In this vlog I talk about free fruit when living in Panama. When your neighbors can’t
eat all the fruit their trees produce they are desperate to give it away.
http://bit.ly/z45AXH
I also talk about repo cruises. I always keep my eyes open for a great deal on cruises from Panama. There is a short 3 day cruise coming up, sailing from Panama to Miami. It’s a 3 day trip for $99/person. I think it would be a very cool way to start or end a vacation in Panama. These repo cruise’s only happen a few times a year so you need to plan your trip around when they happen. Cheaper than a flight, and you travel in style.
I just received the following email from Dave the turtle guy. I’ve made some videos out at his eco lodge. Turns out saving turtles is pretty frustrating business.
“Sunday, Feb., 12, 2012
Sorry that this is not a personal note written to each of you, but I
don´t think that I have the energy or the stomach to write this more than once. This latest news
has made me physically sick, and it may prove to be the last straw that this old camel can carry.
As you may already know, my North American neighbor, who goes by the name ¨Johncho¨, has an ¨Eco Tourism¨ project that he calls Mono Feliz. For many years I have tried to get him to stop his dogs from killing sea turtles and digging up turtle nests I have also tried to stop him from serving endangered animals to his guests, and many other un ecological things that are against the law but he continues to do anyway. Johncho lives with a Panamanian woman named Luzmila, and Luzmila has a brother named ¨Chombito¨. When Chombito had to sell his house in order to return some of the money that he had stolen from the town of Beja Vista, Johncho and Luzmila moved
this thief into a shack on the beach. This may not have been so bad but he is also one of the last full time poachers of threatened and endangered animals that are still making a living by hunting the last of the animals in this area. When Chombito moved to the beach, last November 2011, He
became the biggest problem that I faced in trying to save sea turtle nests, and adult turtles. In December when his three teenage sons came to stay with him for school vacation, Chombito stayed in bed and sent his boys to poach the turtle nests. I would have liked to have been able to take their pictures while they were robbing the nests, but I walk with a flashlight and they were
always long gone by the time I found the empty nests. To solve this poaching problem, I would take a book and sit on the beach all night. This severely cut into Chombito´s egg selling business and his solution was to go to the police and make a false report that said I have been threatening his children and chasing then, taking their pictures and using foul language. The only time that I have taken their pictures was when they were here with their mother and all the other children from the Beja Vista School, to listen to me talk about saving the environment and to release baby sea turtles. The part about me chasing them and using foul language does not even deserve to be addressed, but the police inspectors say that these children need to be psychiatrically tested to
determine the extent of damage my abuse has caused them. According to my lawyer my only defense was to file my own police report and try to have him sent to jail for filing a false police report, this has already cost me more time and money than I can afford. But what may prove to be the last straw came last night when I learned that the Mono Feliz Clan, the same people that have
been giving me the most trouble and who have been responsible for killing tens of thousands of turtles in the years that I have been trying to save them, has asked the governmental authority (A.N.A.M.) for permission to start a turtle incubation project. This permission would allow them to take all the nests they could find and also give them an excuse to be on the beach all night where
they could also take the adult turtles. I am so tired of the lies, corruption, and complete lack of ethics and honor that I am seriously looking for a way out of here. I do not want to walk away from 12 years of my life´s work, or my life´s savings, and so, I will continue with my environmental projects, and entertain the youth groups that want to come and hear my seminars, but I do not
think I can continue for much longer without monetary help and recognition from some influential organizations. One man working alone is easy to ignore. If you know anyone with some clout please point them in my direction.
Tue., Feb., 12th. I have just learned that another of the poachers, a man that I have been trying to have arrested, has also applied for permission to start a turtle incubation project. This man´s name is Chano, and he is one of the five men that beat and robbed me when I was taking pictures of them shooting monkeys almost 4 years ago.
