To all you who have asked, after reading the bits of the blog that are up on the web: NO! We are NOT moving to Panama! Munro was looking into investement real estate ONLY. And what we learned taught us that now is an especially bad time to buy in Panama as their laws on foreign investement are up for some serious changes.
These changes may severely reduce the ability of foreigners to buy and hold land and even stay in the country for more than 30 days at a time.
Besides....We LOVE San Diego and our Beach House Apartment and we're staying put for a long time. So please don't get the wrong idea about our trip!
More to come on the monkeys of Mono Feliz....
Monday, May 23, 2005
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Catching up on posts....
To anyone who reads this.....if you like what you've read already, please come back and visit again. Apologies for how long it's taking me to create this....
I realize that my e-mail with the link to this blog was way premature as I didn't have any clue as to how long it would actually take me to complete this. So much happened and every day was such an adventure, that the posts I've already created don't do the trip justice.
Thanks to all of you who have written or called with positive comments. Feel free to post anything (anonymously or not) in the comments fields. We will be keeping this blog going for a while.
I realize that my e-mail with the link to this blog was way premature as I didn't have any clue as to how long it would actually take me to complete this. So much happened and every day was such an adventure, that the posts I've already created don't do the trip justice.
Thanks to all of you who have written or called with positive comments. Feel free to post anything (anonymously or not) in the comments fields. We will be keeping this blog going for a while.
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Mickey is a 1 year old titi or squirrel monkey living at Mono Feliz in Punta Burica, Panama. The squirrel monkey is an endangered species - there are only 3,000 left in the wild. He's been hand raised from the time he was 2 days old when his mother was killed and he was brought to Allegra and John's sanctuary. Allegra is working on turning Mono Feliz into an official non-profit sanctuary, create a wildlife corridor and National Park in Punta Burica.
copyright Acorn Interactive
Monday, May 02, 2005
The Happy Monkey - Mono Feliz!
It's barely 6 AM, but Munro can hear the surf outside the car, so off he goes to explore. I'm bushed from doing most of the driving the past day, so I'm wrapped in my sarongs and napping away. I do convince him that since Mono Feliz is a sanctuary and not the Ritz, and the folks running it probably won't be up until about 7 or so.
Munro, true to form, explores everything, including the Mono Feliz grounds. As he's sauntering around the kitchen/dining room, he walks to the main house and Allegra pops up out of bed, scared silly (as we're not expected at all and no one is expected at 6:30 in the morning) and says "Who the hell are you???" in her lovely Australian accent.
Introductions are made, coffee is put on the boil, and Munro comes to fetch me. As I head up the beautifully tended path, I'm struck by how eco-friendly all the work done is. We find out later that every stone and rock is picked by hand from the beach and put down by John, Allegra, and Osvaldo. What a back-breaking labor of love! Birds are chirping wildly, I can hear howler monkeys in the bush far away and I'm delighted beyond belief to find that there is coffee in my future!
This is where the magic starts - Mono Feliz Sanctuary. As I look back on this time, I can't believe it was real. For more pictures, please visit our photo gallery. Note that all photos are copyrighted to us and our company, Acorn Interactive.
The kitchen dining area is large, airy, thatched, and has a sink with running water! John is an engineering genius -there are toilets, showers, and a beautiful built-in swimming pool. It's breathtaking.
Allegra and John are delightful, warm, and passionate about their guests and the monkeys. They are also in awe that we arrived via the beach at 3 in the morning! The barking dogs are theirs and split up to keep watch on the guest houses when there is company. Two of them were at the beach cottage, and that was the noise we heard. We are awarded "most adventurous" arrivals.
Seated at the table, I feel a light pressure on my sneaker-clad foot and look down - there is a squirrel monkey untying my shoelaces!! I give a start, and he jumps on the seat next to me, on to my shoulder and hauls off me to the top of Munro's head and uses that to hop into the tiny hammock hanging from the rafters. Thus we meet Elvis, named because he has dark sideburns. He and Mickey are the resident rescued monkeys, along with several dogs and a cat in heat.
We are delighted as the monkeys play with us and hop around. We're warned that they will steal anything shiny and love to play. They will also take food off your plate or from your hand, take your sunglasses, and generally run amok and "help" with everything you do.
Elvis is the oldest and Mickey is the baby. Both still get bottles for extra nutrition. We grab our food supplies from the truck and share our fresh fruit with John and Allegra as we sort out accommodations and get the "guest list of dos and don'ts." Both the beach house and garden house are taken, but the guests are leaving that day. We will have our choice and decide we want to stay in the garden/forest house.
The ONLY bad note during our visit occurred during breakfast, when we met the other guest, Harry. Harry is a land speculator from New England who now lives in Bouqete and is in the process of buying as much property as he can and developing it just like the States. High density housing, shopping centers, and more. Ugh. He’s also swearing he’s an ecologist and wants to set up a competing hotel/eco-tourism place near Mono Feliz. He’s so horrible, such a carpetbagger, that I’m appalled. Robert and I listen as Allegra gives him an earful.
