Before we moved, people asked us – “When you are retired, what are you going to DO all day??” Ha! Not a problem. We find plenty to do, and most of it is more fun than working.
Wednesday we went out with our friends Cindy and David to look at houses under construction. This turned out to be very interesting, especially since we are seriously thinking of building something ourselves at some point. One neighborhood had some really nice places and a lot of good ideas. There were houses at every stage of construction, and the workers were happy to talk with us and let us look around. The other neighborhood showed us some things that we didn’t want to do, which is also helpful. Since we were west of town, we figured we may as well have lunch at Gringos, stop by PriceMart, and the supermarket, so we made quite a day of it.
We came home to an email from another blog friend who had just arrived in town. We had been emailing for awhile, and were looking forward to meeting in person! We had time to drive around town a little, do a little shopping, and make it to our house before it started to pour. But, the rain always eases up eventually, which it did in time for us to go out for a nice dinner at El Fagon.
Thursday was the new bank account day. Since Jerry was going to Boquete, we could just bring him along. Everything was ready at the bank so how long could it take? Ha! (2+ hours) Thankfully Jerry is a very patient man and used the time to drink coffee nearby, people watch, and get a feel for life in the Boquete area. Again, it rained, but cleared up nicely by the time we were done so we could go out for a really good lunch at Mike’s Global. Cindy and David were in Boquete so they also stopped by, and good luck for Jerry that they were planning a BBQ that evening and he could spend more time with some Boquete folks (and get more experience with the rainy season!)
Jerry returned to David on Friday. It was a nice day (without rain, for a change) for some walking and shopping in the downtown area, visits to Chambres en Ville and the Bambu Hostel (but the owners, our friends, weren’t in at either place), and a little more driving around town. Then, after a bit of relaxing at the house, we had an excellent dinner at Mosto Bistro.
The weekend was spent doing some chores. Yes, we may be retired but we still have to do laundry, clean house, and all those mundane things. I also sorted through some photos, posted a couple things on the blog, studied some Spanish, visited the neighbors, and started getting organized for our upcoming trip to the US. Sunday evening we decided to relax with some TV but it was raining so hard we could hardly hear the TV!
Today (Monday), we got a new license plate for the car to replace one that is expiring at the end of the month. This is an experience for another blog post, so stand by. It was also dry today so I could ride my bicycle after we got home.
So, if you wonder what we do all day, now you have some idea. The most fun part though, definitely, was spending time with good friends!
The Panama Adventure 
The last thing I want to think, when lying on my death bed, is: geez, I wish I’d worked more weekends!
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For sure! I’ve heard something similar – who on their death bed says “I wish I’d spent more time at the office”? I’m thankful that I did have good work, but I don’t think I need any more of it.
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I want to slide sideways into the grave with a martini in one hand, a cigar in the others, all the credit cards maxed out and my last words are: “Man, what a ride…”
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YES!! Excellent philosophy, IMO 🙂
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I agree, the days rush by so fast when we’re doing all of our “nothing” that everybody thought we would be doing. The best days are when we visit with friends or really just do “nothing”. 🙂
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I am happier when I am with people and/or a bit busy some of the time, but what luxury to take as much “nothing” time as I want!
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We wonder the same thing — how DID we ever find time to work?? The answer of course, is that’s ALL we did! My oldest son in particular always wants to know if we are bored yet, um nope, doesn’t look like that will be happening anytime soon. The difference is that now we fill our days with more of what we want to do. 🙂 Of course, like indacampo, we love our “nothing” days, and make sure we get one or two of those every week!
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Yes, you’re right, we didn’t have the time to do many of the things we now choose to do. And, we learned to pack a lot more into every day. I don’t think I’d have the energy to keep my my former pace much longer and a “nothing” day was an amazing luxury.
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My daughter and I say this ALL THE TIME!!! how on earth do people with jobs have any life?!? I was married and pregnant by 21, stayed-at-home with the kids and worked a few part time jobs but very irregularly and never for any appreciable length of time. In the past 15yrs I haven’t worked at all, but seriously EVERY day is jam packed!
Whenever I see professional women with families, I have the utmost respect for them and how they manage their time. I often wonder if I should have worked or if I missed out on something by not working. I guess I’ll never know the answer to that, but I do know this post resonated with me!
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I know. I am concerned for my professional daughters and wonder how they are going to manage it all. I know people do it all the time, as did I, but it’s not easy and you never feel like you are giving any aspect of your life all it deserves.
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Having a car as you do it’s easy to hop in and go some place new. The down side is that the driver doesn’t get to see all the sights since they have to pay attention to all the hazards of the road which includes all the other drivers on the road who generally don’t have a clue. Here’s something I like to do every now and then. Go to the bus terminal and just get on one. Doesn’t matter which one. Just get on and see where it ends up. At the end of the line if there’s anything interesting get off and walk around a bit and then go back home. And it’s a LOT cheaper considering the cost of gas down here.
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I like that idea! The buses here are good, and I enjoy letting someone else do the driving.
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OMG, you have a TV! loz who has time for that?
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I’m retired. I have time for whatever I want! 😀 We’ve been streaming Netflix, and watch an episode of a TV show over dinner, nice way to relax a bit in the evening.
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I know, but honey ya really look way too young and vibrant for that! My net sux, so Netflix is not so good. But the DVD’s are great!
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Thanks! Do you get DVD’s from Netflix? How does that work? Our mail here is too slow and expensive, so we figured streaming is the way to go.
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No, they are from home. But here they sell pirated stuff on the street for 50 pesos each. There’s only a shortage of chick flix. It’s all boy driven action
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No, they are from home. But here they sell pirated stuff on the street for 50 pesos each. There’s only a shortage of chick flix. It’s all boy driven action
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Ahh ok. I haven’t seen that here, but I haven’t looked either. We do have a Blockbuster down the street though!
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would love a bb
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