Category: Adventure Central

Our Adventure to Costa Rica

We cannot detail our adventure without a brief prologue…Our adventure was to begin on August 19th. We did everything right and had perfect instructions for our journey. Step 1 was to go to the Banco National and pay the exit tax. Due to past corruption in the government here, these taxes are paid directly to the government bank account and you take the receipt to Adunas (Customs). There they process paperwork to allow you to drive your personal vehicle across the border. We paid the .50 cent exit tax a couple of days before and made multiple copies of every document that would be required. We left early and drove just over 6 hours to David where we would go to Aduanas for the document needed to cross into Costa Rica. We waited for an agent to come back from lunch and were told that due to a computer problem we would have to come back in 5 days. With no other option we turned around and went back home. Investigation told us that the only other Adunas office is in Panama City so we made the decision to go there to get the document before driving back to the border. This would delay our trip to the first of September due to other things on our schedule.

Aduanas (Panama Customs)
Aduanas (Panama Customs)

We are often asked what we do to stay busy during retirement. To be honest, we never have trouble staying busy. We are active in our church, do some volunteer work, relax at the pool, read, and spend time with friends. One of our volunteer opportunities is with the local health and respite (hospice), and they do a lot of other stuff, including sponsoring blood drives. Our misfortune at the border allowed us to donate blood on Tuesday. Panamanian people are afraid to donate blood so the donors are very much appreciated here. We both donated and were in agreement that it was one of the most pleasant donation experiences either of us has ever had.

On Wednesday we took the bus into the city to straighten out our problem with Adunas. They collected all our documents (copies) and told us to come back on Friday. We have limited communication skills, but we were being told that the new computer system did not migrate all the vehicles registered and ours was not in the system. Everything would be fixed by Friday. On Friday we returned to find that the problem remained. We friended a man in line with a similar problem. Fortunately he was fluent in Spanish and English, and he helped us to get through the process. They had to do a hand search for our vehicle record to authorize us to take it across the border. They asked us to return in two hours.  It was a monumental accomplishment when we  returned to find they were going to issue the document.

The document to allow our car to leave Panama.
The document to allow our car to leave Panama for 90 days.

On September 1st we took off on our Costa Rica adventure again. We were able to pass through the border, but I must say that it is much harder to travel from country to country here than it is to cross into the United States. Here they want to make sure you will not be staying for more than a visit. It is the legal process. We do not recommend travel like this without good instruction. We had good instruction including multiple copies of numerous documents, and a specific order to do each task. We do not know which was worse, going to Costa Rica or returning to Panama. Both border crossings were stressful, but not impossible. We both agree that it was worth the trouble, and will likely return for another visit in the future.

One of the reasons we selected Panama as our retirement home is they use U.S. currency. One thing we recommend when traveling is to get some foreign currency in advance. This was our first mistake. While at the border we were required to purchase Costa Rican car insurance. Using U.S. dollars, we think, caused us to pay a premium for this insurance. On our travel day (Sunday) no banks were open for the exchange of money. We usually pay for most things with a no foreign transaction fee bankcard, and that worked well for us until we were able to obtain Colonies (Costa Rican dollars). With Colonies in hand we were able to enjoy the roadside diners (Soda) we love, as well as make small purchases. At the end of our adventure we returned with just over $100 USD worth of Colonies.

The other thing we returned with is Momanes. Momanes are a Central American fruit that we are calling “hairy balls” because they have an appearance like, well you know. They really are yummy. When you peal away the skin they look and taste like a big white grape. They have a pit in the center, which you do not eat.

Our first stop in Costa Rica was a wonderful port town called Quepos. We did not want to drive after dark and this was a perfect place to spend the night. We had a great meal and outstanding service at an oceanfront hotel. While we had dinner we enjoyed a spectacular sunset. Our plan for morning was to wait until the bank opened, to exchange cash. This allowed us to wander about on the boardwalk and enjoy a great breakfast. When the bank opened at 9 a.m. we discovered a long line because of 1st of the month payday. Rather than endure the line we elected to continue on our adventure with no Colonies. This was not a problem. We stopped at a wonderful restaurant along the road that accepted our card, and paid a toll with a US Dollar (it was about .35 cents).

We were once again on the road to Surfside. Our good friends own a home there and we will stay with them for a few days to explore the Gold Coast beaches. The journey was another 6 hours on roads that appeared to be carved right out of the jungle rain forest. We spent most of the ride in awe of the beauty of the country. Much of the ride was along the Pacific Coast with small beachfront towns along the way. The roads, even the Pan-American Highway, were primarily two lane and paved. They were also mostly in good repair. We were able to use the Wayz app on our phones, and it worked flawlessly. Forgive us for not taking pictures along the journey. We found that often there were limited space to pull off the road for photo opportunities. The pictures below are from a stop along the coast at a small town called Jaco.

We arrived mid afternoon at our friends, John and Barbie’s home. Their home is located in a beachfront community near the town of Potrero. We noticed that there are many expats living and vacationing in these areas. The locals are much better at speaking English than in most of Panama. But, like anywhere in Central America a little Spanish goes a long way. The restaurants, bars, and breakfast sodas were numerous and most seemed to be doing well even in the slow season.  Over the next few days we enjoyed exploring the area. John and Barbie took us to an upscale condo project called Las Catalinas, which was like walking into a movie set in Italy. It was very beautiful and quiet. We took about 100 pictures but will only share a few. These homes here were in the million USD range.

