December 21, 2024
COLON, PANAMA
We had last weekend in COLON, PANAMA. The town was right outside the port gates and there was a Supermarket, ATM's, shopping mall, Casino, Restaurants and several other specialty stores and local craft vendors, all an easy walk and they all happily accepted $US dollars. Most residents stocked up and did some Christmas shopping. Sadly, Colon's urban area is severally depressed, but the people are bright and friendly. After checking out the shops and getting some groceries, 4 of us, Bob, Sarah, Scott & I, decided to rent a cab for an hour and have a tour of the local sights and go over the canal bridge to see the beginning of the locks. The areas outside of town are lush, tropical and a lot is undisturbed,
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Off the coast of Pattaya, Thailand a talented and dedicated group of residents, the Odyssey Troubadours , performed A Night of Broadway for the enjoyment of all the other residents and senior staff on board. The group of 20 performed, 15 Broadway songs that had some special Odyssey edits, personalizing them to our journey. We loved it ! Such a clever, talented and fun loving group. I was upfront and focused on getting candid pictures of the talented cast.
We were up for breakfast at 7 and then hired a private small tram to take us around the gardens, for an overview, because it came with a guide. Problem was, guide barely spoke English, so we had a hard time figuring out the history of this crazy place. Even with translate app his answers were questionable. Did it start as gardens? What's with all the statues? Is there a master plan? It seems to be growing with no real connections, that we could make out. Web & Chat GPT seem vague on details too! We had fun with it, finding more and more absurd things, until the heat won out!
I went on a 24 hour adventure with these fun shipmates into Pattaya, Thailand to explore Nong Nooch Wonder World. Noted on the web as one of the top 10 Botanical Gardens in the World, it is certainly the largest in S. Asia at over 500 to 600 acres. Since the place is so massive; open from 8am to 6pm; the heat is so oppressive and we are at a tender port, we decided to spend the night, so we could be there at the opening, the next day and make a fun night before too!