
Virgin, a day when families and stores prepare and decorate for
Christmas. Churches held Mass. Today we see nativity scenes set up in
the churches and the stores decorated with Christmas trees, ornaments
and lights. But the commercial element of Christmas is nothing like
back home. Last week I checked my Facebook account and saw Christmas
postings everywhere with Christmas cartoons, comments about Christmas
shopping and people bragging that they had finished addressing their Christmas cards. (I can brag about
that myself this year). We do not see this kind of intense
pre-Christmas frenzy in Argentina. It is early in the month I know,
but in America I saw Christmas lights on display before Thanksgiving.
The crazy shopping that goes on during Black Friday
makes up about 25 percent of our nation´s annual retail sales. This
modern consumer culture seems so wrong and just plain exhausting.

Last week we saw school children celebrating their last day of school
in the park. Families are picnicing together as they enjoy the warmer
temperatures. Next to the occasional Christmas decorations displayed
in store windows are lots of summer plants and flowers. People are
anxious to be outside to soak in the green grass, trees in the plazas
and parks in the city. All this stands in contrast to the Advent
meditations of winter that I am used to in my northern tradition. I
like the idea that the spring and summertime bring nature alive...new
life. This will be the lense through which I observe, reflect, and
engage in Advent this year while in South America. The four weeks
before Christmas is meant to be spent preparing for Christmas day or
the birth of Christ. Advent will be a time for me to reflect on the
hope of Christ´s return and the peace, joy, love and new life He
offers those who believe in Him.

Cordoba, Argentina

2011-12-09T05:38:00.001-08:00

Cordoba - World Heritage site

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Cordoba, founded in 1599. The Jesuits built a dazzling cathedral, a monastery and crypt here. Their mission was to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to educate the people. They were very successful and this city remains the higher education center of Argentina. The city hall complex is also magnificent as are many ancient buildings surrounding it. In 2000 UNESCO declared this entire city center as part of the "Humanity Cultural Heritage of the World." For the men and women and children we saw worshipping in the church and praying in the surrounding areas, this is a living Christ centered space that brings us Joy and thanksgiving. To God be the glory.

People enjoying the Rio Parana

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According to our guide the Parana is over 57 kilometers wide at Rosario and is crossed by 14 bridges. You can see the one bridge is probably over 2 kilometers from the mainland to the first island. This is a gigantic river than flows south from Brazil and empties into the Rio Platte at Buenos Aires and then into the Atlantic.

Monumental architecture reminded us of Berlin

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Rosario

2011-12-08T11:54:00.001-08:00

Rosario is the Chicago of Argentina. It is a dynamic city with a huge port, an international grain and beef export operation and a history of mafia crime bosses. The third largest city now, over 1 million people call this home and are proud "Rosarians." We went on a guided tour and the guide from the Pampas Tour agency was great. He lived for 20 years in Spain, for 3 years in London and he is an English teacher. He took us to the park and took this photo of a beautiful flower calendar that is maintained daily by a local school. During the tour he told us of all the history of this great city. The mafia boss was actually acquainted with Al Capone. Over 50% of the population are of Italian ancestery. The national flag was designed here and they are very proud of their heritage. There is some monumental architecture to commorate their various battles and a gigantic marble "ship of state" representing the ongoing movement of the nation. Actually the architecture reminded us of Berlin in the 1930's and there are a number of Germans here. The largest brewery in the country was founded by German immigrants here.

Still, there was more than a little sadness in the history and the present time is full of uncertainty. He showed us the prison where thousands of liberals were tortured, murdered and "disappeared" during the bad years of the dictatorship in the 1970's. He told us that the current mayor is a socialist and the city council is far far left of center. We saw some demonstrators and when we asked, what do they want? He said they say their welfare benefits are not big enough and they want the government to distribute cash so they can buy Christmas presents for their children. He was very concerned for his country, the economy, the joblessness and the uncertain future.

I asked him if he thought the economy was getting better. No he said, there is over 10% unemployment, some say as high as 20% and inflation is growing very fast, over 20% per year. One good measurement is tourism. He said less than 5% of the tourists here are from the US, most are from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Europe. His tour was over 2 1/2 hours long and he had a driver who spoke German and French. The guide himself spoke Italian, Spanish, English and Catalan. They were both well educated men, teachers and professional tourguides. The total cost of the tour was 250 pesos, that is about $65 and after you subtract their gas for all that driving, I calculate that each of them earned about $10 per hour.

He told us his son has gone to Spain for additional education, but there are no jobs for him either here in Argentina or in Spain.

We are living in difficult times, everything is so uncertain. He seemed friendly but frightened. And the recent reelection of Christina Fernandez de Kirchner as President does not give him any more confidence.

The city was pretty clean, nice buildings in the main areas, a great riverfront with sandy beaches and lots of people swimming and boating. Our hotel, the Plaza Real, was excellent and the food there was terrific and a bargain. Lomo de bife was only 57 pesos, that is tenderloin for $14 (and they served two steaks on the plate). Of course he had to enjoy a bottle of Salentein Malbec, 98 pesos, rich and memorable wine. It took us four hours to travel by bus from Buenos Aires to Rosario, the bus ride cost $15 each. A very nice place to visit, but there are so many time cities to visit here, we just keep coming back.

2011-12-06T04:13:00.001-08:00

Recoleta reprise

2011-12-06T04:08:00.001-08:00

We have written about the cemetary in Recoleta before. If you scroll down this blog to 2009 you will find a short history of this world famous graveyard. The tombs are so interesting that we could not resist a return trip. The photos are not adequate as the space is huge and the tombs are packed extremely close together. Famous people, dictators and their wives like Evita, sports heros like Luis Firpo the boxer and race car driver Juan Manuel Fangio, successful business men, the social elite of the nation are buried in this place. Even the dictator Facundo Quiroga was buried standing up near his former rivals, men he had executed. The history of Argentina in a two acre walled cemetary.

