The Panama Adventure

AC installation, Panamanian style

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

We were seriously thinking of buying a lot in our neighborhood and building a house, but the more we thought about it the more we thought it will be better to have some money in the bank for emergencies.

So, we are staying in our rental which is fine. Life is simple and we’re very happy here. But, there are a couple things that would make us more comfortable. First, Joel is painting the roof white so it will reflect the heat. The tin roof gets hot, and it’s newest, darkest, hottest part is right over the terrace where we like to eat and hang out. What a difference now that it’s white! It’s so much cooler. The attic which used to be 120+ degrees on a sunny day is now below 100.

The other decision was to buy an air conditioning unit. It’s a nice one – quiet, energy efficient, and it will make the hot summer season more comfortable.

Joel and our neighbor Lucio went shopping last Thursday (actually the Thursday before last, by now). They were told that the installers would call and come over on Friday or Saturday, and they had both my phone number and Lucio’s. On Saturday there was still no word. Lucio hadn’t heard anything either so he called, found out he needed an order number and a different phone number from the one we had been given. He was told that everything was set for Monday.

Monday, nothing, so Tuesday I went back to the store and explained the problem. The salesgirl there made a couple phone calls, one which took quite a while on hold and numerous conversations. She told me they would call that afternoon and gave me the number to call if I didn’t hear anything.

I didn’t hear anything. Lucio’s wife Haydeé volunteered to call for me. She knows that talking on the phone in Spanish is often difficult for me, especially on a subject and with vocabulary that may be new to me. So, 40 min later, numerous phone conversations later, and a new order number and phone number later, she was told that they will come tomorrow (Wednesday). (THANK YOU Haydeé! I’m sure if I had tried to do all that I would have torn out all my hair!)

Wednesday – the guy calls me! Conversation is a disaster. He talks too fast and can’t seem to understand a thing I am saying. Haydeé’s mother is in, so I put her on the phone to explain where we live. They are coming this afternoon sometime. Haydeé comes home later and explains that she also called them this morning and was told he has the work order, but I am one of a bunch of orders. No one knows exactly when it will be my turn, but it will be today.

So, early afternoon he calls again.
Do you know where Villa del Carmen is? (our neighborhood)
No
OK, do you know where the big shopping center is with Panafoto, DoIt Center, El Rey?
No
OK, do you know where KFC is?
No. I am in Villa del Carmen. Where are you?
What? You are IN Villa del Carmen now?
Yes
Did you go under the arch by the sign?
No
OK, go through the arch, go one block and turn left at the next corner.
I don’t understand. I can’t hear you. I go to Villa Del Carmen?
YES! Go IN Villa del Carmen, at the arch. Turn left at the next street. Go to the end of that street.
What? Turn left? Then what?
Yes, turn left, and go to the end of that street.
Turn left? Where?
At the first street that goes left!
OK, I turn left. Then what?
*sigh* I will be IN the street. Go to the end of the street and I am standing there! (as I walk to meet him)

I was standing in the street as the truck made it’s way towards me, and we finally got him to our house! (he and his two assistants) I know I’m not that bad. I have directed other people to the house without problems, even people who don’t live in David and don’t know the area like someone who runs around town all day installing air conditioners.

So, we discuss the installation, where the unit will go, etc. Oh, you want it up there? That’s extra. The free installation that came with the unit, we put it on the ground (or on the terrace floor, in our case). OK fine, we don’t want it on the floor. Thank goodness Joel and Lucio were on the ball and bought the brackets and everything needed to mount it on the wall.

Do you want a pipe to take the water away? Well yes, we don’t want it dripping down the window and on the terrace floor. OK, that’s $3-4 for pipe, and I need to go to the store and buy the pipe. (So, an AC installer doesn’t have some basic supplies, like PVC pipe in the truck??) OK, fine.

So, he takes off with one assistant and leaves the other at the house. The guy immediately gets to work. He looks like he knows what he’s doing and has done this a hundred times. Before long everything is in place, and he’s testing it to be sure everything works right.