Las Catalina looks just like an Italian village
Las Catalina looks just like an Italian village

We also explored numerous beaches. Playa Penca was incredibly beautiful and deserted. There was a road adjacent to the beach and we followed it to the end. I promised an end of the road story and this is it. It was somewhat anti-climatic but it was, no doubt, another in what we hope will be  a long lasting theme to our end of the road stories.

Playa Penca
Playa Penca

John and Barbie took us to several great beaches. Some were literally deserted, while others had a lot of people around. The beach at Witches Rock in Tamarindo was a surfers paradise. There were surfers around waiting for high tide, when they would take a lesson or hit the surf. We enjoyed a great lunch on the beach and browsed through some of the great shops.

After visiting Tamarindo we went to an amazing pool at Mar Vista for an afternoon of relaxing and swimming. This infinity pool is separated from the ocean by jungle and rain forest, but when you were swimming in it you could enjoy the awesome ocean vista.

Along the way we spotted this very colorful and handsome iguana. He was not shy and we got a great picture of him to share.

This handsome guy was so collorful
This handsome guy was so colorful

We could not get over the fabulous restaurants in the area around our friends home. The last night at their home we went to Vaca Loca. Translated Vaca Loca means crazy cow. We came to the conclusion that the proprietor was the crazy one. We were served ribeye steaks, that weighed out at over a pound, with appetizers, one side, and a shot of limoncello to finish for about $12 USD each. It was beyond delicious and perfectly cooked. The truth be known, our friend John is an expert at finding great restaurants that will not break the budget. Most of the restaurants in Costa Rica, with the exception of the sodas, are very expensive. This reality was another strong argument for our decision to retire in Panama. We enjoy eating out and having economical restaurant selections is important to us.

The following morning we embarked on our journey to the mountain town of Tilaran.  On our journey we made a special stop at Walmart. Walmart in Costa Rica is a high end department store and we found the prices to be high compared to the States. We did pick up a few snacks and soft drinks for the road. We also got a few things that have been difficult to find in Panama.

The Ciudad of Tilaran
The Ciudad of Tilaran

From there we traveled on to Lake Arenal and the pinnacle of our trip, a visit to Lake Arenal and the Arenal Volcano. We stayed in a great casita with a full kitchen and an awesome view of Lake Arenal for $50 USD per night. Our friends John and Barbie stayed with a friend down the road a bit. The lake is about 26 miles long and we were on the west end of it. The volcano and the small town of Arenal were about an hour drive away on the east end of the lake.  Our plan was to go to the volcano, hot springs and explore on Saturday. We will head back to Panama on Sunday. The pictures below are near where we stayed. The weather was perfect when we reached our temporary home on Lake Arenal.

On Saturday morning we woke up to torrential rain. It is rainy season and we were deep in the mountains and rain forest. Determined not to let the weather affect our plans, we took off bright and early prepared for whatever mother nature dealt us. We drove to the volcano and the small town of Arenal. To make a long story short we did not get to explore because the rain did not stop. We, also opted against the hot springs as it would not be great in the rain. We shopped around the town a bit and took a few pictures before returning to our temporary home at the other end of the lake.

For the rest of the day we enjoyed meeting some of John and Barbie’s friends and a couple of other great restaurants. Our farewell dinner was at Moyas and it was another awesome experience.

Sunday morning we got up for our journey home to Panama. On the way out of the mountains we stopped for what turned out to be an awesome photo opportunity. We took a picture of the Arnal Volcano with a cloud over the top resembling a hat. The rest of our journey was more beautiful countryside and we thoroughly enjoyed the drive.

We both agree that the experience of driving through Costa Rica was memorable and we will likely make another trip to fully enjoy the mountain experience. The beaches were great, but we have great beaches right here at home.

If you are enjoying our blog, please, like, share, and sign up to get it each time we make a new post. We also like to get comments and questions. We do our best to answer questions quickly. Some questions we answer by private message; while others we answer publicly so others can benefit from the answers. We will never share your information.

Blessings,

Greg and Jen

Exploring Portobelo and Puerto Lindo

We continue to explore The Republic of Panama. We absolutely LOVE this country.

Our good friends and travel buddies, Lyn and Ty Gilbert invited us to go on an adventure to the Caribbean side of the country with them. We were tasked with taking a look at a boat at Marina de Panama for some friends. We left on Saturday morning for the three hour journey to the marina. We found the boat and gave it a good inspection. The twenty year old yacht was priced well, but we found that it did not meet the needs of their friends. It was interesting and fun to explore this area. IMG_2665

Marina de Panama was east of the town of Portobelo. Our reservation was further east at the small resort port of Puerto Lindo. Our accommodations were at a bed and breakfast called Bambu Lodge. The lodge was across the road from the bay and backed up into a dense jungle mountain setting. Bambu had three guest rooms. Our room did not have internet or television. The shower in our room offered cold water only, but otherwise it was clean and comfortable. We were lulled to sleep by the howler monkeys in the jungle nearby, but we didn’t get the opportunity to see them. Our host offered a wonderful dinner and we took full advantage. The Panamanian cook was very good and we enjoyed the wonderful hospitality. Our host also arranged for an awesome island tour which we fully enjoyed on Sunday. The occupants of the other guest room were from South Africa, and also in the area to look at a boat. Before turning in we enjoyed a game of dominoes on the deck overlooking the bay.

Our boat captain picked us up early and took us to the dock. He spoke no English, but the communication was not an issue. He gave us a great tour which included the extensive Mangroves called the Tunnel of Love, Isla Grande, Monkey Island, and Isla Mamey. He let us swim, snorkel, and enjoy the beaches on Isla Mamey and Isla Grande. We made two attempts to see the monkeys on the monkey island, but we had no luck seeing them. We also got to see a marina on the tour. The cost of our boat tour was only $15 each.

