Category: Panama

I have heard this a number of times now. A couple times from those back home who have stayed in contact and also from those other ex-pats that were here before us. The other ex-pats know the answer but ask anyway? We have been here for about 2.5 semanas (weeks). To me this is way too short of time to make any kind of judgment but yes there are impressions. First of all, anyone who thinks that somewhere else is just what was expected just hasn’t done much traveling, especially to different countries/cultures.

So far there are things that are great and there are things that are challenging. It is a different country; of course it will be different. Different customs, expectations, foods, languages, manners, food labels, driving habits, availability to items, etc… These are negatives, yes often frustrations, but mostly are just differences that should be expected when being in a different country.

We have chosen to start our adventure in a very specific area. The Playa Coronado area was/is an area where the ‘well-off’ from the city would have second homes or come for a weekend or holiday visit to be at the beach. There are a number of great homes as well as resorts/resort condos that have sprung up offering a great attraction to non-locals as well.

There are some very fancy estates in this area. As we walk down the beach we see some very high-end haciendas. They are well taken care of. We also see some that appear to have once been hi-end but seem to have been abandoned or at least left alone until high season comes. There is one place that reminds me of the large house/mansion seen in the movie Jumanji after the game is well underway and vines invade the home. There is also a real big fancy estate that some have said must be owned by some Columbian Drug Lord since there is hardly anyone there and it is kept real nice. Someone told me they saw guys walking around this estate with machine guns guarding it. Well I have been watching as we walk by as well as admiring the handwork of the structure. Yesterday I actually did see someone on one of the patios that appeared to have something resembling a gun over their shoulder. Humm, yes the imagination does begin to flow. Well today I saw another person with a gun across their shoulder on a patio near the beach. They came out of the shadow and leaned on the rail. I was clearly able to see the police/security uniform and badge. Well, so much for imagination. The place must be owned by someone well to do desiring protection or maybe a politician from the city. He returned my wave and I continued on. Remember this is the low-season-everyone abandons Florida also during low-season.

The beach is great. Everyday it changes with the tides. Sand comes and sand goes. What is unique here is the make-up of the sand. Some is regular sand and some is negra (black). I mean really negra. At first it almost looks oil soaked but it is very soft fine black sand from the ancient volcanoes that once formed this area. Most of the sand is like fine sifted powder. We have very small shells we see on our beach walks. Denise even found a full sand dollar, the only one we have seen so far. She has also found some sea glass. She likes collecting some shells and glass.

So is it what we expected? No, never thought it would be. We really like where we are staying. We have met a number of real nice folks. Seems to be a lot of people from Canadia (hey) as well as Texas. Monday night was an impromptu pot-luck on the roof top deck with about 2 dozen folks. There is a nightly happy hour on the roof for who ever shows up. There is a Wednesday night happy hour for the ex-pats at a place called Picassos that is a 5 minute walk away. We are adjusting, trying to learn the language/culture, trying to learn how to get around without a car, trying to get good exercise, and most of all trying to be patient. Patient with each other, our selves, and those who do not hablo Ingles as it never is what you expect it to be! Wouldn’t that be boring?

These blog posts are my random thoughts and experiences. Feel free to comment/reply. Let me know if seeing this stuff is worth your time or if I should just be rambling to myself.

Adios!

It is the start of day 4 at Playa Coronado, Coronado Bay, Panama. We left Florida on Memorial Day morning. We were held up in Miami as the plane had mechanical failures. The APU failed before take off. The key word is ‘before’. It was great to visit with Aunt Rita and Uncle Danny as well as being able have a number of visits with my mom. She looked great and is getting around better now than she has in a long time. Keep it up mom – I love you!

Denise’s folks were true saints putting up with Denise and I, OK mostly me, for a month’s stay. Thanks so much and we enjoyed visiting and the chance to acclimate to the hot weather. We arrived in Panama where we had previously decided to have a private driver pick us up vs navigating the bus or taxis on this first trip. The delay of the flight caused us to hit rush hour so we got to experience the somewhat unique driving habits of Panamanians. We had to go right through the city. It has been growing very fast for years and there still was construction/building almost everywhere we looked. We saw a lot of very modern buildings, old historical buildings, some well to do areas and some not so well to do areas. Bottom line is we made it, met with the realtor who took us to our Condo building and unit.

