farSickness

When Dan and I arrived in Panama City we were expecting a typical Latin American country but Panama City is not your typical Latin American city. The first thing we immediately noticed was the enormous amount of high rise condos spread all over the city. We rented a 2-bedroom apartment that was quite nice with all the modern amenities you would expect in a U.S. apartment (e.g. high speed internet, flat screen TV, etc).  When we walked around Panama City we saw the U.S. influence in the businesses (fast food, Blockbuster, etc), the use of the dollar as the main currency and in the restaurants they serve items like nachos and club sandwiches. Also, unfortunately for my Spanish skills, many people speak English which makes it even more un-Latin American.  The “Super Mini FUK” was a store owned by Chinese immigrants that was near the apartment we rented. One thing that is also noticeable is the amount of Chinese immigrants who own stores and pharmacies in the city.

When you think about Panama you think about the Panama Canal which is actually a very interesting thing to see. When you arrive at the canal you pass the ex-US military base which is quite nice and has been converted into government administrative offices for the canal.  The canal area is a 4–story facility with a café, museum and viewing area of the locks. Watching the ships go thru the locks is actually quite interesting to see; apparently it takes a ship about 24 hours to get thru the canal. The big container and oil ships that go thru the locks have about 2 feet of space on either side as they inch along. It is a very slow process and it’s actually interesting to watch.  So we spent about 3 days in Panama City and that was more than enough, all there really is to do is go out to eat, gamble, hit the bar scene and if you’re into it, go to one of the many strip joints.

Dan and I left Panama City on a small turbo prop and 40 minutes later we arrived in Bocas Town, which is a very small town on an island. The island is surrounded by other islands and the sea is calm, very clear and beautiful. We stayed at Hotel Olas, a very nice hotel for $47 a night, that was built on stilts and sits on the water. It would be a great place to bring a girlfriend but unfortunately I was stuck sharing a room with Dan the Man and we made sure we got a room with separate beds. Our time in Bocas was interesting, we had a lot of things we wanted to do but we realized that trying to do things at a U.S. pace does not work in this little island town.

The first day we hired a boat to take us surfing and since we would be dropped off in the water we told the guide that we were not bringing cash and would pay them at the end. Well as luck would have it, the driver realized he was low on gas and had to stop and he had no money to pay for it, so since nobody on the boat had cash we had to go back to the hotel and by then it was getting too late to go back out to surf. The next day we went sea kayaking and discovered a little bar called “Calypso” on a small island marina; we decided we needed to grab some drinks there the next night. We also went scuba diving which worked out great. Dan had never dove before and did the “Discover Scuba” course and when he went in the water for the first time he was hesitant but got the hang of it quickly. The water was full of silt but the diving was decent. The next day we again hired a boat to take us out surfing only to discover that the waves were flat, which made for bad surfing conditions.

That night we took a water taxi to the “Calypso” bar and when we arrived we discovered a bunch of very rich fat Texans watching college football. We were told it was a happening place but not when we went, so we just grabbed a table and ordered some beers. The owner soon came over and he had a fascinating story to tell. He was from South Africa and at one time he owned all the Apple stores in South Africa and sold them back to Apple for a fortune and sailed the world for 6 years before ending up in Panama and buying the Calypso bar and marina.

After an awesome few days in sleepy Bocas Town we headed back to Panama City and stayed at a Hostel that was recommended on Hostelworld.com, but I think we discovered that we are now over the whole hostel thing and since we know we can afford a decent place we will probably be pickier in the future.

Store in Panama City

Stay tuned for more interesting details from Ashwini's trip to Panama!

I was on my own my last night in Paris and I went to a massive art walk near the Bastille. It was a lovely night and I fell in love with the work of a tiny woman named Fafa. It was funny because the entire time we were in France I had the Flight of the Conchords "Foux da Fafa" playing in my head. In case you are not familiar or you want to watch it for the 20th time because it is so damn funny, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5hrUGFhsXo

Fafa is French of Indian heritage and she lives in Toulouse. Her work is fanciful and colorful, as you will see from the first couple of pictures below. The very first, as you may guess, is of me and Fafa. There are also some photos of another exhibit, one of the Bastille and finally the name of the street we stayed on.

