View of Panama’s Old Shell From the Bay

“I am ancient land of legend.
In my veins run golden rivers.
Gods and heroes tell my story.
I am Panama.”
(Unknown)

Without hesitating one iota, I would say that the Casco Viejo is the soul of Panama City.  It’s where the country was born.  It’s here where the Presidency of the Republic is located and where the official ceremonies of the nation are carried out.  This is where the Metropolitan Cathedral displays its solemn structure.  Casco Viejo and the Republic of Panama are one.  When you walk through the narrow streets covered with red bricks, you can feel History resonating inside the walls of its old buildings.  This is where “the walls come down and the soul comes into view.”

Below are several scenes of Casco Viejo shot from the Panama Bay, which reminds us of how it was then when our country was young, vigorous and full of hope for a better future.  We’ve come a long way, but there’s still much to be done.  Here we go.

Snapshot of the tip of the Casco Viejo in Panama City, Panama. One of the hottest tourist attractions in the country. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

 

Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

 

Snapshot of a picturesque view of  Casco Viejo with a foundering old boat unattended, as if sunk and perished forever in the foreground, and the white Presidential Palace towards your right. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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The City

“And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built.”  Genesis 11:5

Panama City on the narrow Isthmus of Panama, is transforming itself into a new metropolis.  Even as we speak, most of the highways are being modernized, a metro is being built, several new traffic overhead pathways are on the design board, more than 1,500 new modern buses will replace the depleted Diablos Rojos, the Coastal Strip Three is underway, and hundreds of high-rise buildings are under construction.  By the year 2014 Panama City will compete with Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Miami and other gorgeous cities of the region.

The modern skyline, the Coastal Strip, the new Metro and the Old Shell will compete with the Panama Canal as the main attraction for international tourists looking for the latest lost paradise.

Below are a couple of pictures of the modern face of Panama City.  Here we go.

Snapshot of the picturesque skyline of Panama City, Panama as it morphs into one of the most beautiful cities of the region. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

A stunning view of the modern side of Panama City in black and white. The waterway is the Panama Bay which borders the metropolis. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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Stuffed Bell Peppers

Sweet peppers, also known as bell peppers for their bell-like shape, are one of the world’s most popular vegetables.  They are also one of the easiest to grow from the seed.

Versatile, tasty, and full of health, sweet peppers promote antioxidants.  Nutritionally they are a good source of vitamin C, beta carotene, folic acid, magnesium and potassium.

Below is a plate with several green sweet peppers recently cooked by my wife.  Here we go.

Snapshot of “ajíes rellenos” (green sweet peppers) stuffed with grind meat. Pork and chicken are also used to stuff these delicious veggies. This dish is very popular in our home. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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Portrait of a Young Twister

Paola, the youngest of the three Twisters, came last week to the house for a brief visit.  She was hungry, so my wife hastily prepared some mashed ripe plantains and eased her hunger.

While she was being fed by my wife with a small spoon, I saw the scene in my head, and thought it would make a good picture; so I dashed to my home office and fetched my Birthday Camera.

This is what I captured for posterity.  When Paola grows up, she can go back in time and see with her own eyes how she was fed one lazy Sunday morning.  As Stuart Spipahigil once wrote, “Photographs are moments, pieces of time that are captured to look at again and again.”  Here we go.

Snapshot of a black and white portrait of young Paola while she was being fed by wife my wife during a recent visit to our house. Paola is now 11 months old. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of Paola looking at her pinkies. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of a Mona Lisa smile graciously provided by the young Twister. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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The Sound of Music

Snapshot of my computer screen depicting the music pattern of a piece of classical music using Microsoft’s Windows Media Player. The visualization theme I used was Bars and Waves, Ocean Mist. I love to see these waves oscillate up and down following the pattern of the music. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Nope, today’s blog post has nothing to do with the 1965 movie “The Sound of Music” about a young woman who leaves an Austrian convent to become a governess to the children of a Naval officer widower.  The motion picture was brilliantly performed by Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.  As much as I loved this classical musical, today I’m writing about the best music enhancer I’ve met to create musical magic with my computer system.

The name of this outstanding musical software is Audio Essentials created by SRS Labs.  Audio Essentials is a downloadable software that delivers home theater quality sound to any PC. It can be had for $29.99 from the Internet with a credit card payment.  It’s great for playing games, movies, music and audio books.

SRS Audio Essentials is fully customizable and works with all PC-based media players and content service providers to bring surround sound to anything you watch or listen to on your media player, like music, movies, podcasts, games and even streaming content.

Some of its awesome features are:

• Intuitive User Interface – Advanced AV receiver look and feel
• Music, Movie and Game Modes
• Maximum Bass Response
• Immersive Surround Sound
• Volume Leveling and Volume Maximization

Using this software you have two options:  Stereo/SRS 5.1 or Stereo/SRS 5.1 Surround.  I preferred the latter.  With 5.1 Surround, Audio Essentials will create the musical illusion of having six different speakers instead of two, (e.g., LS, L, C, R, RS and Sub).  The difference in quality is spectacular in search of a better word.

Snapshot of the Audio Essentials player fully displayed. This picture was captured from my computer screen the best I could. At least you can distinguish the buttons and read the words. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

The sound features of Audio Essentials are the following:

• 3D Trueban Level:  Enhances base.  Use in combination with, the truebass speaker size control for best performance.
• Focus:  Raises the perceived elevation of the stereo image.
• Truebass Speaker Size:  Optimizes truebass for the speaker size.

