More from our Weekend Getaway

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

As you know from my last post, we spent a couple days at SeagullCove Lodge and had a wonderful time! It’s such a beautiful area with views of the water and the islands. I wish I’d also brought one of our old cameras. We went kayaking but I didn’t want to risk an expensive camera. Next time I will bring an old one that wouldn’t make me cry if it got wet.

This area is basically untouched. There is an occasional house high above the water, and one of the beaches had some Panamanian families and children. For the most part however, it looks unchanged by man. There are layers of rock jutting up everywhere at different angles, and so many colors and types of rock. Most of the rock is brown but there are patches of very black, volcanic looking rock, lighter browns, and even some patches of blue and green. There were some interesting areas where rocks were embedded like they had been mixed into molten rock.

After our kayak excursion, I went walking to see what I could see.

The view from the resort, from the top of the hill.
Looking out over the quiet water to the islands beyond.
There are gnarled trees clinging to the rocks.
It seems like everything has other plants growing on it.
Notice the bug on the rock. There were lots of these of all sizes, and they scurried off when they saw you.
This crazy looking tree was next to the hotel beach.
Some interesting rocks emerging from the sand.
Here are some of the rocks embedded in other rock.
More big trees clinging to the rocks.
A head of broccoli had washed up on the beach and the crabs were having a wonderful time with it.
There was black sand just beneath the brown sand which made for some interesting effects.
One of the many hermit crabs.
More interesting rock in the sand.
The pretty little crabs seem to be constantly cleaning house and tossing out balls of sand.
Some of the rocky shore.
An interesting rock formation next to the beach. There were a lot of round, gray snails on this one.
There was a thunderstorm the first night. Joel caught this shot just as the lightning flashed!
The dock leading out to the tiki hut.
Tide coming in late in the afternoon.
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A Great Weekend Getaway!

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

We spent a couple days at the Seagullcove Lodge and had a wonderful time. I took quite a few photos but we were having too much fun to post them. Now that we are home again it’s time to catch up.

This resort is in Boca Chica on the Pacific coast in Chiriqui Province, Panama. This area is quickly becoming one of my favorite areas near our David home. It’s only about an hour away through some really beautiful countryside, especially in the hills as you get closer to the water. We drove down for the day a while back, so check that post if you want to see some photos of the drive and the general area. We actually had lunch that day at the same place where we stayed this time, and thought it looked like a lovely place to spend some time.

The property has only five bungalows on a hill overlooking the water and the islands. The grounds are really beautiful, and the gardener has obviously taken great care to plant beautiful flowers and plants everywhere. There are some huge amazing trees, stands of bamboo, heliconias, a flowering shrub that smells amazing at night, orchids nestled in little places, and other beautiful touches too numerous to mention. There is a walkway and steps that go down to the beach and water level (and you will get your exercise if you go up and down very much!)

There is a lovely little private beach and sitting area by the beach, and some kayaks for guests. We took one out and had a wonderful time exploring the islands nearby. There is also a long dock leading out to a tiki bar.

The resort main building and bungalows as seen from the beach.
There is a lovely little pool overlooking the water, with a nice deck for hanging out and relaxing.
The grounds are beautiful with lots of flowers and plants. My complements to the gardener!
The pathway leading down to the beach.
There is a lovely sitting area by the beach, and a dock leading out to a tiki bar.
The beach sitting area, and the kayak we took out earlier in the day.
The tiki bar which looks like a heck of a fun place to have a party!
There were a couple boats docked on the other side of the tiki bar, and you can make arrangements for the staff to take you out on excursions in them if you wish.

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The hotel staff offers or will make arrangements for a number of activities like snorkeling, diving, whale watching (in season, which I was told starts next month), fishing, island hopping, etc. so there are opportunities to get out and enjoy what this area has to offer.

Our room was very comfortable!
The bed was nice, with some really nice sheets and comforter
Another view of the room
The closet had a lot of shelves, hangers around to the left, and a safe if you need it. Those are beach towels on the second shelf, beautiful thick, soft beach towels. The towels in the bathroom were equally thick and soft.
The bathroom was beautifully done with pretty tile, hot and cold water, and good water pressure.
I love the attention to detail, like the little container of cotton balls and q-tips, and the pretty soap dispenser.
Outside the door is a pretty balcony overlooking the water.

