If you wish to contact me for any questions or comments, here's my email address!
Email: astrid_14893@hotmail.com
Email: astrid_14893@hotmail.com
Sometimes we are so convinced that the best is happening somewhere else that we often tend to ignore what is right in front of our noses. Is this not true?
Well, last week I visited the seafood market of Panama City. Probably one of the best places in town for eating a ceviche (a very popular dish made of raw fish cured in citrus juices), it is a really important place for capitalinos during Lent. You see, the majority of Panamanians are Catholic, which means that they observe this period of the liturgical calendar of many Christian religions and one of the traditions during this time is to eat fish on Fridays.
I have to say that at my house we never observed it because my mother doesn't eat fish nor seafood. She can't even smell tuna without complaining. So I never felt this particular practice close to my heart. This is why the seafood market always remained a pretty unfamiliar place to me.
But what I found so interesting about my last visit is that I could see just how important the connection between people and the ocean is and also how Panamanians get their fish prepared. We might think we know how this is, but it is not until we've seen it closely that we really understand how locals like to get things done.
So, here are a couple of my favourite shots from that day!
Have a great week and if I don't write anything before Sunday, Happy Easter!
Astrid
Well, last week I visited the seafood market of Panama City. Probably one of the best places in town for eating a ceviche (a very popular dish made of raw fish cured in citrus juices), it is a really important place for capitalinos during Lent. You see, the majority of Panamanians are Catholic, which means that they observe this period of the liturgical calendar of many Christian religions and one of the traditions during this time is to eat fish on Fridays.
I have to say that at my house we never observed it because my mother doesn't eat fish nor seafood. She can't even smell tuna without complaining. So I never felt this particular practice close to my heart. This is why the seafood market always remained a pretty unfamiliar place to me.
But what I found so interesting about my last visit is that I could see just how important the connection between people and the ocean is and also how Panamanians get their fish prepared. We might think we know how this is, but it is not until we've seen it closely that we really understand how locals like to get things done.
So, here are a couple of my favourite shots from that day!
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| Mornings at the seafood market. |
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| Mornings at the seafood market. |
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| Mornings at the seafood market. |
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| Mornings at the seafood market. |
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| Mornings at the seafood market. |
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| Mornings at the seafood market. |
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| Mornings at the seafood market. |
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| Mornings at the seafood market. |
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| "Parkeando". |
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| Mornings at the seafood market. |
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| ¿Quién contra mi? |
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| Big thanks to the model, he's a natural! |
Have a great week and if I don't write anything before Sunday, Happy Easter!
Astrid
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Weekend getaway in La Yeguada
By Unknown 11:19 a.m. America
Have you ever felt that you need to take a break from city life?
Well, I felt so a couple of weeks ago. Luckily for me, I was invited by one friend to go on a weekend trip to La Yeguada forest reserve in Panama's Veraguas province.
Created in 1960 to protect the basin of the San Juan river in order to supply clean and abundant water for a hydroelectric plant, La Yeguada was the first forest reserve of the country. To get there it's just a 4 hour drive from Panama City, following the Panamerican Highway and making a turn in the Jaguito entrance. Then you have to drive to Calobre and after that you can just ask the locals and they'll point the way.
With its mountainous landscape, waterfalls and lakes, it is one of the best camping sites in Panama. You can BBQ, swim in the lake or just sit and admire nature; La Yeguada is a great spot if you're looking to unwind and breathe fresh air.
If you plan to visit La Yeguada, you have to take your food and water. You'll only find a rural toilet in the reserve. You'll also have to pay an admission fee of 5 USD to the ANAM, the National Authority for the Environment, which is payable upon your arrival at the park ranger's office.
My weekend camping in La Yeguada was so great! Sitting around a bonfire and just looking at the night sky painted with stars was the best therapy for me. If you plan to visit the area, remember to take your garbage when you leave. We are all responsible for our planet.
So here's a selection of my favourite shots of that weekend! Enjoy!
Have a nice day,
Astrid
Well, I felt so a couple of weeks ago. Luckily for me, I was invited by one friend to go on a weekend trip to La Yeguada forest reserve in Panama's Veraguas province.
Created in 1960 to protect the basin of the San Juan river in order to supply clean and abundant water for a hydroelectric plant, La Yeguada was the first forest reserve of the country. To get there it's just a 4 hour drive from Panama City, following the Panamerican Highway and making a turn in the Jaguito entrance. Then you have to drive to Calobre and after that you can just ask the locals and they'll point the way.