In Portobelo we were excited to explore the ruins of Fuerte San Jeronimo. This fortress was the largest ever built to protect the bay.  The Spanish troops protected the bay until they left in 1821, when Panama declared its independence. Many of the cannons are exactly where the Spanish left them nearly 2oo years ago. We walked about what is left of the officers’ barracks, quarters, guardroom and observation terrace over the water.

This whirlwind weekend ended much too soon. We always enjoy exploring with our friends, but wanted to be home in Coronado before nightfall. We are doing a lot of exploring in Panama, and hope that you are enjoying these adventures as much as we enjoy sharing them. Please, let us know what you think. Like and share our blog if you find it worthy. Our travels are going to take us further in the very near future. We are looking forward to an upcoming trip to Costa Rica where we will catch up with some other good friends.

Happy Travels,

Greg and Jen

Exploring in The Peninsula De Azuero

We are continuing to explore the beautiful Republic of Panama. Our travels are taking us from Playa Boca Chica, where we explored magnificent islands and a remote resort, to Pedasi. Pedasi is also a quiet community where we found a few small bed and breakfast type resorts. Our reservation is at Punta Franca Hotel. We found Punta Franca rustic but adequate. There were over twenty guest rooms, a pool, and a restaurant. We had panoramic views of the ocean, but the resort was sitting on a rock cliff. A visit to the beach involved a long walk or a short car ride. Although the remote location was nothing compared to Regalo where we stayed in Boca Chica, it was on a washed out road about 5KM from the pavement. We met our good friends (adventure partners) Ty and Lyn here, and spent a relaxing afternoon in the pool. We decided to enjoy the restaurant at the hotel for dinner. The food was good but the service left a bit to be desired. Our long wait for dinner gave us time to set a plan for our adventure the following day.

Our hope was that we would get a boat tour to Isla Iguana, but the timing did not work out. We decided to drive south along the coast and explore. After breakfast, we set off in Ty’s truck for a day of awesome adventure. The road was sometimes good and sometimes not so good. We drove past Playa Venao which is probably the largest resort community on the peninsula. There were a few people around, but the activity was light. The main reason we decided not to investigate living here is the proximity to airports, health care, and grocery stores. It is an awesome place to visit but too remote for us. As we drove south we moved away from the ocean and into the mountains. We were speechless at the amazing mountain views and farms along the way.

We knew that the ocean was just on the other side of the mountains where it was obvious to us the most important thing to these people is farming. We rarely saw any houses. When we saw people they were friendly and welcoming even though it was obvious to us that they didn’t often see “gringos” driving around here. At some point we decided to drive until we reached the end of the road. We now refer to this adventure as the “end of the road adventure”. We knew that if we continued south we would reach the south end of the peninsula. We emerged from the mountain road onto a beautiful beach at a town called Cambatul. From there we drove west for a couple of Kilometers on a two-track until the road literally ended. Before it ended we did pass through two small rivers. We turned back and went back to the place where we emerged from the mountain road onto the beach. There we found a quaint little resort with tile roofed cabins on stilts and a restaurant. We took a swim on the beach and were welcomed into their establishment through a path from the beach. Along the path we found showers to rinse off the sand. The Panamanian owner waited on us and he spoke perfect English. His wife was cooking and the menu was exceptional. We had no problem agreeing to return to this place for an entire weekend.

This adventure ended much to soon. As we headed for home we agreed to take another adventure together very soon. We have yet to see any of the Caribbean coast. Our next adventure will be to Portebello on the Atlantic coast, east of the Panama Canal. There are some ancient ruins there and opportunities to explore the  islands.

We are quickly learning that this life is a daily blessing. At times we miss our family, but the world is so small now we can talk as often as we wish. We have a lifestyle here that far exceeds anything we could afford in the States. We have chosen to live in a high end resort community where most of our friends and neighbors are English speaking, but we have the ability to go off on adventures that remind us where we really are. In a few weeks we are going to explore in Costa Rica for a few days. There is a whole big world to explore. We encourage you all to take some chances and spend some time outside your comfort zone. Life is too short. We have been reading in Ecclesiastes during our journey through the Bible and chapter 3 verses 11-13 reminds us that “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil-this is the gift of God.” There is nothing more true for us today.

Please, if you are enjoying our blog, like and share it. There is no greater compliment than to have continuing readers who leave us comments and feedback.

Blessings,

Greg and Jen

 

We Explore Boca Chica

The Boca Chica sign is brand new
The Boca Chica sign is brand new

One of the coolest things going on here in Panama is these new signs to promote tourism. We have been trying to snap pictures of these signs on our adventures. Sometimes we get a bunch and sometimes not so many. There are times when we pass one with no possible chance to stop for a picture. The lazy, laid back, port of Boca Chica just got their sign. It is still shrouded in plastic, and the landscaping is under way. We were able to walk right up and take a great picture.

When we left our condo for our adventure we were filled with expectations. Our expectations rarely line up with reality, and Boca Chica was no exception. Our reservation was made for the Regalo Guest House. our host said just follow the signs.

The driveway was literally 18 KM long which computes to around 11 miles. We didn’t buy in for this remote, but it was really a great place. At the end of the driveway (they call it the Y) you make a turn opposite the direction of the main road to go another 6 KM to the village of Boca Chica. Along the driveway we spotted signs for things that we never got to see. There was also an equestrian center and a lot of wash outs. The picture below is what the majority of the driveway looked like. Our host told us that they had a beach 5 minutes from the house, but we didn’t find it.