2011-12-06T03:52:00.001-08:00

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Walls, windows and doors in Colonia

2011-12-06T03:44:00.001-08:00

December 6, 2011

Before we leave for Rosario, here are a few more photos of the beautiful Colonia del Sacramento. Founded in 1680 by the Portugese, it was highly sought and fought over by the Spainards and the original walled fortifications still stand. The entry portal looks like it was transported from Portugal, complete with a 330 year old crest above the door. The low buildings, made of stone, brick and with red tile roofs are in a style known as "Portugese" and are surrounded by sycamore trees. The town now survives on tourism and after the collapse of the Argentine economy in 2001 the town suffered badly. Now the economy is doing well in Argentina and the hoards of tourists arrive with cameras every day. We stayed overnight and there were few tourists as we walked the streets in the evening and early the next day. The fruit and wine are excellent. A delightful town to explore.

Antique cars in Uruguay

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Colonia del Sacramento

2011-12-05T15:21:00.001-08:00

December 4-5, 2011

Today we write from Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. It only took one short hour on the Buquebus boat to cross the Rio Plata to travel from Buenos Aires to this quaint old town that is a World Heritage site. After we settled into the beautiful Radisson hotel, we strolled through the ancient cobbled streets to the old part of town. There were inviting restaurants with outdoor seating lining the plaza and stone buildings alongside narrow streets. We chose the Santa Rita that overlooked the Rio Plata with a table set under a giant palm tree. We had the perfect spot for people and car watching. We saw several old antique cars today. You see, cars do not easily die in Uruguay. Vehicles that would be considered scrap anywhere else in the world are needed here for transportation. We learned that new cars can cost more than a house due to government import tax policies. Economic decline and government policies that include high excise taxes, customs duty, luxury taxes, supercharges for any new car purchase made it impossible for the 99% to buy a new car. So as in Cuba a car is repaired and maintained to last as long as possible. As a result there are lots of cool antique cars that have been lovingly refurbished in this little town. We even found a couple of 60-80 year old cars marking the entrance to the aquarium and a restaurant. One was parked permanently and turned into a flower planter. After a late lunch, our afternoon was spent lounging around the beautiful swimming pool and patio with Kindles in hand. Quite frankly, much as we love Buenos Aires, it has been nice to take a break from the city.

Japanese Garden

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Japanese Garden

2011-12-03T14:00:00.001-08:00

December 3, 2011
Buenos Aires has a Japanese Garden and it is lovely. It was created as a gift from the people of Japan and was expanded when the young crown prince and his wife came here for a visit. We needed the quiet beauty of this place for we had just been crushed by the crowds of people at the bus terminal. We walked from our hotel all the way to the Retiro Omnibus station to buy our bus tickets for the first stage of our journey across the continent. The station is next to the train depot and the mass of humanity reminded us of Grand Central Station in New York. It was hard to walk with so many people pushing and shoving but we finally found our bus ticket office and bought the tickets. Then we went to the Japanese Garden for some rest and calm. It is an oasis in a bustling metropolis. A wonderful place of plants and trees, water, bridges, paths, sculptures and happy people.

Tango Show

2011-12-03T08:52:00.001-08:00

December 2, 2011 Day 4

Last night we went to a dinner theatre tango show on Florida Street. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed during the performance. It rivaled a NY Broadway production. The musicians were outstanding. This show did not focus on the lewd moves often associated with tango. Don´t get me wrong, there was plenty of close body contact. The lifts and speed of the dancers was incredible. Somehow the women seemed to dance on air. There was a kind of ballroom quality in their presentation. Oh yes, there were speedy leg kicks and the dancers did invade each other´s space at times. These precision leg kicks required careful placement.

Two men dressed as Gauchos gave a great series of dances, reminiscent of the days when men spent months on the Pampas, with no women and had to entertain themselves by dancing for each other after supper. They were real athletes, acrobatic high speed: a tap dance in boots. But this show was a big time production and had a different look than the dances we saw performed two nights ago at the Café Tortoni. There it was a smaller, intimate stage and the two dancers relied on flirtatious looks and sexy costumes in their choreography. Here a dozen highlytrained pros showed the many varieties of tango style. The musicians, two
violins, two bandolinos, a piano, a bass and two excellent singers, were all topnotch. A wild, fun and fantastic evening.

I have always wondered how the tango made its way from the brothel to the ballroom. It took time. Initially, Argentine families of good
reputation wanted no part of this cheek to cheek dance. It took years to make its way to the middle and upper class family home. But overtime boys of these families would sneak off to the milangos looking for adventure. They learned to dance there and would then teach their sisters, cousins or female neighbors a purified version of the tango. Being a good dancer soon became a way to impress the ladies and I think that is probably still true.

The city of Buenos Aires was rebuilt between 1880 and 1930. The old Spanish city with narrow streets and one story buildings was
replaced with French architecture, wide boulevards and gorgeous parks. Argentina became one of the richest nations in the world. The wealthy families from Argentina would travel to Europe and some kept homes there. The tango was introduced to Parisian society. A tango dance craze then spread to London, Rome and New York. Finally, the tango returned to Buenos Aires with the dancers dressed in a tuxedo. That was the version of the dance we saw last night and it was sophisticated, complicated and interesting. Not only that, my tenderloin steak was fabulous. We got to bed at 1 AM. Our nights on the town are getting later and
later. We almost missed breakfast this morning!

