Playa Blanca & a dose of Carnival

Hello there... Amigos

Time is flying by and it is already Feb 23rd, does time ever slip through our fingers. We have been here over a month now and I am already planning our trip back to Canada for the summer and even Christmas plans.

Before you know it it will be April spring will be on its way... no more snow. I almost feel guilty for wearing shorts everyday... some days I wear jeans though, so I sweat alot for all of us... hahha...

So last Thursday night Trent headed out to the Casino... yes they have Casinos here! He was on a role on the Blackjack table.... & came home with a whopping $1,400.00... we eat this week, ya! Just kidding about the eating part.... we can now eat for a 3 weeks. haha

Anyways Trent got home quite late that night and all of a sudden at 3:30am the music started. Down the street Carnival was being set up and they were testing the speakers for the concert stage... the music was so loud it felt like it was on our radio in our room playing. Needless to say we left town for three nights to escape the noise for a bit.

Carnival here lasts for five days which started Friday night. After the kids were done school on Friday we packed up the truck and headed out of town. We checked into Playa Blanca an all- inclusive resort on the Pacific side. This place was crawling with Canadians... french Canadians mostly. Oh how Trent spent the four days telling people that not all Canadians spoke French and that we were from the ENGLISH speaking part of Canada.... on and on...

Playa Blanca was nice. The problem is we have been very spoiled over the years in our travels staying at some incredible places that we compare to all the time. Don't get me wrong Playa Blanca is nice but it is not Phi Phi Island Resort in Thailand.

(here is the one pool area that we overlooked from our balcony)

(the second pool area by the beach with great music playing)

(the beach view from the pool area)

(crazy Canadians playing around)

The kids had a great time. Mosy and Gabby came out for the day to play in the pool and relax. Gabby will be two in May and it seems so long ago we were at that stage of pampers, worrying around the water, naps (I guess where you are Bonnie...haha) It is nice that Everett is moving out of the very tiring stages. I want to freeze the kids at their ages they are at now, they are so much fun.

(Mosy & Gabby out for the day)

(can you guess who is under there? The water wings give it away... Ev swam around like this)

(daughter like Daddy, their favorite spot... the pool bar... Emma loved to sit here sipping on her orange juice)

(footballs go everywhere we do... almost had it buddy)

(East taking a shower before he goes to relax)

(Do you know who is under here... hint... only Easton loves to lay in the sun relaxing... he loves this spot)

The resort was located right on the beach but we never went to the beach to play, we only went to the kids quad track. Trent found this place on the beach that rented kids sized quads. The kids LOVED IT!!! Easton loved the speed, he was determined to catch up to Emma that when he turned one corner he went flying off. (good thing he landed on something soft) Trent kept adjusting the throttle once the kids could handle the machines.

(Everett in a hurry to catch up to Emma & Easton on the hot sand)

(helmets on & ready to go)

(Emma took Everett nice and slow but he wanted his own quad)

(Easton asked "where do we go to buy one of these quads"... sorry pal it won't fit in the apartment... funny kid)

Poor Everett he was so upset that Trent finally put him on the little machine Easton was driving and off he went. After a few laps Trent again gave Everett a bit more speed and he was off to the races. Ev completed a few laps on his own...little stinker. We asked the kids their favorite part of our few days away and they said QUADING.

(he completed the whole track all on his own.. no crashing)

(yes I am here with my family... Emma took my camera and was snapping many pictures again)

Every night at the resort there was a kids show and an adult show to follow. The kids begged everynight to go but they were always to tired. The last night we let them stay up and they had a blast. The activity directors called all the kids and taught them a dance routine on stage. Easton was all over that as well as our little girl who is slowly breaking out of her shell. (Em is fine as long as Easton is with her) It was so much fun to watch the kids. Easton had a solo dance but he was not in the mood to show some of his famous moves. The one little girl the same age of Emma (latin American) got on stage.... this girl could shake her boody. No wonder these Latin woman can stake it up on the dance floor, they have been at it since they were wee babies.

(this was great to watch... I think the kids picked up some new moves)

(our baby boy... crashed as soon as we walked in the room)

It was a great four days away from the city and Monday afternoon we headed back home. The PanAmerican Highway is the road we drove home from the resort which is a great road to travel on. We decided to take a quick side trip up to El Valle a town 35min off the highway inland. There was about a 10 degree change in weather as we climbed up the windy road. This town was very quaint, lush, and had a small town feel. We are going to go back for a weekend probably when my mom & sister get down here, so in April I can report more.

Monday night we made it home and it was so peaceful driving on the roads... no one was around, it was Carnival time! During Carnival in the daytime hundreds if not thousands of people gather together in their bathing suits and wait for large water tank trucks to come by and spray them. It is like a huge water fight for days. We were not very interested in this tradition :-)

As I explained before the Carnival in Panama City was held on the road down from our apartment. The main stage was right below us. I took this picture from Emma's room but it did not show up very well and does not give justice to how many people were down there. Trent & I figure anywhere from 5-7 thousand people, it was so loud. I do have to say though that I was completely surprised at how sophisticated the sound stage and equipment was. I watched some of the concert on TV and one would of thought he was in North America watching a concert... very high tech.

