A Lion by the Lamppost

Snapshot of a street lamppost with four lions on its base located in front of the Gamboa Rainforest Resort Hotel in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

The Waiter

Snapshot of a cute waiter at the entrance of the restaurant of the Gamboa Rainfall Resort located on the banks of the Chagres River in Panama City, Panama. Bon Appetite. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Reflections on a Mirror

Snapshot of myself and my wife reflected on a large mirror in the lobby of the Gamboa Rainforest Resort in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

A Tug Boat Stationed on Gatun Lake

Gatun Lake (Spanish Lago Gatún) is a large artificial lake situated in the Republic of Panama.  It forms a major part of the Panama Canal, carrying ships for 33 kilometers (21 miles) of their transit across the narrow Isthmus of Panama.

The lake was created between 1907 and 1913 by the building of the Gatun Dam across the Chagres River.  At the time it was created, Gatun Lake was the largest artificial lake in the world, and the dam was the largest dam on earth.

Gatun Lake is also important as a reservoir of water for the operation of the Panama Canal. Each time a ship transits the canal 202,000 m³ (53,400,000 U.S. gallons) of water is passed from the lake into the sea.  With over 14,000 vessel transits per year, this represents a very large demand for water. Since rainfall is seasonal in Panama, the lake acts as a water store, allowing the canal to continue operation through the dry season.

Below are a couple of snapshots of a Panama Canal tug boat stationed on the waters of Gatun Lake waiting for a vessel exiting Gaillard Cut or Culebra Cut, on its passage to the Atlantic Ocean.  Here we go.

Snapshot of a Panama Canal tug boat waiting for a vessel at Gatun Lake to assist it on its passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

A Panama Canal tug boat is anchored at Gatun Lake waiting for a vessel to exit Gaillard Cut and transit the international waterway. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

The Gamboa Bridge

The original truss bridge carries the Panama Canal railway over the Chagres River. It dates from 1911. The attached one lane wooden bridge carries highway traffic—very slowly.  As a construction point for the canal work, Gamboa (which means a tree of the quince family) first came into prominence when the French Canal Company began excavation.

Over the Chagres River, at Gamboa de French built a bridge over which materials were hauled across the river and to a nearby spillway.  The bridge was about 365 feet long, the north span being a girder about 58 feet long.  In a flood in 1890, this girder was carried away and the pier on which the channel end of it rested, was tipped.  When work on the Panama railroad started. a relocation bridge at Gamboa was initiated in 1907.  The pier was righted and the two truss spans used for construction purposes.

Gamboa is located on a sharp bend of the Chagres River at the point which feeds Lake Gatun. Just south of Gamboa, Lake Gatun and the Chagres meet the Gaillard Cut also known as Culebra Cut where the Canal cuts through the Continental Divide.

A single lane iron and wood bridge crosses the Chagres and is the only road access to Gamboa. This bridge is still in use today. Vehicles waiting to pass over the bridge must wait for a stoplight to enter the bridge, since it is only capable of providing space for one lane of traffic at a time. In December 2010 this bridge was the site of massive flooding and huge floating islands passing under the bridge, with trees violently hitting it, which led to the temporary closure of the Panama Canal.

Below are several snapshots of this picturesque bridge adjacent to the Panama Canal.  Here we go.

Snapshot of the Gamboa Bridge next to the Panama Canal. It's one of the many icons of the famous international waterway. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

The same shot as before, only in bright color. You can see my shadow taking the picture. The sun was radiant this Sunday morning in Gamboa. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the Gamboa Bridge and the Gatun Lake towards your left. The sight of the Panama Canal on this intersection is magnificent. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the Gamboa Bridge taken from a different angle. The bridge is used by the Panama Railroad to transport containers from one ocean to the other. This railroad functions like a dry canal moving merchandise to different ports of the world. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the Gamboa Bridge taken from the railroad. This is the same railroad where I fell after taking these pictures. Glad nothing serious happened. Only a good shakeup. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

An Accident at Gamboa Bridge

For several years I’ve felt the itch to go to Gamboa and take a few pictures of the Gamboa Bridge and the Gamboa Rainforest Resort at the Panama Canal.  Since the Canal Zone had been turned over to the Republic of Panama on midday of December 1999, I hadn’t returned there.  I cherished the memories of both sites and couldn’t resist the temptation of finding out what had happened to those two places since the turnover.  For one reason or another, the visit had been postponed for more than eleven years.

