The Panama Adventure

The Mountains Above Boquete

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

We’re at the Boquete Tree Trek in the mountains above Boquete at about 5500 feet. When we bought this Oferta Simple (like a Groupon) I didn’t exactly know where we were going to end up. We drove to Boquete, and then farther up the road, and farther up, and up, and up until we found our destination. We got out of the car and looked back, and were amazed.

This is the view from our cabin!

I knew we kept climbing as we drove here but didn’t realize how high until I looked out over the valley, That is Volcan Baru in the distance, the highest point in Panama – 11,398 feet.

I think that might be a zip line. The power is generated by hydroelectric on site so there shouldn’t be power lines up here.

The sunset colors the clouds behind and the low clouds roll through in front of Volcan Baru.

A zoomed in look at the top of Volcan Baru with the communication towers on top, and the sunset colors behind.

Looking down into the valleys through the clouds looks almost unreal.

The sunset fades, the wind continues to blow, and more and more clouds roll through.

It’s hard to believe we were just in David where these summer season days are around 90 degrees. It’s a different world up here. Right now it’s very chilly (it was in the low 50’s before sunset), the wind is howling around the cabin, and a light rain/mist is falling.

Tomorrow I will definitely be out there with my camera! We also have a tour of a coffee farm planned in the afternoon which should be interesting.

I’ll end for now with this short video of the clouds rolling through.

Posted in Exploring Panama, Exploring the Area, Panama, photography, sunsets | Tagged Boquete, Boquete Tree Trek, Chiriqui, Panama, sunset, Tree Trek, Volcan Baru | 14 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Family

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: Family

THIS WEEK, IN A POST CREATED SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO SHOWING FAMILY.

Growing up disconnected from my roots, I have learned to make my own family wherever I go. These photos are not new on the blog but they are the people who, to me, feel like my family at this moment in my life. How lucky am I to have all these people in my extended family!

These are only a few members of my family of fellow bloggers – Holly (left) of Let The Adventure Begin, and Connie (center) of Our Third Life – Pedasi, Panama. The photo was taken on a visit to Boquete.

Part of the family of Yaira, my Spanish teacher, who have made me feel welcomed into their family. This photo was taken on Christmas day.

Some of the members of Cedo’s family, my friend and neighbor who also welcomed me into her family. This photo was taken on Christmas Eve.

My good friend Hydeé and her family with Joel who, of course, is the most important and most permanent member of my family. This photo was also taken on Christmas Eve.

I couldn’t write about family without including my grandson who is family in the more traditional sense because we also share the same blood line, along with his mother and my other daughter. I am so fortunate that my relationships with the people who are family because of birth are also so full of love and happiness. This photo was taken by his mother, my daughter.

Posted in Panama, Photo Challenge | Tagged Family Weekly Photo Challenge, Panama, postaday, Weekly Photo Challenge | 4 Comments

Produce in Chiriqui Province, Panama

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

People ask me about fruits and vegetables here. We’re very lucky to live in Chiriqui Province where most of the produce is grown. We have fresh fruits and vegetables available every day, and it’s very inexpensive if you buy it from one of the produce markets or a street vendor. We are lucky to have a market just down the street, and we enjoy visiting our friends who work there.

I went Saturday and this is what I brought back

A head of broccoli, two small heads of cauliflower, 4 cucumbers, 8 bananas, small bag of carrots, good size bag of roma tomatoes, a head of cabbage, a papaya, a watermelon, a green pepper, a bunch of celery, 4 chayote (a delicious squash like vegetable) and 2 pineapples – $19.00.

Food here is grown for taste, not looks or shelf life so it tastes really good. I feel better here and I really believe the fresh produce at every meal is a big part of that. One day we realized we had no idea what happened to our can opener or how long it had been missing because we use it so rarely.

So, short answer, yes, we have great produce in this area.

Posted in food, fruit, Panama | Tagged Chiriqui, cost of food, fruits, Panama, vegetables | 33 Comments

Gigantic Lemons!

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

There’s always something new around here. When we went to the new spot on the river, we passed a tree that was dropping big yellow citrus fruits on the ground. They were bigger than grapefruit. I thought maybe they were pomelos, but they didn’t quite look like that either. But, we figured we take one home, open it, and see what was inside.

The tree is in someone’s yard but a good part of it hangs over the wall and the fruit is falling on the ground unused.

