The Panama Adventure

Christmas Lights in Panama

Posted on December 25, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

I’ve always liked the holiday lights. It’s a dark time of year and the lights brighten things up. Panama is close to the equator so the length of the days changes very little, but I still enjoy the lights. So, we went and snapped a few photos.

The house of some friends down the street with a pretty nativity scene in the carport.

Ribbons and garlands are used outdoors on many houses.

I like the lights in this pretty summer flower garden.

It is very common to see front doors left open when people are home. It’s even done on busy streets. House after house will have whole families watching TV or doing whatever they do in the evenings with all their front doors wide open.

More garlands and ribbons.

It’s pretty how they put their lights around the edging.

Another pretty house.

So pretty!

There is a cul-de-sac with three large houses that went all out with the lights and decorations!

These folks had SO many lights and decorations!

Just Another Day in Panama

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

We’ve decided to stay home for a little while so we’ve been relaxing, puttering around the house, riding the bikes, and not doing much new. But, of course, that doesn’t mean an ordinary day is uninteresting!

Summer is beginning and the baby iguanas are out and about. This one must have recently shed its skin because there were a few flakes still clinging. This iguana was in the carport, but the other day one wandered into the house and Joel had to chase him out.

The day before yesterday we could just see the top of Vulcan Baru peeking through the clouds.

Yesterday we rode our bikes down to check on the overpass project. We found the PanAmerican Highway blocked off because they were placing the beams in the section over the highway. It’s really interesting to watch them work!

Yesterday was another gorgeous day, and another wonderful view of Volcan Baru.

We continue to enjoy the visitors to the bird feeder. These little blue-gray tanagers visit quite often.

Our neighbor trimmed her trees severely but it has given us a view of this bare tree beyond that is visited by a lot of really interesting birds. This gray hawk has been there quite often, and one day there were two of them.

These crested oropendulas visit the bare tree frequently as well. I love watching a male do his display.

A paisana (chacalaca) is perched on the orange tree.

The blue-crowned motmots also visit frequently.

Of course there will be bugs too! We found this one on the back door when we came home.

This really interesting and fairly large bug was on the gate to the patio.

This gorgeous spider has been living in our lipstick palm near the front door. Yesterday he apparently has caught something and had it all wrapped up in silk.

My guandu (pigeon peas) have finally started to flower! It’s a Christmas tradition here to have rice and guandu. But, because of this, guandu is expensive now so many people grow their own. My friend and neighbor gave me some seeds and they have done well. I think they are pretty plants with beautiful flowers, and the peas taste good too.

My ginger plant has put up its first flower, a rather strange knob on a stick but with these pretty petals on the top.

Someone gave us a cutting of these pretty flowers which we managed to root and get growing. Yesterday I discovered that the little black bees like them.

Later in the day we went to Boquete for a holiday party hosted by a fellow blogger (http://tombseekers.wordpress.com). It was a gorgeous day so the drive up was such a pleasure. The photos were taken from the car but hopefully you can see a little of how beautiful it was, especially the great clouds over the mountains.

This mountain was covered with a white misty cloud like a pillow. It looked almost surreal.

As we got close to town we could see rainbow colors in the clouds ahead.

When we arrived at our friends’ house for the party, there was a bright rainbow above the roof.

It has to be a good day when you see a rainbow like this?!

Today it’s warm, sunny, and breezy. I’m off to do some things in the yard. (Maybe I’ll see more interesting bugs.) Later we’re going for a walk to look at the Christmas lights. Even when it looks like we’re not doing anything we are having a very good time.

Posted in bird watching, Exploring the Area, Panama, photography | Tagged Boquete, Chiriqui, David, photography, Volcan Baru | 8 Comments

The Top Ten Questions about Living in Panama

I tried to choose the questions that I get asked the most and the topics that get the most blog traffic. If you think the article is useful, leave me a comment (10 words or more). While you’re there, also click on the Facebook like and other share buttons at the bottom of the article. Thanks!

Tagged competition, EspatsBlog, Expats blog, Top ten, Top Ten questions | 6 Comments

Breadfruit – Fruta del Pan

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

I have admired a beautiful tree in our neighborhood for quite some time now. A while ago, it started making some sort of fruit. I started to wonder if it was a breadfruit. A bit of research told me that yes indeed, it’s a breadfruit tree and a bit more research led me to many recipes for breadfruit. I asked my neighbor when the fruit is ready to eat, and she told me when it falls on the ground. I kept watch on it until there was fruit on the ground but what I found was a mushy mess, nothing that looked like something good to eat. So, she went with me one day and I learned it is not the fruit, but the seeds/nuts IN the fruit that are good to eat!

