Happy Valentines Day and Happy Anniversary to my partner and best friend.
The Vine!
When we first met 23 years ago, or when we got married 17 years ago, we never dreamed that we would be happily living in Panama! The adventures keep getting better and better.
And now, you are a fellow blogger too 🙂 FindingMyselfinPanama
Everything needs a home of some sort. We have a home (my husband is writing a blog post about it soon). There are also other homes around here – people, animals, birds, insects… everything needs a place to be.
But, what is this?
You often see these strange things on trees around here.
Here is a close up
I knocked the covering off this unoccupied home to reveal a bit of the network underneath.
I looked up into a stand of tree and saw one of the biggest nests I’ve ever seen! It must be three feet high.
TERMITES – they need a home too
We’ve smelled smoke and seen quite a few brush fires lately. I remember these fires in the US and they were a huge problem. Sometimes they would get out of control and cause major devastation and burn homes and other property. Here though, no one seems to get very concerned, and they seem to burn themselves out rather quickly. It’s the dry season, no rain for quite a while, lots of dry, brown grass, and lots of windy weather. That would make me very worried!
There was a fire very close to our house a couple days ago. It was in the field and up the hill where we went for this post – Climbing the Mountain. We noticed the smoke and went to see what was happening. There was one fire truck and two firemen, and they were mostly wetting down the area near the road. When I went back the next day I could see where the fire had burned much of the field and went up the hill, but it hadn’t gone much farther than where it was actively burning while we were there.
Since there was a fire and lots of smoke, it would be a shame to pass up a photo op. So, I have put together a collection to show a bit of what happened, and also to enjoy the interesting effects of the smoke and the sun.
We were told that you’re more likely to see iguanas in the summer dry season, and that has been true for us. I heard a rustling in the leaves outside the window today and grabbed my camera. 
He looked pretty good size, but we’ve seen them disappear in a flash and figured they must be able to get through the fence. 
Apparently getting through the fence is no problem!
It’s really fun seeing iguanas and other lizards. I think the iguanas are especially interesting though because they are so big and so unusual looking.
Always keep a camera nearby.
Check out the article about the pink iguana. It’s amazing!
Marañón is Spanish for cashew. I love cashew nuts but never thought much about how they grow. There are a lot of them in this area so I’m curious to know more about them.
We first noticed a cashew tree when we were bike riding and stopped by the side of the road. We saw things on the tree that I thought must be cashews.
These are what we saw on the tree.
So, I went home and did a bit of research. What I found about cashew trees did indeed look like this tree. Once I knew what to look for, I started seeing cashew trees all over town!
Later, I saw a fruit at the produce market that reminded me of pictures I’d seen in my cashew research. What is it? Marañón. When I came home I looked at my jar of cashews from PriceMart and sure enough, “semillas de marañón”! Apparently semmilas (seeds) is the nuts, and marañón is the fruit.
This is a marañón fruit
This is the fruit cut open. The flesh is very light and delicate, soft but not mushy, white, mildly sweet but without a distinctive flavor or much juice. The skin is soft and smooth, and the nut inside is very pretty (but I didn’t try to eat that part)
Meanwhile, there is a very pretty tree in our neighbor’s back yard just on the other side of our fence.
The neighbor’s tree, which has been flowering. I think the reddish leaves are pretty. One day I noticed it has a few cashews on it!
Later, I noticed that this cashew was developing a fruit with it.
A little time passes, and one evening we take a walk around the block instead of our usual route toward the neighborhood entrance.
Wow, what is this? a tree with red fruit like the fruit from the market!
Definitely red fruit.
It’s a bit lighter color than the fruit I bought, and has the nut on the end (which apparently had been removed from the fruit I bought?)
Next, as we are leaving our neighborhood, I notice the cashew by the side of the road has developed fruit.
The fruit isn’t obvious at first glance, which is why sometimes it is nice to go walking. You notice more little things.
It definitely has yellow fruit! I noticed though that most of them are on the west side of the tree.
The fruits are quite pretty. They feel soft, almost waxy or oily to touch.
OK, back to cashews and marañón. My neighbor tells me that there are two kinds of fruit and only one is good to eat (the red one I bought). I am curious to get a red fruit from the tree down the street to see if it is the same, and to see if it has a pit inside.
Curiosity overcame me and I brought one home. It did not have a nut or pit inside. It has an odd flavor, not bad, just odd, not especially sweet. The fruit is very light, not very juicy, but almost not edible either. It’s more like something you chew for flavor and then spit out the pulp. It wasn’t quite like chewing gum, but not like fruit either. It’s an odd thing and hard to describe.
From what I’ve read and observed, the nuts develop first and then the fruits grow later. The skin of the fruit is fragile and delicate, so it doesn’t transport well. This is why you don’t see these fruits outside of the areas where they grow. I also read that the nuts contain a substance in the skin that is very irritating, but the roasting process gets rid of the problem.
This is not a cashew. I figured I’d toss in a little surprise for those of you who hung in there until the end. We were eating lunch outdoors one day and this guy came through the fence and went up the limón tree. Joel got this shot, very lucky because shortly afterward he hid himself in the tree so well that neither of us had a clue where he went.
It sure is interesting living in a new place with so many new things to learn about!