Upon our arrival we were greeted and offered a welcome cocktail. The place had breathtaking views and a very nice pool. It was also helpful that the chef was more than capable. We knew that driving back into the resort after dark would be dangerous and a crazy idea, so we ordered dinner and took a swim. The hosts are from Wisconsin. they recently purchased the property and had an objective to make it upscale, remote and private. There is a helipad for anyone desiring to shorten the commute. The host asked if I was a pilot. He wanted to make connections for helicopter transits to this beautiful resort. Surfing lessons are available as well as boat tours of the islands on the Golf of Chiriquí.

We made arrangements to take the island hopping tour the following morning. Our hosts offered up a fantastic breakfast then packed a cooler for us and led us to Boca Chica. We found a secure place to park on a side street, then walked a short two blocks to the dock.

Our captain for the day was Victor. He proved to be capable and knowledgeable of the islands. Victor spoke perfect English, which was a bonus that we did not expect. We shared the boat with a Panamanian family. The couple also spoke to us in English. Their perfectly behaved children were also bi-lingual. They ended up joining us for dinner at Regalo. It’s possible that they may become life long friends. It always amazes us how welcoming and friendly the local people are here. Our tour started on Isla Bolanos where we were able to swim and soak in the awesome sites and sounds of the Golf of Chiriquí.

Areas de estudio is Boca Chica
Areas de studio is Boca Chica

Using the map above to put things in perspective to the left is Costa Rica. To the right of Boca Chica is the Peninsula de Azuero. Our next adventure takes us to the far south end of Azuero to a village called Cambutal.

The second stop of island hopping was where we enjoyed a great lunch. It was the only island with commerce. We saw just one small house where they were serving drinks and fresh seafood. we took the opportunity to restock our cooler and have Red Snapper served with salad, rice and patacones. Following lunch we took a swim on the beautiful beach before heading off to our third island.

Our third island stop was Isla Gomez. It was a tiny uninhabited island with a perfect beach. We did not have to share this island with anyone else. Captain Victor gave us an hour to swim and enjoy the beach before returning to the dock at Boca Chica.

After returning to the dock we walked around a bit in the village. There is very little to see and do there. It is a very basic little town of fishermen and tourist boat excursions. This is a very popular destination for whale watching. The whales migrate past here from August to October. This is where whales give birth because of its safe warm waters. Otherwise, everyone here has an agenda of fishing, sightseeing, or scuba diving. There are no cute little shops or restaurants. We opted to return to Regalo for a relaxed evening meal with our new friends.

Filet Mignon
Filet Mignon

We have had a couple of other great adventures over the past couple of weeks. We are always willing to share privately contact information for the tours and accommodations where we enjoy these adventures. Just drop a message and we will get back to you. We still are not endorsing anyone and we do not accept payments for endorsements. If you see an advertisement on our blog that interests you, please click through. We do get paid for that. At one time we thought it would help defray the costs involved in maintaining this site. We were badly wrong on that. To date our pay back is less than $5.  We write the blog because we enjoy sharing our experience in Panama and  beyond. Please enjoy, like, and share. Our reach is limited to you, our readers, and those with whom you share. In a few days we will share other great adventures.

Greg and Jen

A New Home In Panama

Often, too much time passes between my blog posts. For this I often feel guilty. I have been attending writing workshops with Lynda Allison. Her encouragement, and that of the other attendees, has been priceless in my decision to continue writing. In the future I hope you all will notice subtle changes in the way information is being presented here. I want our readers to see, hear, feel, taste, and smell Panama in the same way Jen and I do. I am, also, committed to pushing out shorter, but more frequent posts.

In our last post I eluded to our impending move to a new residence. We stand by our advice to rent and explore for a year prior to purchasing here in Panama. We fast tracked our purchase of a home by a couple of months, when we got the opportunity to buy a nice place that met 100% of our criteria. Our research was complete and we moved forward. We absolutely love our life in this Coronado community. There is a huge core of American and Canadian expats living here; with many others spending portions of the year here. There is also a trend of people from South Africa relocating here to escape a deteriorating political climate. We are becoming involved in a local English speaking church and a multitude of outreach activities. We are becoming fully engaged in learning Spanish, even though you can easily live here without knowing a word of Spanish. We have developed friendships that we will cherish for life. All that being said, I think you all may see from where the future of this blog will come.

We bought our new home in late December and engaged in an aggressive, minor renovation. We hired a local Panamanian Electrician for some additional outlets and to move a couple of switches. We then employed a local Cabinet Maker who built some new cabinets to match the existing and add some crown molding. We are sharing some before and after pictures. It feels good to have most of the fine detail done, and be completely moved from our rental. One of our biggest motivations to buy this condo was that it needed very little. We are in the El Alcazar Building in the Coronado Golf Complex. It is within walking distance of beautiful Pacific Beaches, golf, tennis, an all-inclusive hotel, beach club, restaurants, and country club style facilities. Every window of our condo has panoramic views of the ocean, mountains, and surrounding community. For readers interested in the details involved with purchasing real estate in Panama, we will explore them in detail in an upcoming post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last several weeks we have done far more than work on and move into our new home. We had a two day adventure to Colon where we enjoyed an all-inclusive hotel deep in the jungle on Lake Gatun. Lake Gatun makes up a large part of the Panama Canal. We were located only a few minute drive from the Agua Clara Locks, which are part of the recently expanded Panama Canal. These new locks accommodate the largest of ships. We watched as a container ship carrying over 10,000 containers (1 container is the size of a semi trailer) passed into and out of the first chamber. It was interesting to watch. The canal passage for this particular ship was in excess of $800,000. We also got a look at the new bridge over the canal. It is nearing completion. You may remember pictures of it in our post from October of 2017.  

