Another unique day..:-)

Today in Blanca's village I attended the funeral mass of an old family friend of Blanca's.

It was an all day event which included the following:

 Attending the visitation where respect and prayers were given ( the casket was in the parlour).  We were served a wonderful chicken dish with rice.  They were cooked on the outside gas grill and the rice pot was covered with banana leafs.

There were prayers before the mass and at the end the men carried the casket to the cemetery.  Obviously I did not take pictures.

Some pictures are of Azelda ( wife of Blanca's nephew) and her house.  Also views from the home of Blanca's niece.

Also Blanca noticed thieves stealing guava from her family's land.  She confronted them and asked if they had permission.  They didn't.  She sshooed them off.  She said it wasn't unusual, especially when there is a funeral where most of the village attends.

One more picture from a few days ago...

This is Blanca and I 'touching the stones' of a building from the 1500s.

Not something most tourists do...

As a present and treat for Mila we got her 8 chicks.  She had mentioned to Blanca she wished she had some.  Because of her allergies Blanca made me go and get them (3 varieties).  Blanca did tell the shop assistant to help me because I was 'a gringo who knows nothing about chickens'.

Mostly a business day for Blanca with me accompanying her but we did get some laundry done and I successfully obtained money from the ATM as a test whether I could.

I nipped away from Blanca for a short time to revisit the Cathedral square and then later a couple of other ones.

I laugh.  We had another great lunch but this time we sat down and there was a brief exchange of Spanish.  A few minutes later our lunch arrived: chicken rice, potato salad, plantains and some wonderful tropical juice.  Blanca chose well for me!

Each meal, including the drink (with our senior's discount) came to $4.12 (American).

Pouring rain today

Not sure what we'll do.  It's been raining for hours.  Blanca says this is unusual in her area.

A day in Chiltre

Today Blanca had a lot of business to do so I spent the morning visiting the Cathedral and then sitting in the church ( and one of many) city squares.  Alas I didn't take my tablet so I can't share any pictures since all I took were  on my camera.

However in the afternoon I sat in another city square albeit not as pretty and I had my tablet then.

So many times when I've been on tours I've wanted the opportunity to just 'sit and enjoy' and soak up the atmosphere and today I did.  Lovely.

Also went to Corina's (Blanca's friend who had joined us for a few days in Panama city).  Blanca picked fresh mangoes.  Corina's yard also has a banana tree and a papaya tree.

Blanca took me to take a peak at the ocean but the tide was way out.  This is just a small, municipal beach for the locals.  We will return another day when the tide is in.

Going local

It is fascinating to see and 'be one of the people' behind the facades of the local residences.

A few pictures:
Our hostess loves animals, including having many birds, 2 dogs (the rottweiler is friendly), some chickens and iguana.

Our bedroom has air conditioning in addition to the fan.

:-)

Panama Viejo

Visited Panama Viejo today before leaving Panama city.

Drove safely to Chiltre, after driving over the Bridge of the Americas