Agadir was a lovely city, I just wish that I had more time to explore it. I worked every day but one and had no car. The good news is that the main reason tourists come to Agadir is to go to the beach and that was only a couple of blocks from the hotel…
Work sometimes sends us in strange and wonderful places. Such was the case last month when I was asked to attend an exercise named African Lion which was held in Agadir, Morocco. I am kind of used to being sent to a place that I have never heard of. I was expecting the exercise to…
Over New Year’s Eve, my family and I decided to take a skiing vacation to Hokkaido. I’ve heard amazing things about the powder there, and also about the ski instruction for little kids there, including in English. My 5 year old son has never been skiing, so I wanted to introduce him there. It is…
Maybe you’re tired of hearing about my adventures in Panama, but I have one last post that I really wanted to share. We took a day trip across the isthmus to the Atlantic side of the country and went along the coast to Portobelo. This town and Nombre de Dios are the towns the Spanish…
After the destruction of the original town, the inhabitants of Panama rebuilt a couple of miles away at what is now known as Casco Viejo (Old Town), but confusingly sometimes called Casco Antiguo (Ancient Town). Like most old downtowns, it had run down and was full of bars and prostitutes up until just a few…
I really enjoy history and seeing ruins on my travels. Panama has plenty of history and you don’t have to go far to find it in Panama. Panama Viejo (Old Panama) is also called Casco Antiguo by some. This was the original Spanish settlement established in 1519 as the first permanent European settlement on the…
Panama was created as a country due to Columbia not doing a deal with American companies to build a canal across the same route that the French had tried and failed to do so 1881-1888. We supported a declaration of independence, sent our fleet to prevent the Columbian Navy from landing, and recognized the country…
Hey, everyone. Sorry for the break in action, but I was laid low last week by first a cold and then some bad chicken salad. If you want to start this series from the beginning, start here. I think there is a rule that you can’t go to Panama without seeing the famous locks. Especially…
Since the friend of mine whom we were staying with lives in Panama, I figured he knew what the best sites to see would be. And because I can’t get my wife to do anything like scuba diving or zip-lining, I was stuck with sight-seeing. We started the first full day with a boat trip…
One of my claims to fame during my military career is that I was in a team of three that established inter-agency Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Iraq. I am quite proud of this achievement and have kept up with my Department of State comrade. Greg now is on assignment to the U.S. Embassy in Panama and…
