Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

In August, we visited Isla Barro Colorado, which is a biological research station run by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). The island is in Lake Gatun, a large man-made lake which was created when the Chagres river was dammed to as part of the creation of the Panama Canal. http://www.stri.org/english/visit_us/barro_colorado/

Scientists from all over the world come to STRI to conduct research - they have dorms and a cafeteria and the researchers, and sometimes their families stay for weeks or even years.

We had a nice hike in which it poured rain almost the entire time. It was fun anyway, because the rain made the howler monkeys come out and howl, which scares the crap out of you the first time you hear it. Here are a few photos from things we saw: bats, spiders and frogs. Cool stuff.

Kellee's Birthday 2009

Chincoteague 2009

NYC

The poor bald guy had to get back to Panama to work, but I had an extra week to waste in New York. Karree, Shana and Brianne met me for the first half of the week. We did a lot of touring and shopping. The second half of the week, I caught up with Dean and Linda and lived vicariously through Linda for a few days, visiting the bookstores and farmer's markets that make me jealous every time I think of them.

London

Our friend Anjana was kind enough to host us in London for a few days. We were kind of vacationed out by that time, so we took it easy. We wandered a lot, and sat in a lot of pubs. It was great.

Rose Festival at Kazanluk

We visited one of Derick's fellow vounteers, Anita, at her site in Kazanluk, Bulgaria. Our visit coincided with the annual Rose Festival, in which townspeople dress up in traditional clothing and re-enact a time in which they picked rose petals and manufactured them into all variety of creams, lotions and oils. On the way out to the rose fields for the reenactment festival, we were treated to the sight of the Roma people who actually do this work today. I guess they weren't invited to the festival, or maybe they couldn't miss work? We also saw the crowning of the Rose Queen and got drenched in the cold rain. Drick wasn't quite prepared, as you can see.

Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria

Derick took us to Veliko Tarnovo, a great old walled city which was the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire. VT has a nicely restored castle.