It took some effort and some frustration, but we and three horses from Jaramillo, made it to David to join the estimated five thousand other horses gathering for the annual David Cabalgata, the largest in Panama. There were two distinctly different gathering points, one near Franklin Jurado and Cochez for those who wanted to ride with the President and Vice President of the Republic of Panama. The another on the Interamerican for those who wanted to ride with the Ex Mayor of the city of Panama who represented the PRD, the major opposition party. Both locations were mobbed, perhaps more for the free rum than the politics; I can not say. We actually arrived and mounted just in time to join the tail end of the President’s entourage.

The Cabalgata has become one the events I enjoy most in Panama. In the past three years I have attended and for two of those years I have been on a horse. This year, I rode and took almost two hundred photos, a horse in a crowd of horses is not a stable platform for photography and the movies camera I wanted to attach to the horses head just didn’t stick, but still I have some photos. I am going to use a few to share the experience, minus the noise, the rum, the odor and the heat of David Panama.

The loud, awful, music cannot be escaped, it travels with the horses.

Mayra and Johana were caught discussing the fact we did not have time to drink any free rum before things started.

There are lot’s of young people on the horses, more than grey haired gringos.

One cultural enhancement are the rolling bars that were there to provide free Seco and Rum to parched riders. Rum Abuelo and Seco for one political party and Carta Viejo for the other. I don’t much like Carta Viejo, but hell it was free, so I was an equal opportunity inbiber. I managed to get three rums from these charming ladies and hand them off to my thirsty associates.

If you could not get to a rolling bar, there were other opportunities but they wanted money.

After the rum I found another truck handing out cans of Coors Light, it was close enough to water to make Mayra happy.

I coaxed a smile out this youngster.

Being a native of Brooklyn with too much education in the wrong areas, I thought this guy was standing on a bull. Mayra enlightened me and explained that Oxen were very common in Chiriqui in the past. There are few left now.

Somehow we ended up behind the PRD contingent and when I was finally able to get around them I took a photo from the front of Juan Carlos Navarro. He was out kissing babies and chicas working on his future run to the presidency.

Soon we caught up with the current President, white hair, and the current Vice President, red hat. They were shaking hands and kissing chicas too. I only saw two men with security radios in their ears. It is clear this is not Kansas, the President here can get out and meet the people.

As we rode back through the mobs of people listening to the blasting music, there really was a truck collecting trash and people sweeping fresh fertilizer and beer cans off the street. I am sure they got at least 10% of the mess.

In all an excellent day followed by a dash to Boquete to eat our first meal of the day at Las Ruinas.