Later, after he’s left, I offer to help her hide the body should he return. This part of Panama is so lovely and fragile and needs to be protected. The clear cutting of the forest for cattle grazing and farming has left the monkeys living in isolated troops and without food. Allegra is working with friends and the government to have all of Punta Burica declared a national park and Mono Feliz a non-profit wildlife sanctuary.
As we get settled, we are face with all the choices in activities. We opt for a swim and a walk on the beach.
A word about our “cottage.” It’s painted green and is concrete. The concrete walls come up to about my ribcage and the windows are open to the elements. The tin roof comes low enough to protect the area from rains, and there is a net for nighttime bug repellent. I see a coil for mosquito repellent and hope that this won’t be a repeat of Bocas. It isn’t and within a day the blisters on my feet have gone down. I still do bear the scars from the fang punctures, but they’re tiny and fading over time.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Adventures in Navigation
The refinery is along the coast and has little gates and guards who give you passes. It's sort of like passing through a European border point. Long yellow bar across the road, passport checks, names on clipboards, and laminated passes for the dashboard. But it's a pleasant drive - only large silver pipes lining the grass and a beautiful view of the bay.
As it got dark, we found ourselves on another rutted dirt road that paralleled the beach. We decided to see how far we could go so that when we began our midnight 30 kilometer trek across the sands, we'd be closer to our goal.
Stopping at one of the (very) few homes, we ask a family. Once again, our requests are greeted with much hilarity and they point down a windy hill in the forest(full of what I'd call potholes, but are really mini-ditches)and tell us to keep going to the end.
It's getting dark and the road is twisting and turning and cow eyes in the headlights are bright yellow. It's a beautiful night as we bounce along the rutted path and hope these are the "best $@#%-ing monkeys we ever see!"
The road dead ends at the sea and we part just off to the side under the sand. It's FABULOUS being on the West Coast - our windows are open, there's a lovely breeze, the ocean sounds are soft and.... NOT A BUG IN SIGHT!! Woo Hoo!
We break out our supplies, have a glass of wine (OK, maybe more than that!), and put the seats back to grab a few hours sleep.
The plan.... As always... Is to nap while the tide goes out and then get up and make the rest of the 25K drive to Mono Feliz along the beach. The tide will be going out, so Munro figures "no worries."
Midnight on the beach. No moon, slightly overcast, and a few stars poking out in the sky. Munro is on my right as nag-a-vator and I'm ready to rock and roll.
The first several kilometers go smoothly and quickly. The beach is wide, the tide is going out at a pretty good rate, and the headlights are nice and bright.
BIG NOTE: After a few kilometers the rocks start showing up. Depending upon how much surf there is, the rocks are either nicely silted up with sand or they look like deep, long, jagged ditches that go from the sand banks on the right all the way down to the tide line. Our ride back followed several days of calm water, so it was far less of an adventure...
This being us, the jagged ditches are right there. It's 1 AM and I'm worried that we'll puncture a tire, so Munro goes out to check the "road." Slipping and sliding, he finds a path to smooth sand again. Off we go, down the beach and skirting ever-increasing numbers of rocks. At one point, we pass a fisherman, who looks a bit startled to see a huge white SUV coming his way. Sometimes we think we can't make it any further and we turn around. But we keep heading back and find signposts like the piece of driftwood that looks like a coyote howling at the moon.
At one of these turnarounds we spot a man on a bicycle. Yup, Panamanian bicycle man at 2 AM. He is so toasted that I can smell the rum from where I'm sitting in the car, but he's very friendly and Munro's Spanish holds up enough so that the man offers to lead us to Bella Vista, the last town before the final 15K to Mono Feliz.
Off he pedals, and we're astounded and amazed - he's steady and heading around the rocks with great ease. Every once in a while, he hops off his bike and walks it across the rocks (I wish we'd taken a photo of these things at night - it was land of the dinosaur rocks!), and then waves us through with wild hand signals. He's very proud of us every time we navigate a tough spot and cheers us on with great rum-soaked glee.
We arrive at his home, a concrete shack on the beach, and several of his mates are up and about as well. Robert wants to offer him the small bottle of rum, but I think he's had enough and is probably highly flammable as is. We settle on giving him a dollar, which he originally doesn't want. The Panamanian believe in their "propia" or tips, but only on formal occasions. They are very generous with their help. Our little man is so thrilled with the dollar he offers to take us all the way to Mono Feliz - a 30K round trip for him. We decline and head off, figuring that all should be well from here.
Ha! We encounter more and bigger and more challenging rocks and terrain, a small town (featuring a man with a flashlight and backpack at the "entrance" to the town - said entrance just a sand ramp with rocks for erosion protection up the beach). He says Mono Feliz is not far, but wants us to head back the way we came and give him a ride. After much to-ing and fro-ing, we get him to guide us to the beach entrance to Mono Feliz.