I feel like I have made some forward progress lately. I managed to successfully map my blog to a subdomain of my domain (look up top. It says blog.thepanamaadventure.com! Cool eh?) It may sound straightforward in the directions, but of course if there’s one thing out of place, the computers have no idea what you are talking about. And, there is always one thing out of place, if not more. But, with a lot of reading and a bit of help from a great tech support gal at GoDaddy, it worked.
I want to use the domain and website to organize information, so this is why I put the blog on a subdomain. I get quite a few inquiries from people thinking about moving out of their home countries, thinking of moving to this part of the world, or to this country or area specifically. I remember how I devoured whatever I could find before we moved, and how much I wished there was more information on a variety of things when I got here. So, at this point, the website is in the very beginning stages of development, but perhaps it will become more useful as I have time to work on it and more experience living here.
At some point I’ll probably use it to showcase some of my favorite photos as well, and who knows what other interests may make their way to my website. It’s fun having an internet space to use for whatever you want to put there.
So, when I’m not taking photos, studying Spanish, doing chores, having fun, and spending time with my friends, I’ve been dusting the mothballs off the techie part of my brain and doing some other things.
It’s sadía (watermelon) season in Panama now. These watermelon range from really good to insanely delicious! The one we bought today is in the insanely delicious category. It’s so juicy and sweet, and downright wonderful. They sell for $.20/pound here at the vegetable stand or on the street. 
I know I shouldn’t post such things when people in my former home are suffering winter storms and blizzards. Maybe if a bit of sweetness and sunshine comes though the internet, it will give you all a bit of hope for better weather.
We had a great time with friends last night who told us their favorite salad is watermelon, onion, feta cheese, and balsamic vinegar. Maybe I should try it, if we don’t just eat all the watermelon first.
Zemanta seems to have found some links about watermelon and how good it is for you. I’ll have to include them so I can justify eating watermelon every day! Now my dish is empty though, so I have to go back to the kitchen for a couple more slices.
Monthly Peace Challenge: Mad Men This month, be Don Draper and construct an advertisement for peace (using any medium you prefer – words, photos, video, etc)
Mad Men? Madison Avenue, I know, but what about Mad and Angry Men? Anger is the most destructive emotion. You can ruin a relationship, destroy trust, and cause serious pain to others. Sticks and stones can break bones, but words can cause injuries that never heal. Anger is the most difficult emotion that threatens our inner peace.
Kelsang Gyatso (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible. We all wish for world peace, but world peace will never be achieved unless we first establish peace within our own minds. We can send so-called ‘peacekeeping forces’ into areas of conflict, but peace cannot be opposed from the outside with guns. Only by creating peace within our own mind and helping others to do the same can we hope to achieve peace in this world.” Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, from Transform your life: A Blissful Journey.
World peace starts with ourselves, with each of us, individually,
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”― Margaret Mead
Who has changed the world? Who has created more peace in our world? A google search will bring up websites like this one, with names that probably just came to your mind too – Mandela, Gandhi, Dalai Lama, Tolstoy, Gorbachev, Mother Teresa. John Lennon, and so many more. These are people of inner peace, of belief in the importance of a kinder and gentler world. These are not people who lash out at others, who pick up weapons in anger. They are people who believe inflicting pain is tragic. When we think of world peace we think of kindness and love, and people who live by these principles.
If you want a more peaceful world, do you want to have the energy of the picture above, or this one? 
Screaming red man? Or the peaceful river? Lets come and enjoy the river together, so we can come back and treat our friends and family and community and world with this calm peace. This is a good energy.
I was many months overdue for a cleaning and checkup, so I figured it was my turn to see the dentist. This was accomplished in short order for $30, and cleaning was done by the dentist himself.
I’ve had trouble with my teeth for most of my adult life – gum problems, bone loss, gum surgery, deep cleaning, loss of two back teeth, appointments with the hygienist every 3 months, etc. and even with all that, it’s been a battle to maintain my teeth. If I didn’t brush and floss and water pick religiously, my gums would get irritated and start to bleed.
But, I came to Panama with one suitcase and didn’t have room for the water pick. I hoped I could manage for a month with brushing and flossing. As it turned out, I was without my water pick for much longer than that, but I haven’t had any problems. Since coming here my gums have not felt irritated, have not bled, and seem to be healthy. I brush and floss but not as frequently as before. My visit with the dentist confirmed what I thought. He says my gums look very healthy, my teeth are clean, and all is well.
What is up with this?! Gum disease is caused primarily by bacteria. Is my immune system better here? I have a strong feeling it’s the food. Is it the pineapples and papayas every day? Do they keep my mouth in better condition? Is it the home cooked with fresh ingredients diet? The lack of chemicals and pesticides that I believe permeate the US food supply? I really feel like my health in general is better from this healthy food and lifestyle, so it makes sense that my mouth is also very improved.
Whatever it is, I’m happy. I’ve always been very healthy except for teeth, so if they are so much better in Panama, this is wonderful news.
I do plan to get some work done though – replace two old silver fillings with white ones on the backs of a couple front teeth. One is already making a tooth look a little dark and he says this will only increase over time. And, I need to get a crown on a tooth that is much more filling than tooth. From what I’ve seen of his work with the rest of the family, I expect this will go well and won’t ruin my budget either.
I thought today I’d just share some random photos of things going on here. If you click on a photo you can scroll through the gallery.
