FLOODING

Thursday Dec. 9 I think

Only 20 free miutes so will be fast

Went thru three locks on a small boat from the Pacific O several days ago amazing!  we went 7 miles in several hours.

Yesterday we didn´t get to see the Embera Indians in the rainforest as we were supposed to travel to their village down river on rafts. With all the rainstorms for several days and nights, the river had risen over the dock.  We couldn´t go out. There were floating islands coming down the river with 10' to15 ´trees on them.  They floated into the Gatun Lake and most were floating out to the Caribbean Sea.  We were at the Continental Divide so islands on one side of the river were floating to the Atlantic and some were floating to the Pacific.  Weird! The Gatun Lake was at its highest ever since it was created by the damn.  Ship traffic was stopped in the canal, not a usual happening because of rain.  It rains almost daily during the rainy season so the ships usually keep moving. But visibility was very low.  Usually the islands just float on out to sea, but this time they used tugboats to help move them along.  Ship traffic started back up this morn at 5 AM.  This was all big news to stop the traffic.  Roads across Panama were also closed and many towns were flooded.  The Portobello area where we were on Monday is no longer accessible by road because of flooding. We were there the day the rains had started. Fortunately, our driver´s wife got back home to Colon before the transisthmus roads closed. She had been over to Panama City for a Breast Cancer treatment. 
Yesterday, instead of the Indinan visit, we went to PC and visited the 2nd site of Panama City. It looks a lot like New Orleans with narrow streets. Much is in disrepair and people living in the empty buildings. But parts of the old city Casco Viejo (Old Compound) are being bot up and rebuilt to create a wonderful place to stay, shop, dine out, and hear great music.  The city, county, and state gov centers are there also.  We did all this walking thru Casco Viejo along cobblestone streets in the rain. It started light but got worse.  It was also Dia de Madres so a holiday. The church of the golden alter had a Fisrt Communion ceremony happening while we were there.  Fun!

Fro there we headed northwest up the Pacific Coast in the rain to a resort in Playa Blanca. 

Adios, Claudia