In keeping with my goal to make shorter, more frequent posts I will wrap up for now. Please feel free to go back through our archives. We love feedback and questions. If you have not subscribed to get our posts automatically delivered to your e-mail, please do it now. Like and share our blog to keep them coming. we remain excited to share our experiences and adventures.

Hasta Luego,

Greg and Jen

 

Gamboa Canopy Tour and Ron Abuelo Rum Distillery…

were but two of the highlights during our recent visit from my Dad, Doug, and his friend Renee.IMG_1055

We knew that we wanted to have some special adventures while they were here and the entire week was loaded with fun and adventure for all. Many of you will recall our past adventures to El Valle de Anton . A click on the link here will take you to our post from the first adventure there. El Valle is only about 45 minutes away and we never fail to take our guests there. We journeyed up the mountain last Monday with Dad and Renee in tow. It was a beautiful sunny day and we started out at the Orchid Conservatory. The blooms are different each time we visit. We all thoroughly enjoyed this tour and the only way for you all to share the experience is by our sharing of some pictures.

After checking out the orchids we went over to the El Nispero Zoo and garden. We have heard that the zoo is more of an aquarium than a zoo, but we found the contrary. There were also many species of local animals, including rescues, in addition to the aquarium. We found the aquarium to be the most interesting with endangered species of toads and frogs from the rain forest. The golden toad is thought to only exist in this habitat. Some say that there may be more in unexplored areas of the jungle nearby. We found the small zoo easy to explore and very enjoyable.

After we left the zoo, we went over to the market for some fresh produce and a little shopping. By mid afternoon we were headed back down the mountain home.

Jen and I continue to search for our new forever home here in Panama. We are nearing a big announcement on our decision to purchase here. We will continue to advise new expats to rent for a year. That gives people a sufficient time to figure out if they like the climate and environment. It is also important to become educated on the housing market. There are many other factors which we will explore in detail later. On Tuesday we were able to show our special guests the property where we hope to one day permanently settle. We also had a nice lunch at their beach club.

IMG_0893

Wednesday was one of our pinnacle adventures. We left home early and drove to the Gamboa Rain Forest Resort. We enjoyed a wonderful canopy tour of the rain forest which ended at the top of an observation tower. From the tower we could see the Panama Canal, Chagres River, and many other interesting things. We could even see the thatched roofs of an Embera Indian Village up the river. We also, had the opportunity to see a sloth eating and basking in the sun on a tree branch near the tower. Following our tour we had lunch on the veranda of the hotel.

The second of our pinnacle adventures was a trip to the Ron Abuelo Distillery. Since arriving in Panama we have used , and swear by Wayz for navigation. There are no street names and a great deal of trust must be had in the navigation system. When we reached the turn for the distillery, everyone said this cannot be right. With faith we went on down a two track that lead us through a few kilometers of sugar cane before emerging on the back side of the distillery.

Sugar Cane
We passed through several kilometers of Sugar Cane

We made our way through the plant grounds to the welcome center. We found this tour to be one of the most amazing yet. We started in the plant where our tour guide explained the process from processing the sugar cane to bottling. they do not bottle the product at this location. It is shipped to Panama City to a bottling plant. You may notice that there are no pictures inside the manufacturing facility. We were not allowed to take pictures inside. Following the plant tour we were returned to the welcome center for a cocktail. The distillery was founded by the family of the current President of Panama. Preparations were being made for The Presidents visit over the weekend (Saturday, December 8, was Mothers Day here).

Following our cocktail we toured the warehouses where all the rum is aged. The Ron Abuelo is aged in retired Jack Daniels barrels. That is what gives the rum its caramel color. The longer the aging process the darker the color and the smoother the rum becomes. The family reserve is in its own warehouse and the barrels are racked on their side. This is where we found the 30 year old rum aging. The 30 year old Ron Abuelo sells for over $120 US dollars. We didn’t buy any.

Once we finished the tour of the warehouses we returned to the welcome center where we were given a tasting of each of the different levels of Ron Abuelo Rum. The tasting included education and certification for determining the reason for the increase in the aging process and the value of aging in the manufacturing.

The tour ended with a traditional Panamanian lunch. Three courses of fantastic.

On the drive home we continued to explore with stops at a Panamanian Cemetery and a cigar factory.

Before our special guests left we had to take them to Playa de Panama and our special lunch shack experience. Usually the proprietor has lobster for $10 and Corvina for $8. He also sells beer for $1 and if you’re lucky you can add coco arroz for a $1. We found that lobster was in short supply Saturday. Instead he was offering giant langostinos (prawns). We brought our own beers and our total lunch bill for 4 people was $36. Following our lunch we all went for a refreshing swim in the Pacific. By the time we left the place was packed. The people in Panama love to celebrate Mothers Day on the beach.

As we prepare to close this post it has occurred to us that you, our readers, deserve to know that we have no paid endorsements. That being said, we are enjoying many tours without breaking the bank. We have found a great resource for taking tours on a budget https://ofertasimple.com . It is a great pleasure to share our adventures with you. Please feel free to share and keep the momentum of our blog going. As we anticipate the blessings of the Christmas season, please know that we will be celebrating the birth of our Savior here in the tropics.

