Beautiful Panama

Mangrove Roots Boca Chica

richarddetrich — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:31:36 +0000

Please visit my blog about life in Panama at www.RichardDetrich.wordpress.com and my other photo blog about my life and travels lecturing on board cruise ships at www.CruisingGuide.wordpress.com

Mangrove at Boca Chica

richarddetrich — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:29:27 +0000

This is mangrove at Boca Chica, doing what it does best . . . collecting sand and creating land mass. The mangrove is a highly protected environment in Panama and home to a world of animal and plant life. There are fines for disturbing or destroying mangrove, but the big developers creating multi-million dollar beach resorts just treat the fines as development costs.

Orchid at Boca Chica

richarddetrich — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:25:28 +0000

This was on a tree at our property in Boca Chica, and it was just after a rain shower.

Sand Dollar at Boca Chica

richarddetrich — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:22:18 +0000

There are several beaches at Boca Chica where you can find lots of sand dollars and shells. Because so much of our soil is volcanic, the beaches on the mainland are mostly gray and black sand. Out on the islands there are white sandy beaches.

The Old Boquete Bridge

richarddetrich — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:18:20 +0000

This was the old Boquete bridge, a landmark bridge connecting downtown with the fair grounds. It was one lane, no big trucks and the walkway was old boards, with occassional boards missing, so you had to watch where you walked or you’d fall into the river. On a windy night an Indian who’d had too much to drink was blown off the bridge and lost in the rushing river below. That was kind of the final straw. And now a new bridge has been under construction for about a year. The new bridge, like most of what’s new in Boquete, is modern . . . so, for better or worse, Boquete is changing.

Bridge at Valle Escondido

richarddetrich — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:01:08 +0000

This is the bridge at the Valle Escondido resort in Boquete. Behind it is the “Pueblito”. During the four years we’ve lived in Valle Escondido the tented building has had four different restaurants, none of which have succeeded. The “Pueblito” itself was once little shops and stores. Now it has all been converted into hotel rooms for the Valle Escondido hotel and resort.

Foot Bridge

richarddetrich — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:26:55 +0000

Whatever works!

“Like A Bridge Over Troubled Water”

richarddetrich — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:18:05 +0000

Maybe at times it’s better to skip the bridge and just wade on through it! Bridges in Panama fascinate me.

Bleeding Tree

richarddetrich — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:15:37 +0000

Panamanians use green wood for fence posts and with all of our rain, guess what? The fences grow! And sometimes the fence row of now trees needs to be trimmed, which I was doing . . . and this tree started to bleed! I should have started a new religious cult or something!

The Road to Boquete

richarddetrich — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:38:52 +0000

I was walking back home after dropping my truck off at “Click & Clack”, our local “shade tree mechanic” and snapped this picture of the road that leads down into Boquete Abajo, our town.