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As you can see, the rooms are very comfortable. There were details that made us feel very well cared for, like the thermos of ice water on the dresser, and a folder explaining everything you would need to know about the resort. There were even directions for the clock radio in the drawer.

The food was great! Breakfast was included with the room. Sometimes you eat out and feel disappointed, knowing you could cook better at home. This was not the case here! Every meal we had was wonderful, beautiful presented, and the service was excellent.

Meals are served in the main building overlooking the water. There always seems to be a nice breeze and it’s really beautiful!
Breakfast starts with fresh fruit, and it was always perfectly ripe and wonderful. The coffee was strong and delicious.
Ham and cheese omelets, toast, and mora jam (a delicious local berry)
Pancake, beautifully presented.
Omelet, and fresh squeezed orange juice.
Waiting for dinner, snacking on some really good bread. Notice the cute covers for the beer bottles.
Joel had steak which he said was the best he’s had in Panama. We were told it’s imported from the US. It has a really good marinade. I’m not sure what they did with the rice – cooked with bits of vegetables and flavors and it was delicious. The broccoli was perfectly cooked and covered with slivered almonds which complimented it perfectly.
I had langostinos, which are like big shrimp. They were served with a sauce of fresh tomatoes that was both spicy and sweet, and tasted wonderful.

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There are more photos which I will put in separate posts, but these are the main photos of the resort. We bought an Oferta Simple which gave us a good price on the room, and we are very glad we went for it. We had such a good time! It was really nice to spend time in such a beautiful place, to have a comfortable room, and to be with such good staff who took very good care of us.

Last, but certainly not least, here are Marcello (red shirt) and Luis (blue and purple shirt) with Joel, the resort staff who took care of every detail, every day. (I wish I had photos of the two women in the kitchen too, who also took good care of us). Check out Joel’s post too!

seagullcove 10

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Boca Chica – on vacation again

Posted on July 14, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

morningSeaGullCove

This is the view from our bungalow this morning. We’re at the Seagullcove Lodge, and it’s really beautiful here. We’ve had a wonderful breakfast of fruit and omelets, and after some computer time we’re off to see what is interesting to do around here. Did I mention that it’s really beautiful here? This resort is really nice too. There will be pictures coming!

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A Waterfall by the River

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Yesterday, we went a little ways up the Via Boquete to a spot on our list of places to explore. It’s by the river and there is a great waterfall. It looks like someone in the past had made it a fun place but now it is uncared for and run down. But, the river sure is beautiful. It’s so lush and green, and there is moss and other plants on all the trees. We saw a blue morph butterfly and two blue and black poison dart frogs, but they ran off too fast for us to get photos. We did get photos of the area though, so scroll through the gallery.

We found another beautiful spot!
The trees in this spot were all leaning like they had been pushed over by the water many times.
There were amazing bromiliads in the trees
Everything is covered with other things growing!
There were lots of these pretty spiders on the rocks
This is the trunk of a huge tree. I took some photos of the upper part of the tree but they didn’t do it justice.
This is one of the biggest rubber trees I’ve seen.
One of the bent over trees along the bank. They were all covered with moss and other plants.
I’m not sure what this tree is, but the trunk and bark sure are interesting.
Yes, it is what you think! Check out the video.
The back of the big building. Check out the huge cactus plants. There was also a big clump of them along the driveway in.
You could have quite the party in this place!
I’m not sure what these little places were for, maybe covered picnic areas?
This building was behind the big party space, and it was obviously used as an entertainment spot. There were piles of empty liquor bottles.
Some playground equipment, also in poor condition.
The new and improved Via Boquete with smooth pavement, new lines, crosswalks, and arrows for intersections!

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I also took some video.

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Man with Machete

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Men with Machetes seems to be the preferred method of managing fields that have become overgrow with grass.  There has been a man working on a field down the street for the last three days. I said hello as I passed on my bicycle, and stopped to talk with him on my return trip.