It’s a beautiful tree!

The leaves are very large.

One day an odd looking fruit appeared.

Soon the tree was covered with fruit!

What is this new fruit??

I don’t know if this is a different type of breadfruit, or if the recipes I found are for a less mature fruit, before the large seeds form. But, I did learn that it’s worth a trip to the breadfruit tree for the seeds! I like them. They remind me of chestnuts.

The instructions are – pick up the fruits from the ground looking for the greener, fresher ones. If the fruit is old and the seeds have turned dark brown, they won’t be good. Separate the seeds from the fruit pulp and wash them. Then, put them in the pressure cooker with water and lots and lots of salt. Cook for 30 minutes (after the cooker comes to full pressure). Cool, peel, and eat! They have a hard brown shell like a chestnut, and an inner brown skin that seems fine to eat if you want to.

Today I had an added bonus. I left the fruit pulp in my garden bucket and it was visited by an owl butterfly. I have now put the pulp on the compost pile but this very large and beautiful butterfly is still flying around here wondering where the bucket went.

Yum, fruit pulp!

A more dignified photo of the butterfly on the tree.

There always seems to be something new and interesting around here! I am curious about the breadfruit I found on line though which appears to be a starchy fruit which can be seasoned and fried, or cooked according to a large variety of recipes.

Posted in food, fruit, Panama | Tagged breadfruit, fruta del pan | 6 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Grand

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: Grand

Grand. for this week’s challenge, we want you to consider not just the size of something, but also that special element: the “wow factor” of a scene or subject that makes a picture so stunning. That magical quality you’re always out looking for and so excited to capture with your camera. We want to see your interpretation of grand, from festive holiday city scenes to the Christmas tree in your living room to other shots that will make our jaws drop. We look forward to seeing your images!

There is an amazing tree in our neighborhood. It’s beautiful, strong, and so big it towers above the houses. If anything says “grand” to me this would be it!

There is a better view from the other side, but unfortunately there are also a lot of power lines on that corner. Look how big it is though compared to the two story house next to it.

Like many wonderful things, it’s hard for a photo to do it justice and give you a sense of how massive and impressive this tree really is. Hopefully you will see one like it sometime.

Posted in Panama, Photo Challenge, photography | Tagged photography, postaday | Comments Off

Living Simply

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Something else I found very interesting at the Rambala Jungle Lodge was Javier’s house. Javier is a Panamanian man who’s been the caretaker at the lodge for a few years, and he lives on the property. I have seen houses like this from the road, but this is the first time I have been able to visit one and be in it, using “in” loosely because living here is pretty much living outdoors. This is definitely minimalist living.

This is Javier talking with Eric before he left on his vacation. He was going back to his town for Mother’s Day. There he was going to go from house to house with two other men singing songs for every mother in town. He told me that he and his two companions had been doing this every year for many years.

This is the front of his house.

This is the front room with the hammocks. The log with the notches on the left goes up to the loft. I noticed there is a mirror on the support in the middle.

This is the side of the house, and that area outside the window is the kitchen sink or washing up area.

This is the other side of the house.

This is from the front room looking back into the enclosed room which is the kitchen. There are cooking areas on the left, and a small table on the right which looked too rickety to use, and no chairs so I imagine food is eaten at one of the benches in the front area.

At the top of the notched log is the sleeping loft.

He has an air mattress up there, and not much else.

There is quite a bit of space in the loft, but except for his sleeping area it was pretty much empty.

This is the kitchen. The gas tank fuels the burners for cooking. The sock looking thing hanging next to that is for making coffee. Put the coffee grounds in the sock, run the hot water through, and you have coffee.

A larger view of the kitchen area.

The washing area as seen from inside. There is a hose above it for water, but I’m not sure how it is turned off and on.

There is also this cooking area on the other side of the kitchen. You can build a wood fire here and put your pots on the stones. It wasn’t in use at this time though because a chicken was sitting on her eggs there. We thought they were due to hatch over the weekend but when we left she was still waiting.

Seeing this really made me think. How much do you really need to live? In this climate you mostly need somewhere to get out of the rain, somewhere to cook, to sleep, and there was an outhouse a bit behind the house. He didn’t seem to be carrying much when he left so I think this is pretty much all his possessions. His few clothes are hanging in the front room, and you saw what he had in the kitchen. And, this sort of living is not at all unusual here, and this type of house is quite common in this part of Panama.

Sitting here in this sturdy block home with all these rooms and looking at these photos, I feel like we live in a palace. It sure makes you think – what do you really need? What does it take to be happy? We were told that Javier is happy to live there. It’s a beautiful place, he has a lot of work to do, and he likes the peaceful quiet. Could I live like that? 3 sets of clothes, 4 plates, a sleeping loft, and a chicken in my fagon? I dunno, but I see I sure could live with a lot less than I have now.

