Tough, but informative. Would you consider allowing the actual name of the the mid-eastern ruler as a type-in? I tried a lot of variations on his name and title before one was accepted.
Hey, great quiz! Very in depth. I would have to agree with vermiciousknid though, it would be good to accept different variations of the answer. I kept typing in "Pahlavi" and "Mohammed Reza Pahlavi" but they wouldn't work. And "Pearl Islands" or "Las Perlas" for the island chain. Out of curiosity - do you work for the Smithsonian in Panama?
Thank you so much! You are both quite right that I should have the shah's name as a type-in. I'm new at this, but I'll see if I can't figure out how to do that. And I couldn't quite deicde how to label the Perlas Islands. When I was living there, it was generally referred to simply as "the Perlas." I never heard anyone actually refer to it as "Pearl Islands, but, of course it is officirally "Las Perlas."
No. I don't work for the Smithsonian! However I had the good fortune to become friends with Dr. Leigh, the long-time head of STRI at Barro Colorado, and his wife through, of all things, their personal invitation to come to the island to accompany a visiting scientist on their harpsichord so she could perform the Bach flute sonatas that Dr. Leigh loved. Later, he invited me to climb the scaffolding that had been erected over the jungle canopy in company with him and another visiting scientist.
Marjobro, what a cool story! Wow, Panama must have been a whole different world in the 70's. I'm not Panamanian but I've lived in Panama since 2006 :) And I also have a lot of friends at STRI, although I've never worked there myself
Hey ElijahCaine...Just saw your reponse and hope you check in here again. Those two visits to the island I mentioned aren't my only stories! My parents, age 65 at the time, came to Panama for a visit and obtained permission to come to the island. They took off on the 'trail' but didn't return. Long story short- they spent the night on the jungle floor; an intensive search had been launched; the CZ governor happened to be in the audience of "Cabaret" the show I was playing for when they were reported missing. He helped launch the search. They found their way out the next morning. The next step was going to be to release Army dogs that had come to my house to sniff their clothes. My mother, a stauch conservationist long before it was popular, would have been horrified to cause any distrubance to the island ecology....(They were fine except for a whole lot of insect bites!)
It took four months, but I did return to see your response Marjobro! What a story! Do you remember the year it happened? Fortunately, Barro Colorado isn't very big, so I can't imagine they would have been lost for very long. When was the last time you came to Panama? The country has changed so much, even in the last ten years
I just found your response. Thanks for checking in! My parents' adventure took place in March, 1975. They had been instructed to follow a marked path which eventually would end at the water's edge where a boat would pick them up. Because it was dry season, the path and jungle floor were thick with fallen leaves. They were watching their steps carefully so as not to trip and fall, but then lost track of the markers on the trees. They did reach the water, but wrong place and no boat. When darkness fell, they knew there was no way they could find their way back so they got in an argument about how to best make a bed with palm leaves on the jungle floor! My mom said she was not afraid, but the director told me later that THEY were afraid of a lot of things....snakes, poachers, spiders, et al. They could hear the roaring of Howler monkeys but knew they wouldn't hurt them. When morning came they were able to work their way back to a trail where a search party met them.
continuing my long story.....The director told us they were going to rethink their strategy with visitors after this. Far from complaining, my parents felt guilty at causing so much trouble. I still have a lovely letter from Ira Rubinov thanking them for their donations and the support of their institution.
We left Panama in 1979 and have not been back. I know the changes have been enormous. The most striking one for me is to see the place where we used to eat Chinese food for $1.25 on Friday nights, overlooking the Chagres, turned into a huge luxury resort! We lived in Gamboa for several years and I loved it. We moved to Ancon after I had become so involved with teaching at CZcollege and performing that the many trips became a problem.
I hope you are doing well there. Can one still buy lobster tails for $.25 each???
No. I don't work for the Smithsonian! However I had the good fortune to become friends with Dr. Leigh, the long-time head of STRI at Barro Colorado, and his wife through, of all things, their personal invitation to come to the island to accompany a visiting scientist on their harpsichord so she could perform the Bach flute sonatas that Dr. Leigh loved. Later, he invited me to climb the scaffolding that had been erected over the jungle canopy in company with him and another visiting scientist.
This was in the 70s.
Are you from Panama?
We left Panama in 1979 and have not been back. I know the changes have been enormous. The most striking one for me is to see the place where we used to eat Chinese food for $1.25 on Friday nights, overlooking the Chagres, turned into a huge luxury resort! We lived in Gamboa for several years and I loved it. We moved to Ancon after I had become so involved with teaching at CZcollege and performing that the many trips became a problem.
I hope you are doing well there. Can one still buy lobster tails for $.25 each???