Carnival

Even though the talks with the Indians have started to unravel, they are smart enough to not push their luck during Carnival.

Carnival is the biggest, drunkest, hose-the-people-down-with-fire-hydrants party in the country.

No one screws with Carnival!

Even the Indians, who are madder than hell at the way the talks are going.

So, new protests will be held off until February 27th.

Meanwhile, we enjoy a respite.

One of the ways to tell it is Carnival is by the enormous number of passed out Indians and Panamanians in the ditches beside the roads. Several people have had trouble getting into their houses because passed out drunks block their driveways, front doors and side streets.

As I have mentioned in the past, these people can PARTY!!!

It is not unusual to see a party still going at 8 AM the morning after. And Carnival is a four day long celebration. So why stop partying night or day?

How do they do it?

Our little berg of Boquete is know for a peaceful, quiet, tranquil place to weather the Carnival storm. Most Panamanians do not party at this level and they too try to hide from the major partying.

So Boquete is full and overflowing with Panamanian tourists escaping the party.

Even so there are enough people celebrating Carnival to litter the roads with passed out drunks.

In a rare display of planning, Romaro's (our major super market) is fully stocked throughout the fiesta. You can imagine my surprise! This culture is without the planning gene. Maybe they brought in a Type A westerner to pull this off.

We are enjoying abundant food, the most pleasant weather and a few days of relaxation and fun.

What you say, aren't we already relaxed in retirement? Ah, there are new levels of relaxation available.

Tonight we go to a New Orleans style, Fat Tuesday party. This is known as the most decadent gringo party of the year. Drunkenness will be resplendent tonight!

Not my favorite thing, for sure. We will have to go early and leave early, trying to avoid the worst of the mess.

Tonight, Gringos Gone Wild!

I plan on watching from the side lines.

The Beach

We drove to the beach yesterday for a day trip. Daniel and Lily stayed overnight and returned this evening.

We had postpond the trip because the turn off for the beach was at the location of the biggest and most vigorous Indian demonstration. Obviously, this delayed our trip.

On our way to San Felix, the town with the demonstrations, we had clear sailing with no delays or crowds of indigenous people...

Until a few miles before San Felix where a large, friendly group of Indians were standing by the road.

Why?

Well, the truce is contingent on the legislature being in session and negotiating a solution.

Clearly, on very short twitter or text message notifying a suspension of the negotiations will result INSTANTLY in a renewal of the demonstrations.

I believe the Indians have a realistic view of "white man's" petulance to screw them. So they are ready!

I can't blame them.

Meanwhile, a wonderful day at the beach was enjoyed by all!

Ah, the beach!

Update

For now, the indigenous people have suspended their demonstrations. All has started to return to normal.

We are traveling to the beach today with our son and girlfriend. We don't anticipate any problems which is good because we will go through the town with the most violence.

Until later,

Hasta Luega!

Third Indian Update

We went to David even though there were reports of road closures on the highway to the airport.

We got through, no problem.

As we saw the entrance to the airport, a large number of soldiers and police were screening the cars being allowed into the airport. There was no problem getting in, just some delays.

On the highway just before the airport, about 100 cars loaded with local Panamanians were parked watching the airport grounds.

Why?

I don't know. Probably Saturday night entertainment.

The airport was even more crowded Saturday evening than Friday. A line snaked out the door and down the parking lot for about a block. These are the tourist stranded and looking for one of the free flights. Good luck...it seemed to be hopeless.

Soldiers were at the doors prohibiting anyone from entering unless you had a ticket. So we waited outside.

Our son's flight was only 30 minutes late so everything worked for us.

Much of the information I wrote in yesterday's blog turns out to be inaccurate. The newspapers are having trouble getting the stories right. Understandably.

The Indians are still in control. No progress yet.

The general consensus is that there will be violence tomorrow with the soldiers and police breaking up the blockades.

We will see.

Day 5 of Indian Blockade

All parties are at a impasse.

The Indians definitely have their back up. And they should.

Why is it that the indigenous people always get the shaft?

Here's how the story goes...

The president said he would talk to the Indians in Panama City. They want to talk at an old cathedral out in the Camarca, otherwise know as the boondocks.

