Pana-Blogs Report · Global Voices
Melissa De León

#1: Rob Rivera.com remembers the 9/11 attack: "September 11, five years Later"
It was a Tuesday, if I’m not mistaken. I slept in that day, enjoying a prolonged sabatical… I don’t remember what happened minute by minute but I do remember the first moments of my day that morning being something like out of a movie; I woke up to my mom opening the door to my room and with this awe-striken look on her face, yellow rubber gloves covering her hands, staring at me to tell me that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center’s towers. I didn’t say a thing… the disbelief had me at a loss for words. I got up from my bed and walked outside to the kitchen where both my parents were, staring into this small TV mounted on a wall near the corner and in this TV the image of a skyscraper spewing smoke from its side was being shown as messages of “airplane crashes on the World Trade Center in NYC” while the newscasters speculated it might be a terrorist attack. Read the complete post…
#2: Miguel Rodriguez from Tras el sueño que no me deja dormir (ES), shares his memories from the 9/11 attack:
"I was in Dominican Republic, working for Verizon as a consultant. I remember I logged in to the MSN and the first thing a colleague from Panama tells me was the bad news about the attack. In that moment I didn't put too much attention to the subject (because I didn't know the magnitude of what was going on), but later on I began searching on line and couldn't have been more shocked. It was devastating to be in Dominican Republic at that very time, having that country a high rate of their people living in New York. It was the talk of the whole country, they were all worried about the safety of their relatives and friends living in that city. In the news, they didn't stop reporting on the people who died and the ones that were to be found. It was sad, really sad." Continue reading…
#3: Remembering the attack, Queen of Hearts (ES) writes "11 de Septiembre, 5 años después"
"What it hurts is to remember that five years ago there were thousands of people working in those buildings, which I didn't have the chance to explore last year. People told me the towers were majestic, a very impressive sight…But I didn't get there in time to see them. When I had the chance to visit the site, there was only one big empty space, a void, and a hair rising silence.
Yes, there you can listen to the "silence." Being in -ground zero- all you can feel is the smell of death and a silence that screams for the lost souls. It is like a giant open temple…" Read the post in Spanish…
#4: From The Cooking Diva "Remembering 9/11 and a Recipe to prepare Chicha de Maiz"
…Even today, five years after the 9/11 attack, I do not understand the reasons. There are no excuses for all the wasted lives. The whole world changed on that day, everyone's lives changed on that day. Now, five years later I am in Panama, but the remembrance of that black day would not be forgotten.
My heart goes to the families that lost their people, and to the souls that unanticipatedly left us …we send light and our prayers.
Stop the wars. Stop all that violence! Not oil, power, land or money justifies all the inhumane acts,  and the lives lost in the process.
#5: Tatiana's Blog reports on "Municiones no detonadas," (undetonated ammunition) or what she found, I am afraid to say…too often,  during a visit to Icacal, Colón, while she participated in a medical visit in that poor area of the Panamanian Atlantic Coast.
#6: Martin's Panama Weblog takes a tour of the Miraflores Locks, Panama Canal.
Let me give a short introduction first: Panama City lies on the shortest path (77 km) across the isthmus of panama. The canal consists of 2 artificial lakes which are higher than sea level. Due to that a lock system is needed which lifts the ships up to that higher lake level at the entrance and lowers them on the other side. 3 locks exist: Miraflores locks (where we've been) with a height difference of 16.5m, the Pedro Miguel lock (9.5m) and the Gatún locks (back down to sea level). The artificial lake between Miraflores locks and the Pedro Miguel lock is called Miraflores lake, and the lake between Pedro Miguel lock and the Gatún locks is called Gatún lake. Read more…
#7: Chiriqui Chatter reports on the new restaurant in town:  TGI Friday's is Set to Open!
I was walking home and noticed a commotion going on at TGI Friday’s in David. Being nosey, I went over to see what was happening. I got to meet the new staff of TGI Friday’s getting their orientation training. I asked when they were scheduled to open and was told September 12. Mark your calendars. I am hungry just thinking about it.Continue reading…
#8:  PanamaFAQ has prepared a great guide to  dance Salsa. If you are interested to get the scoop on how to do it right, read on "The 8 Step 3 minute Guide to Learning Salsa"
This post might be met by anger from various of the people who make a living in the world of teaching salsa dancing. However please bear with me for a minute or so to avoid being laughed at on a real Latin American dance floor and at the same time save some money.
: Forget about the steps, any teacher who tries to teach you fancy steps is trying to con you. It is very simple. This scam was invented as a way of fooling gullible people into paying for salsa classes. Salsa is about the feeling you have when you dance it. End of story. Continue reading…
#9: For all the bike riders and lovers, BMX Panama showcases a great deal of information, photos and videos of the techniques and events they organize. Do not miss their recent posts: Street BMX, and Tour Canal Administration Building.
#10: Heidibella in the Tropics cooks up a forgotten snack: "Monkey Bread"
I remember when Michelle and I would ask Mom on Sunday mornings if we could make monkey bread. Mom still had the original recipe she had gotten from someone when she lived in New York, written on an index card in black ink. It was faded and old, but there was something about it that brought you back to a time before the cooking show entertainment phenomenon, before Food Network, before Epicurious. It was a time when recipes were sacred, and when someone shared a recipe with you it meant you were special. Get the recipe now…