HIGH WINDS IN PANAMA

The primary reason we left Canada for Panama was to join the leadership team of the Dead Wheat International Foundation (DWIF). In a nutshell, we develop "contextually appropriate (sustainable) solutions" to address water, food and clean air security for vulnerable communities within the rain forest belt, with a particular focus in Latin America. Our primary food security technology is aquaponics - a merger of hydroponics (soil free food production) and aquaculture (fish) that recycles water and needs no outside inputs. We recently celebrated completion of the construction of our 100' by 30' experimental farm in El Frances.

But - high winds are a seasonal reality here in Panama that transition us from the rainy to dry season. In fact, you might remember a blog entry (with video) from last year detailing how gusts of wind flung our trampoline into our neighbors property. Well, this season we've had particularly strong winds, even at lower altitudes where our project is located.

This past week, wind gusts systematically destroyed the structure of our aquaponic project in El Frances. For a video report on the story, click here.

Paul

HOLIDAYS

This is a picure outside my front door Christmas morning. Gorgeous blue skies and mountain views. Hummingbirds everywhere. Doesn't feel like Christmas however without snow! We did go to a pot luck on the 24th with a bunch of families from here. Below is a picture of a few of my girls. We don't dress up very often here, so when we all arrive with clean clothes, hair combed, no flip flops and make up on, we take pictures and all coo "Oh, your so pretty!"

From L to R-Lizanne, Sharron, Nicole, Me, Jenni and Tammy

HO HO HUMBUG?

I trust you all had an incredible Christmas with your loved ones. This was our third Christmas in Panama. Every year it seems our traditions evolve and we adopt some new traditions. As a parents, you always want to make the Christmas season special for your children. This year was a little different. As some of you know, Syd has been struggling with her skin so a real tree and a trip to the ocean was out of the question. Before we knew it, it was Dec 23rd.



This was the type of tree we wanted to have, but we improvised and came up with the following new tradition!

Our Christmas pineapple tree!

Until I blog again,

Linda

FELIZ NAVIDAD

Holiday Greetings to all our blog followers!!

We have switched from rainy season to windy season. I have to say, it sure beats minus 38 degrees and snow. I send my condolences to those freezing in Calgary today!

Christmas and New Years is huge here in Panama. People save all year to buy their loved ones presents and to decorate their homes. Many people wrap their front doors in wrapping paper and put their tree on the front porch for the whole community to enjoy. Even the poorest of places will have some type of Christmas decorations displayed. The stores are packed and there is always a free wrapping table outside each store that will wrap each gift individually. On New Years, at midnight, almost every home sets off fireworks. It is such a beautiful sight and a really neat way to ring in the new year. Another tradition is that people will paint their homes, top to bottom, inside and out. It is a way to symbolically remove all the bad of the previous year and start the new year fresh. Paint is on sale everywhere!

I always have such a tough time getting into the Christmas spirit when there is no snow. This will be out third Christmas in Panama. This year we hope to go to the ocean for a few days. This year we are praying for new skin for Syd. As many of you know, Syd has been really struggling with her eczema. She has been improving, and we hope all her skin will be closed so we can all have a good soak in the ocean this year!

I will take a picture if a few houses today and add them to the post.

Until I blog again.
Love Linda

Merry Christmas

Make a Smilebox greeting

ON THE ROAD FROM WHITE TO BLACK

About a month ago, Joshua started TaeKwondo - and he loves it. Here's some vids of our new martial arts student beginning his journey from white belt to black belt.












Til next time,

Paul

A NOT SO LITTLE CREEPY CRAWLY

Driving back from a friend's house, my attention was arrested by something on the road. I was listening to my Spanish CD's and focusing on the correct pronunciation of the Spanish word for "I remember" that I didn't actually clue in as to what it was until I was nearly on top of it. Half stunned (as this was the closest I've been to an uncaged large snake), I drove past it and stopped the car about 20 feet past it. Grabbed my camera. Stuck my head out the window and took some pics.

It almost seemed to be posing for me - like it loved the camera. It just sat still, moving its head only slightly. But never looking at me. So I decided to get a little closer. I backed the truck up so the back tire (on the drivers side) was face to face with the little critter. Turns out, it wasn't so small. At least 6 ft and a diameter of about 6 inches or so. And turns out coming face to face with a snake is a sign of aggression. It began to coil and point its head straight at me. I can confirm, when a snake of this size does this, its a bit unsettling. So I rolled the truck ahead a bit and rolled video as it decided to exit stage left.

After doing a little research, it appears the snake might have been a Bushmaster - one of the planet's most deadly snakes. Gotta love Panama's outdoor zoo.



Ineffective snake charmer,

Paul