The last stage of our journey unfolded in the fabled City of Light. The City of Teenagers and others Sucking Face. The City of Dog Doo Everywhere. The City of Foot Fetishists. The City of Apartments Measured in Square Inches. The City of Darling Children who Speak French. The City of Smart Cars. The City of Homeless People who Have Beds and Complete Furniture Sets in the Street.

I have been here a handful of times and have covered most of the major tourist attractions, so I have been wandering around taking nightime photos among other efforts to dig deeper. Meanwhile Ashwini is battling the Griswolds high and low. And it is not even Griswold season.

We stayed in a miniature (not sure on the square inchage) apartment near Place Bastille. Craigslist find. Fabulous location near Le Marais. Six floor walk-up on stairs that are impossibly old and askew. Loud snoring coming from downstairs. The place was sunny and clean however and the location and super friendly owner made it a good deal.

Here are some random experiences:

Walking in the Jardin des Plantes, I needed to stop to sit on a bench and massage a cramp in the bottom of my foot. An elderly gentleman dressed all in black leather took note and stationed himself where he could watch. I soon got going and noticed him staring intently at my feet. It took me and my feet a while to lose him, but we ditched him eventually. Kinky. By the way, I was wearing striped socks and sneakers.

Ashwini's favorite site in Paris? A bottle of Tabasco sauce in the corner market. Oh and Monmartre and Morrison's grave.

Ashwini and I were having an intimate conversation about our relationship and he stopped me in the middle of the sidewalk and said, "This is Paris, we can do this." Too funny. He was right, in Paris you feel that it is ok to stop and kiss right in front of people, or whatever it is you need to do. Magnifique!

We spent two weeks at my parents' 400 year-old farmhouse in the bastide village of Eymet in southwest France. Here is the link to the website with more pictures: http://www.frenchrental.net/
We had a wonderful time and had some unexpected visitors -- the neighbor's puppy Bernie, who was with us pretty much constantly, and then a massive toad showed up one night. I have also included a photo of a Moroccan rug that I bought during our travels. The Farmhouse has a lot of Moroccan decor.

After the intensity of Fez, Meknes, another imperial city a short train ride away, was a welcome break. Meknes is smaller and more manageable, and in general people were less aggressive in their efforts to sell us things. AND the Riad we stayed at here was astonishingly lovely and the homemade food, prepared by our hosts Nadia and Zohra, was beyond delicious.

Here is the link to this amazing getaway: http://riadfelloussia.com/

We also took a day trip to nearby Volubilis, an ancient Roman archeological site with stunning mosaics.

Ashwini and I passed through Montpellier, the French university town where I spent my Junior Year Abroad in 1993. I had not been back since then and it was good to walk some familiar streets. I am standing in front of the apartment where I lived at 3, Cours Gambetta, in the picture above. We watched a free concert on some church steps and enjoyed the young vibe of the city. My parents came to France for the first time in 1993 when I was there and next thing you know they were in love with the country and restoring a 400 year-old farmhouse!

Traveling with another person as they say, is a true test of compatibility. Ashwini and I have done quite well and quickly developed two useful acronyms that helped to dispel tension.

TTTT -- Too Tired to Talk (this may be an original)
ATD -- Agree to Disagree (internet slang)

In an example of the latter, Ashwini whipped out his student ID (he has not been a student for a long time) at a Moroccan museum to see if he could get a discount. The entrance fee was...$1. Funny how "cheap bastards" (Ashwini's own self-assessment) become even cheaper when things are really cheap. I love to bargain in places like Morocco, but I don't worry when a few cents are at stake. ATD.

So, where were we? Yes, so a guide named Kamel gave us a half day tour of Fez. Fascinating all the way around! At first Ashwini was reluctant to get a guide, it struck him as "Griswoldy" (think National Lampoon's vacation series), but he was happy we did it ultimately. We saw many Griswolds along the way, mooing as they were being herded along, but the three of us were pretty lithe.

