Semana Santa
He came, they killed him, he came back.....and then he left for good/god* (*delete as appropriate).
Easter is big here as you might imagine for a country so tightly assoiciated with Spanish Colonial expansion, Conquistadors etc....... so, as the long, Easter weekend approaches, most Panamanian families retreat to their Pueblos, where the extended family will gather for a few days of quiet, meditative reflection.
For the rest of us, in a country with only one major road (it does however stretch from Alaska down to Buenos Aires, more or less) it means only one thing...ROADTRIP!
When a friend of mine here told me that his beautiful young niece was a dentist with a clinic in the plushest part of the city, I thought it only fair to put my teeth in her hands (so to speak). For a very small payment, Dr Melina Franco laboured over my knashers for over an hour, leaving me with a great set of newly cleaned teeth. Such thoroughness & delicacy have long since been forgotten in most UK dental surgeries. I accepted the news of 2 small cavities that would require filling with the excitement of a child on the cusp of a summer vacation. I am also considering getting my wine and coffee stained teeth whitened, although only if the funds allow. Nothing to do with the prospect of gazing in to Dr Franco´s eyes for another few hours.......honest!
Anyway, we chatted about various things and I ended up being invited to both of her family´s holiday homes - one in the mountains of El Valle de Anton, the other on the beachfront at Playa Blanca - over the Easter weekend. I am hiring a car for four days and I am finally going to let myself loose on Panamanian roads! ....can´t wait!
Easter is big here as you might imagine for a country so tightly assoiciated with Spanish Colonial expansion, Conquistadors etc....... so, as the long, Easter weekend approaches, most Panamanian families retreat to their Pueblos, where the extended family will gather for a few days of quiet, meditative reflection.
For the rest of us, in a country with only one major road (it does however stretch from Alaska down to Buenos Aires, more or less) it means only one thing...ROADTRIP!
When a friend of mine here told me that his beautiful young niece was a dentist with a clinic in the plushest part of the city, I thought it only fair to put my teeth in her hands (so to speak). For a very small payment, Dr Melina Franco laboured over my knashers for over an hour, leaving me with a great set of newly cleaned teeth. Such thoroughness & delicacy have long since been forgotten in most UK dental surgeries. I accepted the news of 2 small cavities that would require filling with the excitement of a child on the cusp of a summer vacation. I am also considering getting my wine and coffee stained teeth whitened, although only if the funds allow. Nothing to do with the prospect of gazing in to Dr Franco´s eyes for another few hours.......honest!
Anyway, we chatted about various things and I ended up being invited to both of her family´s holiday homes - one in the mountains of El Valle de Anton, the other on the beachfront at Playa Blanca - over the Easter weekend. I am hiring a car for four days and I am finally going to let myself loose on Panamanian roads! ....can´t wait!
posted by VKP at 8:54 AM
1 Comments:
Road trips are always so much fun! El Valle will be particularly nice especially if their will be an egghunt or something. Also, Sundays is market day so you can find alot of artisan stuff in the main market. Playa Blanca is swanky and nice as well. It just depends on what you are looking for. I love both.
I think some dentist clinics are whitening teeth for $200 bucks or something and then you can look like a SUPASTAH! I wanted to get it done. but it will have to wait till December or something.
Good luck with the road trip!
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