He calls the boss who left in the truck. He tells me that everything is done except the pipe to carry off the condensation water. I give him some ice water, he sits, we chat a while. I leave him at the table on the terrace. He waits and calls a couple more times. I go back to working in the yard. He falls asleep at the table. An hour and a half passes. I’m hot and sweaty and really want a shower. Sure enough, as soon as I’m half way though my shower, the guy with the truck and the other assistant show up!

They install the PVC pipe, a piece of pipe put on one end of the outlet hose, running horizontally and fastened to the bathroom window at the other end where it can drip 6-7 feet down to the ground. The guy says his assistant will stop by tomorrow with an elbow joint and more pipe. They leave. We realize all the water is running down the window and on to the terrace floor, and nothing is going down the pipe (it was just placed on, and not sealed in any way)

This was last Wednesday. It is now Monday night. No one has called or showed up with more pipe.

It’s Panama! The main guy did tell us that he’s just swamped with orders and he’s running from morning to night. I asked him what happens in summer when it’s hot. He said it’s totally crazy, and he does nothing but work all the time and he still can’t keep up.

In the end though have a very good air conditioner that we can turn on anytime we want. It’s in the bedroom but we can easily blow cooler air into the office, and even into the rest of the house of we need to. Joel put a string on the outlet hose to direct the water down into a bucket, and now we have another source of water. At some point we will arrange PVC pipe in a configuration we like, but I think we are going to leave the option there to collect the water when we wish.

The only downside of the cooler roof – I use to hang wet clothes on the roof rafters under the roof, and the heat up there would dry them quite quickly. Now that doesn’t work nearly as well. It’s amazing what a difference a coat of reflective white paint will do to the temperature of a roof!

Posted in Panama | Tagged Air conditioning, David, Panama | 15 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: From Lines to Patterns

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: From Lines to Patterns

The instructions are: grab your camera, get outside, and snap a great shot of shapes or lines that you stumble upon, or a cool texture or pattern that catches your eye.

This, believe it or not is an orange tree. The trunk has all sorts of things growing on it which I think are interesting colors and textures.

The lines and patterns of a spider web.

The smoothness of a water droplet on a leaf with the implied textures of the reflections in the water.

Another orange tree trunk. I think the thorny branches around it add another interesting texture.

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

BBC Interview – a Moment of Fame!

Posted on September 21, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

I did a phone interview with a reporter last month and today the interview is up on the website.

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20130918-how-to-retire-in-paradise

It’s an interesting experience remembering the interview and now seeing the finished article. You say what you say, but you really don’t know what is going to end up in the article. I think it came out OK, but off course there are details I want to add too.

First, my husband is Joel, not David! We live in David.

The house cost $4500 to set up because I came with nothing but a suitcase and had to buy everything! – appliances, beds, tables, chairs, dishes, towels, pillows, silverware, a vegetable peeler….. you get the idea. It took two months to buy a sofa because I’d never bought a new sofa before, and it took awhile to talk me out of the sticker shock. Otherwise, I think the information is pretty much OK.

The interview was all business. She had a list of questions and just fired them off instead of having a conversation. It wasn’t quite what I expected, but now I see that she probably had a format in mind and wanted all the interviews to be similar with the same types of information. You know how us bloggers are though. We like conversation 😀

So there you have it though, my moment on BBC. Cool huh!

Posted in Panama | Tagged BBC, Interview, Panama, retirement | 10 Comments

Panamanian Construction

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

We have found it interesting to learn how the Panamanians build houses. Everything here is block and cement with tin roofs. There is a lot to be said for this style of building. It’s strong, and there is nothing to rot from water, get eaten by termites, or burn. I’ve taken some photos which I hope make it fairly easy to see how they do it here.

This is a house under construction in our neighborhood. You can see the block construction. They have removed the forms used to apply concrete to the curved window frames, and they are starting to install the roof which is a decorative, reflective tin slightly different from the basic tin that is often used.

This is inside the same house. You can see where they have made a channel in the block for an electric outlet. This looks like it will be a very nice, large house with three bedrooms, and a nice terrace in front and in back.

This is another very large house under construction in our neighborhood. You can see the metal supports for the roof. No matter how large or small, or even if it is a single room addition or just a wall, it always starts with blocks and cement.

