The Traveling Widower

Tag: Panama

  • Random Thoughts and More Photos

    An older man sitting in an airport lounge, holding a tablet and pondering, with a thought bubble representing a brain above his head, suggesting he is engaged in deep thought or reflection.
    I wish my arms looked like that. Maybe I can trade.

    March 29th, 2026 (thru April 2nd)

    Well, I’m finally home, and thought I’d start my trip summary – I’ll have a lot of photos and videos to add to this but it will take a few days to sort and curate the collection of images. So this will probably be posted in early April. For now, I’m just adding in a bunch of those random thoughts about the trip and life in general, that have been bouncing around in my head the past few days, and jotted them down in my journal. Most were written on the trip, sitting in the airport on the way home, or in between naps when I made it home. They are in no particular order. Here goes.

    I’m really looking forward to getting home – I love traveling, but the getting to/from the starting point for international trips is getting to be a real drag. This one should have been relatively easy, but the TSA walkout turned this into a stressful and expensive trip. I really did not want to stay in a hotel last night but had no choice. And this morning, I had to get up a Oh-Dark-Thirty to avoid the four hour delays getting through security – even then, at 7AM, there was a sea of humanity in Terminal E, but a well organized one. It only took a little over an hour to get through it all. I did like the signs TSA posted in the maze, which gave the estimated time from that point. Sort of helpful. 

    A sign displaying an estimated wait time of 15-30 minutes at an airport queue with people in line.

    I try to keep politics out of this blog (it sneaks in once in a while), but I have to ask – What the heck are all the armed ICE agents doing at the airports? There were clusters of them, all wearing body armor, all carrying sidearms, and all doing absolutely nothing other than chatting and drinking coffee. They cannot replace the TSA agents since they are not trained, and the airport staff organizes the lines. I  did see one ICE agent helping to direct people. That was it. He’ll probably be fired.  

    And while I’m into politics, here’s two more thoughts: Do any of the  leaders in Congress really think that it is a good idea to make the TSA agents suffer through this, just to make a political point? At some point, they will become tired of being political pawns and never come back to a job where they can be forced to work without pay, based on the whims of a few leaders in the government. 

    And (the last complaint), somehow money was magically found in the bloated DHS budget to pay the TSA agent salaries, and now the huge lines have disappeared in airports like Houston. Why was this not done right at the git-go, and avoid the inevitable chaos at the airports? Just saying, End of political rant.  

    This was the first trip where I’ve signed up for one of the pre or post extensions, and I’m glad I did it. I had read through the extension itinerary, and it sounded like it might be interesting, but still had no idea on what to expect. It more than exceeded my hazy expectations – it was nice to be with a small group of people and establish a few relationships before getting on the ship. That helped to avoid the bane of my existence on these trips – the first night of looking for people to sit with at lunch and dinner. Plus, it really helps to settle into trip mode before getting on the ship. I’ve already signed up for a post-extension on the Patagonia trip (plus I’m getting there early) and the same for the Sea of Cortez trip. I’m also getting in early for Kodiak and Iceland. It’s just nice to be able to recover from the long trip before the daily activities begin.

    This trip was something of a learning experience for me, on how to handle my latest body failures. I was extremely concerned about how i would handle my cardiac issues (high blood pressure, rapid heart beat/ arrhythmia) – stress is likely the main trigger for these “attacks”, and just worrying about having an attack can be a trigger. I found myself looking down at my watch all the time to check my pulse rate, and then stressed out if it was high. When my worrying finally led to a tachycardia (look it up) incident, the ship doctor basically talked me into relaxing, and that helped for the rest of the trip. I stopped checking and just focused on the activities. I even made it through the somewhat stressful trip home without any problems. 

    I had another epiphany during the trip, one I’ve realized before but keep trying to ignore. News Break: I’m not 25 years old. I’m not even 65 years old. I’m in my mid-70’s, with heart disease, a bum knee and distal neuropathy. I need to be careful on what activities I sign up for. Fortunately, I’ve already begun to favor outings that are focused more on photography than on meeting some aerobic goal for the day. Although I did manage to make it up two observation towers, and two hikes which involved a few steep sections. I also have to consider my stability now and remember to use the hiking sticks that I bring along – I might have avoided a very embarrassing and potentially dangerous trip/fall I had on the last day. But I am giving some thought now, to selecting trips that are mostly cruise based – no more land trips with lots of hiking, and multiple hotels. I have three of those scheduled in the next year (2 to Iceland, 1 to Madagascar. Kodiak is sort of in-between). I intend to stick to longer trips with Nat Geo/Lindblad or possibly Natural Habitats that are entirely cruise based going past 2027. 