Still hanging on, but not by much………….Dave”
For a long time I thought that I needed to leave Panama for 72 hours when it was time to renew my tourist visa. Well today I had the process done in 2 hours. Most of that time was spent wandering around in the shops, and eating at Burger King. I simply asked the border agent if I was allowed to return the same day and he said, “Yes.”
Can’t believe you just watched that whole video to learn something I could have told you in a few sentences.
In Panama there are hotels known as “push buttons. They are called this because typically you can pull up to a window, push a button, slide some money through a slot, get a key, and head to a room all without actually seeing a person. Everything is set up so the customer can stay anonymous. Basically they cater to people who are cheating on a spouse.
I stayed in a place like this in Mexico by accident once. Mitch and I shared a king size bed, and I’m sure everyone assumed we were lovers enjoying a night of bromance.
Cool thing about them is the garage. Which is only there to hide your car from prying eyes while you do your business. But it was nice to be able to park our bikes somewhere safe for the night.
http://bit.ly/waKPPE
A few weeks ago I rode my motorcycle to the top of Volcan Baru the tallest peak in Panama. I took a serious beating on the ride, and got some great video out of it. I wanted to do a ride from sea level to the top of Panama, so I started at the beach and filmed my ride to the top. It was exhausting, and horrible, and everything an adventure should be.
For this series of videos I wanted to do something special, something different so I have created an iPad book. The book has a bunch of photos, and 7 different videos with a combined length of over 70 minutes. Since it’s a book I was able to fill in the gaps between the videos and give more detail about what’s happening and what I was feeling. I’m really happy with they way it turned out. I’ve been asked a lot about DVD’s of my videos, or a book about my adventures. Well this is both. You get to read about the trip, see the photos, and watch the videos all in one place. Once it’s downloaded you don’t need to wait for video to buffer before watching them it’s all there you just hit play and it goes. Really if you have ever wanted to come along on one of my rides this is the closest you will get without flying to Panama and renting a bike.
I keep calling it a book because I don’t know another name for it. It’s more like a mini adventure and you get to come along for the ride. I’m very excited about it, it looks great on the iPad.
http://bit.ly/waKPPE
For the Volcan Baru Adventure I wanted to do something special, so I turned the adventure into an interactive book. I’m pretty excited about how it turned out, and I think you will really enjoy it.
The book is has a lot of pictures, and video. Over 70 minutes of video that won’t be seen on youtube is embed in the book. Read a little, look at some photos, read a little, watch a video. With the magic of the iPad the book is very cool.
Lately in Panama the Ngobe have been protesting over mineral rights to their land. The government wants to build a large open pit mine in the Commarca, and the Ngobe are pissed off about it. They have set up a blockade near San Felix and no vehicles other than ambulances have been allowed through for 5 days. David is running out of gasoline, and Panama City is running out of vegetables. These blockades really screw up a lot of stuff for the country, but it’s the only way the Ngobe have to fight for the land. They are forced to inconvenience everybody in order to be noticed. I just hope it’s over soon, and no one gets hurt.
On the way back from Volcan I busted out the Drift helmet cam for a little vlog. Narrow mountain roads like this can be dangerous, mostly because of epically stupid people trying to pass. I prefer to take them slow and stay behind something much larger than myself. That way if some dummy does try to make a pass on a curve they run into a dump truck instead of me.
Some of you have been asking for longer videos, well you have received. I always have a lot of fun at places like this, but mostly because I like to goof off as much as I can. Luckily my tour guide didn’t seem to mind my smart ass comments.
She showed me many different artifacts that had been found on the property. Jars and small stone tables, and even though I like to joke around I did learn a lot. The thing that amazed me the most is they have determined the people who settled and lived in this area so long ago were of Asian and African decent. Most places like this are from the indigenous population of Panama. Which made me wonder just how those 2 groups ended up in Panama living together.
I have a really hard time wondering around museums they are just so boring, but going to a place like this where I can actually experience the things that happened really makes me want to learn.