I’ve been going by every day to pick up the fresh yellow fruits for myself or to give away.

Yes, they are big!

The neighbors, seeing what we had, informed us that they were lemons, a variety with a sweet skin that you can also eat. I took the fruit home, cut it open, and was greeted with a beautiful lemon smell. When given lemons what do you do? Lemonade, of course! These made a wonderfully refreshing and slightly tart lemonade that I really love. The skin is also quite edible. I wouldn’t call it sweet but there is none of the bitterness usually found in citrus skin.

The bigger one is about 5 1/2 inches across.

I put my cell phone in the photo for some perspective.

Fresh lemonade, a great drink for a warm afternoon.

I have saved some seeds so maybe I can get some to grow. I really like these lemons and wouldn’t mind a tree of my own. The closest thing I can find on line is the Ponderosa lemon, though of course if it is the same variety it has a different Spanish name here. Nothing I found about the ponderosa though said the skin is edible, and it doesn’t look quite the same. It would be nice if it is though because they supposedly fruit all year.

Posted in fruit, Panama | Tagged Citrus, Fruit, lemonade, lemons | 11 Comments

Boquete Flower and Coffee Fair

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

I’ve been too busy doing things to write about them! Thursday we went up to the Flower and Coffee Fair in Boquete, or Feria de las Flores y el Café. I think the flower and coffee theme was just a good excuse to put on a fair with all kinds of fun and interesting things, but the flowers sure were beautiful too.

Cedo came with us, the neighbor who invited us for dinner on Christmas Eve night with all her family. Our friend Holly of the Let The Adventure Begin blog met us there. We also saw Cindy of the Chapter 3 – Retirement in Panama blog (check out her post about the fair).

I’m glad we went. It was a fun day and the weather was perfect. I enjoyed seeing everything and sharing a nice time with good people.

The flowers were gorgeous!

Cedo stopped on the bridge to snap some photos of the flowers and fair grounds below.

The view of the river and mountains beyond from the bridge is really pretty.

Outside the fair were some animals for rides and photos.

Joel, Holly, and Cedo walk through the flowers.

The building had many vendors selling lots of pretty things.

There were many places along the path with food and merchandise for sale.

There were also a lot of beautiful flowers for sale. I had a hard time resisting them! (but bringing home new plants in the dry season probably isn’t the best idea)

Joel even had his own snack bar!

There were many areas of full of beautiful flowers.

A mom was taking photos of her little girl in traditional dress while some boys, also in traditional dress, look on.

There was a large food area, and beyond that were the stages for music and dancing which goes on well into the night.

We saw an amusement park for kids in the distance.

More vendors and places to visit along the walkway.

People were getting photos taken in front of this interesting sculpture.

So many flowers!

Boquete is a small town so it gets very congested during big events like this. But, we went on a weekday afternoon and didn’t have any trouble parking or making our way through town. I’d definitely go back again another year.

Posted in culture, Exploring the Area, Flowers, Panama | Tagged Boquete, Feria, Feria de las Flores y el Café, Flower and Coffee Fair, Panama | 5 Comments

An Interesting Spider

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

More crawly things, I know, but there are just too many interesting bugs and spiders around here.

I picked my first crop of guandu, and when I brought the bucket to the table to shell them this crawled out.

When it was uneasy, it hunkered down like this all stretched out like a little twig.

After a while it crawled down from the bucket and hung out under the power cord of my computer.

Later it decided to crawl up the side of the plastic bottle I had on the table for my iced tea.

Then, it went up the plant which is actually only a couple fat green sticks. It was rescued from the trash but my friend says it is going to grow into something good.

It hunkered down on the underside of the plant. By now I was thinking this might be a sort of spider.

Time passed, it got dark, it spun a few threads on the plant which happens to be next to the lamp. This was good luck for the spider who quickly caught a bug.

When I left at the end of the evening the spider was hanging out on the underside of this brown tendril. This morning it was nowhere to be seen so it apparently moved on during the night.

While we are on the subject of spiders, this pretty one spun a web in the potted plants.

One morning I noticed this really cool, and quite large bug on leaf outside the window.

OK, I think I am done with the bugs for the moment, but I’m sure there will be more later.

Posted in insects, Panama, photography | Tagged Chiriqui, David, insects, Panama, Spider | 6 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Window

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: Window

THIS WEEK, IN A POST CREATED SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO WITH A WINDOW. You can interpret it however you’d like, and I think there are many possibilities here.