This is the minimized picture of the Audio Essential player captured from the computer screen using my Canon PowerShot A720 IS. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

After downloading and installing SRS Audio Essentials’ software, I tested it by playing The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi.  What came out of my Harman/Kardon’s speakers knocked my socks off.  It was music descending directly from heaven.  Even though my speakers are relatively small—3″ wide x 4 1/2″ tall), the results were absolutely astounding.  Every single sound could be distinctly heard;  voices, violins, guitars, oboes, flutes, repercussions—you name it.  I had never listened to Vivaldi’s music on my computer like yesterday afternoon.  It was magic in the air—literally.

If you are a music fan and can spare $30.00 bucks, I strongly urge you to take a look at this extraordinary software from SRS Labs.  After listening to your music with this sound enhancer, you will wonder how you could have ever lived without it.  Good Day and enjoy your music at a higher level of quality.  This is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.

Source:  SRS Labs – Audio Essentials Download

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Apple Has Released a Big Cat Into the Wild

Credit: Apple Inc.

Apple officially launched its newest Macintosh operating system dubbed, Mountain Lion, OSX 10.8 yesterday, Wednesday July 25, 2012.  The new software narrows the gap between the PC and phone software packages, making Mac personal computers work more like iPhones and iPads.  Only computers running the most recent versions of Mac OS, Lion and Snow Leopard, can be upgraded.  It will be sold only as a download from Apple’s official Web site with a price tag of $19.99.  Macs bought on or after June 11 can be upgraded for free.

The new software will bring dictation to Macs, essentially allowing the computer to type as you talk.  Using Dictation allows you to write notes, compose e-mails, and reply to chat conversations simply by speaking whatever it is you want to type.  The benefits of using such an option on a mobile device are quite obvious—you can probably speak faster than you can press the tiny virtual keys of the gadget.

Mountain Lion’s additions of iOS apps like Game Center, iMessage and Reminders makes experiencing the Apple ecosystem seamless.  But if you don’t own an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch, those features may not be “must haves.”

Air Play mirroring is another feature that has gotten a lot of attention.  Now Mac users can watch videos in 1080 p on their high definition televisions over Wi-Fi, using Apple TV or iTunes.  Mac OSX Mountain Lion is available now at the Apple App Store.  The size of the file is 4.05 GB.

I’m planning to buy the new iPad on Saturday with a Logictec keyboard case by Zagg.  I’m not very good typing over a glass surface.  I prefer the old traditional keyboard.  Shortly after acquiring the gadget, I too will probably download the big cat from Apple.  I also had plans to buy an iMac but its steep price is outside of my cash-strapped budget.  Meanwhile I’ll use my ole HP and the recently acquired Sony Vaio laptop.  Those babies will keep me busy for a while.  Good Day and enjoy your Apple-a-day.

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The British Wharf

The British Wharf or Muelle Inglés in Spanish, has been with us for a very long time.  When I first came to Panama City in 1962 from the banana plantations of Bocas del Toro, the dock was already there.  In fact, there were only two wharves in the bay, (e.g., The British and the Fiscal Wharf).

When the Cinta Costera was built under the administration of Martin Torrijos Espino (2004-2009), the Fiscal Wharf was demolished and its services were transferred to the nearby British Wharf.

Very little is known about this pier, except that in the morning of February 23, 1915, a group of 53 policemen and four officers departed from this dock  in Panama City on board the steamship “Veraguas” under the command of General Manuel Quintero Villarreal and the Governor of the Province of Panama, Rodolfo Estripeau.

After 44 hours of sailing, General Quintero and his men arrived at former Rabo de Puerco (today known as Puerto Armuelles).  Other than this brief historic passage of the dock linked to the Guerra de Coto with Costa Rica, the rest of the history of the pier, has been devoured by the passing of time.

Under the administration of Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal, the British Wharf was totally restored to serve the growing needs of the city dwellers.  Panama was growing very fast and the installations were literally falling apart.  The maritime authorities selected an elegant design with bright colors for the new building which enhances the overall beauty of the city.

The dock serves the needs of the adjacent seafood market which is visited by thousands of consumers every day, specially during Easter Week when Roman Catholics include fish in their meals as part of their religious faith.

Below are several pictures of the restored British Wharf.  Here we go.

Snapshot of the Muelle Inglés before it was restored by the administration of Ricardo Martinelli. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the entrance of the new building of British Wharf with a modern design and bright colors. Many Panamanians use these facilities to travel by boat to the islands of the Archpiélago de las Perlas and the Province of Darién. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Take notice of the modern design of the modern building recently restored to serve the needs of the seafood market and the passengers who travels to the islands of the bay and the Province of Darién. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

If you love lines in a photograph, this picture is for you. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the waiting room where passengers wait for their vessels to leave for the islands of the bay or the ports of Darién. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

If you happen to know more about this historic dock, I would appreciate if you would share this information with us.  Capturing history is vital in keeping the traditions and cultural background of our countries.  Good Day.

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Signs of Panama

Snapshot of a sign that reads, “Passenger’s Dock” at the entrance of a recently renovated wharf of Panama City’s seafood market. This is where the fishing boats moor to unload their fresh catch for the consumption of the metropolis. It has an amazing architectural design. Stay tuned. There are more pictures in the works. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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Seafood Restaurant

A popular seafood restaurant for the working class inside the seafood market in Panama City, Panama. If you enjoy seafood cuisine, this is the place to go without depleting your wallet. Notice the classy aluminum furniture. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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A Metro Bus in Panama City Making Its Rounds

Snapshot of a Metro Bus making its rounds at the bus stop of Plaza Cinco de Mayo. The impressing building to your left is the former railroad station built by the U.S. Panama Canal Commission during the construction of the Panama Canal. From here you could take a train to Colon City on the Atlantic Side. Today it is a museum operated by the Panama Government. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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