The Darien is one of planet Earth’s last great bastions of pristine tropical nature. It’s been named both a World Biosphere Reserve and a Natural World Heritage site by UNESCO.
We arrive by Zodiacs, rubber inflatable boats.
It was a five minute ride from the Tere Moana.
Our greeters once we reached Darien Province, Panama.
The people we met.
Embera crafts for sale.
This is the fourth day on the Tere Moana, a 330-foot cruise ship. I’m starting to believe this is my private yacht. It is totally luxurious. The photos go from day to night.
The Panama Canal is 48 miles long and connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for international maritime trade.
Please check out yesterday’s post. All you have to do is scroll down.
Yesterday we visited the tropical islands of San Bias Province, home of the Guna Indians.
Located along the Caribbean coast of Panama, this area is reminiscent of the South Seas. We anchored off of Achutupo Island where we met some of the Guna people and examined their handicrafted molas (elaborately embroidered cloths depicting birds, animals, and mythical figures, in cut work appliqué). For $40, we bought a new art piece from the Matisse of the Gunas.
The small cruise ship we are on has interruptions in its Internet transmissions. I’m told every ship going through the Panama Canal has the same experience.
The water is very bouncy, so I am learning to tolerate the constant movement. It really rocks when we are sleeping. Objects fly off the shelves if they are not secured down. The thing I hate the most is not having 24/7 Internet access. I am able to travel all the time because I can work remotely, but not this time. Hopefully the conditions will improve.
This is what we do when we are cruising along:
<The making of the Panama Canal extension. I'm not sure the video will work. If it does. It looks like I am in a helicopter over the construction. The truth? I took a video of a movie on a TV set in one of the Panama Canal Museum. This is a DigiDame trick.
Breakfast on the back deck of the 330 feet Terre Moana.
Trend spotting: more and more seniors now treat themselves to sophisticated cameras for recreational use. This is one of many examples I have seen on this trip.
We are cruising on the Panama Canal. I’m not sure this post will ever go through, so this is a trial post. I may have trouble for the next few days. We are aboard the 90-passenger Tere Moana. They said the currents may be very choppy tonight. Ugh.
Eliot, Andrea, Me, and Ron
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A very talented waterscape photographer (a friend of mine, from Florida,) just launched a Kickstarter campaign with his collaborator, an Earthscape Artist. Entitled, “Between Worlds,” Jason Henthorne and Andres Amador, want to raise money so they can pay for their post production as well produce a book of the their work.
I promised Jason coverage in DigiDame.
“Between Worlds” is a documentary film that follows the four month long collaboration between international award-winning photographer Jason Henthorne, known for his black-and -white, long-exposure landscape photography and Andres Amador, self-proclaimed ‘Earthscape Artist,’ who creates works of art on beaches measuring up to 100,000 square feet large during low tides.
For the film, documentary film-maker, Brad Kremer of Cross Media International, went on location to capture the process of two creators of very different styles and personalities blending their art forms. The project took Henthorne and Amador to the rugged and scenic beaches of Northern California.
The film features the scouting sites, preparation, executing the artwork, and photographing the result within the landscape as well as revealing aspects of the lives of both creators, concluding with the final gallery unveiling of the artworks produced.
Check it out:
http://www.henthorne.com
http://www.andresamadorarts.com
We were told that Panama City is the 18th largest City for the amount of Skyscrapers.
We flew here today with friends, Andrea and Ron. The flight from Miami was easy. We start touring tomorrow. Tonight we had dinner on the terrace over looking the Pacific Ocean.
And we were thoroughly entertained.
We reminded everyone to keep their smartphones on airplane mode in order to avoid cellular data charges. This is what your screen should look like.
Good night
I just had to tell you about a man and his company that just may change the entire footwear industry. You can meet Karim Oumnia in the above video. He is the founder of Glagla Shoes, based in Nancy, France,
Glagla is the first ventilated-connected shoe company by inventing Digitsole, a digital sole that fits inside any regular shoe size and also has Bluetooth capabilities so that it’s totally connected.
Glagla told Business Insider that a companion smartphone app communicates with new insole in order “to track your day, warm your feet to a desired temperature, track how many steps you’ve taken during the day, check the calories burned, the distance walked as well as your current altitude.”
I had the pleasure of talking to Karim on the phone this afternoon. He hopes to have full distribution late this year and promises that the Digitsole will be offering many new features every few months. He said, “Our feet will never be the same.”
Images from Business Insider
It doesn’t matter what your political affiliation is, I hope you will agree that it is pretty remarkable that Kara Swisher, executive editor at Re/code, the leading tech publication, secured an interview with President Barack Obama.
Obama was in Silicon Valley last Friday to speak at the White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection.
Below are videos of that interview and click here to read the questions and answers.
Deeny and Ken Lorber, owners of The Kitchen
Over 40 friends showed up for our first networking party in Miami. We call it our senior tweetup. The main purpose was for friends to meet friends and business folks to network.
The discussion was led by Deeny Kaplan Lorber, Executive Vice President of The Kitchen. Deeny runs one of the most successful entertainment companies in the United States (along with husband Ken). She recently wrote a book called “Waiting At Joe’s,” the inner workings and personal stories about the most adored waiters at the world famous restaurant.
The event was hosted by yours truly and Gary Greenberg, Management Consultant. Eliot and I have hosted political and business salons in New York. This is just the beginning for Miami.
DigiDame 