Kamel turned out to be a real jokester. When we were passing through some stalls with men vending various goods, he told me that the ropes hanging in front of their stalls were there so that they could quickly hang themselves if their lives became unbearable. That was a joke! Bah, hah & and I fell for it of course. A few times I asked Kamel if I could take his picture in his milieu, but he said that it would make his wife jealous. Little did I know that he was setting the scene...

At the rug place, we were shown many beautiful rugs. One caught my eye and I was told that I could have it for a mere $2,500. I didn't tell the guy that I bought one that I liked just as well for $300 in Santa Barbara. Am I being too cynical when I say that I bet that the women who spend their lives toiling on the rugs wouldn't have seen much of the $2,500 if I had been willing to hand over my credit card?

After many more interesting stops on our tour, such as the tannery, where we enjoyed the site and smell of giant vats of camel piss (see photo in previous post), we ended up at an herberie (word?) where the local herbalist showed us many jars of herbs, including one that would help us make "jiggy jiggy."

As we were leaving Kamel, inexplicably, pulled me aside and told Ashwini to take our picture. Wow, ok. Ashwini says sure and the next thing you know I feel Kamel's hand groping my "side boob." Oh, wait, it turns out his wife is the cashier and she is watching. I was set up! I pretended to be mad and we all laughed, particularly his wife. I guess this was his plan all along. Frisky Kamel! Clearly he and his wife have been hitting the jiggy jiggy jar, but are still looking for ways to spice things up.

Kamel is pictured below in the white shirt. My scarf is conveniently hiding his wandering hand from frontal view.

After a 6-hour drive from Eymet we arrived in Marseille. Ashwini had accumulated 10 nights at ‘hotels.com’ because of his work so we had a free night at the Sofitel Marseille Vieux Port. If we had paid it would have cost about $300 for the night and at that price we still had to pay for internet?! The bedding was incredibly comfy, but beyond that it wasn’t too special. A quick note on Marseille – this ancient rough and tumble port city has been cultivating its image and was chosen as the European Capital of Culture* (see below) in 2013.

We made the journey to Marseille to catch our Ryanair flight to Morocco. Ryanair has flights to different cities in Morocco with base fares starting at around…$15. Yep, fifteen bucks. With taxes and other fees the tickets were around $100 per person roundtrip – clearly a budget-friendly way to get to Morocco if you are already in Europe.

In the airport I became friends with a lovely young mother named Khadija. She lives in Montpellier, the French city where I spent my Junior Year Abroad. Originally from Fez, she was taking her 7-month old baby boy, Rayane, on his first trip to Morocco to visit the grandparents. Traveling alone with baby, baby gear and many bags that surely contained gifts from France for her large extended family, she was happy to have our help. She and I talked during the entire two hour flight and we plan to stay in touch.

Ryanair flights feel much like a bus ride, but we got there safely and smoothly. At passport control Ashwini got grilled a bit. -- “Where are you from?”  - “The U.S.” - “No, where is your FATHER from?” –  So far some Moroccans quickly identify Ashwini as Indian, whereas others think he is Moroccan, which works well for me when we are walking together, since people pretty much leave us alone.

Upon our arrival in Fez the sun was low and crimson on the horizon and we were immediately entranced by Morocco’s spiritual and intellectual center – an ancient medieval city with the planet’s biggest car-free urban environment and a robust barnyard smell thanks to donkeys galore. Thankfully the aroma is different than a giant litter box, which you might expect since there are cats everywhere you look. We were informed by a local that many people like, or at least tolerate, cats here. Dogs, on the other hand, are thought by some to make the angels flee, so you don’t see dogs here except for a few tethered to a European. After arriving at our modest Riad/pension, we had a multi-course dinner that nearly put us in a coma and we vowed to eat lightly from that point on.

The next day a professional guide, Kamel, gave us a half-day tour of the city…to be continued!

* From Wikipedia: The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union for a period of one year during which it is given a chance to showcase its cultural life and cultural development. A number of European cities have used the City of Culture year to transform their cultural base and, in doing so, the way in which they are viewed internationally. During the first two decades, cities were chosen primarily based on cultural history, scheduled events and the ability to provide infrastructural and financial support. A 2004 study by the European Culture Commission (Palmer Study) demonstrated that the choice of European Capital of Culture served as a catalyst for the cultural development and the transformation of the city.