Piazzolla Tango

2011-12-03T06:20:00.001-08:00

The critics for the local newspaper write that the Piazzolla Tango show has both the best food and the best tango dancers. The show was great and the food was memorable. The lomo, or tenderloin, was the biggest one we ever have seen. It was also the best one I recall ever eating. The Argentine beef deserves to be part of the story.

Fruit stalls in Palermo Soho

2011-12-02T19:59:00.001-08:00

Day 5 December 2, 2011
Today we walked for miles around Palermo Soho, visited fruit stalls to check the quality of the apples, pears and cherries.

The new crop of cherries from Mendoza has arrived. Some of the crates looked like mixed quality, color not consistent, but the size was pretty good. The price was 25 pesos for a kilo. At the current exchange rate of $1 US = 4.27 pesos, that is nearly $3.00 per pound, an expensive treat. The Granny Smiths looked great and there was a lot of competition from tropical fruits. It is always interesting to see how fresh fruit is displayed in different countries. Here the stalls are very clean and decorated with flowers, baskets and dried fruit and nuts.

We found a crafts fair at Serrano Plaza and looked at all the merchandise. We ate a few empanadas and then walked all the way to the Plaza Italia. Fascinating neighborhood of upscale clothing designers and shops. Gail loved the clothes and the childrens toy stores. The attitude is counterculture and anti-establishment, but the young people are all fast paced and fashionista a la NYC. Palermo Soho, south America with an attitude.

Later in the day we had to move to a different hotel, the Intersur Recoleta. It is just two blocks from the Etoile, but we only reserved four days there and that hotel was fully booked and so we are now in a brand new hotel. If Gail had been in charge of planning we would have the entire trip scheduled, booked and prepaid. I am a more spontaneous traveller and as long as she will let me, we will move from hotel to hotel, town to town, as the spirit moves us. Keep you posted.

Ligure seafood restaurant

2011-12-01T14:13:00.000-08:00

Day 4 December 1, 2011
One of our favorite restaurants in Buenos Aires is Ligure. We found it on our first trip in 2007 and have returned every visit. This is a city of beefeaters, and Ligure does have plenty of meat dishes, but it is really a seafood restaurant and after a few days of red meat it is nice to visit a supurb seafood restaurant. It is on Juncal street, just a couple blocks from the San Martin plaza and an easy walk from the Marriott or the Sheraton. The fish is fresh and well prepared but the best quality of the restaurant is the staff.
Carlos Alberto first came to work here on August 1, 1978 as a "joven" or waiter. He is still here and has served us in 2007 and 2009. All of the other staff looked familier to us as we walked in today, but he came up and greeted us, a quizzical look on his face. After we ordered and he came back to fill our glasses, he asked "Quanto tiempo en BA?" I explained to him that we were on our third trip and that we had been to his restaurant, and have been served by him all three times. He smiled and said we looked familiar. A few minutes later he reappeared with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. He welcomed us as old friends and poured the champagne. I asked if we could take his photo and he smiled and said, "Si, como no?"
We had a beautiful fresh trout with baby shrimp and mushrooms and a fresh green salad, it is the beginning of summer here and the vegetables are excellent. We walked several miles back to our hotel, enjoying the sunshine and the happy people. What a great day to photograph the architecture and the "Porteneos" the "people of the port." Argentina. Carlos Alberto, muchas gracias. Nice

Street repairs and presidential elections

2011-12-01T14:03:00.001-08:00

The traffic here is bad, millions of cars and dense blocks of mid rise buildings for miles. A street repair is a major inconvenience for drivers. The water system is good but every once in a while a pipe rusts, or cracks and repairs must be done. As an old water district lawyer, I have had several interesting cases involving leaking fire hydrants and expensive repairs so I always stop and look at the crews working on these projects.
The Argentines just had their national election in October. The president, Christina Kirchner was reelected with a 54% vote, impressive. She is a Peronist and is very supportive of working class people. Inflation is high, but union wages are rising fast enough to keep up with it. Argentina is not paying its bonded indebtedness, but neither is Greece and Italy, Spain and Ireland are on the same path. The international bond market does not appreciate her ideas, but her populist policies seem to be working at the moment and things are running smoothly (as long as the world needs the agricultural commodities Argentina produces).
So what does that have to do with street repairs? One of my informal measures is the number of men on the job and how many are working compared to how many are leaning on shovels or using their cellphones. Here the ratio today was two watching and one working. About the same as I would expect at home. Perhaps Barack and Christina are not really that different. Hope the US can pay our bonds off when they come due.
Just what is the proper ratio of watchers to workers? At least the workers are smiling.

Tango dancers

2011-12-01T13:57:00.001-08:00

Tango at the Tortoni

2011-12-01T13:51:00.001-08:00

I love cafe con leche, empanadas and tango. They were all part of our
Buenos Aires experience today. Each day in Buenos Aires begins with a
breakfast staple....cafe con leche. It is a strong coffee mixed with
scalded milk a bit like cafe au lait. An empanada is a spanish pastry
that is made by folding dough around a meat or cheese stuffing (it
comes from the verb empanar which means to wrap in bread) My chicken
empanada today was the perfect bite to tide me over to our post tango
show dinner at 11 pm. We are starting to get into the local rhythm of
life. Maybe it is because we are on vacation, but the people seem to
take life slower here than back home.