Feliz Navidad,

Greg and Jen

Casco Viejo, Contadora, and The Amador Causeway

Yes, you are about to hear of our awesome adventure over this past weekend. Things at our house have been extremely busy over the past several weeks, so we have to apologize, with explanation, for the lack of recent posts. Shortly after our last post we had a wonderful visit from friends who live in Michigan. We shared some adventures with them that would be a repeat to our blog, but were great never the less. One adventure of note that we have yet to talk about is the Playa de Panama which is just a few short minutes from our condo. The beach is generally quiet and secluded. The best part is that there is a shack at the entrance where you can get a great meal of Lobster or Corvina with Patacones.

Playa de Panama Lobster and Corvina
Playa de Panama Lobster and Corvina

The price for Lobster is $10 and the Corvina is $8. The purveyor usually has ice cold beer for $1, but it is not a problem to bring your own drinks. Once our friends departed, we found ourselves busy dealing with the sale of our house in Michigan. As of now it is scheduled to close by the end of the week. With the sale of our house looming near we have resumed actively looking at homes here in Panama. Last week was the Thanksgiving Holiday in the States. It is just another day here in Panama, however we opted to create our own grand celebration. We shared our meal with new friends from five countries, including Canada, Germany, South Africa, Panama, and The United States. There were traditional and non-traditional Thanksgiving food with Turkey and everyone bringing a dish to pass. We also made sure that the staff here at our condo was fed. A great time was had by all.

This is where we catch up to the present. We left early on Friday morning with our good friends and neighbors to share a weekend adventure. Our adventure started with a stop on the Amador Causeway to explore the Biodiversity Museum.

Bio Diversity Museum, Panama City
Bio Diversity Museum, Panama City

The experience was, without question, one of the most interesting experiences. Readers may recall our previous post T- 21 Days To Departure . In that post we presented research where we found some great adventure destinations. We were able to cross a couple of these destinations off our list, and more, this past weekend. The Bio Diversity Museum was self guided. Each of us had a device that we could listen to, which guided us through the museum in our native language at our own pace. There were also real human guides all along the way who were all multi-lingual. They helped fill in the blank spots and answered any questions. The museum explained how Panama was formed by volcanoes, rising from the ocean which created a land bridge from South America to North America. The result was the convergence of two populations of plants and animals on one single land mass. The museum also helps teach how to live in harmony with the other plants and animals with which we share this space.

Following our visit to the museum we explored the Amador Causeway. The Causeway runs out to the Pacific along the Panama Canal. It is lined with marinas, bars, restaurants, and shops. We located a great fonda where we had lunch.

The Flamenco Marina is just down the way. This is our destination Saturday morning. Our ferry to Las Perlas  (The Pearl Islands) will depart from there. We have round trip tickets for the ferry ride to the island of Contadora where we will spend the day. Following our lunch we found our way to the Raddisson on the Panama canal. We got checked in and took Uber to Casco Viejo. We enjoyed Casco well into the late evening. This was our second trip to Casco. There is so much to do and see that we will entertain friends there for years without ever tiring of it. The Cathedral on the square is being renovated and it is nearly completed. When we were there the freshly refurbished bells were waiting on the sidewalk to be returned to the bell towers. We also toured another Cathedral where there was a scale model of Jerusalem. It was just incredible. Our night ended with dinner then a half block walk to the Presidential Palace. It is Independence month here in Panama and we enjoyed fireworks over the bay near the palace. Panamanian people love fireworks.

Saturday we were up early for our 7 a.m. ferry departure. The Pearl Islands are a string of islands about 1 1/2 hours away by boat. Survivor fans will remember a season of that show was filmed there. We visited Contadora. It was a beautiful beach destination, but not the same island where the popular television program had been filmed. We rented a golf cart on the beach and took off to explore. The island has several restaurants, beaches, a few bed and breakfasts and an airstrip. We enjoyed two different beaches, one of which we did not share with any other people. We all agreed that this was someplace where we could spend a few days. The surrounding islands made for spectacular views.

There is so much more to share, and we are feeling a bit guilty that we have allowed so much time to pass between posts. We hope that you all have enjoyed our pictures from this weekends adventure. We are preparing for special guests this next week from the States, and there are a couple of great new adventures planned for their visit. We are committed to sharing those in a little over a week. We are hopeful that we may, also be able to share more about our pending home search here in Panama. We wake every morning feeling thankful and blessed to be retired in such a beautiful place. Please like and share our blog to keep us out there. The new rules at FaceBook are continuing to drive us crazy. We will post a link, but they seem to block our ability to share as we used to.

Blessings,

Greg and Jen

La Laguna

When a friend suggested that we take an excursion to La Laguna we were chomping at the bit to take a ride. From our condo it was a 45 minute ride to a very secluded mountain lake. The place was described as Jurassic Park in Panama. We agreed that the place was really cool but not a place to entertain our visitors. It was a great place for a hike and quiet solitude. There were very few others there, possibly because of the need for four wheel drive to reach our destination. At the end of the day we agreed that the best part of it was the ride up there. On our return to civilization we stopped at a housing project nested on the mountainside which was too cool not to explore.  Sante’ Fe was in the possibility of places we could want to live so we took a look. We could build a new home for slightly more than buying a condo on the beach. This turns out to be a no brainer for us. We have decided that we are beach, rather than mountain people. Enjoy the pictures of this adventure. We had magnificent views of the ocean from the mountain housing project where we looked at lots. It seems that everything about Panama leaves us awestruck and amazed. Every day is a new adventure even if we never leave the condo. The weather here is always interesting and never a disappointment, even when it rains. It is rainy season here now but we rarely have more than a few minutes of rain. Most days we have plenty of quality beach or pool time.

IMG_0518
Our view from Sante’ Fe. This is the road leading to the lots.