With its mountainous landscape, waterfalls and lakes, it is one of the best camping sites in Panama. You can BBQ, swim in the lake or just sit and admire nature; La Yeguada is a great spot if you're looking to unwind and breathe fresh air.
If you plan to visit La Yeguada, you have to take your food and water. You'll only find a rural toilet in the reserve. You'll also have to pay an admission fee of 5 USD to the ANAM, the National Authority for the Environment, which is payable upon your arrival at the park ranger's office.
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| Looking for a camping site. |
My weekend camping in La Yeguada was so great! Sitting around a bonfire and just looking at the night sky painted with stars was the best therapy for me. If you plan to visit the area, remember to take your garbage when you leave. We are all responsible for our planet.
So here's a selection of my favourite shots of that weekend! Enjoy!
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| Ed and his floater. |
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| Dawn in La Yeguada. |
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| Rise and shine! |
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| Our new friend Saturno's grocery store called "La Economia", near the waterfall. Such an appropriate name! haha! |
Astrid
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Friday prayer at Eyüp Sultan Mosque
By Unknown 1:40 p.m. Europe, Middle East
It has been a while since I last wrote about Istanbul and there are still so many stories from this Turkish city that I want to share with you.
So, let me pick it up from where I left it. After a visit to Balat, to my eyes one of Istanbul's most colourful neighbourhoods, we continued walking along the European side of the Golden Horn to Eyüp.
Eyüp is a historically important area in Istanbul, especially for Muslims. The name of the neighbourhood comes from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, the companion and standard bearer of the Prophet Muhammad, who was killed during the First Arab Siege of Constantinople (674-678) and is said to have been buried here. After the city was taken by the Ottomans (1453), Sultan Mehmet ordered a türbe (a tomb) and a mosque to be built on his resting place. It was the first major mosque to be built by the Ottoman Turks in Istanbul and it is surrounded by a major complex including schools, baths and a kitchen. Eyüp Sultan Mosque is therefore a sacred place and a very important pilgrimage site for Muslims, that come mostly on Fridays for the prayer.
We were actually headed to the Pierre Loti Café when I saw the Sultan's road from the sidewalk. It was midday, we were a bit tired from all the walking around Balat and we wanted to find a nice spot with a shade to drink something. But when I saw the gigantic complex of the mosque I just thought about taking a closer look at it.
As we began rambling through the street, we saw nothing but Ottoman tombs to each side of the Sultan's road. It was as if we had walked into a different dimension, because all the noise coming from the cars and the people was reduced to a startling silence, which is pretty uncommon for such a vibrant city like Istanbul. Doing some research about this part of town I read that during the Industrial Revolution, part of the spiritual vibe of Eyüp was lost because many factories were established along the Golden Horn. Nowadays they have been closed or cleaned up, which has brought peace back to this place.
A sea of hiyabs (veils) in all kinds of patterns and colours is the first image that comes to my mind whenever I think about the moment I walked around the main courtyard of the mosque. Gathered in front of a gate, both men and women were immersed in their own worlds through prayers. I stood there amidst the crowd feeling that I was part of that delicate scheme, being within and without at the same time.
And regardless of what I believed in, I could perceive a certain mysticism in the air that enfolded me. Once again, Istanbul gave me another opportunity to experience and come closer to its soul.
Have nice Sunday,
Astrid
So, let me pick it up from where I left it. After a visit to Balat, to my eyes one of Istanbul's most colourful neighbourhoods, we continued walking along the European side of the Golden Horn to Eyüp.
Eyüp is a historically important area in Istanbul, especially for Muslims. The name of the neighbourhood comes from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, the companion and standard bearer of the Prophet Muhammad, who was killed during the First Arab Siege of Constantinople (674-678) and is said to have been buried here. After the city was taken by the Ottomans (1453), Sultan Mehmet ordered a türbe (a tomb) and a mosque to be built on his resting place. It was the first major mosque to be built by the Ottoman Turks in Istanbul and it is surrounded by a major complex including schools, baths and a kitchen. Eyüp Sultan Mosque is therefore a sacred place and a very important pilgrimage site for Muslims, that come mostly on Fridays for the prayer.