We viewed a tango show at the historic Cafe Tortoni (1858) in a small theatre
in the back of the coffee shop. The history of this dance is so
interesting with it´s rather seedy beginnings. I read an article today
that claimed the dance become popular because of a worker shortage in
Argentina. When the British came to build the railroads in the late
1800´s, the land owners needed cheap labor and recruited immigrant
workers. Unlike the US where entire families immigrated to begin a new
life in America, single men came to work in Argentina. They hoped to
earn enough money to return to their homelands for a better life but
most could never realize that dream. So, by the turn of the century
most of the population in Argentina were male immigrants from various
countries. The one common language was music. Many different cultures
and dance styles merged together and it was in the tenements where
these laborers lived that the Tango was born. Men would dance with
men. The best dancers would then compete to please the few women that
were around. An interesting theory...on the other hand, most people
think the tango was born in the brothels. Whatever the case, it is a
facinating dance to watch. The pace is fast, music lively, costumes
skimpy and the women are gorgeous. The dancers on the Dancing with the
Stars show in America will have to pick up their pace to keep up
with the professional tango dancer in Argentina. They move so fast on
stage. We did our best to capture the moment in a photo. Another fun
evening in the Paris of the South complete with great tango and a late
dinner.

Recoleta

2011-11-30T17:21:00.001-08:00

Day 2 November 29, 2011

There are over 90 museums listed in my Moon travel book for Buenos Aires. So much to see and do in this city. But today we chose to spend several hours at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. Admission was free and we were able to view paintings by Renoir, Monet, Manet, Rembrandt, Toulouse Lautrec, Van Gogh, Degas, El Greco and many Argentinian masters. There were sculptures by Rodin and huge ancient tapestries from Belgium on display. At the turn of the century, several wealthy families donated their European art and furniture collections to the museum that filled entire rooms for display. Chinese vases, silver mate cups, porcellain and objets d'art from the middle east and asia. A world class museum full of wonder. I especially liked the Sisely and the Monet.
After completing several hours walking around the museum we walked in the park and encountered some school girls who were celebrating their graduation from high school. Who ever heard of a last day of school in November, but we are on the other side of the globe and everything here is a bit upside down. They asked us to take their picture. They were so happy, singing and dancing around with the joy only 18 year old graduates have. After a long walk in the park, passing by young lovers oblivious to the surrounding joggers and the local football game, we rested at the 150 year old La Biela near our hotel. The cafe has a terrace with outdoor seating under the shade of an enormous 100 year old rubber tree. Once again, it felt like a day in Paris....the museum, the park,
the side walk cafe. One big difference is that in Paris we look for a patch of sun in the cafe and in Buenos Aires we sit under the shade of the old rubber tree as it is 88 degrees. But we are not complaining.

Welcome to Buenos Aires

2011-11-30T17:16:00.001-08:00

Day 1 Nov 28, 2011

Buenos Aires is a city of over 12 million organized by barrios or neighborhoods. This visit we are staying in upscale Recoleta. It is probably one of the most popular areas for tourists because of the famous Recoleta Cemetary where Evita (Eva Peron) is buried. We like it because of the beautiful parks, tree lined streets, nearby National Fine Arts museum, fabulous French architecture and cute side walk cafes. One often hears that Buenos Aires is the Paris of South America. Sort of true, but the weather is much, much better. Monday evening after our 20 hour flight via Lima, we were anxious to take a stroll and enjoy the neighborhood. We walked across the street to a craft fair setup next to the Iglesia de Nuestro Senora del Pilar (a gorgeous baroque colonial church built in 1724). After craft
shopping, watching people eat huge sausages, and a quick visit inside the church we walked in the park to enjoy the 75 degree evening. Finally, we chose a snazzy sidewalk cafe near our hotel. We enjoyed a oje de bife (Argentinian rib eye) and dined under the stars. It was a perfect evening. The Etoile Recoleta hotel was recommended by the actor Robert Duval in the Wall St Journal a couple weeks ago and so we decided to stay there. A bit worn, but clean and nice, great location. As he said, it is close to La Biela, one of the most famous cafes in Latin America. Now, at last - Sleep. Good night.

Airport security

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General Wesley Clark at security, no special treatment. Remove your coat, belt and shoes and raise your arms for a full body search.

Musings by Dale

2010-02-21T07:33:00.001-08:00

Feeling pretty small compared to the bamboo

General Clark at security

2010-02-21T07:28:00.001-08:00

General Wesley Clark

2010-02-21T07:22:00.001-08:00

Today we flew home and met a good and humble man. Do you recall General Wesley Clark, a former candidate for the Democratic nomination for President? We stood behind him and his wife Gertrude in the security line at the Panama airport. This man was a four star general, Supreme Allied Commander of all NATO forces in Europe. Valedictorian of his West Point class of 1966, a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, seriously wounded in Viet Nam, recipient of the Silver Star and many high honors and awards. He is a frequent guest on the nations TV talk shows about politics and war.

The security in Panama was very strict. We went through the metal detector and then each had a full body pat down search, the hands were uncomfortably close to all my private parts and then a hand search of each piece of carry on baggage. General Clark was standing two feet in front of me and they patted him down just like the rest of us. He took off his shoes and his belt and his coat and waited patiently while the young security guard decided he was not a terrorist. As he raised both arms he must have dislodged his ear piece, for a minute later he said to his wife: "I've lost my ear piece."

She gave him a look and said: "How could you do that?" and they proceeded down the walkway towards the airplane. We had to take a bus to the plane, it was very full of passengers and carry on bags. It was hot and people were in a hurry. General Clark and his wife each had an additional piece of luggage and they were rolling them along on wheels. As they boarded the bus he stepped on her toe and she cried out: "ouch, that was my toe." He looked very sorry and hung his head as he asked her forgiveness.

