Panama Vacation Day 1

We are just starting day 2 of our Panama vacation. Personally I love to vacation  at all inclusive resorts. The cost seems prohibitive when making the reservation, but when you are there you never have to reach into your pocket for money. I am not going to review our resort other than to say it is nice and we are being well cared for. It is the rainy season here in Panama and the resort is less than 1/3 capacity. We relaxed by the pool most of the day yesterday and it sprinkled for about 2 hours in mid afternoon.

Our resort is close enough to the Panama Canal that we are watching the huge ships line up for miles to await passage. I am impressed by the engineering of this great wonder. On Saturday we will be taking a full passage tour of the canal. I am excited to share what I learn on that trip. I am planning to also share some video and fun facts about the canal. If I Google Panama Canal I get Wikipedia telling me it is about 48 miles long. I am not a big fan of Wikipedia so I will refrain from just regurgitating what it says there in favor of waiting until I can see for myself how it works.

Tomorrow we are planning a trip to Coronado to look for a place to spend part of the winter. Coronado is about 1 1/2 hours west of Panama City on the Pacific ocean. We chose to look there because it is closer to where we think we may ultimately want to live. There are also entire communities of English speaking people. We are working on our Spanish language skills, however we realize that it is a slow process. It is important to the Panamanian people that we try to speak a little Spanish. Our server at dinner last night was very appreciative when I ordered in Spanish. She helped me when I struggled for a word for something, and complimented my effort. I have found at this resort there are many employees who speak no English. I encountered 1 employee yesterday who spoke about as much English as I spoke Spanish. He wanted to have a conversation with me in English so he could work on his English skills. It was amazing, to me, how well we could understand one another. Kudos to you Vladimir! You are a great asset to this resort. While we are in Panama this winter we will be traveling around the interior where there will be less people who speak English so we know that our ability to communicate in Spanish is a must.

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The Vacation Countdown Continues

With only 13 days to our vacation in Panama I must apologize for my lack of posts over the past 2 weeks. It turns out that hurricane Irma had different plans for me. I took a trip to Florida to spend some time with my dad who has been hospitalized, and ended up evacuating him to safety from a category 5 hurricane that made a direct hit just north of his home in Florida. During the horrible ordeal we were ultimately safe, but had no internet, TV, or proper healthcare for him. The moral of the story is one of the biggest attractions Panama has for a permanent retirement home, in my opinion, is that there is no risk of being in the path of a hurricane there.  In Panama I will never have to install hurricane shutters again.

Jen and I have both got our clear FBI reports for our visa’s. That process is continuing, and we are gathering the other documentation so that all will be ready for our extended trip in February.  We have also finalized arrangements for a driver/guide to deliver us to Coronado where we are promised a variety of rentals to select from for our stay this winter. We have our reservations for the Panama Canal trip and our excitement is building by the day.

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