Man with Machete

He makes $10/day cutting grass with his machete in the hot sun. He told me he is very poor, pointing out his old clothes. He is quite small and missing most of his teeth. He said he has no family, and when I asked him where he lives he pointed south.

My heart went out to him. He seemed really happy that we stopped to talk and readily gave his consent for a photo. There are many men who work like this, and I have been told by others that $10/day is the usual rate, or maybe $12 at the most. It has to be awfully hard to get by on that. And, what happens if the guy is sick or can’t work?

I took this photo of the field as we passed it in the car later in the day.

I took this photo of the field as we passed it in the car later in the day. By then he was finished and had left.

If I’d had any money with me I probably would have given it to him. I know this doesn’t solve the problem, but it might have made this week a little easier. Unfortunately there are men with machetes all over the country, and without education and job skills this is all they know how to do.

It makes whatever I worry about seem much less significant.

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Monsoon!

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Well not really. We don’t get monsoons or hurricanes or the other weather disasters that strike the rest of the world. But, we sure do get rain sometimes. It started raining this afternoon so hard I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so much water come out of the sky. It let up for a while and I could hear the river roaring. Now it’s started up again. You really can’t do rain justice in a photo, but I took a few.

The rain is warm but it cools down the air. It’s a great time to sit on the terrace with your computer, book, or whatever you enjoy. People talk about the dreaded rainy season but it’s really not a problem. Days usually start out sunny or with light clouds, so do your outdoor things in the morning. By mid afternoon rain is likely. Some days it doesn’t happen. Yesterday it rained for maybe 1/2 hour and then cleared up. Today it didn’t start raining until around 4:30. It’s now about 7:30 and still raining, though not as hard. It usually stops sometime in the evening though. The only time I’ve seen it rain all the time is when hurricane Sandy was north of us. Then it rained day and night for days.

I like the rainy season. I like the humidity and cooler temperatures. I like seeing green everywhere.  Tomorrow I must go see the river!

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Nostalgic

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: Nostalgic

The directions are: “IN A NEW POST CREATED SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PICTURE THAT MAKES YOU NOSTALGIC.”

I’ve been thinking about this for days. There is very little of my past that makes me look back wistfully. I’m much more interested in looking forward. My friend Lisa at Zeebra Designs thought I should go from that angle, but I’m having as hard a time taking pictures of the future as looking in the past.

But, there is one thing in my recent past that gave me a lot of pleasure – my water lily pond! I think there will be more ponds in my future but for now, I am taking this as a great excuse to share some of my old photos.

One morning after a rain I found the papyrus covered with water droplets shining in the rising sun.
My daughter worked at a plant store in Kansas, and rescued this plant from the trash after it didn’t sell. When we moved to FL it came down in one of the cars. I was thrilled when it flowered, and always thought of Amy bringing home with this exotic plant.
On an unrelated subject, I also had bees and they made life interesting in the spring. My neighbors got quite an education in bee management! They learned to call me if they spotted a swarm. I could call our beekeeping club to come collect them and donate them to a new beekeeper. Those bees made the best honey I’d ever tasted!
This canna had beautiful red and green leaves, as well as spectacular flowers.
I think this is my all time favorite photo.
These water hyacinths weren’t legal in FL because they are so invasive, but the flowers sure are beautiful. Anything that had to be thinned out went on the compost pile, not an open waterway!
I was out seeing patients one day and happened across a spectacular lotus pond in a park. I like this photo because of the little bee.
This is my favorite waterlilies, Texas Dawn. It’s yellow with a hint of pink in the lower petals.
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I seem to be out and about today

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

Habla Ya, the Spanish language school here, is having a contest. Write an essay and win more lessons. I have lots more to learn so I wrote an essay. They posted it today on their blog.
http://www.hablayapanama.com/blog/2013/07/2105/

Another site asked me to do an interview, and it’s up.
http://interviews.blogexpat.com/blog/2013/07/08/from-florida-to-chiriqui-the-panama-adventure

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Move to Paradise

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

The word “paradise” causes a knee jerk reaction in us. We have seen too much of the hype from companies looking to sell you something – publications, books, expensive conferences, and relocation tours.