After a five minute bus ride we reached the airplane on the tarmac. We had to climb up an outdoor stairway and he gallently took both suitcases and his own carryon and lugged them up the steps after his wife. I followed close behind, thinking "this man once commanded over a million US soldiers, he was Supreme Commander of all NATO troops, he ran for President of the United States, and now he is huffing and puffing his own bags up the steps."

We took our seats and watched the General and his wife move to the back of the plane. Just before takeoff the steward came back and said there was one First Class upgrade seat available, would the General like to have it? He deferred to his wife and she came up to take seat 1A, leaving him with a wan smile, knees jammed into the seat ahead, ready to fly home to the USA.

The steward came back to hand out newspapers. I took La Prensa and the lead story is about another General, Manuel Antonio Noriega. The former dictator of Panama has just asked the US Supreme Court to review his sentance for drug dealing, money laundering and mahem. I think of Noriega sitting in a beige prison cell in Florida, playing dominoes with his buddies. My thoughts turn back to the time when Noriega was in power. My father and I were on a trip to Egypt then. Mom had died very unexpectedly. A premature death in every way. Dad was suffering a serious depression and Gail suggested I take him on a trip and try to help him out of his malaise. We were in a hot, crowded bus, crossing the desert south of Luxor. Egypt, the home of ancient civilizations, the birth place of large scale government, military power, agriculture and art. The ancient Egyptians had much to be proud of. Theirs was the greatest civilization known to man, the acme of human achievement. My father was a scholar, he loved Israel and Egypt and the cultures that flowed from that part of the world. His depression faded as he taught me lessons in that dusty bus tour.

Suddenly we saw a large stone structure off in the distance. Compared to the surrounding sand it was stark and as we came closer it loomed large. The bus driver stopped so we could climb out and take pictures. It was at least 50 feet tall to the shoulder. But the head had toppled off and lay sideways on the sand. This was a self portrait of Rameses the Great, also called Ozymandias, the Ruler of the World. He built the gigantic statute to comemorate his military triumphs and the inscription at the base was full of self confidence: "Look on my works Ye Mighty and despair."

The English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, in 1818, reflecting on this superman and this statue, wrote a sonnet :

"I met a traveler from an antique land who said:

Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, half sunk

a shattered visage lies, whose frown, and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, tell that its sculptor well those passions read

which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, the hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal these words appear: "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings; look on my works ye Mighty, and despair!"

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare the lone and level sands stretch faraway."

Now as I sit in the airplane, thinking of the fallen statue in Egypt, I weep for this world. I recall the gigantic statue of Saddam Hussein being pulled down by US soldiers. A few years earlier I recall the statues of Stalin being pulled down all across eastern Europe. I remember seeing in 1965 in Haiti the people pulling down a statue of their dictator Papa Doc Duvalier. I remember reading about statues of Mussolini and Hitler and Franco all pulled down by their own citizens. Hubris. Destroyer of men and nations. We need more men and women of humility in positions of power. Men who carry their own bags up crowded stairs and do not expect to be seated at the right hand of power. Ride home safely General Clark. Thank you for your service. Duty, Honor, Country

The tour of Monkey Island

2010-02-19T09:39:00.001-08:00

Panama Canal

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Just be careful and stay out of his way. Our small boat was faster and more nimble.

Monkey in the boat

2010-02-19T09:25:00.001-08:00

What is more dangerous than smoking in bed? Having a wild Capuchin monkey jump in your boat.

Monkey Business

2010-02-19T09:19:00.000-08:00

Our last full day in the jungle was the best. Early in the morning we took a boat tour down the Chagres River, through the Panama Canal, into Lake Gatun and around the many small islands that are home to monkeys, iguanas and a variety of birds. The canal was busy, several large freighters steaming through and we sped by dwarfed by their gigantic sides. Our guide Liz was great and all ten tourists "oohed" and "ahhed" as she told us about the canal and the wildlife.

The Capuchine monkeys are the most gregarious, one jumped right into our small boat and grabbed at the guide. She warned us that they might try to grab our cameras but we kept taking pictures. The family of six monkeys live on a particular island and do not like to swim as there are caimen (small alligators) and large fish that enjoy monkey for dinner. On a different island we saw an old Capuchine male who lives alone, either too sick to be with or banished by the larger group. At another island we saw three large howler monkeys in the tree tops. At a fourth island we saw two huge iguanas, one with a large orange belly who the guide said was pregnant. We even saw a sloth hanging upside down in a tree. It was a wonderful tour and we highly recommend it to anyone to ventures into the jungle. This has been a great visit. The weather perfect, the food delicious and the scenery magnificent.

Diving sea hawk with fish

2010-02-19T05:30:00.000-08:00

Gamboa pool

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Mama warned me about these guys

2010-02-18T13:34:00.000-08:00

Musings from Gail

2010-02-18T13:17:00.001-08:00

BUGS: My mom always tucked me in when I was a little girl and said, "Don't let the bed bugs bite". Well mom, last night they did bite. Dale had a restful slumber bite free. I am blaming this bug attack on the same scented lotion that the huge black flies enjoyed feasting on in Argentina. Panama is home to 216 types of reptiles, 940 bird species and more than 10,000 plant species. I am not sure how many insect species exist, but I know there must have been plenty in my room last night. None visible of course. (Admittedly, they were probably mosquitoes not bed bugs. Afterall, this is a five star resort!). LESSON LEARNED: No more BED BATH AND BEYOND products for me in the tropics.

