Day 2 – Friday, October 14, 2005

Up at 6:30 with a nice breakfast buffet at the Hotel and then gathered to catch SUVs to visit the Panama Canal. While waiting for the group to gather, one of the female doctors fainted. Having a dozen Doctors in attendance didn't solve the problem – she was taken to the hospital where she spent the night. The most obvious cause was food poisoning which she probably got on the flight in from Houston. This caused some delay in the schedule but Randy was able to the Panama Canal with us while Doctor Rios stayed behind.

We were greeted at the Panama Canal by our own personal guide who very knowledgably gave us the history of the Canal and took us to the top observation deck where we could watch the locks in operation. Of interest, the fee for a ship going through to locks can be as high as $100,000 depending on the gross weight of the ship, but they would save almost $1,000,000 by not having to go around the tip of South America.

Last years the passage fees exceeded one billion dollars of which 40 percent goes directly to the Panamanian government and the remainder covers operating expenses. Some of the larger ships being built today cannot navigate the canal so plans are underway to dredge another channel next to the existing locks.

From the canal, we proceeded on to a local air terminal for our flight to Santiago which is approximately 200 miles from Panama City. At this point, Dr Rios rejoined us and Randy remained in Panama City to look after the ailing doctor. The flight in a military twin engine cargo plane took about 50 minutes. When we landed at the one-runway airport, we were met by a small band and a group of local dignitaries from the University of Panama. They all knew that we were Randy's parents so they must have been briefed in advance to welcome us.

A motorcycle escort led our procession to the hotel where we were greeted by colorfully costumed dancers and another small band. The first impression of Santiago was of a poor city with lots of beautiful people. Unfortunately, our non-existent Spanish was somewhat of a problem since most of the people here do not speak English.

After a nice Chinese lunch, we spent the afternoon touring the city and were especially impressed with the 70-year old institution for future teachers. This school is beautifully designed and is currently being restored by the Panamanian Government. It is built on 60 acres of land and trains all of the teachers for the public schools in
Panama.

That evening, a semiformal reception dinner was hosted by The University of Panama where we were entertained by dancers, a choir, and several singing groups. The dancers included ethnic Indian dances, comic Creole-inspired black dancers, and Spanish costumed dancers.
Back to bed at midnight.

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