This is a wall being built in the neighborhood. This also is block and cement, but here they have covered the block with a smooth layer of cement. This is how the walls in a house are also finished. It’s funny. Sometimes you see the basic blocks (particularly in walls like this) and it looks like a mess, not very straight or neat, but in the end they cover it with cement and it ends up looking perfect! These piles of blocks, cement, and gravel are sure signs that some sort of construction is going on in that house, and are common sights all around our area.

This is our house, a finished product.

This is the underside of our roof, the tin on the metal supports.

There are Styrofoam drop ceilings inside the house, and above them is a large open space under the tin roof. The Styrofoam is fairly good insulation, but the open space means sound carries through the house, and the tin roof can get loud when it rains hard. More upscale houses will have sheet rock ceilings which cut down on the rain noise, and some upscale houses also have tile roofs which are quieter.

Floors are tile with tile baseboards. If you don’t want tile or can’t afford it, you can have the basic cement floor. If you want something fancier you can have wood floors and/or carpets, but in this damp humid climate I think the tile makes more sense.

The kitchen counter is made of cement too! Under the cabinets is a cement floor. The sides are cement, and the sink is dropped into a cement counter top (which is covered with tile). The cabinets are then installed into the cement opening. I’ve seen other houses where there are only shelves, not cabinet doors. The increased air flow may be a good idea for this humid climate.

The bathroom is also tile and cement. Under the pretty blue paint is a cement wall. You need a drill and anchors to hang pictures though! You can’t just tap a nail into a cement wall.

Houses have security gates and window coverings – pretty much ALL houses. Nothing seems to go on in this neighborhood, but people think if they don’t have the security covers a thief might think it’s easier to get in their house so they are vulnerable. Better safe than sorry is the idea.

My next door neighbor has very pretty security window covers. Some, like ours, are recessed so they look like part of the window, and others like these are put on the outside of the window.

Many houses also have security gates/fences around the property. I like ours because it keeps the neighborhood dogs and roosters from visiting our yard. It also defines your living space so visitors will stand in the street and call, rather than walk up to your front door.

My neighbor, however, doesn’t have a fence, only security covers around the house. It is fairly common in this neighborhood to see houses without security fences, even out on the road into the neighborhood where there is more drive by traffic and some really upscale homes.

Some inexpensive homes don’t have glass windows or screens, only the decorative cement blocks to let in air. Very upscale homes may have other features like fancier roofs, floor coverings, and ceilings.

If you empty out our house you could take a garden hose to it and not do any damage except to the wood doors and kitchen cabinets. Even the door frames are metal, not wood. It’s easy to clean with a broom and/or mop. Brush fires are common in the dry season, but no one worries about the houses because there is nothing to burn. The roof is tin and the walls are cement. People thought I was crazy to worry about smoldering brush with a few feet of a house, and sure enough it burned itself out without causing any problems for the house.

If you are thinking of living here, this climate is something to consider. Sometimes people move their wood and fabric furniture from up north only to find the humidity causes problems with dampness and mold. Leather is especially vulnerable to mold. Now I understand why the DoIt center has an entire aisle of plastic bins! If you dry things out and store them in a plastic bin, they tend to stay quite dry. The higher areas in the mountains are cooler but they aren’t any drier. If anything, there is more rain and fog and humidity. So, unless you plan to use air conditioning or dehumidifiers in the house, materials that aren’t affected by dampness are very practical.

Posted in Panama | Tagged construction, Panama | 17 Comments

The Third Act of Life

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

My blogging friend InDaCampo wrote an interesting post about this third part of our lives that some of us are in, or think we are approaching, or are trying to figure out what this means for us. She included this TED talk which I really like.

Many of us move here to Panama when we retire. It is a huge life change to no longer be part of the work force. Suddenly we have the freedom to structure our own lives free of the obligations of work and expectations of others. What will we do with the rest of our lives? What does this new freedom mean? What do our lives mean now?

For me, it’s been a process. I totally love the change, but I’m also having trouble letting go of the lifelong habits of driving myself, feeling like I must accomplish things, feeling like I’m wasting time if I’m not busy. I’m still working on how to best spend this part of my life. Time is the most precious thing we have and I want to make the most of it. I want to spend it on things that are worthwhile and things that I enjoy.