SPANISH: I have limited Spanish skills. It is always easier for me to practice speaking with children. Today, as I was basking in the sun poolside, I opened my eyes and there was a small four or five year old child peering at me six inches from my face. "Oh good" I thought to myself, "I can practice my Spanish". He was charming and we exchanged the usual...how old are you, where do you live etc. Then he wanted to explore my new iPOD shuffle earpiece that I was using. So, I let him play with it and listen to my music for awhile. Then I took the earpiece away. He was not happy with me. Of course I could not understand his childish rapid fire Spanish and he could not understand my English explanation of why our play time had ended. So, the kid stood over my bathing suit cover up that was on the deck beside my lounge chaIr, screwed up his face and urinated all over my garment. LESSON LEARNED: Not all kids are as adorable as my grandchildren.

PIRATES: I love the movie and music from "Pirates of the Caribbean". We enjoyed a Pirate's Buffet here at our resort the other night with delicious tropical flavors. It was a feast for the eyes. Dale may like the jungle ride at Disneyland, but Pirates of the Caribbean is my personal favorite. But have you ever really thought about the way Hollywood has romanticized these guys? The English pirates Frances Drake and Henry Morgan were both active pirates in Panama were really wicked men. They pillaged and plundered. Henry Morgan's men even used the Jesuit priests as human shields during the seige of Panama City. LESSON LEARNED: Next time someone tries to tell me a pirate is cute, I will not believe them. I don't think bugs are cute either, especially today as I am covered with bites.

SPECIAL MOMENTS IN PANAMA: My first cup of Panamanian coffee each morning....yummm. The sounds of the jungle. A tropical fruit plate. My new iPOD Shuffle....it is so tiny, yet can store over 1,000 songs. A swim and soak in the beautiful pool at Gamboa. To see and hear a spider monkey when on my morning walk with Dale. The time to enjoy the solitude and beauty of God's creation. LESSON LEARNED: Be Still and Know that He is God this 2010 Lenten season.

Gamboa Rainforest Resort

2010-02-18T08:33:00.001-08:00

Bird color coordinated with lamp

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Sunrise at Gamboa

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Every morning before dawn a multitude of birds herald the coming and then, suddenly, at 6:22 am the sun rises over the jungle at Colon, flooding the sky with light and warmth. Every afternoon at about 6:10 pm the golden ball disappears over the western side of the jungle and falls into the Pacific. The creatures have the night to themselves and the sounds are a tantalizing invitation to join them if you dare. The evening nature walk is the best time to catch them. We are close to the equator. Near the middle of the earth at this land bridge between North and South America. Strange and wonderful things happen here. The daily miracle of rebirth. Faith put into action. Lent giving way to Easter morning.

Fishing

2010-02-17T18:58:00.001-08:00

Every day the local men go fishing for a variety of fresh water fish. We have been eating a lot of seafood in the restaurants and it has always been fresh and delicious. Today a tropical rain storm blew through the jungle and it poured for about an hour, then the sun came back out and blasted us with 95 degree heat. It was wonderful, hot, humid and just like the jungle should be. Later in the evening we went for a walk and saw a lot of birds and animals coming out to enjoy the fresh air and cool evening breezes. I think the large rodent in the photo is a canejo. It was a lot bigger than the ajouti we saw yesterday. Today is the first day of Lent and most of the hotel guests have gone back to Panama City. We are here with some folks from France, Colombia, Canada and a few Americans. It is a great jungle hotel and now that there are fewer people here it is even more magical. Tonight we ate at the River Chagres Restaurant and the food was superb. Mahi mahi, scallops, shrimp, hearts of palm salad. Nice. We both read a lot today and I have been thinking about politics and "One Term Presidents" like James Buchanan, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama. That will be a good blog for you political junkies but I am still working on it so you will have to wait for another day.

Iguanas

2010-02-17T18:42:00.001-08:00

Watch where you are walking, the iguanas are big and like to hide in the bushes. Although sometimes they come walking right down the street. There are two in the picture of the street, can you see them both?

Conejo pintado ?

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This guy is as big as a dog, lurking around our hotel. Looks like another species of unusually large rodent to me.

One of God's Creatures: Egret

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Nature path

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Our mid-day nature walk

2010-02-16T15:49:00.001-08:00

Dale and I both dislike rain and snow in the cold winter months in Wenatchee. So we take a winter vacation and seek out sunny destinations. Today we actually wished for rain and that is not like us at all! We thought we had a good plan for the day. A late breakfast, followed by a nature walk on the groomed jungle trails in the National Park where we are staying. Dale saw two iguanas over five feet long on his solo walk yesterday that he wanted to show me. The problem was the iguanas were having a noon time siesta and we should have been too. I have never been so hot and sweaty in my life. (I know my son will laugh at me as he endured two unbearable summers in Iraq.) Thank goodness we had a swimming pool, air conditioned room and cold Perrier upon our return.

There is no doubt that the Lord was working overtime when he created Panama. The ecosystem is complex, thousands of different birds, animals, trees and flowers and that does not begin to mention the sea creatures, both salt and fresh water. How endlessly interesting. The sounds in the rain forest are fascinating. I always thought it would be fun to go on a safari. Honestly, I am beginning to realize that I wouldn't do very well in a place without amenities. Panama has the most accessible rain forest anywhere in the world. In fact, over 25 percent of the land mass in the country is protected national forest. While there is an ever increasing American retirement population in Panama, it doesn't take long to leave the city. We didn't have to access this place by safari or bush plane. It took a thirty minute cab ride and a $30 fare on a paved road, Now we relax on a hammock on our personal lanai overlooking the grandeur of nature in the wild. I really do want to see that big iguana. Maybe tomorrow before breakfast? Gail

Embera native village

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Hummingbird hiding

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The aerial tram from Switzerland

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Our excellent guide

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Jungle Tour

2010-02-16T05:57:00.001-08:00

When we were young going to Disneyland was our favorite vacation. I recall taking the Jungle boat cruise in Anaheim in 1960 with Clyde and thinking it was the best place in the world. It certainly was the happiest. We could hardly wait to take our own children to Disneyland in the early 1990's. We are looking forward to taking our grandchildren there as soon as they are a little older. But... as we took the tram through the jungles of Panama the sounds, smells and sights of a real jungle contrasted with the pale version of our youth. This is not a slam on Disneyland, we still love it. But this is real.