Posted in culture, Exploring Panama, Panama | 17 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Let There Be Light!

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: Let There Be Light!

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO THAT FEATURES A LIGHT SOURCE. Take a look around you. Choose one of the light sources you see, and make it the focus of your challenge entry. It can be a dramatic chandelier or a pair of dying candles; the moon, a row of glaring lightbulbs in the parking lot, or a gaudy lava lamp stored in your attic: anything goes. The light doesn’t even have to be switched on: some lamps are just as fascinating for their shape as for the photons they emit.

We were just at the Rambala Jungle Lodge where there is no electricity. At night we used lanterns and flashlights, so I had fun experimenting with these light sources.

We played cornhole at night. The board is lit by someone’s flashlight. There is a lantern on the left, and someone headlight makes a white spot on the right.

Nighttime priorities – light and beer.

The light source isn’t in this photo, but I like how the light looks on the mosquito netting over the bed.

Joel brushes his teeth by lantern light.

The lantern and my headlamp glow through the mosquito netting over the bed.

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

Walking in the Jungle

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Our walk in the jungle was a highlight of our weekend at the Rambala Jungle Lodge. I had never seen anything like this! The photos cannot possibly do the experience justice but hopefully they will give some idea of what it was like there.

Eric took Joel, Brenda, and I into the jungle, on little narrow muddy paths on the steep sides of hills though dense vegetation, past huge trees, over rocks, under vines, and along the river as we went to check out his plans to generate some electric power from the river. Even with my work boots and walking stick, it was tough going and I was very thankful for all the walking and biking that has made my legs stronger.

Even more incredible – they have built everything on the property from lumber cut from fallen trees. They have not cut any live trees, only used dead ones found in the jungle. The workers find the tree, mark it, and cut it on site into 2×4’s, 4×4’s, and other needed lumber usually 8 feet long, but sometimes 12 feet long. Then, they carry this lumber out of the jungle and to the cleared area where the building is going on. It was all I could do to get myself down the paths. I cannot imagine doing that while carrying heavy pieces of lumber!

This also made me think of all the people, all the indigenous Indians who live in the jungle, for whom that is their world. They survive on what they can hunt and gather there, and there isn’t even any access between them and the rest of the world much of the time.

I’m so glad I went into the jungle, and I want to go back and see more!

Trees and plants and things growing everywhere!

Eric, Joel, and Brenda, my hiking companions.

More trees and plants, vegetation so thick it took a lot of work to make the little paths we walked on.

A huge fallen tree.

A bit of the river we followed.

The spot of the planned hydroelectric project.

One of the many huge trees.

Some of the vines were really big.

Some odd moss like stuff growing on this tree.

We happened across these pretty red flowers near the river.

An incredibly large tree had fallen and this was the underside of the stump, hard to photograph in this dark area of jungle.

Posted in Exploring Panama, Panama, travel | Tagged jungle, Rambala, Rambala Jungle Lodge | 4 Comments

Wildlife in the Jungle

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

One of the things I loved most about our weekend experience was all the birds and wildlife we saw there. I only took the little Panasonic camera which worked out well especially since it has a great zoom feature. Without that, many of the birds would only be little dots in big trees.

I appreciate that Linda and Eric have worked hard to make the Rambala Jungle Lodge a safe place for wildlife. The local people look at everything as a possible source of food since that is how they survive, so Linda and Eric have had to put strict rules in place for their property. It is paying off as more and more wildlife makes their homes there. I still can’t quite believe that we saw tree sloths in the trees!

So without further ado, here are some interesting creatures I managed to catch with my camera.

This armadillo came walking towards the woodpile while we were all working on a cabana, seemingly unconcerned about all the people and noise nearby.

These little wasps were building this string next to the wire supporting a hummingbird feeder. I’ve never seen anything quite like this before.

This fairly large and interesting ant is to be avoided because they have a very nasty bite known to bring adults to tears.

This is one of three types of toucans we saw, sometimes all at the same time! This is an aricari, the same type that visited our yard not long ago.

This is a Keel Billed Toucan who unfortunately wanted to hide behind some leaves, making it difficult to get a clear photo.

This Chestnut Mandibled Toucan was a bit more cooperative with photos.

Another view of the Chestnut Mandibled Toucan

Then, one of the Chestnut Mandibled Toucans posed for me on a bare branch right out in the open!

The agouti sometimes show up late in the day to hunt for roots in the yucca patch.

A laughing falcon perched in a tree for a while.

