Our little country has received thousands of pilgrims from around the world who visit us for the World Youth Day. The joy and excitement of these pilgrims is contagious, and Panamanians have joined the celebration and we have opened our homes and hearts to receive them and make them feel at home.
Although many activities have been held so far, with the arrival today of Pope Francisco, the main events begin! To receive it, pilgrims, Panamanians and the general public positioned themselves along the avenue waving flags and singing loudly. It was an opportunity to see the Pope that I could not let go. So together with my family, we decided to wait for the passage of the Popemobile.
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| At the spot to see the Pope |
We found a good place where we decided to wait in the company of people from all over the world. We even had time to welcome and take pictures with pilgrims from distant lands. My knowledge in geography was put to the test today and I had to google several flags by the way!
The Panamanians are in debt of hospitality to the world, considering the way they treated us in Russia last year during the World Cup (yes, we went to Russia and they made us feel at home... but that is another story).
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| Feeling at home in Sochi, Russia (June 2018) |
Soon, the Popemobile appeared with Pope Francisco greeting people with a huge smile. It happened quickly, it gave me the opportunity to take a single photo before the crowd obstructed my field of vision ... but it was a great experience. You could feel the excitement in the air... you never know when you'll see the Pope after all!
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Hi Jan,
ReplyDeleteHappy WYD!
I'm actually contacting you regarding your eBird Checklist S51863767 of January 20th, particularly the Osprey. It appears to have a silver color band on the right leg. Are you able to make out any of the markings on the band from your hi-res image? Or do you happen to have any other images which show both legs?
I'm curious as I have been following a nest-cam on an Osprey nest in Richmond California. The one chick that migrated from this nest in the fall of 2017 had a blue band on the left leg with ZR engraved and a silver band on the right leg.
Very few west coast US Ospreys have been banded or studied very much so while I realize this is a long-shot it would be wonderful if you can supply any additional info.
Thank you so much for your beautiful images and you enthusiasm for birds!
My contact info is either this gmail account: ldayres@gmail.com or acptextile@aol.com
And in case you would like to see, the website for the Richmond Osprey nest is www.SFBayOspreys.org. It is funded by our local Audubon Society. Currently the male (named "Richmond") visits infrequently and we anticipate the female ("Rosie") to return in about 6 weeks. The close-up nest camera is out being retrofitted with a windshield wiper (will be very handy when the chicks reach a certain age in potty training ;) but the "around the nest camera" gives us beautiful views of the San Francisco Bay.
Thank you again for your time!
Dianne Ayres
I eagerly await any info you can supply