The President got in his trusty helicopter and visited the Indians out in the country at a couple of the road blocks. They don't want to talk to the President because it is the legislature that is screwing things up. (Who knows who is really the fly in the ointment)

So they give the Pres the boot.

Needless to say, this is not moving things along nor is it making any friends.

So the president is loading planes in David with produce for Panama City. There are a string of barges headed to the port of Pedregal, see previous post about this "charming" little berg, which is near David and will be loaded with mucho food for Panama City.

Is anyone thinking about getting fuel to Chirqui? Hey, dumb shits, you can't get food to the markets without fuel!

In addition, the cell phone service to the road block areas has been cut. The Indians say this is a strong arm tactic by the government and the government says it was sabotage by the Indians.

How many fingers do they have to point?

Panama has also added 5 FREE flights, round trip, between David and Panama City to move the tourists along and out of the country so they are no longer stranded.

This is a good thing. I was at the David airport yesterday picking up a friend and it was mayhem. The terminal, which is small, was packed with almost no place to stand and wait. The outside was populated with milling groups of disgruntled, waiting people. The terminal is designed to handle about 100 people at time and there were about 500 people in and around the terminal.

Not a good thing.

And we are picking up our son and his girl friend this afternoon at the David airport.

This is a sidebar...

We know several drivers in Panama City. If you visit us, an English speaking driver that I set up, will meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel or the in-country airport. These drivers are wonderful! I called to confirm that our son was in Panama City. Then the driver called back an hour later and said that Daniel was now at the in-country airport, in the correct line to check in and all was well. These guys go the extra mile to make sure that your safety and well being are cared for.

Back to the mess...

We are getting international pressure to resolve this stuff because tourists from various countries are stranded. Those stuck at the airport are moving along but all the people in cars, taxis and buses are stranded out on the highway...and have been for 5 days.

Tell me that doesn't get old.

I know of pressure from Costa Rica and Argentina now. I am sure that other countries are in the mix too.

The US State Department has issued a travel restriction for US citizens.

What a mess!

In the end, I find it hard to criticize the Indians. After being fu#$ed over in almost every country in the world over the centuries, I suspect that they should escalate the fight.

Because we all know how this will turn out.

You know where the term "Indian Giver" comes from.

Circle The Wagons

The Indians are coming.

We have 5 indigenous tribes in Panama. The local tribe is called Ngobe Bulge.

They are protesting the governments willingness to mine their lands. These lands have the largest deposit of copper in the world, not to mention gold, silver and many more precious metals.

Capitalists around the world are salivating over the not-quite-dead, Indian nation carcass.

In the grant fashion of contemporary imperialism, the government has awarded the mining rights to a Canadian firm.

Finally, something gives the "Aren't-They-So-Nice" Canadians a black eye. I have been waiting for this because Canadians are actually nice. Are they the next British? Or simply relying on the US for an exemplary example of "How to Screw The Indians Royally."

In the glowing fashion of governments steeped in the rich heritage of the northern barbarian hordes of Europe, with brilliant follow up by the British and Americans, the Panamanian government first wrote a law that awarded the Indians what they wanted; then, when the legislature was going to pass the law, they stripped the important paragraph awarding the rights to Indians from the law.

Brilliant!!

I can tell the Panamanians have been studying American politics. Where else in the world can you can you vote both for and against a law by first voting for the law, then voting down the funding for the same law.

Magnificently brilliant.

So now the indians are protesting.

And they are so good at it...after all, they have had plenty of practice.

They blockaded the roads, in this case, the all important Inter American Highway, or the life blood of the country. Only one road connects the entire country. They might want to re-think this for the future.

The blockade has been going on for 4 days.

We in Chiriqui (Boquete) are out of fuel. No gas, no diesel.

Ah, but we have food because we are the bread basket of Panama.

Panama City, on the other side of the blockade, is out of food. But, of course, they have plenty of fuel.

I want to see them try to eat that!

Our stubborn president has refused to talk to the Indians.

Triple brilliant!

Not to worry. When the pissed off citizens start to roast the politicians for breakfast, I firmly believe the president will talk to the Indians.

In the mean time, we are hunkered down, trying to conserve fuel...not something we know anything about, of course.

I will give you an update later.