Japan Day 2: Osaka

Arriving in the early morning after countless hours of traveling and having to wait until 3:00 for your hotel room is like running a marathon only to find the finish line has been moved another mile down the road.

But we made the most of our time by arguing over the map and insisting on different directions on the subway. How to use a new subway system is even more confusing when you can’t even read the letters.

We walked along the river. We tea and pastries. (Surely you aren’t surprised!)

Then on to the Umeda Sky Tower. Not only is the view stunning, but the Star Trek architecture is incredible, with futuristic walkways and glass escalators and also beautiful open spaces.

This is inside the tower. This Buddhist country has completely embraced Christmas

Osaka is a large, modern, bustling city with tons of character, and nowhere is that more clear than in the Dotonbori neighborhood. Walking through it felt like stepping inside an arcade game—towering skyscrapers flashing with multicolored lights, giant 3-D cows, crabs, and dinosaurs jutting out from the buildings, happy techno music pulsing through the streets, and the irresistible smells of okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) and Wagyu beef skewers drifting through the air. It was wild, chaotic, and wonderfully fun—people of all ages from all over the world just out enjoying themselves. What a great evening!

Noisy, crazy fun Dotonburi

Jim with Waygu beef skewer and Okonomiyaki (our chef photo bombing)

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2024 South America

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Panama City: Day 9

I am a huge fan of the architect Frank Gehry—he designed the Disney Center in LA

Photo credit Condé Nast

and the Dior building in France (among many others).

I didn’t realize that he’s married to a Panamanian and that he designed the Biodiversity Museum here as a gift to her. The skyscraper part of the city has only white buildings, so to visit this crazy, colorful masterpiece today was a delight.

Biomuseo

The views of the city were great from the Biomuseo

Our new friend, Lorena, had made reservations months ago to a top restaurant, Maitos, and let us tag along. She told us tonight that she was on the show Master Chef (but “only” made it 12 rounds.)

Lorena with her squid ink paella and me with seafood risotto

Profiteroles with hibiscus butter

Panamanian wontons

Jim had fish…all the bones removed.

Strawberry sorbet

The restaurant has been in the top 50 restaurants of Latin America for many years.

This was a great ending to a wonderful trip. Tomorrow we have horrible flights through Houston, arriving at LAX at midnight. ¡Adios, Panama! It’s been a great party.

Panama City: Day 8

Panama is the only country that is bordered by two oceans. At 5:00 am we started our journey to the Atlantic Ocean side of Panama. Our goal was the San Blas islands which are in the indigenous Guna country.

We got our passports stamped here as we entered Guna Ayala

When we arrived at the port after a two hour drive, it was total chaos—lots of groups wanting a boat to the islands. Our driver handed us off to a kid driving a rickety boat, and I wasn’t sure we’d ever see him again. We had paid in advance.

Chaos at the Atlantic Ocean

When we arrived at the first island, my fears melted away. It was so tropical and beautiful. It felt like something out of a movie.

Living the dream

We played on that island, had lunch and then the boat took us to a shallow place IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN. It felt so strange— the water was far from land and yet only knee deep.

Here we are with our new friend Lorena

Indigenous market

Next we explored a third island. It’s possible to spend the night here, but without water or electricity or WiFi it would feel more like prison than vacation to me.

Our boat for the day

In the boat ride back the waves were high and we were soaking wet and sandy at the end of it. Then we had an uncomfortable three hour drive back to Panama City. We were exhausted and wet and thrashed. It was worth it, though.

Panamá City: Day 7

The fun never ends in Panamá. Taking a boat trip to Gamboa we visited several islands to see monkeys. We saw three different kinds of monkeys: Howler, Capuchin and white-faced.

Doesn’t he look like an old man?

We were so happy, but hungry and tired after the trip. I just wanted to pick up food and go to bed, but when we got to the taco place I chose, it was a beautiful rooftop bar. We stayed, enjoyed the view, and ordered ten different tacos for $20. They were the best I’ve ever had.

View from the restaurant

Panama City: Day 5

I can tell you more about sloths, (which are common here), than you ever wanted to know.

Photo credit Beth Renfrow

This morning I WAS a sloth–we had free time so I hung out and drank tea and enjoyed our gorgeous hotel view.

In the afternoon we toured the Panamá Canal. What I didn’t know was that in 2017 they finished the second canal which runs alongside the first and it is even wider, deeper and high tech than the first. Everything about the canal is HUMONGOUS–the containers, the ships, the staff, the amount of water used, and the profits.

These are the people who didn’t have the private guide trying to see what’s happening on the canal

The locks

New Year’s Eve is my least favorite holiday. To celebrate we had a nice dinner at a restaurant with a rooftop bar. The food was good. There was an open bar and loud music, and a great view. But there was no room to dance, no way to talk above the music, and I don’t drink. It wasn’t fun. I guess I’m not a party animal. I was perfectly happy to go home at 10 o’clock, sleep for an hour, and wake up at midnight to see the beautiful fireworks above the skyline from my bed.

View from the bar. Happy New Year Everyone!

Panama City: Day 6

And now begins the second part of the trip…the not free, less luxurious part. Most of our group flew home very early in the morning. I will miss my new friends.

I have so enjoyed talking to people from Tennessee and Massachusetts and Texas and Idaho…the friend from Kentucky invited me to come visit her.

“What would I like there?”

“Horses?”

“No.”

“Country music?”

“No.”

“Bourbon?”

“No.”

“Hmm. Maybe I’ll come to California.”

“There you go!”

A new friend, Lorena, will play with us until Friday, when we fly home.

We moved from our big hotel in the modern part of the city to a cute AirBnB in the old town. It was quite inexpensive, which is why we are staying a few extra days.

The city has a crazy amount of Christmas decorations. Every tree, building, and flat surface is covered by lights. Think of the most decorated street in your town and then add millions of dollars of more lights, displays, and scenes.

Panama City: Day 4

I’m thankful to say that I did not get hurt on this trip. However, Jim banged his head on the glass shower door and missed today’s outing because he was in the emergency room. He’s fine now…no stitches.

Today’s excursion was on a party boat to Taboga Island. The boat holds 350 people, but EF chartered it exclusively for our group of 40.

There was swimming, lots of food, a DJ and an open bar. We danced and swam and sang karaoke. It’s amazing what talents come out when you give teachers endless rum and a microphone. I think their students would have been surprised. Just saying. It’s a fun group.

I had sort of forgotten that mostly people associate Panama with the canal. We haven’t really seen evidence of the canal until today, when on the boat ride, we saw the ships lined up, waiting to go through the canal.

Waiting and waiting for their turn to pass through the canal.

We attended a “Folkloric Dinner” that was the kind of schmaltzy thing you do as a tourist. The restaurant was decorated, (supposedly), as a Panamanian countryside restaurant. The food was simple and delicious. They performed traditional dances. I liked seeing the cooks and other staff singing the songs under their breath and moving to the music—- it was a show, but also really part of their heritage.

Because I’m with teachers who travel, the stories are hilarious and interesting. They’ve been to interesting places where I haven’t been yet, and there are crazy student stories. I would be thrilled to have any person on this trip as my child’s teacher. I’m especially happy to find teachers who are excited about their jobs and having amazing learning opportunities with teens.