Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, he pulls out a collection of original musical scores, all from the era of the Panama Canal’s construction. Ok, so now our inner music geek rears its nerdy head, we sit and thumb through these for about an hour. Giggling, I am fascinated by the phrasing while Thomas is in awe of the arrangements, and Weil just wants to know if it will sound like good music. He clarifies that none of these, to his knowledge, have been recorded, or at least not yet. Hmmmm, if you know anything about us, we are always looking for a fun opportunity and this screams PROJECT! (Keep up with the series to find out what happens with these). Panama Canal
the oversized shipping vessels through the channel. In the background, the final stage of construction to widen the canal to three lanes was cranking into high gear as well. The diversity of structures within the city and the outlying jungle was astounding. We were both so glad to have someone who had watched the city grow over the course of 30 years to be able to interpret it for us. **Quick plug, book Jonathan for a tour. This native Panamanian had plenty of his own adventures traveling and studying abroad before he came home to his homeland. What better thing for him to do than open his own tour guide service, Truly Panama. And when I tell you he gets it, he gets IT. The love for his country, its history, and his wealth of knowledge shines through in each detail.
Wednesday 7pm
After an extended “Uncle Carlos style” au revoir, Jonathan whisked us out, taking the wheel’s helm, narrating tales of historical, cultural and natural significance as we weave through the old city, passing the towering skyscrapers, and finally descending into the lush rainforest that the US military had occupied for so many decades. Suddenly, our first view of the Panama Canal loomed ahead and we saw the last lock before the Pacific Ocean. One always hears stories of the Panama Canal, but until you are close, the magnitude of the structure, as well as the fact that it is an engineering feat, can’t possibly settle in. In the foreground,train cars and tugboats navigated
Arriving back at Casa Sucre, we realized we have birthday dinner reservations in one hour, as well as our first music gig bringing the reggae/ funk/ pop sounds of T. Champagne to Casco Viejo. As we alternated between getting dressed and enjoying cocktail hour, we made a new friend in co-founder and Grammy Award-winning audio engineer Rob Griffin (2003 Best Instrumental Jazz Recording with Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker and Roy Hargrove). Rob conveyed he is in town working on a new album, as well as visiting and making plans with the Mamoni Valley Preserve to help with the creation of Junglewood, a center for ecological and cultural renewal. This project blew our minds. Deep within the rainforest where the indigenous Kuna live “at the narrowest point in the Western Hemisphere, where a mere 35 miles separates the Pacific and the Atlantic,” a biodiversity project, unlike anything we had ever heard, grows. Earth Train, BioMuseo, Grammy Award-winning jazz musician Danilo