I didn’t feel like looking through a window, but rather at a window and the reflections.

Posted in Photo Challenge, photography | Tagged photography, postaday | 5 Comments

A New Spot at the River

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

There is a large space next to our neighborhood ready for houses, and the other day my neighbor and I went there to hunt for stones to build fountains. I also discovered that there is a road down to the river. So, of course, I had to go back with my camera and explore a bit.

The area has roads and drainage laid out, and one house has been started. We learned that the whole area is owned by one family and the family members are all going to build their houses here.

This road heads down to the river.

There are some ruts but it’s definitely easier to walk down than the other rocky pathways we have found.

Next to the road is a deep gully that has probably been carved out by many years of rain water running down to the river.

At the bottom of the road is a really interesting tree!

I like this tree branch covered with pretty little bromiliads.

Joel walking on the river bank.

Joel walking IN the river! It was a warm day and the water was wonderfully cool.

The water swirls around some rocks up stream.

Pretty scene looking down stream.

The water sparkles in the sunlight.

The water was beautifully clear.

There were lots of tadpoles.

There were also some tiny frogs just emerging from the water.

Tiny fish swim around the rocks.

This pool of water in the rocks was full of bright green algae.

The sun was bright so I retreated to the shade to snap a couple final photos.

I never get tired of going to the river!

It’s fun to find a new spot by the river. I still love the area near our house with the big rock the best though. I should go back to this new spot again when the sun is lower in the sky to explore more and take some better photos. I love the river and it’s always beautiful wherever and whenever you go.

Posted in Exploring the Area, Panama, photography, the River | Tagged Chiriqui Province, nature, Panama, photography, river | 10 Comments

Bloggers Fun Day Out in Boquete!

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Our friends Connie (Our Third Life – Pedasi) and Mikkel from Pedasi came to David to do a few things, and figured while they were here they would go to the Tuesday market in Boquete. Since Holly (Let the Adventure Begin) was going to be working at the market, we all had the opportunity to get together!

That’s Holly on the left (her right), Connie in the middle, and me on the right.

It’s always fun when you get the chance to spend time in person with someone you follow and get to know on line.

I was surprised at how busy it was at the market. The place was packed when we arrived. We also saw some other friends we didn’t expect to run into, and were introduced to some new friends. I was happy to see Lynn of the Rambala Lodge too. I enjoy following her adventures on Facebook and we are looking forward to visiting the lodge again in the near future.

The crowd was starting to thin by the time we left but as you can see, there were still a lot of people enjoying the company and looking at all the interesting things for sale.

The crowd was starting to thin by the time we left but as you can see, there were still a lot of people socializing and looking at all the interesting things for sale.

When I started blogging I had no idea how much it would add to my life, and how many new friends I would make because of it!

Posted in expat, expatriate, Exploring the Area, Miscellaneous, Panama | Tagged Bloggers, Boquete, expat community | 13 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Beginning

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: Beginning

This week’s theme might be obvious, but I couldn’t help it — it’s a simple and common word, yet can evoke very powerful, emotional images. Let’s see beginning through your lens!

Beginning? That sounds easy enough but the more I planned this photo challenge, the more I realized that my beginnings were actually just points in a cycle.

It started with some seeds, a gift from my neighbor. They grew into very nice plants.

The plants started budding and then flowers emerged.

More and more flowers appeared.

Then, the pea pods grew and started to fill out.

Then, this week, I had my first guandu! These are the seeds, or at least some of them will be. We will eat the rest.

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It all started with the wonderful papayas I love. I tossed the seeds and peels in the yard for the birds and iguanas. Later, many of the seeds sprouted. This is the biggest plant.

Then, I noticed there were flowers on the plant. But, each flower only bloomed and fell, leaving nothing behind.

This week though, I saw some little fruits!

The plant continues to flower, so hopefully fruits will continue to form.

Seeds –> Plants –> Flowers –> Fruit –> Seeds — and so it goes. Papayas are very popular with the birds so hopefully they will leave some for me. I have six good looking guandu plants though and expect to have guandu for months to come. Some of them will be saved for seeds to begin it all again next year.

By the way, guandu are pigeon peas. I’d hardly heard of them in the US but they are extremely popular here. They come in green, green with speckles, and black. According to my neighbor the black ones have the best flavor.