Yesterday, Sunday, January 22, 2012 I woke up early and set my compass to the Panama Canal.  Finally I was determined to take those pictures no matter what.  Had breakfast about 6:00 a.m. and started the engine of my car half an hour later.  Driving to Gamboa was a breeze, since traffic was almost nonexistent.  When I got to Gamboa Bridge, I pulled over to a lookout of the Chagres River, parked the car, fetched my Birthday camera and walked over to the famous single track bridge that crosses the Chagres River exactly at the point where it flows into Gatun Lake.

The day was perfect for picture-taking.  The sky above was pale blue, the trees were twinkling with a zillion shades of green, the shining sun was out,  and there was a persistent soft breeze blowing from the North-West.  The scene was perfect for my pictures.  I strolled over to the bridge and took several shots of the structure and to a Panama Canal tug stationed just outside Culebra Cut floating above the deep blue waters of the canal.

 When I had enough pictures taken, I walked back to my car, using the Panama Canal Railroad as my route.  I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but abruptly I lost my balance after stepping on the pebbles of loose gravel and like Humpty Dumpty, fell to the ground.   My glasses went down, as I tried to cushion the fall using my left arm and my right knee.  The pain was excruciating.  For a while I just lay there, thinking if I was dead or alive.  I turned on my back and looked at the blue sky above.  I was paralyzed with fear and would not move an inch.  No kidding–for a brief moment I didn’t know if I was part of this world or not.  It’s scary to think that in a blink of an eye, you can cut the frail thread that connects you to a thing called Life.

Then gradually I started moving my limbs in slow motion, trying to determine if I was still in one piece.  Fortunately I was intact, except for an acute pain on my left arm and a bruised right knee.  I got up and limped painfully to my car where my wife was waiting in a state of shock.  She thought I had fallen off a precipice and was dead. When I got up, she told me she had seen a ghost.

She aided me to the car and gave me some water to calm my nerves.  I was badly beaten up.  The pain on my left arm was too hurtful to put in printed words.  My pants were all torn up at the height of my right knee.  I looked like a perfect wreck.  Still I was determined to drive over to the Gamboa Rainforest Resort and finalize my picture-taking project.

Driving very slowly, we got there, had a buffet breakfast with a price tag of $22.38 and rested for about two hours enjoying the view of the hotel and its accommodations.  The vista of the lake and the rainforest was absolutely awesome.  Even though I was hurting badly, the visit to the hotel was a rich experience.  As the saying goes, “No pain, no gain.”

We got back home at approximately eleven o’clock in the morning.  I could hardly walk and there was a new pain on the left part of my chest.  I could hardly breathe.  We called out family doctor and he prescribed an antibiotic called Fucidin cream to avoid any infections on my knee, and Vol Taren Emulgel to alleviate the pain on my chest and left arm.  He said to intake Arcoxia 120 miligrams pills after breakfast if the pain persisted.

I’m writing this blog post at exactly 12:42 a.m. barely touching the keyboard with my left hand.  It hurts a lot, but the show must go on and Lingua Franca has to continue.  All photographers have felt the pain in one time or another for their passion.  If I plan to become a photographer, I must pay the price.  Today I earned my Purple Heart.  That’s Okay, I’m willing to pay the price.  Next time I’ll avoid the railroad, or crawl instead of walking,  and do anything to get the shots.

Below is a picture of my punctured black pants.  Their useful days are over now.  It’s a rag, a strong reminder that there is no such thing as a free lunch, a walk in the park or easy as pie.  After completing this post, I plan to go back to bed and finish the evening the best I can.  The pain is still inside my body.  Ouch!

Snapshot of my torn and soiled black pants, a silent victim of my accident at Gamboa Bridge on Sunday morning, January 22, 2012. The garment is now worthless. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

The Little Blondie

During my photo walk over at MetroMall about a month ago, I had the pleasant opportunity to bump into a playground full of young kids hard at play.  Yesterday I published several pictures in black and white depicting these playful scenes.

