More from Panama

Since I posted about Panama's Bridge of Americas below I decided to do another Panama bridge. I am linking up with Scenic Sunday and Sunday Bridges

The Centennial Bridge in Panama was built and finished in 2004 to ease the overcrowded Bridge of the Americas. It is the second road crossing the Panama Canal.  The bridge is a cable-stayed design and is a total span of 3,451 ft. The main span clears the canal by 262 ft. allowing large vessels to pass below.  The bridge was also built to withstand earthquakes which are often felt in this area.

 

These ship look huge from a distance and even larger when you are right next to them.

One of the Panama hotels we stayed at is the Radisson Rainforest hotel.

 The hotel had two pools, we were so busy sightseeing we did not have a chance to even swim.

 

The view from the rainforest hotel. There is also a golf course at this Radisson Rainforest resort.

The Radisson's lobby and bar. It was a beautiful hotel, I wish we could have stayed longer.

To see more beautiful and scenic photos,  please visit Scenic Sunday  and Sunday Bridges.

Thanks to both of the hosts, the Holleys of Scenic Sunday and Louis the host of Sunday Bridges. Thanks also for visiting my post and blog. I hope everyone has a Happy weekend.

Panama Scenes

I am linking up with Sunday Bridges  and Today's Flowers    and   Scenic Sunday

I am posting the photos smaller but if you like you can click on them for a larger image. 

These are shots taken during my trip to Panama, the bridge was seen during our boat ride on the Panama Canal and the flowers were seen on the grounds at the various hotels in Panama .

I have some info on the Bridge of the Americas was built to re-connect land that was divided during the building of the Panama Canal. The bridge is 354 high and 5,400 long. The bridge crosses the Pacific approach to the Panama Canal at Balboa near Panama City.  The United States built the bridge at a cost of 20 million. The bridge was part of the Pan-American highway until the Centennial Bridge was built in 2004 and at that time the highway was re-directed.

I wish I remembered all the names of these pretty flowers. I believe the photo above is Bird of Paradise but I thought there are two types of flowers that look similar. If anyone can id these flowers and plant, I would appreciate the help.


Edit: With the Help of Diane B and Bernie I found out the flower above is called Lobster Claw.

Bernie helped with all the flower id's. This is Red Ginger also known as Ostrich Plume and Alpina Purpurata

Again thanks to Bernie the plant above is called Alpinia Zerumbet Ginger. It also bears funnel shaped flowers.

Check out more photos at Sunday Bridges    and   Today's Flowers    and  Scenic Sunday

Thanks to all the wonderful host of these fun memes. Thanks also for stopping by to see my post and I wish everyone a HAPPY WEEKEND!

Covered Bridges of Frederick County, Maryland

I am also linking up with Sunday Bridges
Thanks to Louis for hosting Sunday Bridges. I hope you get a chance to visit Sunday Bridges. 


Remember if you like you can click on the photos for a larger image.


I was surprised to learn that Frederick County, Maryland was home to three historic covered bridges. There are a total of eight covered bridges in Maryland. At one time there were 52 bridges in Maryland but, neglect, fires, storms and progress have wiped them out.  Each of the three bridges in Frederick County are beautiful and are structured differently. I was able to take some photos of each bridge while on a daytrip with my hubby to Thurmont, Frederick County, Maryland.

 The Loys Station bridge is 90 feet long and is the multiple kingpost design.

The first stop was at the Loys Station Rd covered bridge and this one was my favorite of the three covered bridges.

Why cover bridges? The answer is wooden bridges with exposed superstructures were vulnerable to rot. In the 1800's  farmers  needed inland transportation and wood was a plentiful building material.

It is 101 foot long and is called the burr arch design.

This is the Utica Mills covered bridge and as you can see the inside structure looks entirely different that the first Loys Station Bridge.

The Roddy Rd is 40 feet long and is a single span kingpost design.

This is the Roddy Road covered bridge and the smallest. It was the last of the three bridges on our 30 miles loop covered bridge tour. Each of the three bridges have a weight and height restriction. Now, I would like to find the other five covered bridges in Maryland. I am sure I find where they are located just by doing a Google search.

I hope you enjoyed my covered bridge post and I am linking up with Scenic Sunday.  Thanks to the Holleys for hosting. And I thank you for stopping by to see my post. Have a Happy Weekend!

Cape Henlopen and Lewes Beach, Delaware

On Dec 22-23rd hubby and I took a quickie trip to the Delaware Shore. We had been having some nice weather and we thought an overnight at the beach would be a great early Christmas celebration.

Whitetail deer seen across the street from the Cape Henlopen's nature center.

Our first stop on the 22nd was at the Cape Henlopen State Park, it is a great place for birding and has a beautiful beach. The Fort Miles is also part of the park and you can visit the old fort and lookout towers.

