journeywithmadonna

………is a little fishing village with a population of 300 that has not yet been fully discovered but is on its way!  It is a major surfing area and has Hawaiian size waves, apparently, but I haven’t been to Hawaii so I can’t argue with the guidebook.  Our accommodation is the best yet, Sol y Mar, and are little cabins with hammocks hanging outside with a great view of the ocean.   It’s owned by a Portuguese man, Luis, who came 20 years ago,  stayed and developed this over time……..and still misses Faro, his home in Portugal.  

Beach at Pedasi

………..population 2000, has mostly been ignored by the outside world but this is quickly changing.   It is now well-known as a gateway to Azuero’s most pristine beaches and recently several gated communities have sprung  up and Hollywood celebrities, not sure who, have bought up much of the surrounding land.  We however did not witness any of this decadence, thank the lord, and stayed in a little B and B called Pedasito which is managed by a delightful English speaking petite Panamaian young woman and her young husband from France.  Their two young gay Panamanian assistants were absolutely wonderful and were thrilled when we showed them their listing in our guidebook!   Unfortunately the power went out for hours in the whole town as the grid was overloaded.  This meant no air conditioning in our room which forced us to sit around the garden and pool area to stay reasonably cool and drink beer………a hardship indeed!    They used the barbeque to cook us a great supper which we ate by candlelight and overall had a great evening.

…… is a laid back little city of 25,000 in Herrera province and did not have a lot to offer other than a place to put our heads for the night at Hotel Rex.    We ate there as well and I took a risk without my little Spanish dictionary and a waiter who couldn’t speak English.    That won’t happen again as I ended up with liver……….I hate liver!   We did spend a little time at the beach where we met a new friend – don’t tell O’Reilly!This little guy followed me on my walk on the beach and then snuggled in when I stopped to rest.

…….is well known for its “…shameless love affair with capitalism that has transformed it into a sweltering economic powerhouse”.  From our very brief visit that description from our guidebook seemed to be accurate.   The many high rise towers are known as ‘cocaine towers’  and are well connected to the ColOmbian drug cartels.  Apparently the tenure of Noriega, who made his money feeding North American appetites for the white stuff, are over but money laundering is still alive and well.  Our plan is to return for a more complete tour of the city and to do the Panama Canal after Marilyn returns………..so more about Panama City later!

Backwards cap picture in CC Cape Cod

Avery in the Frenchy bag

Jim and Avery

 Sharon& Tom’s.

Last days of our Journey brought us to Cape Cod where we enjoyed one evening at a great pub and then a morning travelling the Cape and enjoying the beaches/scenery even though it was in the rain. From there we were off to spend two nights with Sharon, Tom and their extended American Family for Thanksgiving. So much to be thankful for…..great trip with G and G, super weather all around us for travelling, excellent time with family, time spent with our first great niece, Avery Perry, loads of memories to bring home………and very little shopping which I am grateful for. Today is Black Friday and all of us agreed it’s time to leave as we do not want to be caught up in the craziness…….so we’re headed towards the border and will travel two days to get back and there’s no snow in the forecast…….YEAH!!!!   Also can’t forget, Happy 19th Birthday to Anna Murphy and congratulations to Ian Jennings on getting his CA today……..more things to be thankful for.

Remembering John Lennon

Not lost yet!

Skating in Central Park, well watching the skating in Central Park during our fabulous walk.   What a treat New York was!!!   Our hotel was on Broadway/42nd, ie Times Square and although I’ve been here before many years ago I forgot about the energy.   But of course then I stayed in Brooklyn with family and although the energy with family is always heightened, it didn’t quite compare to Times Square.   That was especially true last night when, after we left our musical event at the Neil Simon theatre, we came out to the major protests in Time Square to the Michael Brown/Ferguson case.  Very loud, scary moments and glad to get back to our hotel.   The musical we saw called The Last Ship, music and story line by STING, was fabulous……..so thrilled to be there.  It certainly was a highlight as was The Top Of The Rock……..and the weather and glad we left before the snow storm which is on its way!Central Station

Where’s Waldo???, ie Jim

 Top of the Rock

The drive from Ocean City to Bethesda was just a few hours so we arrived in time to have a walk around the downtown core before dinner with B and V.  We were thrilled to spend the evening with them over a great dinner of coq au vin and even more thrilled when they said they would be able to come into Washington, DC with us the next day.

Dinner with Bridget and Vince

 We set off early taking the

Subway into DC and spent the next nine hours touring the city with our excellent hosts.  Needless to say we saw so much more because they were in the lead and knew the area so well.   Started with the White House and ended with DuPont circle and walked for over six hours we figured as we had a couple of breaks for coffee and later sushi which, I might add, was fabulous.  In between we toured the Wash mall which had nothing to do with shopping but everything to do with the fabulous city.  We now know more about the Smithsonian, the Natural History Museum,  the Vietnam Wall, 2nd world war memorial,    Lincoln’s memorial, the reflecting pool, the Wash monument, Georgetown area and the many embassies around DuPont Circle.    We would never have covered what we did if our guides weren’t as knowledgeable about the area and how to get around……thanks so much B and V.

Glad we were here in OceanCity inNovember as it must just be pure craziness in the summer.   The night watchman at our hotel, one of the very few that are still open, told us the permanent population is around 7,000 and that it reaches between 300,000-350,000 in the summer.  Absolutely stunning beach and Boardwalk which you can see from the few pictures that were taken from our room balcony.    The boardwalk goes for three miles along the beach so that’s how we started our day………..fabulous walk until I managed to get my shoe caught in a nail, the only one I’m sure, that was sticking up.   I went from standing upright and on the move to flat on my face within two seconds.  No stumbling, just straight down and winded……Jim didn’t have a clue how I landed there and for a few moments, neither did I!!!!   Once I recovered we continued and after another mile or two we drove out to Assateague Island national Seashore where you could see wild horses feeding in the salt marsh.  Apparently there are 101 wild horses and after a fabulous drive around the island and through the campsites we managed to see seven……..and we were pleased.   Took a few pictures but for more info it’s Google!