The giant ant nests, bee hives, birds of all kinds, trees, vines, bugs, swamps, shreiking monkeys, slithering snakes, lizards and butterflies. They are right there, in your face, real and spectacular. There was an orchid nursery, a serpentarium, and an acquarium. We visited an ancient indian village, saw a woman weaving and climbed high into the trees. One of the best tours was of the Mariposas, a butterfly house where we were surrounded by the delicate creatures. Let us show you some pictures.

Bougainvilla

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Room 342 balcony

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We have a good collection of novels, travel books and economic texts, Something for everyone and a perfect place to read.

An ajouti is...

2010-02-15T19:55:00.001-08:00

Unusually large and fearless rodent

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Welcome to my world

2010-02-15T19:35:00.001-08:00

Half way through the canal

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The Panama Canal is 80 kilometers long, it has 3 locks. This giant ship is heading towards the Caribbean side and is at the 40 K marker, half way across the isthmus.

The Incredible Gamboa Rainforest Resort

2010-02-15T19:02:00.000-08:00

A picture is worth a thousand words. Today we arrived at the beautiful Gamboa Rainforest Resort located 40 minutes west of Panama City, in the middle of Soberania National Park near the junction of the Panama Canal and the Rio Chagres River. Our photos show that the views from the main resort lobby are stunning. This resort is surrounded by jungle and water and is incredibly picturesque! We have decided to extend our stay here to take advantage of numerous day trips and tours. Gail

Snow in Rome

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Tears and Prayers in Haiti

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Sunset in Panama

2010-02-13T16:01:00.001-08:00

La Prensa-El Diario Libre de Panama

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The major newspaper of Panama is La Prensa whose motto is: El Diario Libre which does not mean it is free, but that it is FREE as in not subsidized or censored by the government. I love a truly free press and I love reading newspapers, have done it daily for nearly 50 years. Sitting here by the pool in sunny Panama I wanted to enjoy the day and practice my Spanish. Here are the lead stories on February 13, 2010:

"Intensa nevada atrae a turistas en Roma" (it snowed in Rome last night for the first major snow storm since 1986) the photos show tourists sliding around the Coloseum. " Arrestan al gobernador de Brasilia" (They arrest the governor of Brasilia, the national capital of Brazil...on corruption charges of course)

"Bill Clinton se recupera ya en su casa tras la intervencion" (Bill is recovering from his heart stent intervention) " Argentina obstaculiza proyecto en Las Malvinas" (Argentina is trying to prevent the British from developing the undersea oil and gas near the Falkland Islands...the war they fought with the British over the Malvinas was also in the 1980's and yet the conflict continues.)

The second page tells of a Venezuelan journalist who disappeared on January 8 was found dead in a cemetary 425 kilometers southwest of Caracas and in a separate story Hugo Chavez is suspending the law and acting more like a dictator. Yesterday he ordered the cable TV channel who criticized him to shut down. No connection to the dead reporter, of course. The president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, a friend of Chavez, had a successful surgery done in Cuba. (One of the dangers of being a populist president who is anti American is that you have to have your surgery done in Cuba rather than Houston or NYC.) While he was away protesters filled the streets in Guayaquil claiming he is a "dictadura" And Cristina de Kirchner of Argentina is reported to have won her battle to fire the President of the Central Bank and appointed a new banker who will do what she wants. So much for an independant central bank.

By the time we get to the third page we read " Pakistan e India hablaran de paz" (thank goodness for some good news) and " La TV, nuevo campo de batalla de la religion" (it looks like in Indonesia the Muslim majority is cracking down on Christian TV broadcasts and will force them off the air. Is there a pattern here?

The most significant article, buried on page three, "Se enfrian relaciones de EU y China" tells of the fact that China now holds $700 Billion in US Treasury Bonds and China is angry that Obama is going to meet with the Dalai Lama this week. I wonder what China will do with all those bonds? China hates free speech, especially Google and Facebook and our government has always stood up for free speech, right? And do you recall how Justice Alito shook his and said "NO" at Obama during the State of the Union when our President was criticizing the Supreme Court for their decision on campaign finance? The court held 5-4 that "Free Speech" actually includes political speech. And our President cannot handle the truth. Stunning. Or is this too much legalspeak. The themes are the same in every language .Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

War and religion. Dictators and censorship. Corruption in high places. Wars over undersea oil reserves. Global warming and snow in Rome. Financial threats and bullying. And, to end it all "Entre llanto y oraciones, Haiti despide sus muertos" yes there is enough for all of us to cry over and to pray for. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. And thats all the news that is fit to print in Lake Woebegone. Good night dear readers, the sun is setting over Panama and tomorrow the sun will rise again. The newspaper here is still free to print the truth.