This is the beach on the Delaware Bay side of the point at Cape Henlopen Park. We walked the loop trail along the beach on the bayside to the point and around the point to the Atlantic beach and then to the trail back to the parking lot. Except for a few people fishing and a couple of horseback riders we had the beach to ourselves.

After leaving the Cape Henlopen Park we continued along the Rt 1 Hwy toward the beaches. We did not make reservations but at this time of year and all the hotels along the beaches we did not think we would have a problem finding a room for the night. The Best Western was located right on the Coastal Hwy and we were always happy with the Best Western hotels in other places we visited.  I have to mention the Best Western had a great price and a nice room for our night stay.

 Above is the beach at Lewes, Delaware just a short walk from our Best Western hotel.

From our room which had a nice view of the bayside, just off of the coastal highway. We had a delicious dinner at a local Lewes restaurant called The Port. Very good food, the cream of crab soup was delicious.

Just down the Coastal Hwy is the Indian River Inlet it is very popular spot for fishing and a favorite spot for birders. We were able to park and take a walk along the Indian River to where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. 

To see more beautiful and scenic shot click on my link Scenic Sunday.  I hope you enjoyed my post on the Delaware beaches. Thanks to the Holleys for hosting Scenic Sunday and thanks for stopping by to see my post. I hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend.

Panama Polleras

I am linking up with Scenic Sunday and click to see my Camera Critter post at the El-Nispero-zoo-Panama

I am skipping around some showing our last night in Panama, our tour guide arranged a special dinner at the Miraflores Lock at the Panama Canal. After a great dinner we were treated to a show which was a group of Panamanians doing their traditional dance with their beautiful costumes.

The women's costumes are called Polleras, it is said this dress is the most admired and beautiful costumes of the Americas. There are tales saying that the Polleras are copied from a gypsy dress in Spain at the time of the conquest of Peru and was brought to Panama by servants of the colonial families.

Each female dancer had a different color dress, shoes to match, jewelry and the ornments to decorate their hair was also gorgeous. The hair piece called a tembleques is made of a tortoise shell comb embellished with pearls and gold and is worn on top of the head and resembles a crown or a halo.

Watching the men and the women dance was just lovely as was the music they played. It was a wonderful time on last night of our trip. We met nice people on our tour and everyone got along great during the whole week we were together.


To see more wonderful scenes from around the world please visit Scenic Sunday.. Thanks to the Holley's for hosting Scenic Sunday. And thank you for stopping by my blog for a visit.  I hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend.

Panama Skyline and skyscrapers

For my Scenic Sunday  I am showing some of the Skyscrapers in Panama City, Panama.


My link for Camera Critters...common-moorhen


Panama has some tall buildings and still even more being built.  You can see some of the Panama's skyline on my header photo above.

The corkscrew design on this building above was one of my favorites. Some people in our tour group said it reminded them of lego building toys.

The skyscrapers include offices, banks, hotels, casinos and condominiums.  There are over 80 banks in Panama City.

A Hard Rock Cafe is a must have in a big city, I also heard there will be a Hard Rock hotel also.

This shot above was taken from the moving bus, I assume they are playing a soccer game.

There are over 100 skyscrapers in Panama City and over more than 150 being built.  Panama is in the middle of a building and economic boom.

Before visiting Panama, I pictured Panama more of a lush rainforest and the canal. I did not even think of a booming city. The cool thing is the rainforest is probably no more than an hours drive away.

The Metro Mall was right outside our Panama City hotel. A very popular place to shop with the locals and the tourist.

Edit: An answer to Ann's question I am adding some info on Panama's economy and wealth. The tourism industry generates over 2.5 billion dollars, the re-export business (free trade zone) is another 2.5 billion dollars and the canal generates over 1 billion a year.

To see more beautiful scenes from around the world check out Scenic Sunday. Thanks to the Holleys for hosting Scenic Sunday. And thank you for stopping by to see my post. Have a safe and wonderful weekend.

Scenic Sunday Panama

I am linking up with Scenic Sunday

I have some more photos from our first full day of touring Panama City.  The tour included stops at the San Jose Church in Panama known for its famous gold alter.

The church is use to visitors stopping in to see the gold alter. We arrived in time for the mass and the singing of a pretty hymn. It is a lovely church located down a small cobblestone city street.

One of the few murals painted on the buildings near the church.

After leaving the church in Panama City we headed to the Miraflores Lock and the canal. We were able to stay long enough to see some ships make their way to the lock and to enjoy the exhibits at the visitor center.

For more wonderful photos from all over the world please visit Scenic Sunday.  Thanks to the host of Scenic Sunday and thanks for stopping by to see my post. Have a great weekend!