There are many hummingbird feeders everywhere, and many different birds enjoying them.

I like this one with the black mask and long white tail.

Another with the mask, but not much of a white tail.

I kept this photo because I think it’s funny.

Pretty colors!

Hummingbirds and a camera can keep you busy for hours.

I like these feeders because the birds can also sit on them, so you get to see them still as well as flying.

I went to photograph a flower on the passion vine outside our cabana, and found these really interesting bugs.

Even the flies are pretty.

Pretty lizard outside the main house.

I like this spider web with the lace like part in the center.

A Montezuma Oropendola, one of many we saw in the area. We have the Crested Oropendolas in our neighborhood, so it was interesting to see this beautiful and different variety here.

And last but certainly not least, this tree sloth was in a tree not far from the main house on the first day.

How interesting to see these creatures in the wild!

On Monday we spotted two sloths in a different tree. We didn’t know if one of them was the sloth we spotted earlier, or if they are two different ones. This one was hanging upside down eating leaves.

The other sloth looked like a bunch of fur in the leaves, but it did move its head enough once to allow me a glimpse of its face.

Posted in bird watching, Exploring Panama, insects, Panama, travel, wildlife | Tagged agouti, armadillo, hummingbirds, insects, Panama, Rambala, Rambala Jungle Lodge, toucans, tree sloths, wildlife | 2 Comments

A Weekend in the Jungle

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

What an experience! Our friends Holly and Scott were going to help Linda and Eric, owners of the Rambala Jungle Lodge with some projects and asked if we would like to come along. Not being one to turn down interesting experiences with good friends, we said yes.

I hardly know where to start telling about the weekend so I have grouped my photos, and through the next few posts I hope the story will come together.

Rambala is a town on the way to Almirante in the Bocas del Toro Province, so it’s on the north side of the mountains and the continental divide. The Rambala Lodge is a bit outside of town, back in the jungle. You can get most of the way by 4 wheel drive, but you have to walk in the rest of the way. There is no electricity, and water is either collected rainwater or from the small river that runs through the property. It was definitely a style of living I hadn’t experienced before!

We saw so much wildlife, birds, scenery, and jungle. Eric and Linda clearly love it and I can certainly see why. Parts are so wild and natural they look like no one has been there for hundreds of years. They are making it safe for wildlife so many interesting animals and birds are making their homes there. I hope the photos will give a sense of the experience, but nothing is like actually being there so visit if you get the opportunity.

Holly had injured her ankle, so it was wonderful the Javier (the caretaker on the property) had the horses available. One took her, and the other took the cooler and luggage. The horses look small but they are very strong and sure footed, a good thing since there had been enough rain to make things muddy and slippery.

This is the main house where we had meals, games, social time, and watched the wildlife.

Breakfast – Eric and Linda in front, Holly next to them, Brenda across the table, and Eva (a Panamanian guest) and Joel clearing the table.

The kitchen, totally open with no windows or screens. I would like a kitchen like that!

Hanging out in the main house waiting for the rain to clear. Notice the hummingbird feeders hanging in the opening, and Eric’s framed molas on the wall. The ropes on the wall are for hanging up the hammocks.

A favorite activity, watching the birds and wildlife.

This is the bathroom in the main house where the sink looks to the outside, and you can watch the hummingbirds. They had composting toilets which worked out surprisingly well. After use add a scoop of wood shavings, and when full dump in the compost pile.

Cornhole – toss the bag of corn into the hole, or at least get it to land on the board. I started to get the hang of it after a while, and even won a game with the help of my partner Linda. I’d never beat these experts though (Scott and Eric)

More hanging out, a favorite activity since it rained quite a lot that weekend.

A break in the rain was an opportunity to work on one of the cabanas under construction.

When you return from a walk, take off the boots and leave them outside the door along with your walking stick.

This was our cabana. It has two bedrooms, and this is the main room in front.

I love the outside shower!

The horses weren’t available later because Javier had gone to town to celebrate mother’s day. Holly made it out on crutches very carefully, and without one slip!

Here’s a few more photos of plants and flowers and wonderful views around the property.

The view from the main house with the water in the distance.

There were quite a few of these beautiful bushes in flower.

This huge tall tree had a vine climbing up it which developed into almost another tree here at the top.

A view of the hillside across the way covered with tall trees.

A very cool heliconia bloom!

It rains a lot so everything is really green. On this side of the country there isn’t a dry season, just times with more rain or less rain.

I got up one morning and my lens started to fog in the cool morning damp air as we passed by this tree. Those are oropendula nests. A storm blew some of them down and the whole colony moved out, but the remaining nests are still in the tree. The birds are still in the area though and we saw quite a few of them.