Thinking of all of you that are affected by Otto’s late-November surprise.
When I scan maps of Central America, I always spot that large Lake Nicaragua- Cocibolca (Ometepe is home to Debbie and Ron, who – ironically- were in New Zealand and experienced the recent 7.8 earthquake…) Then I look due south to find the Nicoya Penisula where many of my friends live…. and now due east to Barra Colorado on the north-east border with Nicaragua, where my friend Dan has Rio Colorado Lodge. Hang in there everyone… Many will be watching from afar.
Kris out of Panama posted an update on weather in the David area.‘Otto is Soaking Us”
(To anyone with internet there, updates are appreciated…)
Lessons to all: Keep your homes well stocked – disasters seem to be surprising people world wide….
Bob “PiranCafe” and Miguelito/Galapagos Turtle/Ecuador
(Oops! Slow internet and power outages can frustrate one’s day, and both contributed to this post that was anxious to leap from the starting gate. The Preview and Publish buttons are too close together when one is working on a mini laptop! After the false start, it took another half hour to return to the edit page! For the next hour, I failed at uploading any new images. I resumed, worked with archive photos, and then the ‘Publish’ function would not work! And then the page wouldn’t open. And the email wouldn’t work. Hobbling along, I”m hopeful to send this now! . . . Shall we continue?)
My father once stated, “Imagine how empty your life would be if no one called or came by.”
Every so often those words of wisdom echo back during specific moments, usually when society interrupts my day one time too many, and then I remember his words and am honored to have people in my life who care. On rare occasions my antennae tweak toward others when their usual habits suddenly change, which is what’s happened with Bob.
Bob Ramsak, our WP globe-trotting reporter, started his 18-month round-the-world journey in January 2013. Working his way north north north from the tip of Argentina to the equator, (@Week 18!) he is now somewhere in Central America between Boquete Panama and Costa Rica.
Bob meeting Miguelito, a Galapagos turtle in Bahia de Caraquez.
I’m talking about Bob, who schedules drafts to publish when he is in transit… Bob, who has been publishing shots of daily newspaper stands. Bob, who updates his location more promptly than a Timex! Bob, who was supposed to leave Boquete last week and is still ‘pending’ (Top right on his homepage.) there in Boquete!
Inquiring minds want to know: Bob, are you going to choke me for my concern, or will you remind yourself that I care and hope that you’re ok?!! Hopefully you’re out there and will approve of this post and the music!
Bob at lookout – Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador
Sisters Vania and ‘Silvana escort Bob via trek to the petite village of Amacora Ecuador.
Stepping back in time. Amacora Ecuador
Here’s Bob’s weekly recap from the time he spent along the line of the equator: Bootleg Barbies, Inauguration, Monsanto, Coolest Floor in the World.
Bob’s visit to the Riverhouse and the Magic Carpet Hand-painted Floor!
Bob had plans to meet friends and family in Costa Rica, so I hope he’s tied up with reunions; it still seems odd that he hasn’t posted an update.
Have any of you heard from him this past week? A tweet, a like, a reply to a comment? I’m considering firing up the flying carpet and starting a search party.
Bob “PiranCafe” and Miguelito/Galapagos Turtle/Ecuador
(Oops! Slow internet and power outages can frustrate one’s day, and both contributed to this post that was anxious to leap from the starting gate. The Preview and Publish buttons are too close together when one is working on a mini laptop! After the false start, it took another half hour to return to the edit page! For the next hour, I failed at uploading any new images. I resumed, worked with archive photos, and then the ‘Publish’ function would not work! And then the page wouldn’t open. And the email wouldn’t work. Hobbling along, I”m hopeful to send this now! . . . Shall we continue?)
My father once stated, “Imagine how empty your life would be if no one called or came by.”
Every so often those words of wisdom echo back during specific moments, usually when society interrupts my day one time too many, and then I remember his words and am honored to have people in my life who care. On rare occasions my antennae tweak toward others when their usual habits suddenly change, which is what’s happened with Bob.
Bob Ramsak, our WP globe-trotting reporter, started his 18-month round-the-world journey in January 2013. Working his way north north north from the tip of Argentina to the equator, (@Week 18!) he is now somewhere in Central America between Boquete Panama and Costa Rica.
Bob meeting Miguelito, a Galapagos turtle in Bahia de Caraquez.
I’m talking about Bob, who schedules drafts to publish when he is in transit… Bob, who has been publishing shots of daily newspaper stands. Bob, who updates his location more promptly than a Timex! Bob, who was supposed to leave Boquete last week and is still ‘pending’ (Top right on his homepage.) there in Boquete!
Inquiring minds want to know: Bob, are you going to choke me for my concern, or will you remind yourself that I care and hope that you’re ok?!! Hopefully you’re out there and enjoyed the selection of music…
Bob at lookout – Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador
Sisters Vania and ‘Silvana escort Bob via trek to the petite village of Amacora Ecuador.