We have discovered many great places to enjoy a meal. Unfortunately we rarely take pictures of our experience. We are dedicated to doing better at this. One of the best meals is right here at our condo. The chef at La Terrazas Del Mar is truly amazing. We have been there several times without a bad experience. We do, however, find the fondas the most fun and always cheap. On Sunday we enjoyed the fonda outside our gate. We will return often as we can eat there cheaper than cooking at home.

 

Traditionnes De La Terra. The fonda outside our gate

Chulita, arroz, frioles, ensalada, and plaintain $5

chickens wander in the dining room

We also have found a great place where the half pound burgers are less than $5. They have birds and a great patio dining area.

This guy chatted us up while we ate

His friend nearby was very pretty

The parrot hung out in a tree nearby

Our best find was one afternoon we took off for a beach lunch. The lobster was pricey, but well worth the trip. It rained while we enjoyed a special lunch under a bohio.

Jen had a lobster split and steamed in garlic butter.

When we are not eating we enjoy our church and have volunteered to teach English to the local community. We have 4 students each and have just completed the 4th week of this awesome outreach. We both feel like we are not quite qualified for this, however it provides us a degree of satisfaction as we see the progression of these wonderful students. They are so anxious to learn and they are all learning to communicate with the many North Americans who live in this community. We are becoming active in the church and look forward to church on Sunday morning as well as Bible study. Our pastor is a great communicator and our knowledge of the Bible is growing. We both feel that Gods purpose for moving us here is buried in the details.

We are looking forward to a visit from friends in less than 2 weeks. We love to share our adventures, and hope that we can show them a great time.

For now we will say adios and leave you with a great picture of a recent sunrise (the feature picture). We cannot express enough how awesome the weather is here. As we wrap up this post we are sitting on our balcony watching a storm come across the horizon.

A storm moving in

Safety in Panama

Recent world events spark conversations daily about how safe it is to live in a developing country. Yesterday a gunman walked into a gaming event in the United States and killed participants before turning the gun on himself. Our dinner conversation last night was interesting. Does this happen here in Panama and we just don’t know it? Are these events isolated to the United States? The short answer is that this is a problem worldwide. We have done research on the safety of life in Panama and have concluded that we have to be diligent in protecting ourselves. We do not live in a vacuum ignoring local news, however it is much less “in our face” than media in the States. We live in a gated community with armed security. Our choice to live here is not as much about security  as it is to reside in a place we love and enjoy. The majority of crime in Panama isn’t murder. It is crime of opportunity like petty theft (people helping themselves to something that is easy to take). The prevalent crime victim tends to be people who let their guard down or enter into transactions without due diligence. We do neither of these things and have had no problems. That being said, we don’t want to make this political at all, but believe that the news media often dramatizes stories to keep people watching the news. Our blog is another example of security in a developing country. Some of our viewers will notice that we changed our physical address to Panama today. Some may also have noticed over the past few days that when signing into our site there is a pop-up stating that we are not secure. This is false information. We compose on a secure network and pay for layers of security. We get weekly updates that show no security concerns. We pay big bucks to make sure that all of you can read our blog without concern for security. We have WordPress, VaultPress, and Jetpack investigating the source of our problem and will keep it safe or shut it down. Please let us know if you experience problems with our site.

That is about enough of things that keep people awake at night. It has been several weeks since our last post. We spent a couple of weeks at our home in the States and are returning to normal here in Panama. We love our friends and family, but frequent visits to Michigan are stressful. We have a great deal of interest in our home and are looking forward to turning it over to a new family soon. Our advice in this matter is that you should get your home sold before relocating. Remote care for real estate is difficult at best.  On the flip side, we have stated on numerous occasions that you should not purchase property in Panama until you have been on the ground for a year. The real estate market in Panama is quite different from the U.S. and this time is necessary to gauge the market and find a location that suits your lifestyle. Rent for at least a year. We continue to stand by that advice.

Before returning to the States we had visitors at our church from Logos Hope. Logos Hope is a floating mission/bookstore to take Christianity throughout the world. Our visitors shared testimony and told of their experiences aboard the ship. Over 60 countries and nationalities are represented aboard the ship. Many people who live on the ship are from countries where they would be persecuted for sharing Christianity. We were intrigued by this awesome mission so upon our return to Panama we went to visit the ship. Due to persecution, taking pictures was difficult. We are sharing limited pictures from the ship.

 

The ship left late last week to continue its mission. It will dock next in Guatemala. The wonderful people on board carry their message and bookstore to all parts of the world. Please check out their website.

Since our return to Panama we have been crazy busy. In addition to the Logos Hope adventure we spent a day (including the night before) in Panama City. The purpose of our stay was to complete the  paperwork for our Cedula. A Cedula is the national identification carried by all Panamanian people. Most Panamanian people do not have driver’s licenses so this is the instrument that identifies a person and gives credibility for their ability to conduct business. A Cedula is not a requirement for our residency, however it will make it easier for us to conduct bank business and make major purchases. Our appointment was at 7 a.m.  Our attorney had a  solid agenda and got us finished very quickly by Panama standards. We highly recommend our attorney for all immigration needs. We are happy to provide her contact info to anyone by private  correspondence. It has been our experience that her rates are very fair and her ability to get things done are without reproach. The process was entirely done at the Tribunal Electoral. The building was beautiful and well organized. We got our business started at 7 a.m. sharp, and waited the hour for paperwork processing, in a great cafeteria where we enjoyed an authentic Panamanian breakfast. Once the paperwork was complete we waited in line to have a photograph made and pay the fee. As a Jubilado there is a discount for the fee to get your Cedula. We took  photographs below at the Tribunal Electoral.