(the view from Emma's room to the stage)

I loved the music and would have loved to been down there but not by myself. Trent went out with Nick so to get the kids to bed I pulled Easton's mattress into our room on the floor, Everett finally fell alseep and Emma I had to put cotton balls full of vaseline in her ears, then hold her ears to try to drown out the music. The music went all night.

Tuesday we were invited to friends for dinner but it was the last day of Carnival and I read the big parade was this day. Emma, Easton and I really wanted to go but Trent was not so keen. We insisted.... found parking, went through the security check point while being padded down. A line for men, a line for woman and everyone was searched by armed security. It's nothing to see the police walking around with machine guns... makes us feel safe (maybe we have been here to long already...haha)

As soon as we walked on to the street we had confetti thrown at us. I was told that is a tradition here, kids get bags of confetti and throw it in eachothers face. Trent bought 2 bags for $0.25 for all the kids and himself. They had a hay day with this tradition and were throwing it at everyone especially the scary masked men on the street. Again the kids loved these guys and chased them to throw confetti at them and to take pictures with them.

(some very interesting costumes)

(It did not take long for Easton to embrace this tradition)

(Emma went to town with the confetti with these boys)

(these boys followed Trent and the kids until their stash of confetti was all gone)

(the boys were all over checking out these stange masks)

(Easton was not sure what to think of this guy)

The parade started and Emma's eyes lit up when she saw the Carnival Queen. Trent and I laughed because in a civilized society that we are used to so many things are against what we call normal. People walking in front of the floats, people walking through the parade, beer sold on the street at a family event, the floats almost running over people because there was not enough room to get by, the floats almost touching the power lines. All normal things here :-)

(the parade has begun)

(the Carnival Queen.... like the Calgary Stampede there is a Queen & two Princesses)

(one of the Princesses)

The energy of the people was amazing, the music was AWESOME. Emma & I loved it. The parade consisted of many floats all lavishly decorated way more than I expected. I was expecting some basic parade but I was very wrong. Following the floats there were bands & dancers preforming, representing each of their region in Panama. Each region had its own unique sound and dance. It was pretty amazing to have a chance to join in a celebration that is so dear to these people. I love Latin music and to see people so passionate to preform was simply amazing. We had to leave the parade early some friends asked us to dinner so we were not able to see the whole show. Emma & I were pretty sad to leave.

(here is a little girl all dressed up for Carnival... )

(A traditionally dressed woman)

(a very interesting dance, the music was great)

(again the music was fabulous.. the Panamanians take Carnival very seriously)

(this little guy was following with one of the bands... he was sooo cute)

Where did the word “carnival” come from?

Hundred and hundreds of years ago, the followers of the Catholic religion in Italy started the tradition of holding a wild costume festival right before the first day of Lent. Because Catholics are not supposed to eat meat during Lent, they called their festival, carnevale — which means “to put away the meat.” As time passed, carnivals in Italy became quite famous; and in fact the practice spread to France, Spain, and all the Catholic countries in Europe. Then as the French, Spanish, and Portuguese began to take control of the Americas and other parts of the world, they brought with them their tradition of celebrating carnival.... (My Panama tibit for this week)

Why the scary masks?

The masks are made in scary devilish shapes with horns and brilliant colours. The main idea is to have the good devils get rid of the evil devils through their colourful native dance known as bomba y plena. Folk tunes 'estribillos' follow the rhythms of the colourful dance. The "vejigante' masks are made with two sets of horns, a large fiery mouth and two large hollow eyes. They are made in such a way to depict a dragon that is on the verge to attack. In reality, the dragon is friendly, a character inspired by the typical vejigantes roaming the crowds during the Lenten Carnivals. The 'vejigante' masks are a classical example of the fusion of African, Spanish and Caribbean cultures. These carnivals themes can be magical, satirical, political or just purely entertaining. The important thing is that everyone is there to enjoy and have a fun time.

The kids start school March 5th so we have uniform shopping and school supplies to still get. It is the kids last week of intense Spanish classes before school starts so I think we are staying relatively close to home.

Thanks again for emailing us and letting me know you are taking some value from our blogs. We love to hear from you! Great to hear from you Avery... send me an email so I have your email address on file.

I want to say to Mom, Jack, Auntie Penny, George & Lori I am sure you are having a great time and be safe and have fun (they are in the Dominican Republic right now)

Welcome home Linda Day... so HAPPY to hear you are home safe and sound with Paul & the kids. (Linda just arrived home from a month of mission work in Africa)

So that is all for now take care and give your loved ones a hug and tell them you love them. Life is precious and lets live each day to the fullest the best we can. I thank my very missed dad and Auntie Wendy for that daily reminder.

Until next time. Adiós
love Trent, Jody, Emma, Easton & Everett