When were in Las Olas there happened to be three other people from the US having dinner at a nearby table. They were here to check out Panama as a possible retirement option, and they were all very disillusioned, frustrated, and unhappy.  After all the sales pitches and tours to expensive high rise condos on the beach, they thought a simple, low key life they dreamed of didn’t actually exist. They were amazed to run into someone living the life they wanted, but had been unable to find.

We asked these people where they had gotten their info, and they named a well known organization. They had spent the majority of their time in Panama City, and were taken to see properties in the city and beach front properties in the Coronado area. None of this was what they wanted, and they felt like the agents could care less and were only interested in talking them into buying what they were selling.

By the time we met, they were spending a couple days at the beach resort as the final part of their trip. Since we were all headed back to David we spent some time giving them the quick tour of the town and our favorite shopping areas. Then they came over for dinner and an evening of conversation, and hopefully we were able to answer some of their many questions.

It was really sad to see how different their experience was from ours. What a shame to be here and not find what is so close, yet hidden from their view. Joel and I have been talking ever since and trying to pinpoint why things didn’t go well for them. Is there advice that might have helped?

  • Be very careful of anyone trying to make money off your search. You can spend thousands on conferences, real estate tours, relocation tours, and the like. This is not necessary! There are many free sources of information and many expats here who are happy to help. (If anyone reading this has spent money on any of the above, I would be very interested to hear about it and how it worked out for you)
  • Get on the internet. Look around. Find expat forums and ways to connect with people. Make friends. There are many good people who are glad to help with information, ideas, and support. Having some connections before you get here is extremely valuable.
  • Plan your own visit, and be flexible. Maybe you think you want to be in Panama City, so visit as see how it feels. If you think it’s a good fit, spend more time there. If not, move on to your next area of interest. Don’t expect to make a decision on your first visit.
  • It’s very helpful, of course, to get a feel for what things cost in various areas but again, your best source of information is the people already here. You don’t need to be taken around by salespeople. It is recommended that you don’t even consider buying anything until you have actually lived here for many months.

When you see “paradise” or any of the other usual buzz words, be very careful. Paradise i’s fine for a tropical vacation but living here is real life. You will be living where people speak a language you may not understand. Dogs bark and roosters crow earlier than you may want to wake up in the morning. There are some very strange fruits and vegetables in the market. You are more likely to find thread in the supermarket than the fabric store. That beach may be idyllic but is the closest supermarket an hour away?

Only YOU can decide what will work for you.  No book, seminar, tour, or anything else is a substitute for experience. Figure out what you need to be happy. Walk around. Go to some stores. Put a meal together with local ingredients. Visit some people who live here. Do some of those things you will be doing every day. Can you be happy here for a month? a year?  There are businesses who have reasons to sell you on the dream of happiness here, but only you can determine what is a workable reality for you.

 

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Driving through the Panama Countryside

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Kris Cunningham

We went from David to the Las Olas Beach Resort to spend some time at the beach. It’s a beautiful drive. I thought I’d share some photos and a little look at Panamanian life.

We passed some cows in fields. This big guy wasn’t very far from the resort.
We also passed many tiny Panamanian houses.
Another little Panamanian house.
There was a lot of rice growing in the area, and the fields are a very beautiful green.
Another house with a lot of plants and flowers growing in the yard.
Seeing how many people live in very small houses made me feel like we have a really big house.
The funeral home in Guarumal, a little town we passed through on the way.
More rice with darker bigger plants on the right, and younger light green plants on the left.
Pretty little house
With all the rice growing in the area, I figure this must be a storage facility for rice.
Colorful house! Houses are often painted in bright colors. Sometimes if they can’t paint the whole house they will paint just the front.
We also passed quite a few sugar cane fields.

We passed many beautiful fields and amazing trees. It’s interesting to see the Panamanian homes too. Most are so small, but they often have many flowers in the yard and food gardens. We saw many people relaxing in hammocks and visiting others in their yards and patios. We waved and greeted people and they always waved, smiled, and greeted us in return. Life may look modest to us, but it feels friendly and happy. It makes you think about what really is important.

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