Posted in Panama | Tagged Panama, retirement, TED, third act, third life | 4 Comments

Navigating Albrook – the Panama City bus station

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Go to the Albrook bus station, buy a ticket, and get on the bus to David. Simple, right? Well…. not exactly. Since I have written instructions for a number of people over last few months, I figured maybe I’d just write them here for everyone. I am doing this from memory so please, if you see something incorrect, or have more info to add, or photos, or anything, please leave a comment or contact me.

Albrook bus terminal is on the west side of Panama City near the canal, near the smaller airport where you catch regional flights, and is right next to the huge Allbrook shopping mall. It’s a very large and active bus terminal with many kiosks and stores, and a large food court at one end. Buses to everywhere go from this terminal.

Go to the ground floor (the upper floor is for arrivals) and look for the ticket windows along one wall of the long, busy hall. Then, look for the signs at these windows for your destination city. The bus to David costs around $15.25 (if I remember correctly) and one leaves about every hour from early morning to maybe midnight. There should be a schedule posted behind the ticket agent. When you get to the window present your passport (and a passport for everyone traveling with you), request the number of tickets you want to buy, and the ticket agent will take your money and print your tickets.

Your ticket(s) will have your name(s) on it, the time the bus leaves, and your assigned seat number (asiento). It will also tell you which gate the bus leaves from (but I have found that this is not always correct).

Next, you need a Rapi Pass card so you can get through the turnstile to the boarding area. As far as I know, this is only a Panama City thing. I have never needed this in any other bus terminal. There is a kiosk for this not far from where you buy your ticket. Again, you will need to present your passport to buy a card. It is rechargeable so keep it if you ever expect to be back again. When it’s time to go out to the boarding area, just swipe it over the sensor on the turnstile.

There is a waiting room behind the ticket windows. I usually ask someone to be sure I have the right room, but a big doubledecker blue bus outside or something similar that says “David Panama” on the windshield is a good indication that you are in the right place.

Expect to board the bus 20-30 minutes before departure time, and I’ve found that the buses are usually very prompt about leaving at the expected time. There will be a man to check your luggage in the compartment under the bus. Be sure to keep your ticket stub because you will need to present it at the other end to get your luggage back.

–> Take a sweater, blanket, jacket, fur coat and ear muffs! Just kidding, but bring something because they often get the air conditioning cranked up and it may get very chilly.

The trip is long, 7 – 7 1/2 hours but as comfortable as they can make it. The majority of the buses are new with large comfortable seats. They often show movies on board. You can never tell for sure what else will happen but it’s common that people get on the bus to sell drinks and snacks. I’ve seen a jewelry salesman ride from one stop to the next, giving him time for an extensive presentation complete with games and prizes to get people going. I’ve also seen beggars, people with religious messages, and a guy selling newspapers.

The bus will stop midway in Santiago at a cafeteria so everyone can get off for a rest break and a bit of food. They are usually there for 20-30 minutes so you have time to eat, but don’t wander too much and waste time. There will also be vendors with sweets, handicrafts, and perhaps other interesting things.

Then, closer to David there is a checkpoint. The officials will get on the bus and check everyone’s ID so get out your passport. I’ve seen them just glance at everyone, and once I’ve also had them quiz me on when I entered the country, where I’m going, and how long I’m staying. The stop is routine though and happens on every trip, whichever direction you are going.

By the time you get to David, it feels good to get off the bus. The luggage system is interesting. A guy gets in the compartment, takes out one suitcase or package, checks the tag, hollers out the number, and the owner comes forward with their ticket to claim it. Then, he takes out the next suitcase or package… It’s not the most efficient system I can imagine but it works and eventually everyone gets their luggage back. There will also be taxis waiting for the bus, so you don’t have to worry about finding one to take you on to wherever you need to go.