Stepping back in time. Amacora Ecuador
Here’s Bob’s weekly recap from the time he spent along the line of the equator: Bootleg Barbies, Inauguration, Monsanto, Coolest Floor in the World.
Bob’s visit to the Riverhouse and the Magic Carpet Hand-painted Floor!
Bob had plans to meet friends and family in Costa Rica, so I hope he’s tied up with reunions; it still seems odd that he hasn’t posted an update.
Have any of you heard from him this past week? A tweet, a like, a reply to a comment? I’m considering firing up the flying carpet and starting a search party.
Break time from kitchen duty! Doesn’t she have a genuine smile?
There are many great words that start with S in Spanish. After I typed an assortment of words in the “New Post” page, I pondered the many photo options for those words.
Most people don’t particularly care for images of snakes; the word for a poisonous snake is serpiente. (Otherwise it’s culebra – correct me, Spanish speakers, if I’m wrong!)
I usually sign my emails and notes with the word siempre, which means always.
Sandia – watermelon would make a fun pictorial, as would sapo – toad. (A frog is called a rana.)
Other helpful words are Sabor-Taste, Sed-Thirsty, Salud-Health, Salud-Cheers, and Salud-Bless You! Last year I was walking down a quiet sidewalk in Cruzita, and two men were walking on the other side of the street. One sneezed, and I automatically stated, “Salud!” and kept walking. They looked over at me, were shocked to see an ‘outsider,’ and they chuckled – as did I!
Shunning all of the above, I present to you an assortment of sonrisas in honor of Mother’s Day! (The photos were taken in Ecuador unless otherwise noted.) Enjoy! Continue reading →
Lo siento, (I’m sorry!) I apologize in advance for veering a bit off course for this week’s story alphabet via Spanish words. How can I not include Panama’s unique Kuna Indians in this challenge?
Mola Textiles made by the Kuna Indians of Panama
When I lived in Costa Rica, I often visited my friend Barbara, who lives in the “Amador” area of Panama where the Panama Canal merges into the Pacific Ocean. The Kuna Indians’ unique ‘mola textiles’ colored the artisan markets in that area, and I always paused to admire the rich colors and finely-crafted works of art.
My interest at the time was on stained-glass windows, and I was preparing to capture the beauty of stained glass in watercolors. The first ‘Mola” concept was a collective project to nudge Barbara out of a painting block. I sketched the design, and she and her daughter Bobbe and I floated the colors with a relaxed ease. Continue reading →
Thanks, Let’s Be Wild, for selecting the image of “Little Bit” Iguana in last week’s winner’s circle. This week’s theme is Wanderlust, a perfect topic for the life of the Zeebra!
When I was about ten years old, our class studied about Argentina’s pastoral Pampas grasslands. The images of horses and cattle affected me, and I dreamed of living in faraway Argentina.
Oops.. This is Nicaragua – We haven’t made it to Argentina yet!
Mark Knofler’s song Wanderlust makes a perfect backdrop for this post, and the video is paired with images from Ecuador. Enjoy the song while scrolling through these images of Latin America. Continue reading →
WordPress Weekly Challenge asks for examples of Delicate. Before reading the text, I thought of the delicate texture of hibiscus blossoms that often find their way into my food and drink!
While waiting for the post to load (connection speeds are often brutally slow here!) I pondered a more serious post that addressed the delicate balance between man and nature. The story is here: A FRAGILE BALANCE – The Decline of the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle.
The turtle returned to the quiet beach, nested, returned to the sea, yet humans raided the nest!
The delicate balance between man and nature often causes dysfunction between the rights of nature versus modern progress. Here are a few examples that balance moments I’ve sadly witnessed against others that give hope. Continue reading →
This week’s Let’s Be Wild website is accepting entries in the Wild Weekly Photo Challenge for Sunsets. They stress the importance of enjoying nature – a no brainer for a nature lover like me! Living on the Pacific coast of Latin America has provided a bounty of stunning sunset Pacific views, from El Salvador to Ecuador! Here are some of my favorites!
WordPress updated gallery options for sharing images and asked us to test them. *For this post, I am attempting to put each image in a circle of a spotlight. Visit the WordPress DailyPost Home Base to see posts from all over the world!
Thank you, WordPress for the great weekly challenges. Thanks, everyone, for your incredible feedback on last week’s Post on Solitary. I hope to have a follow-up story on that old man as soon as I can retrieve more images trapped in an old hard drive!
Thanks, also, for your support for the Inspirational postabout my nephew Don. I am blessed to have so much positive feedback and support. He seems genuinely baffled that we think he’s a very special and unique person!
WordPress community: YOU ROCK! I hope that these images make you smile! Continue reading →
Zeebra Designs & Destinations 