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| Such a beautiful sunny day in Eyüp. |
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| Ottoman tombs. |
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| The Sultan's road. During Ottoman times, it was only used for the sword-girding ceremony on the first day of his Sultanate. |
As we began rambling through the street, we saw nothing but Ottoman tombs to each side of the Sultan's road. It was as if we had walked into a different dimension, because all the noise coming from the cars and the people was reduced to a startling silence, which is pretty uncommon for such a vibrant city like Istanbul. Doing some research about this part of town I read that during the Industrial Revolution, part of the spiritual vibe of Eyüp was lost because many factories were established along the Golden Horn. Nowadays they have been closed or cleaned up, which has brought peace back to this place.
A sea of hiyabs (veils) in all kinds of patterns and colours is the first image that comes to my mind whenever I think about the moment I walked around the main courtyard of the mosque. Gathered in front of a gate, both men and women were immersed in their own worlds through prayers. I stood there amidst the crowd feeling that I was part of that delicate scheme, being within and without at the same time.
And regardless of what I believed in, I could perceive a certain mysticism in the air that enfolded me. Once again, Istanbul gave me another opportunity to experience and come closer to its soul.
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| Friday prayer scene. |
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| Friday prayer scene. |
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| Friday prayer scene. |
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| Friday prayer scene. |
Astrid
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Casco Antiguo through my eyes
By Unknown 9:48 p.m. America
How can we find out the essence of a place?
I keep asking myself this question whenever I walk around a city.
Well, I believe that details can be really helpful to understand the whole.
Sometimes we have to take time to appreciate the little elements in a scene that can tell stories.
Perhaps imagining who could be living behind those doors, what the furniture inside an apartment looks like or guessing what the conversation between two persons is about can help us start noticing the very interesting details that we regard as insignificant, but that reveal incredibly powerful aspects about cities or neighbourhoods.
Which leads me to the next question...Are we looking close enough?
Sometimes we have to let our imagination fly. Having said that, we have to find a way to express ourselves. Photography is one of the activities I enjoy the most and I find it really relaxing to just grab my camera and go for a walk. It allows me to tell stories that might or might not represent the reality. Just as Photojournalist Benjamin Lowy explains: "I had to see something that only I could see and I had to figure out how to articulate that with my camera".
Maybe the pictures that I chose to post on this article have something to say about the way I see the world. Maybe not. Maybe I'm just sifting through the details that called my attention the most during my photowalk around San Felipe and Santa Ana last Tuesday.
Either way or another, here's the historic district of Panama City through my eyes.
Have a great start of the week,
Astrid
I keep asking myself this question whenever I walk around a city.
Well, I believe that details can be really helpful to understand the whole.
Sometimes we have to take time to appreciate the little elements in a scene that can tell stories.
Perhaps imagining who could be living behind those doors, what the furniture inside an apartment looks like or guessing what the conversation between two persons is about can help us start noticing the very interesting details that we regard as insignificant, but that reveal incredibly powerful aspects about cities or neighbourhoods.
Which leads me to the next question...Are we looking close enough?
Sometimes we have to let our imagination fly. Having said that, we have to find a way to express ourselves. Photography is one of the activities I enjoy the most and I find it really relaxing to just grab my camera and go for a walk. It allows me to tell stories that might or might not represent the reality. Just as Photojournalist Benjamin Lowy explains: "I had to see something that only I could see and I had to figure out how to articulate that with my camera".
Maybe the pictures that I chose to post on this article have something to say about the way I see the world. Maybe not. Maybe I'm just sifting through the details that called my attention the most during my photowalk around San Felipe and Santa Ana last Tuesday.
Either way or another, here's the historic district of Panama City through my eyes.
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| Fritz Lang and his "Metropolis" film in Casco. |
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| A tiny piece of Athens in Centralamerica. |
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| Panama City memento. |
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| So many pretty doors and balconies in this part of town. |
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| Beacon. |
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| Capitalism and the colour red. |
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| A theatre no longer used as one. |
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| The seashells of the Cathedral's towers shining in the midday sun. |
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| Chitchatting about the restoration and lunch. |
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| Ladders in the sky. |
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| Geometric facades. |
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| I would surely like to rent one of these in Italy or here in Casco. |
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| Textures. |
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| Chagall's blue hues. |
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| Details from Santa Familia, my favourite building in Casco. |
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| Romance in every corner. |
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| Symmetries. |
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| A scene from the film "Habana Blues"? |
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| Feierabend for these lads. |
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| Andalusian tiles in Panama City. |
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| Plaza Bolívar from a different perspective. |
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| Tropicalia everywhere. |
Have a great start of the week,
Astrid