Today I will switch to color pictures and the subject is a little blonde girl who looked like an angel.  She had blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin and floated around the playground like an angel.  She was the center of attention of the site.  I couldn’t take her image off my camera lens.  Yep, there’s no doubt that children are angels sent by God to crush the boredom out of our lives.

Below are several pictures of the little blonde at a playground in Panama City, Panama.  Here we go.

Snapshot of a gorgeous little girl playing at a playground inside the premises of MetroMall in Panama, City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of two little girls interacting in playful activities at a mall in Panama City, Panama. The Blondie looked like a character of a Disney movie. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Small kids are so cute. Notice the feet of The Blondie as she plays with other girls in the playground. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of a dream girls busy at play with her peers at a mall in Panama City, Panama. Concentration is the name of the game. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

The Little Blondie performs a balance act on top of a plastic ray in a playground at MetroMall in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

The Playground

Yesterday I penned a blog post about how my wife and The Twisters enjoyed ice cream cones one lazy hot January afternoon.  Their ice cream frenzy was really funny.  It was an experience that we would like to duplicate again and again.  That’s what family values are all about.

After licking their ice cream cones, The Twister wanted to stretch their legs and arms playing near a playground for young kids.  When we got there, the place was saturated with kids seriously involved in what they do best—play.  I sat on a corner of the playground and concentrated on their movements and faces.  Then I started randomly shooting what I thought best captured the innocent play of children.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  Children are the best examples of angels here on earth sent by God to make our lives joyful.

Take a look at a playground in Panama City, Panama full of youthful activity.  Here we go.

Snapshot of a group of young children busy at play at a mall in Panama City, Panama. You can see my wife Aura, on the background to the right hand side of the picture. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of a busy playground at MetroMall in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

It's amazing how children interact immediately with other children they have never met before. The bond instantaneous. Notice the faces of satisfaction of the children's parents. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of a nice group of young kids playing in a playground inside a mall in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Yep, these kids are angels sent by the man upstairs to make us feel good. I wonder what these little girls are saying to each other. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Now, the name of the game is sleeping. Nice play. Need to rest. (Smile) Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of one of The Twisters, Karol, playing with the rest of the kids in the playground. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

I was deeply impressed on the concentration of these young kids in their plays. They really take their play very seriously. Their curiosity is amazing. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of small kids playing under the watchful supervision of their parents at a mall in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Ice Cream Frenzy

MetroMall is usually the mall where we buy our stuff.  It’s clean, spacious, with high quality merchandise, exquisitely displayed, and a marvelous ice cream parlor.  From Monday thru Thursday they have a special price—two ice cream cones for the price of one.  On lazy sizzling days, that’s where we head for to calm our thirst and experience an ice cream frenzy together with “The Twisters”.

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of consolidating family values through sharing quality time experiences with members of the family.  We try to spend as much time as we can with The Twister.  In a blink of an eye, they will be adults, and we can no longer play with them as we do now.  Carpe Diem is the slogan that we cling to, now that our days are maturing and we prepare for the final journey.

Below are several pictures of my wife Aura enjoying a delicious ice cream cone with The Twisters.  Take a look.  Oh, and by the way, do you like ice cream?

My wife Aura interacts with The Twisters during a hot summer afternoon at MetroMall. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of my wife Aura, horsing around with Karol, one of The Twisters at an ice cream parlor at MetroMall in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Doing little things like enjoying an ice cream can enrich your day during a hot afternoon tropical afternoon. Just take a look at Aura's face in this picture. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of Aura, my wife, and Abdiel enjoying a yummy ice cream cone at a local mall in Panama City, Panama. A picture is worth more than a thousand words. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of my wife Aura and the Twisters in the middle of an ice cream frenzy at MetroMall in Panama City, Panama. The ice cream tray on the foreground sure looks tempting. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

A Solitary Breakfast at McDonald’s

Snapshot of a lonely woman having breakfast at El Dorado's McDonald's Restaurant. All around her, the seats are empty. This scene captured my attention one early Sunday morning. She seemed so isolated from the rest of the world. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.