I prefer the bus to the plane. It’s certainly much more affordable. It’s a long ride but by the time you arrange your schedule to make a flight, wait around at the airport, take the flight, and get out of the airport with your luggage it’s only a few hours more on the bus. And, with the money you save you can pay for a hotel in Panama City and get on a bus whenever it suits you. I enjoy seeing all the activity at the terminal, the Diablo Rojos which are still fairly prevalent, the view over the Bridge of the Americas of the canal, and I like seeing the beautiful countryside go by. If you plan for the hours and bring something to do, it isn’t bad at all.

Getting on the bus in David is a lot easier. There always seems to be a guy waiting to help you with your luggage, point you to the ticket window, take your luggage around to the bus, and do whatever else he can to make it easy for you (he’s trying to make a living so give him a tip). Wherever you are going, don’t hesitate to ask for help. I’ve had complete strangers go out of their way to get me on the right bus, even physically walking me to the bus and handing me off to the helper.

I found a few videos if you want to get more of an idea of what Albrook terminal looks like. The numbers are the lengths of the videos.

2:00 video – a very good look at the bus station with the ticket booths (note the schedule posted on the wall), the buses, and the general look of the place
2:26 video -a tourist in the terminal, on the bus, and showing some of the sights as he leaves the city.
2:22 video – just a short one of the terminal, and some of the street outside
9:53 video – a much longer but well done video which shows quite a bit of the terminal, as well as other sights in Panama City.

3:00 video – a look at the bus terminal in David

Well I think that’s the best of the related videos I found, and all I have to say on the subject at the moment! One of these days when I’m back there I’ll update this with photos and videos of my own.

Posted in Panama | 10 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside

The instructions are: This week, share what you see on the inside. It could be something literally inside, like these birds in the rebar or the inside of your home or favorite hideaway. If you’d like, go in a personal direction — share a photo of your best friend laughing, showing how she feels on the inside, or an arresting shot of your son’s blue eyes (windows to the soul, dontcha know).

I found some gecko eggs inside a window and put them in this plastic dish. Yesterday morning I discovered that a baby was inside the dish, but no longer inside the egg! When I went to touch him he jumped out of the dish, off the table, and ran across the patio. He’s certainly full of life and I wish him well in his journeys.

There is a house under construction in the neighborhood, so today I went inside to look around and take some photos. This is typical Panamanian block construction. It looks like it will be a very nice house when it’s finished.

A bud on a dieffenbachia emerging from inside the covering.

The inside of a new leaf on my coconut palm.

The featured image above is the inside of a new, unfurling banana leaf.

Posted in Panama | Tagged photography, postaday | 10 Comments

Border Run 101

Posted on September 14, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Another experience making the border run to get the passports stamped.

Chapter 3: Loving Retirement in Panama and now, Colombia

People who come to Panama arrive with a Tourist Visa. It allows you to stay for 180 days. Sounds easy but what a lot of people do not know is that your driver’s license is only good for 90 days. that means that these visitors must cross the border in order to continue to use their home-country driver’s license.

We tried to do this quick trip across the border into Costa Rica a few weeks ago. We were told we could not do it because we would have to be gone 24 hours for them to check us back into Panama. We went to Rio Serreno, near Volcan, and there are no places to stay in this very tiny town. So we returned home and planned to return shortly.

Then our calendar began to fill and we didn’t have 24 hours until yesterday. Our Florida licenses were not valid after…

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Volcan, Cerro Punta, Guadalupe, a great Sunday trip!

Posted on September 14, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Last Sunday we went for a drive with our friends and neighbors across the street. She works hard, takes care of her family, and doesn’t get out as much as you would think. She hasn’t been to Volcan for three years, and to Cerro Punta since she was a child even though these places are only 1 – 1/2 hours away. So, we decided we needed to have a field trip! Of course as soon as we made plans her husband had work come in, but on Sunday he was free and everything worked out. It was even a perfect day, sunny, blue sky with some fluffy clouds, and no rain until we were on our way home.

Of course we have a ton of photos. The area is very beautiful, and it’s so interesting to see all the vegetables growing up the sides of the mountains. We also ended up in some places we hadn’t seen before. I’ve tried to organize our photos in some sort of order so you can see some of the places we visited.

We had such a good time! And, talk about Spanish immersion. Neither of them speak English so it was an entire day of Spanish.

CERRO PUNTA – the area of mountains covered with vegetable farms