The weather seems crazy everywhere. Well most everywhere. Seems there are monsoons and floods back home in the Pacific Northwest. Many other parts of the States appear to be having very unseasonably warm temps. I have a strong hunch those areas will pay for that warm weather real soon and it may be harsh.

Here in Panama, well, it is pretty much always the same. We have been here officially just over 6 months. We arrived in the ‘Rainy Season’ and now we are in the ‘Dry Season’. Well you could have fooled us. We do not see much of a difference at all. Most always, we have sunny and very warm weather with the occasional overcast day or morning. Once in a big while we will get some welcome rain. The cloudy/overcast and rain are actually a pleasure as they give a break to the daily monotony of the sun/heat. Never thought I would be saying the sun is monotonous! There does seem to be a seasonal difference here if we were to go inland just a little and up in the hills but for us, we want the beach and beautiful sunshine.

Below you will find some pictures of Christmas time in Panama. People do put up trees and decorations, lights, etc…all the traditional type things we are used to. We even saw tins of Fruit Cake in the grocery.

In a few days we are embarking on another trip. We are headed to Florida for Christmas. We will get to see Lisa (it has been over a year) and our parents. We are really looking forward to the trip. Since Katie and Sean left things have been pretty melodramatic while we waited for this next adventure.

So what else is new? Well have you ever seen fish mating? It is not that it was on our bucket list but if it was we could cross it off. As some of you know, we are on the 23rd floor just below the rooftop pool. This is quite a ways up from the beach, people are pretty small down there. Well one day I was looking down and saw what looked like one large fish with another in its mouth about 25 feet from the shore. I noticed them since there seemed to be a lot of white color in the water.

The more I looked the more I realized that these must be pretty damn big fish if I was able to see them from 23 floors up and under water. I grabbed my binoculars and called Denise over to see if she wanted to see a big fish ‘eating’ another. What we found is that these were pretty big sharks. I would estimate they were probably at least 6′ and possibly 12′ foot or more. One shark was turned upside down, thus the white belly showing.

Doing some research I found that the male shark will secure the female by bitting down on a forward fin and then push her into something like a sandy bottom for leverage. Shark mating is actually quite interesting.It seem that this is a very uncommon thing to see with many researches going years before they ever witness such an act. Click this link to see a youtube video. It is pretty much exactly what we saw.

Sharks mating

A shark attack in the waters off Panama seems very rare. No one I have talked with has ever heard of one and I have not read of any either buutttt…..we have not been out in the ocean a whole lot since. The beach and swimming pools seem just fine. Lots of other folks, though, continue to play in the water. When Sean and Katie visited we went paddle boarding. I, ah, kind of waited to tell them about what we saw AFTER we were done in the water.

While here, since we pretty much have happy hour 7 days a week, I have been sampling (ok imbibing) in different types of adult beverages and different brands. I have tried a lot of Rums but there are so many here it is hard to make a dent. I still like Malibu Coconut with Pineapple Juice along with maybe some Mt. Gay mixed in but I still want to try the more local favorites.

I have had the different local beers (Panama, Balboa, Atlas). These cost from .50-.64 cents each at the store. I like Panama Light the best. With the wines, we have found that for our daily use, where quantity is a factor and not just quality, the local box wine called Clos is actually quite good. For everyday use we try not to spend more than $15 for a bottle of wine. Clos costs us $3.40 for a liter box and cheaper for the 2 liter. It is quite a bargain. We like the Cabernet. For white, we still like the Beringer White Zin at about $5.35/bottle. Most all wine is drank chilled here.

My go to drink has become Scotch on the Rocks. I can get almost any bourbon or whiskey I would want but bourbon and some whiskeys are pretty pricey. So far my favorite Scotch is called Passport. I think it is very similar to Jameson – very smooth and easy to sip. I just tried Vat 69 (Band of Brothers fame) and though very drinkable it is not as smooth as Passport. I am wondering if someone can do me a favor and let me know what a bottle of Passport goes for in your area/currency as a comparison. Try it and let me know what you think.

Our trip to Florida is timely as we need new bathing suits, shorts, maybe a couple beach shirts, and some new flip flops. I blew out my flip flops about a week ago. I guess they did pretty good since I wear them every day and they lasted a good 7 months. The sun and chemicals are hard on the elastic on swim suits which we also pretty much wear everyday. I guess we will be doing our own Christmas shopping. We can get the stuff in Panama but it will be good to shop back in the USA in familiar confines.

Enjoy the pictures, let me know if you want to know anything specific about Panama or beach living or not working or daily happy hours or …. Remember all comments and experiences are my own so I can say what I want.

Merry Christmas

RB

 

Christmas in Panama