Panama City

2010-02-13T07:26:00.001-08:00

Miraflores Locks built 1913

2010-02-13T07:24:00.001-08:00

Welcome to Panama

2010-02-13T07:12:00.001-08:00

Today we took a city tour of Panama often called "Crossroads of the World". The other tourists were from Colombia. We were the only Americans. The Panama Canal is truly one of the engineering wonders of the world. It was awesome to stand on the observation deck at the Miraflores Locks and watch a massive container ship glide by. Panama is an Indian word that means "an abundance of fish". One of my favorite exhibits at the Visitors' Center was a trio of fish tanks. One contained a sampling of Atlantic ocean fish, one the fresh water fish that live in the canal and one the Pacific coast species. The ships pass through three giant locks in their journey across the isthmus. We all know that building the canal was a hideous struggle for workers with the jungle and disease claiming many thousands of lives. The size of the cockraches and bees on display today were enough to send shivers down my spine and I am not kidding!

We also toured both the ruins of Old Panama and Casco Viejo or "Colonial Panama" which is currently crammed with restoration projects. We saw ancient buildings, balconied streets, plazas, and sidewalk cafes. . We stopped at San Jose church, built in 1675, that contained a huge Golden Altar that was thought to have been made in Ecuador. It was hidden from the English pirate, Henry Morgan when he captured and destroyed much of the city and then moved to it's current location in a more defendable part of the city behind an ancient city wall.

The Hotel Radisson Decapolis is ultra modern with it's blue lighting, loud music, fancy pool and huge attached casino and shopping mall (the largest in Central America). We do have a lovely suite with a magnificent view of the Pacific ocean and a skyline of shimmering glass and steel towers that reminds me of New York City. This city is very rich and has become a financial hub for all of Latin America. Locals call the skyscrapers the "coke towers" and they do not mean Coca Cola.

Good thing our room is sound proof because Carnival begins tonight. Didn't stop to think that the four days before Ash Wednesday represents some serious merriment in Panama. The whole country shuts down for a party. No worries....the Foremans are safely tucked in bed by 9 or 10 PM every night. It has been good to experience the city, but I am ready to move on to view the mountains, rain forest and beaches that I have read so much about. We have one more day in the city.....guess I'd better visit the mall today :) Gail

The Blessings of Family

2010-02-09T21:10:00.001-08:00

As Willie Nelson would sing, "On the road again". Tomorrow Dale and I leave for Panama. We hope to see the canal, experience the jungle, take pictures of monkeys and of course soak up some rays. It was wonderful to come home to Wenatchee and reconnect with our family. We miss our grandchildren so much when we travel, but oh how we love getting away from grey skies in the winter months. Stay tuned for more Foreman adventures....... we are off and running!

The Casa Rosada

2010-01-29T15:08:00.001-08:00

The President of Argentina, Cristina de Kirchner, lives in the Casa Rosada, the pink house. During our entire trip she has been feuding with the President of the Central Bank and with her own Vice President. She is very unpopular with the people we have talked to and on the way to the airport our driver told us a joke in Spanish that roughly translated is: " Do you know why Cristina cannot drive? She shifts the gears first and then pushes in the clutch." Then we checked the news on line and see that today she made international headlines, even the Seattle Times, for her story on how eating more pork can improve a man's sexual performance. Can you imagine, meat prices have increased here 40% since December and in the meat eating capital of the world, the President is encouraging her people to eat less red meat and more pork. Inflation, political instability and protesters in the street. What a great country. If you are interested read on.

Argentina 2010

2010-01-29T04:52:00.001-08:00

This blog tells the tale of our three week trip to Argentina in January 2010. If you are interested in wine, pears, apples, tango or trout fishing, architecture, art ,politics, economics, trekking or just people watching and love life there is something in it for you. You can either begin at the beginning, January 8 in Mendoza, or at the end, January 29 in Buenos Aires. Or you can jump into the middle in Neuquen or Bariloche or Villa La Angostura. Wheverever you start, we hope you do not end until you come down here to experience it for yourself. Enjoy. Dale and Gail Foreman

In the City of Angels

2010-01-29T04:42:00.000-08:00

City of Angels

2010-01-29T04:37:00.000-08:00

It is our last morning in Argentina, we return to the City of Angels, the cemetary in Recoleta, to better understand the mystery of poor Rufina Cambaceres. Rufina was the 19 year old daughter of a very rich family when she died suddenly in 1902. After a few days the cemetary staff called the family to report the coffin had been disturbed and when they opened it to check the corpse was covered in scratches. The legend began to be told that Rufina was a ghost and she wanders the narrow lanes of the cemetary looking for her betrothed. They also say that her own mother was having an affair with Rufina's fiance and gave her daughter a potion to make her sleep. Sadly the potion was too strong and it killed the girl. The distraught fiance later killed himself outside the Cafe Tortoni. The family constucted a crypt complete with a statue of Rufina holding the door of her own crypt, trying to open it to escape her fate.
Like Lady Diana and Eva Peron, the world loves a story of a beautiful young girl coming into her prime. We yearn for Cinderella to win the Prince. We cheer when Princess Grace is crowned and cry when her sports car goes off the cliff and smashes on the winding road. Everyone fears the unhappy ending. We tremble to think that although blessed with youth, beauty and riches, all is dust. This cemetary gives us a "momento mori", a time to reflect on life and death. Life is good Life is too short. This trip to Argentina has been great. Seize each moment. And know that there is more to come for those who believe in Jesus Christ.

Congreso

2010-01-28T14:43:00.001-08:00

Polo Ralph Lauren shop in an old mansion

2010-01-28T14:38:00.001-08:00

chic window display

2010-01-28T14:30:00.001-08:00

Window shopping

2010-01-28T14:25:00.001-08:00