    I’m definitely getting the hang of solo traveling after 6 major trips (5 with Nat Geo/Lindblad, 1 with Road Scholars) and a countless number of shorter domestic trips, but I still miss my wife all the time. It’s hard experiencing some of the most amazing places without her. And it’s difficult being alone in the midst of so many couples and families – no matter how welcome people on these trips make you feel, you still feel awkward not having a partner to share the moment with. It’s just something I have to try and deal with.

    Here’s a few observations I’ve made after 5 Nat Geo/Lindblad trips:

    1 – I’ve been on four different ships so far, and the experience has been excellent on each. The shipboard hotel services are consistently superb – all the staff, food, cabin comfort, lounges, bars are all top notch.

    2 – The National Geographic trip leads and naturalists are fantastic – most are local to the countries the trip is centered on, and are literal fountains of knowledge on the culture, history, fauna and flora. Plus, they are lots of fun to be with. I learned a lot on the trips, which is the point of these expeditions.

    3 – One of the best features of these expeditions is that the itinerary can change daily and sometimes hourly depending on the weather, ocean conditions, and sometimes on where animals have been seen. Keeps you on your toes.

    And for the fun of it, here are the highlights of this trip for me:

    Best Activity – so many choices. This was a unique trip. I’ll pick two: the VIP tour of the Miraflores lock on the Panama Canal, and the Zodiac cruise around the Monkey Islands, in the Gatun Lake. Great videos of the canal, and great photos of three species of monkeys.

    Funniest Moment – that one is easy. The cemetery/prison tour when we were attempting to get to the docks in Colon. 

    Best “But I got the Photo” Moment – getting some great shots of the Tamarin Monkeys after my finger was smashed between the boat and some trees. I’m a very dedicated photographer.

    Most Stressful Moment – trying to get past customs at the Panama City airport. I was close to pleading for mercy when they decided I must be a National Geographic photographer. Smashing my finger beween the boat and a tree was a close second.

    Biggest Surprise – how much I enjoyed the “Pre” trip, which had nothing to do with animals, and all about learning some very interesting things about Panama history, and the Panama Canal.

    Best Evening – going through the canal locks at night. It was like a party on the bow, in the rain. Passing through the narrow Culebra Cut channel would be a close second.

    OK, enough random thoughts. Many of the photos below were already included on my trip posts, but I’ve had more time to curate them on Adobe Lightroom, using the RAW formats instead of JPEG. As I continue to organize and review the files (using Lightroom Classic), I’ve found a few gems as well. As I’ve mentioned before in the blog, you can expand each photo to full size by simply clicking on them.

    A playful monkey clinging to a tree branch in a dense green forest, showcasing its curious expression and agile posture.
    A squirrel monkey perched on a tree branch surrounded by lush green leaves.
    A close-up of a capuchin monkey sitting among green leaves, with a serious expression on its face.
    A close-up of a Capuchin monkey sitting among green leaves, with a contemplative expression.
    A howler monkey perched on a branch, surrounded by green leaves and clear blue sky.
    A monkey hanging from a tree branch, surrounded by green leaves and a blue sky in the background.
    A close-up of a monkey perched on a branch, surrounded by lush green foliage, showing its side profile with distinctive facial markings.
    Close-up of a monkey perched on a branch, featuring gray fur with brown patches and expressive dark eyes.
    Two monkeys lounging on a tree branch among green leaves.
    A howler monkey sitting among green leaves, gazing intently.
    A baby monkey with a black and white face sitting on a branch, surrounded by lush green foliage.
    A colorful toucan perched on a tree branch surrounded by lush green leaves.
    A colorful bird perched on a weathered tree branch, facing downward, surrounded by lush greenery.
    A woodpecker perched on a textured tree trunk with a blurred green background.
    A standing heron with brown and white striped feathers, surrounded by rocks and green foliage.
    A brightly colored bird perched on a branch, featuring a green head, red chest, and gray wings, surrounded by lush greenery.
    A white bird perches on a branch over water, poised to catch a fish, surrounded by lush green foliage.
    A heron taking flight from a water surface surrounded by green foliage.
    A heron standing on a branch above calm water, surrounded by green foliage.
    A woodpecker perched on a tree branch against a clear blue sky, holding an insect in its beak.
    A colorful parrot eating fruit from a cluster of orange berries on a palm tree, surrounded by green leaves.
    A colorful parrot feeding on a cluster of orange fruits hanging from a palm tree.
    A colorful macaw perched on a branch, eating a green leaf, surrounded by lush green foliage.
    A black vulture standing on green grass, with a distinctive gray head and sharp beak, under a natural setting.
    Three birds flying over the ocean with a cloudy sky in the background.
    A small green butterfly resting on the edge of a large green leaf with a soft-focus background of blurred greenery.
    A close-up of a vibrant red and yellow tropical flower against a blurred green background.