We made good use of our time in the city. We made reservations for future travel and paid for our tickets using our Jubilado discount. We also learned that one of the future trips planned would require a vaccination, so we made our way to the Minister of Health and got our vaccination. As residents, we got the vaccination at a substantial discount. The experience was interesting to say the least. No officials there spoke English and we had a few communication issues. Fortunately there are wonderful people all over who know a little English and they helped us be understood. We used our due diligence and read the container which contained the vaccine to be sure we were getting what was required for our travel. They then provided a document that states the time in which the vaccine remains effective. This is called a yellow card and we must always be able to provide it before travel. We have committed to keeping it safely stored with our Passports. We have heard that people have been denied entry to some countries without the proper documentation of vaccinations. We plan to travel extensively in our retirement. We are anxious to explore and Central America is an excellent place to explore from.

Waiting for our vaccination
Waiting for our vaccination

We also got in a little retail therapy while in the city. We didn’t really buy much but we had a nice lunch at the mall. We have become big fans of Leonardo Pizza. Our lunch for two pictured below was just over $6 with our Jubilado discount.

lunch for two
lunch for two

Yesterday we traveled with friends to El Valle de Anton where we frequently enjoy the fresh vegetable market. We had purchased a huge clay pot for our balcony and wanted to fill it with tropical plants. Our visit was a great success. Our pot now has some colorful plantings that we will enjoy. We also picked up our usual supply of salad fixings.

Balcony Planter
Lovely tropical plants from El Valle.

Every day proves to be an adventure and it is the most relaxing, inexpensive, and beautiful place to spend retirement. We know that this life isn’t for everyone, but it suits us well. We continue to learn Spanish. The language barrier is only an inconvenience, and most of the time our English is enough to survive daily life. That being said we have volunteered to help teach English to Panamanian people in our community. The people here can get better jobs and prosper with the ability to speak English. We know that God had a plan when he moved us here and in some small way this may be our way to give back.

Dios los bendiga,

Greg and Jen

The Embera Village

Tuesday was the pinnacle of our time here in Panama. We woke early and met 20 other people at Nueva Gorgona for a tour to the Embera Village deep in the jungle northeast of Panama City. Our group was led by a volunteer from the church where we have been visiting. She makes the arrangements and all the money collected goes directly to the Embera. The Embera are the most welcoming and gracious people that you can imagine. They live completely off the grid, surviving by living off the land, fishing and selling a few crafts to their visitors. By the way, their crafts are incredible.

The band welcomed us.

Arriving at the village

Great sights along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We journeyed by caravan in 4 cars to the dock where we were met by a few men from the Embera Village. They took us in 3 dugout canoes (motorized) on the 1 hour trip up the river into the jungle to their village. We were met by a welcoming committee who were playing small instruments made by the tribe. We gathered for an informal question and answer presentation to educate us on the life and customs of the tribe. The tribe has their own indigenous language and only a couple of the members have learned Spanish so that they can communicate with their visitors and government. The government here respects the tribe, however they do require the children to attend school. The Village has a schoolhouse and two teachers who come from the city on Monday returning on Friday. They spend the week there in their own huts with one teaching the younger children and one teaching the older children. The children are required to wear uniforms to school, as are all children in Panama. We learned a bunch of great information about the culture. We had at least 2 people in our group who spoke fluent Spanish so getting answers to our questions was really easy.

Embera women prepare our lunch

Embera women prepare our lunch

Fish and Patacone. Check out the plate made from banana leafs

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following our discussion we were invited to a wonderful lunch of fish and patacones. Patacones are slices of fried banana. Lunch was delicious. We were about the only visitors from outside on that day so we were welcome to move about and observe the daily life in the village. Shortly after lunch we were invited to see and take part in indigenous dance.

The Dance

Once the dance presentation ended we were invited by the father of the chief to take a walk through the jungle where he showed us native plants and explained their medicinal uses. The Embera maintain their personal health naturally and have a similar lifespan to the rest of the world. What he shared with us could put big pharma out of business. Our journey through the jungle ended at the school.

 

 

 

 

 

We visited the classrooms and interacted with the children. We had a family in our group with children 2 and 4 years old. The children were blue eyed with blond hair and the Embera children were in awe of them. We suspect that not many groups to the village have young children in them. We learned that the USO was there 6 years ago and installed a solar panel to provide lights in the classrooms. The chief told us that the lights stopped working a few days ago. A couple of the guys in our group did a diagnosis and believe that the batteries may have come to the end of their useful life. Some  people from our group are raising funds to replace the batteries. This is the only electricity in the village.

 

 

 

 

 

We walked from there back to where we had started. We had the opportunity to look at and purchase their craft items, swim in the river with the Embera children, and have tattoos made from the natural dye in an indigenous plant. We boarded our boats for the journey back to the dock in late afternoon. The journey back was down stream so it took only 45 minutes.

Embera Children swimming in the river

Jen is getting an Embera tattoo

We hope that you will all have an experience like this some day. We have not put a lot of written detail here in the post; but we are allowing the pictures to tell the story. We want to have the opportunity to return to the Embera Village soon to purchase some of the wonderful crafts to decorate our Panama home.

Steps leading to an Embera Hut. If the steps are turned backward do not bother them.

We will be leaving soon to return to the States. It is and has been crazy busy the last few days here. We appreciate that you all have continued to follow along. We are dedicated to keeping the information flowing as we prepare to move and settle in Panama. Our next post will be a recap once we get back to Michigan.

Nos Vemos,

Greg and Jen