SeaWorld Orlando

It’s a great time of year to be in Orlando! Blue skies, sunshine and a breeze that doesn’t cut right though you…I am here in SeaWorld to broadcast my radio shows and to meet some of the creatures for which SeaWorld is so famous.

Kookaburras, Otters and Shopping

SeaWorld Animal Ambassador Alex Gonzalez brought Merlin the Kookaburra to guest on the show. Merlin is a handsome fellow from Australia, the largest member of the kingfisher family, and he was the perfect show contributor. When asked for his comments, Merlin performed on cue with a laugh that apparently has been featured on all the old Tarzan movies (wrong continent of course, but Hollywood has never been too geographically precise!).

My second creature guest was Boris, an Asian small-clawed river otter, who spent most of the show asleep in the arms of Beth Bonnelli, another SeaWorld Animal Ambassador. Boris stirred occasionally to nuzzle Beth’s armpits, but was otherwise sleepy and gentle…unlike his relative Dunder the Otter, who had attacked the microphone of my CHFI colleagues Mike & Erin just the week before!

And of course a trip to Orlando is not complete without some Retail Therapy: I explored the myriads of stores that are Prime Outlets Orlando, International Drive and did my clothes shopping for the year (it’s a guy thing!).

Panama Panorama

Christmas in Panama: beaches and rainforest, skyscrapers and thatch huts, flora and fauna…and of course the Canal. It’s a potent cocktail of very diverse perspectives and my week’s trip has left me wanting to see so much more…

Pacific Beaches

Most of the Panamanian resorts are on the Pacific coast of the country and I stayed at the Royal Decameron Golf, Beach Resort & Villas on Playa Farallon, 140 kms west of Panama City. A long beach of silvery sand fronts this huge all-inclusive complex which boasts all the facilities you might expect of a sophisticated international resort…and yet in typical Panamanian fashion, a short walk down the beach from the glitz takes you to an authentic local fishing village of palm thatched huts and fishing nets strung over ancient wooden boats.

Canal Crossroads

Two hours drive along the coast takes you to Panama City, a booming place of skyscrapers - and the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. This monumental triumph of human engineering is magnificent to experience from a boat transit, but it came at a terrible cost: over 25,000 deaths, a revolution and poisoned US/Latin American relations for a generation.

Our little boat was dwarfed in the gigantic locks of Miraflores and Pedro Miguel, tiny under the Bridge of the Americas and insignificant as we puttered through the Gaillard Cut through the Continental Divide – the biggest excavation ever undertaken by Man. Huge container ships and cruise liners alternated along the course of the Canal and the rainforest grew ever denser as we entered Gatun Lake at 85 feet above sea level.

Rainforest Riches

Gamboa Rainforest Resort is a treasure buried in the wet and steamy jungle where the Chagres River meets the Panama Canal in Gatun Lake. All the qualities of civilization in a primeval world. Getting to grips with the forest all around is not easy. I rode the Teleferico aerial tram through the canopy to the top of a nearby hill, then a guided hike in the dripping forest took me to an observation tower above the canopy for a breathtaking view over the rainforest to the Chagres River below. On the way back, glimpses of colourful birds included parrots and hornbills and the chatter of the jungle creatures was incessant.