    OK, I’m tired of this post but still have more photos to share, mostly from the Panama Canal. I’ll do another post – no long stories, just photos and videos.

    Peace

  • Not Again, More Monkeys, and TSA at Houston

    A scenic beach view with clear blue water, kayaks on the sand, and people enjoying various activities. Palm trees frame the foreground, with mountains in the distance.

    March 24th, 2026

    I’ve been really pleased with the way things have gone on this trip so far, in terms of my health. I’ve been monitoring my BPM, taking my blood pressure daily, and trying my best not to stress out about anything. I did fine on the one hike early on that went up a five or six story circular staircase, and going up and down the stairs on the ship. Well, today did not start out too well. I started out OK, but then read an article about the 4 hours wait time to get through TSA at IAH. I’ve only got 2 hours between flights, and need to go through customs and TSA security again. I sent e-mail to the Lindblad travel agency, asking about switching to a flight the next day, and will probably go ahead with that. This morning I was scheduled to head over to a tropical island to hang on a beach and go kayaking. I was looking forward to that. I was sort of ready when I heard the call to board the Zodiacs to head to shore. Crap – I had to throw everything together in a hurry. I wound up at the end of the line, out of breath. And then the heart issue hit – dizzy, racing heart, palpitations. Double crap. I leaned against the wall, tried to relax, but much like the last time, it was not stopping. I was right next to my cabin, so I ducked in and sat down. What to do. I called for the ships doctor. She got there in a few minutes, checked my pulse which was going down, told me I definitely should not be snorkeling, and stayed with me for a bit. She said I should just relax, and go to the beach anyway. My BPM had creeped down below 100, and since I had already greased up with sunscreen, I figured what else could go wrong? Don’t answer that please.

    I made the right choice. The beach was beautiful, just a 5 minute Zodiac ride, and with lots of chairs in the shade. If nothing else, I figured I could just take a snooze. But, after resting for 20 minutes, I wandered over to an empty kayak, and pushed off for a slow paddle around the bay. 

    A scenic view of a calm beach with palm trees and clear water, taken from a kayak. Several people are kayaking in the background with boats and a sandy shore visible.

    There was not really that much to see – the water was clear, but other than some really small fish, there was nothing worth sticking the GoPro underwater. I paddled across the bay where a bunch of other folks were hanging out – there were a couple of crocodiles sunning on a rock – none of us were interested in getting a closer look. They can swim much faster than any of us could paddle. And in my current condition, I would have been slowest kayak. Chomp.

    After 30 minutes or so, I had enough sun, and figured it would be best to just rest. Something I’m not very good at. 

    This island, Coiba used to be a notorious prison, especially during the Noriega days – anyone sentenced here basically disappeared. After things settled down in Panama years later, they made this into a protected national park, which is part of a very large marine ecological zone. These islands are linked with the Galapagos and other Pacific Islands, for quite a few fish and mammals – Hammerhead sharks, Whale Sharks and Humpback Whales migrate through here. So, this beach also had a small, somewhat primitive museum / visitor center, and access to the islands is very limited and controlled. Not that I was planning to do any hiking on jungle trails, wearing kayak shoes. There are lots of birds, and mammals on the islands including Howler and Capuchin monkeys. One Capuchin decided to check out the beach, and made for a good photo op – I wish I had brought one of the Sony’s, but the Pixel 10 worked fine.

    A white-faced capuchin monkey climbing a green palm leaf against a clear blue sky.
    A monkey walking on a wooden railing, looking upwards with a curious expression, surrounded by greenery.
    A monkey climbing a palm tree, with green palm fronds in the background.
    A white-faced monkey standing on a wooden surface, surrounded by green foliage.

    There was also a large monitor lizard hanging around the museum, just asking for a selfie or two, and a friendly vulture stood in line waiting for the shower. 

    Close-up of a textured lizard head resting among green grass.
    A black vulture standing on green grass, showcasing its distinctive dark feathers and gray head.

    Eventually, a Zodiac came to ferry us back to the ship, where I planned to just hang out and relax the rest of the day. The next few days will be all about hiking, and learning a bit about local culture. Hopefully, my heart will behave itself for the remainder of the trip.

    One more photo – a moth settle outside one of the dining room windows. Made for an interesting composition.

    A white moth resting on a glass surface, with a blurred view of blue water and green hills in the background under a clear blue sky.

    Peace