Oh wie schön ist Panama

Posted on by Constantino

There are no addresses in Central America, at least not in the sense the we, in the Western world, know of them. A taxi would therefor take me from the airport to the beach town where my friends were waiting and beginning the New Year’s celebrations. I had no clue about how to get in touch with him once arrived, or what he looked like, or if I would even get picked up. That’s how it works in these countries: the less you plan, the less can go wrong.

Walking through customs,with my 50lb bag full of school supplies for the kids, a camera-gear-backpack and then finally a suit, I am faced with countless Mestizo face all around watching the gringo tourist’s searching eyes — seeking my transport to my final destination. I see countless civilians holding up various signs with, scrawled upon them, European and American names; I can only hope that one of these sign is destined for me.

A chubby, dark-faced man is holding my name, my salvation, I should now make it safely to my friends. He grabs my suit and we go to the ticket counter to pay for parking; apparently the woman sitting behind the window is not working any more and she points my taxi driver to the automatic paying machine. This upsets him and they begin, quite animatedly, arguing back and forth about the fact that she cannot simply stamp his ticket for payment.

We get into his car, which I’m quite relieved, is not the standard Mexican VW bug of the 60s. The ride is quite pleasant and my driver tells me all about the canal and how much it has brought to this country.  Everything passing through the canal must pay a toll; and, apparently the cheapest ever paid was 36 cents by an American, Richard Haliburton, who swam its length in 10 days.

Upon arriving to the beach house, I’m greeted by my German friends and a beautiful house with pool.  We watch New Year’s fireworks on the beaches of the Pacific, and just generally relax the rest of the weekend.

I decide, unlike all the other couples visiting Panama, not to go on a week long vacation before the wedding.  Afterall, I came to see the wedding couple, Rocio and Colin; and, the real culture within any country is found in its people, not the beaches.  So I decide to stay with them and help them organize the wedding.  One of the countless, open-ended, stress inducing wedding points of the week was an entrance photo which showed the wedding couple happily embracing.  Of course, I volunteered I take the photo, so we headed to the original ruins of Panama to take the photo of Colin and Rocio.  As a side note, the now infamously known mascot of spiced rum, Captain Henry Morgan, was the one responsible for sacking the original city of Panama.

A friend of a friend asked for an impromptu photo sessions on both horseback and in the studio.  It was a great learning experience shooting in natural light, and a bit of a challenge.  I had the chance of shooting Lizza, a native Panamanian; and Vanessa, a French/Bolivian mix now living in Panama.  The photos below are those of Vanessa; Lizza’s will be up as soon as I finish them.

Tomorrow I begin my journey to León, Nicaragua, by bus, a journey which will take over 28 hours with a 3 hour layover in San José, Costa Rica.  My adventure begins with an arduous journey; I hope to make many friends and see beautiful countryside.  Wish me luck!