We have a 2 bedroom unit that has both an ocean and mountain view. The facility is top notch – 3 pools with one being on the roof top, a heliport (forgot to pack my copter), nice fitness facility, a game room, and a beautiful beach fronting the whole place.

We are about 2 miles from the main road (PanAmerican Highway) where all the banks, groceries, shopping for the area are located. Some folks have cars but there are also buses (.30 each) and Taxi’s ($2). On the first day we knew we needed to get some groceries. The condo was stocked well with most stuff we needed except food. About a ¼ mile away there is a little Mercado (market) that we got some coffee and cream. Kind of the local 7-11 but priced lower just like the big grocery store.

Not knowing where to get a taxi or where to pick up a bus or even ask for one, we figured we would walk the 2 miles to get some staples and get a taxi back. It was a long and warm walk but we made it. About ¼ mile left some woman pulled over and offered us a ride. We have tried to take the bus numerous times but so far each time someone has stopped and offered us a ride. The grocery is a modern 24/7 supermarket with just about everything you would need. There are actually 4 large groceries within 100 yards of each other at this intersection. One is called Machetazo and is 3 floors and is something like a super Walmart, has everything from housewares, cloths and food, etc.. except I would say it may be a step up from Walmart, at least the Walmarts we are used to. We got our initial basics and navigated the taxi and made it back to the unit just after lunch time.

One thing you find in Panama are places called Fondas, no not the Jane type. From what we can tell, a Fonda is a small, usually family run ‘restaurant’ most often on the roadside and/or out of the front of their home. We have a Fonda about 50-100 yards up the road from our building. We were told these are usually good, very low cost, and supports the locals. On this first full day, after our groceries were put away, we thought we would be ‘brave’ and try it. We walked in and there were a few tables, a counter and 3 items on the chalkboards behind the counter – Eggs, sausage, toast for breakfast or some form of chicken, rice, beans for lunch. You could also get a soup of the day, that is usually chicken, rice and some kind of broth. Today the lunch was chicken with a red sauce and the rice/beans. We were pleasantly surprised as it was not only good but a nice serving. Maybe even the better part, the full lunch for two was $7. Btw…breakfast is $3. Same price every day for what ever they post on the board. Since then we have been back for a breakfast and another lunch, very convenient for a mid-day meal. We have found that we are eating way way less with the activity and the weather. Many times a small breakfast and a mid-afternoon lunch is more than enough for the day with maybe a small snack in the evening. Last night we had pineapple that just melted in our mouths, so sweet!

So back to our first day and ‘brave’ lunch in the local Fonda. As we are sitting there waiting for our food a guy walks up that looks something like Jimmy Buffet (mostly bald on top, white hair on sides, shorts, flip flops and t-shirt). On his t-shirt was a big Gamecock from USC where Lisa graduated. So we were quickly talking and found he is from Charleston, SC, has been here a month, lives in our building, and just signed a long -term lease. He is here until he feels he wants to leave – kinda like us. Well Buz invited us to a daily 5ish PM happy hour poolside on the roof top with some other folks that happen to show up – BYOB. Oh did I mention that local beer is about .45-.55/can! So we have attended 2 of these in the 3 days and have met a young couple from Canada who are here for good, a couple from Texas who after a month returned to Texas this morning, a couple from Illinois, and another couple from Iforget. Fun folks.

We went to another Happy Hour at a local hang out called Picassos. Wednesday night is the usual 5PM hangout for ex-pats (that is what they call folks living in a country who are not from the country – nicer than Gringo). Met a bunch of other folks but it was a bit much for us, like drinking from a fire hose. Everyone though is more than happy to share their knowledge and experiences of being here.

We have done more shopping mostly for more groceries and a crock-pot and just to find out what is where. We are trying to get in a routine of an early morning hour walk on the beach, a short work out in the gym, then coffee and breakfast, then whatever might interest us for the day. Denise is great at the beach. When she comes across some nice shells, she is like a kid in a candy store, gathering up her delicate booty! Next week we will start looking for a long-term place but we are really liking being here, guess we will see what happens.

Well today it is now 10:40 and we have made it through sleeping in, breakfast/coffee and Denise threw some chicken and beans in the crock-pot. I guess we soon will see what today brings – what-ever day it is? Here are some more pics we hope you enjoy.

Comments and feedback are welcome – stay in touch!