Up we go - on a dirt track through the jungle. Cows to the left, beach sounds and insect sounds all around and every once in a while, a wooden sign with "Mono Feliz" printed on it. Allegra and John must have a sixth sense about putting up signs - they're placed just as you despair of hope!
We finally reach the wooden fence that marks off the Mono Feliz sanctuary. Hooray! We find what looks like a campsite and hear dogs barking. It's now 3 AM and we're pretty tired, so we make our bed in the car seats again and go to sleep. I can't wait to see what the morning brings. Are we in the right place? Will we be safe? Are the monkeys really happy?
As it got dark, we found ourselves on another rutted dirt road that paralleled the beach. We decided to see how far we could go so that when we began our midnight 30 kilometer trek across the sands, we'd be closer to our goal.
Stopping at one of the (very) few homes, we ask a family. Once again, our requests are greeted with much hilarity and they point down a windy hill in the forest(full of what I'd call potholes, but are really mini-ditches)and tell us to keep going to the end.
It's getting dark and the road is twisting and turning and cow eyes in the headlights are bright yellow. It's a beautiful night as we bounce along the rutted path and hope these are the "best $@#%-ing monkeys we ever see!"
The road dead ends at the sea and we part just off to the side under the sand. It's FABULOUS being on the West Coast - our windows are open, there's a lovely breeze, the ocean sounds are soft and.... NOT A BUG IN SIGHT!! Woo Hoo!
We break out our supplies, have a glass of wine (OK, maybe more than that!), and put the seats back to grab a few hours sleep.
The plan.... As always... Is to nap while the tide goes out and then get up and make the rest of the 25K drive to Mono Feliz along the beach. The tide will be going out, so Munro figures "no worries."
Midnight on the beach. No moon, slightly overcast, and a few stars poking out in the sky. Munro is on my right as nag-a-vator and I'm ready to rock and roll.
The first several kilometers go smoothly and quickly. The beach is wide, the tide is going out at a pretty good rate, and the headlights are nice and bright.
BIG NOTE: After a few kilometers the rocks start showing up. Depending upon how much surf there is, the rocks are either nicely silted up with sand or they look like deep, long, jagged ditches that go from the sand banks on the right all the way down to the tide line. Our ride back followed several days of calm water, so it was far less of an adventure...
This being us, the jagged ditches are right there. It's 1 AM and I'm worried that we'll puncture a tire, so Munro goes out to check the "road." Slipping and sliding, he finds a path to smooth sand again. Off we go, down the beach and skirting ever-increasing numbers of rocks. At one point, we pass a fisherman, who looks a bit startled to see a huge white SUV coming his way. Sometimes we think we can't make it any further and we turn around. But we keep heading back and find signposts like the piece of driftwood that looks like a coyote howling at the moon.
At one of these turnarounds we spot a man on a bicycle. Yup, Panamanian bicycle man at 2 AM. He is so toasted that I can smell the rum from where I'm sitting in the car, but he's very friendly and Munro's Spanish holds up enough so that the man offers to lead us to Bella Vista, the last town before the final 15K to Mono Feliz.
Off he pedals, and we're astounded and amazed - he's steady and heading around the rocks with great ease. Every once in a while, he hops off his bike and walks it across the rocks (I wish we'd taken a photo of these things at night - it was land of the dinosaur rocks!), and then waves us through with wild hand signals. He's very proud of us every time we navigate a tough spot and cheers us on with great rum-soaked glee.
We arrive at his home, a concrete shack on the beach, and several of his mates are up and about as well. Robert wants to offer him the small bottle of rum, but I think he's had enough and is probably highly flammable as is. We settle on giving him a dollar, which he originally doesn't want. The Panamanian believe in their "propia" or tips, but only on formal occasions. They are very generous with their help. Our little man is so thrilled with the dollar he offers to take us all the way to Mono Feliz - a 30K round trip for him. We decline and head off, figuring that all should be well from here.
Ha! We encounter more and bigger and more challenging rocks and terrain, a small town (featuring a man with a flashlight and backpack at the "entrance" to the town - said entrance just a sand ramp with rocks for erosion protection up the beach). He says Mono Feliz is not far, but wants us to head back the way we came and give him a ride. After much to-ing and fro-ing, we get him to guide us to the beach entrance to Mono Feliz.
Up we go - on a dirt track through the jungle. Cows to the left, beach sounds and insect sounds all around and every once in a while, a wooden sign with "Mono Feliz" printed on it. Allegra and John must have a sixth sense about putting up signs - they're placed just as you despair of hope!
We finally reach the wooden fence that marks off the Mono Feliz sanctuary. Hooray! We find what looks like a campsite and hear dogs barking. It's now 3 AM and we're pretty tired, so we make our bed in the car seats again and go to sleep. I can't wait to see what the morning brings. Are we in the right place? Will we be safe? Are the monkeys really happy?
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