we arrived in Panama City and were astonished at the size (1.5 million) and the impressiveness of the skyline and the buildings of the new city.
The living room of our "apartment" at Las Clementinas in Casco Antigua (the old city).











The skyline of the New City from the balcony of the apartment. Note to self.......it is a good idea to check and see if there is an elevator in the building. Good thing we are still in good health! Four floors ain't as easy as it once was.



The exterior of Hotel Las Clementinas. Our room is at the rear of the top floor. A pleasant restaurant on the main floor with a killer "House Martini."

















and right around the corner is the contrasting housing shown in the next photo, but not nearly so extreme as much we saw. Our hotel owners have established a project for training women of the community to work in entry level jobs in hotels and have so far placed 160 people in various locations.






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The fish market on the waterfront is a source of great pride to most of the people here. Each day the fish are brought in and there is a warren of shops selling the catch of the day. In addition you can eat at sidewalk cafes where ceviche is the speciality, or you can go (as we did) upstairs to the restaurant and have fish and/or seafood that is ready prepared or purchased from the ground floor and cooked to order.

These young men were taking the outboard motors off after a day's work, then carrying them up to cars or trucks on the wharf. Then the boats are paddled out (see the photo below) by a person who anchors the boat and then swims to shore.


Some of the "molas" created by local women (or, mostly, the women of San Blas) and then brought to Panama City to sell. They are intricate reverse applique done with nearly invisible hand stitching.











One of the more unusual buildings in Panama's New City

Wrapping up Norway

This has been an altogether lovely experience. Knowing nothing of Norway there has been much to see and learn.
The country, to all observation, appears vital and prosperous......and clean....everywhere clean; the streets, the buses and trams (and they are everywhere!), the "back corners" of places. There seems to be a real commitment to making it a good place to live.
Taxes are very high, but services are very good.
Education is not mandatory at the public or private schools, but Norwegian parents are then responsible for their children achieving the state norms for education. The completion of Grade 13 is considered the equivalent of the first two years of college. University is available - and free - as long as you maintain good grades and are regular in attendance. If there is a failure in either area the "free" tuition becomes a student loan and must be paid off.
Mothers have an automatic 8 months of paid maternity leave (100%) or one year (80%). If a family chooses parents can split the year so either parent may stay home.
We are told unemployment is very low.
Public facilities are incredibly well maintained and convenient.
The people here are THIN. Lots of walking helps, of course.
Weather is a mixed bag. In Bergen it rains on the average of 232 days a year (4 of them while we were there). In Oslo we are told it is more temperate and we have experienced more sun here.
Oddly, since we've been here we've not heard a car horn - even in downtown traffic. There are lots of places that are restricted to cars and pedestrians rule. The crossing areas are without traffic lights in most areas, and Norwegians cross even without looking as it is expected that cars will always stop and wait, no matter how many are crossing.
It is easy to underestimate a place that is rarely in the news, I suppose. I think we have acquired a real respect for at least the sections of the country we have experienced. I'm sure there's other sides to be seen, but everyone we've spoken to - and EVERYONE - speaks American-style English which they begin to learn in 1st grade and study every year (the 2nd foreign language starts in grade 4) - has been most positive, whether immigrant or native.
Today is on to Amsterdam for our transfer to Kenya where, apparently, wi-fi and electricity can be problematic. We shall see.

A 17th century stave church at the Folk Museum, Oslo

One of several street sculptures "warning" of the dangers of indolent or risky behavior. One, of a beaten young woman is particularly graphic.

Bergen Fish Market. Eat it there or take it home.

Edvard Greig's home. Heard a lovely piano concert in the performance hall.

17th century market houses

Entrance to Bergen Harbor

Oslo harbor

Glacier base and lake in Faegerland

A classic stave church

Arriving at Balestrand

Traveling through the fjords

Railway to the port of Flam

Arrived in Oslo after a stopover in Amsterdam. No opportunity to go into that city, but a good chance to rest and prepare for the next leg of the journey.
Oslo is a most surprising city. Slightly over half a million people, but clearly thriving. It is remarkably clean and busy. Checking to see where it might not be wise to walk freely we were told it was safe "everywhere." There is obviously a huge commitment to public art. Almost everywhere you turn there is some kind of sculpture related to the history, ideals or mythology of the place.
After leaving Oslo we took a train - big station, very clean (again), easy to use, busy! - or actually two - to the Flam railway which takes you down through a beautiful gorge to the port of Flam at the end of the Sogne fjord. There we caught the "speed ferry" that took us to Balestrand where we stayed overnight at the Kviknes historic hotel.
The next day we nearly missed the opportunity to take the ferry to the glacier. Up v-e-r-y late, managed to get dressed, downstairs and to the boat in under 10 minutes! A good choice to rush as it was worth the trip.
Today we leave on yet another ferry to go the four hours to Bergen.
Will try to post the photos next.

This may give you an idea of our journey. We land in Amsterdam and then fly to Norway (the long green area at the top of the map of Europe. Then back to Amsterdam for a brief layover before the flight to Kenya (down the east coast of Africa), then back to Amsterdam long enough to catch the train for Bruges/Brugge in Belgium.

This is a map of Kenya that shows the three areas we will be visiting. Samburu (in the center just below "Kenya"), Amboseli (just above Kilimanjaro), and Masai Mara (on the Tanzanian border toward Lake Victoria). Three very different eco-systems about which I guess I am soon to learn a great deal more.

Altar of Santa Barbara inside the gold mine Minas do Passagem, next to the Candomble altar. Santa Barbara became the patron saint of miners as an extension of being the patron saint protecting people from thunder......connected to the sound of the dynamite explosions.

The view from our window

....Like the ocean....

Our candomble "guide" urged us (when we were clearly getting a tad impatient with the process) to "be like the ocean" and simply let everything wash over us. Point well taken, especially given the trip to Ouro Preto. The plane could not land in Bel and o Horizonte as the airport was closed there. After circling a while we were diverted to Sao Paolo where we were transfered back onto another plane returning to B.H. There our drive finally arrived after several last minute calls to the agency. "Gustavo" (who spoke no English) turned out to not actually be "Gustavo" but his friend who took us through a maze of streets to an isolated one where we were told we would need to switch cars as this one was "muito pequeno." So...the "real" Gustavo showed up and prepared for the trip to Ouro Preto ......now it is after 9:30, it is raining and very foggy . The road was closed three times during the trip due to accidents. Most disconcerting especially as it quickly went from multi-lane to mountain pass. Finally arrived after midnight and then had to find the posada - addresses not being quite what we expect them to be.
The Pousada Chico Rei is an 18th century house with 18th century furniture and 18th century "issues." Clean and pleasant, but "interesting." Ouro Preto is strictly a mountainous town. If there is a flat road here we have not found it. (Pictures will be attached, I hope).
Today we went out to the largest gold mine in the Americas (no longer active).
Unlike Salvador where you are wet because you sweat, here you are wet because it rains.......all the time, but lightly.
Tonight will be New Year's Eve at Bene da Flauta - a restaurant that appears to be particularly nice. .....it will be even nicer if the shower is working by that time.