My friend Laura, the El Salvador Events Manager, drove us up the volcano for lunch.
This restaurant is called Linda Vista (Beautiful View) Gardens.
Much higher than the San Salvador, the temperature is significantly cooler. It’s a great escape if things get too hot in the city.
I had pasta and chicken Caesar salad. 🙂
Here’s the write-up on our Age Group Gymnastics Camp in El Salvador.
The Gymnastics Federation of Panama hosted the 50th training session for the International Gymnastics Federation’s (FIG) Age Group Development and Competition Programme for Men’s (MAG) and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) on April 23-25, 2015. …
Of the 50 I’ve helped teach perhaps 15. A regular on the circuit.
Next: El Salvador and Costa Rica.
I’m back in Panama City for a Gymnastics coaching course. My exercise while on the road is jogging.
So far I run-toured the Cinta Costera waterfront …
… and a big city Park. Nice. 🙂
Panama City is a boom town. A LOT of construction.
The new WIDER set of locks on the Panama Canal are scheduled to open sometime in 2016.
In town for the 2015 Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championships, I didn’t get much time to tour.
But the highlight of what I saw was the Water Park.
Tickets booked.
NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships 2015 in Fort Worth.
Then in April returning to Panama City and San Salvador as a volunteer for the International Gymnastics Federation. And adding a new nation (to me) on the same trip – Costa Rica.
As driving might take 97 hours, I’ll fly. 🙂
I’ll stay in Costa Rica an extra week or so to do some hiking.
From Nepal I fly to the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) Nov 23rd for a Gymnastics coaching clinic with my friend Guy Lavoie. I’ll be staying at Hotel Saphir. Visiting the Lesio Louna Gorilla Reserve on my day off
If you’d heard something about Ebola in Congo, know that it’s the OTHER Ebola. In the OTHER Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasha), formerly Zaire. There are (at least) two of both.
The Ebola River is in what is in what is now the DR Congo. But there’s been no new outbreaks of the OTHER Ebola in the other Congo since Oct 4th.
… many visitors claim that it’s the most pleasant city in Central Africa. …
more Brazzaville photos
After 18 days in Nanning, I departed by sleeper train to Vietnam.
Aside from the fantastic World Gymnastics Championships hosted here, I’ll best remember the many hours I spent walking and running along the river parks.
Locals come to the river to exercise. And swim like Mao.
Somebody here was selling bags of fish.
The Chinese lie down and sleep when they are tired. Regardless of where they get tired.
China, and especially new cities like Nanning, are orderly. Even the graffiti is orderly.
Parts are ultra modern. But lifeless. Many of the beautiful architectural creations are more form than function.
Twice I walked to the Museum of Science and Technology. Twice it was closed.
Though the traffic on foot and motor vehicle IS chaotic, I only saw 2-3 accidents over my days there. Remarkable.
As much as possible, I stayed away from vehicles, shopping near exclusively on this pedestrian mall.
Farewell Nanning. 🙂
more Nanning photos
I spent 18 days in Nanning, China. As in most subtropical climates, the local food is spicy.
First night Dvora and I headed for the famed night market.
The fresher, the better. Some of the delicacies on offer were still wiggling.
I’m not very adventurous at the best of times. And most visitors in China find the taste of the seasonings used here odd. This was the last time I ate street food.
Most of my meals were provided at the World Gymnastics Championships cafeteria. The self-serve dishes had names like:
Bone Soup with White Gourd (Rib, Soybean, Mushrooms)
Purple Sweat Potato
Braised Beef in Wine (Beef Knuckle Meat, Carrots, Wine, Onion, Celery, Flour, kitchup and Vanilla)
Hakka Braised Pork (Soybeans, Streaky Pork)
Stir Fried White Fungus with Macadamia Nut and Celery
Catering to palates from all over the world, most were quite bland. All were overcooked as many foreigners fear getting sick from the food in China.
I tried a bite of most everything. Except for stews. Who knows what actually in this?
Some offerings were interesting and colourful, thought I often could not identify what they were.
Sadly, I have to report that my very favourite cafeteria food was European white bread with New Zealand Anchor butter.
Watermelon and melon for desert as sweets in all of Asia are NOT to my liking.
After our first restaurant had a rat run between the tables, I ended up instead buying groceries at Wal-Mart (Coke Zero from Atlanta and Sultana biscuits from Singapore) and snacking in my room.
My go to meal in downtown Nanning was a delicious Chicken sandwich at … McDonalds.
Hopefully I’ll be a bit more adventurous in Vietnam.
more food photos
The Gymnastics competition venue is a long, long way from … everywhere.
The streets are crowded in Nanning, people already celebrating National Day of the People’s Republic of China:
Celebrating the 70% of Mao that was good, setting aside the 30% of Mao that was bad. For the week. 🙂
The PRC was founded on October 1, 1949 with a ceremony at Tiananmen Square. …
