The Panama Adventure

I love how this holiday is treated here. I have been getting greetings – Feliz Dia de la Amistad  (happy day of friendship). It was explained that Valentines Day is for everyone, your friends, your family, anyone you love even including your dog and your goldfish. How nice is that?!  How inclusive. Many single people feel depressed on this day, but you can’t do that here when you get greetings from everyone who cares about you.

So, to all of you, all of my friends out there – Feliz Día de la Amistad!

I got a Happy Valentines Day from my husband though, and a Happy Anniversary. 21 years! Our lives have taken twists and turns we never would have imagined when we first met back in 1990. It’s going wonderfully and we have decided to do one more year and see where this one takes us 😀

We came home Saturday night to this. This is the woods across the street from us, behind our neighbors’ houses. It is supposed to be dark. There is not supposed to be this red glow.

It is summer, dry season, and it hasn’t rained for weeks. Everything is getting more and more dry and these brush fires are starting to pop up. No one seems to know how they get started and the general opinion is that they are started by people for reasons not understood. This woods burned twice last year so I knew immediately what was going on when I saw the red glow.

the light gets brighter as the fire comes closer

we are thankful that the winds aren’t blowing the fire and smoke towards us, though at times there is still plenty of smoke

Before long, the fire is close to my neighbor’s house and tool shed

The wind was blowing mainly from the far right side of the woods to the left, but it was still pushing the fire towards our neighborhood. The light intensified, and soon we could see flames. Before long it was close to the property line of the people across the street. It made for some beautiful photos but otherwise it was not a welcome sight.

The fire comes closer

Smoke and light billow above

My neighbor looks on as the fire approaches. That’s his tool shed on the left

The flames are beautiful in the distance as they go up the hill

At first I wondered why people were so meticulous about keeping their yards clean of leaves and debris. Now I know it’s because they don’t want anything that burns near their houses and property. This night the water pressure was so low that there wasn’t enough water to fight the fire. What kept the fire away was the excellent cleaning job. There was nothing for the fire to burn as it came close.

Panamanian houses are they are made of concrete block and tin roofs, and none of that burns. I have seen more serious fires that burn the shrubbery and send showers of cinders down on homes, but the houses don’t catch on fire. The people mainly don’t want to lose plants and trees in the yard and of course they would rather not breath smoke and ash. But, the risk of property loss is much lower here because of the construction materials and diligent removal of anything burnable in the yards.

Today, I went to see how things look in the woods.

Things look a bit charred but the trees still have green leaves, and the pine trees in the distance look very good

The low plants even look less damage than I expected

The fire looked quite impressive in the night, but in the daylight the damage looks less than I expected.

It’s been a crazy few days! First we had the tree come down. We were supposed to go to the Jazz and Blues festival in Boquete on Friday night but the weather was terrible up there, high winds and lots of rain (we had a lot of wind too but none of the rain). Saturday we did go to the festival but came home to the fire. Sunday we went to the festival again, and today (Monday) was cleanup day for the downed tree. We have been having so much fun! Well, not so much with the tree and the fire, but everything else has been great. Now I need a little time to catch up before the next adventures start.

This is a post I didn’t plan on writing!

To say it’s a windy day is an understatement. I heard the wind blowing during the night. The leaves and debris hitting the tin roof sound like rocks, and anything larger sounds like someone threw a coconut on the roof. The wind has only intensified as the day has gone on and wind gusts are literally roaring in the trees.

There is an enormous tree in the woods just outside our fence. It must be 100+ feet tall. We hired someone to cut it back last year and he never showed up but I didn’t worry too much. It’s been there for many decades so it certainly should last for a few more. Today I was minding my own business in the kitchen when suddenly I heard this huge noise and I knew immediately what it was – the TREE!

I dashed for the other side of the house just in case it hit the house. It didn’t but dust and debris were raining everywhere, the side yard is a mess, and I’m sure the fence will need major repairs. Neighbors came running from everywhere to see what had happened!

One of the biggest parts of the tree came down.

This must be at least 2 feet across

A couple smaller limbs above also came down, and they took out part of another tree farther down the fence when they fell.

Our side yard is a bit of a mess

This is what is left of the tree. It used to extend in a graceful dome from these remaining branches on the left.

I am very very thankful! Yesterday I was raking and weeding in the side yard exactly where the tree fell. I don’t work over there on windy days just in case but still, if I had been there it could have been a very bad thing.

This is the wind map from WindyTV today, a few thousand feet up at mountain height.

The purple areas are 40+ mph winds, and the blue areas 60+ mph. As you can see, it’s worse in the mountains and in eastern Panama near the canal. How does this affect the ships, especially those with containers piled high?

We are very happy here but that doesn’t mean every day is all rainbows and unicorns. We are very thankful we have water today because there have been many afternoons with none. We are thankful that we have electricity and internet, unlike the first windy day when trees fell taking out many power lines. Living here teaches you that nothing is guaranteed, and to be thankful every day for what you have.

I ran across this interesting video answering the question “what is the hardest thing about living in Costa Rica?”. You would expect the language, culture shock, or any number of other concerns but I never though about alcohol, and how easy it is to indulge too much.

Costa Rica is right next door and I’m sure a lot of things are similar for expats there and here. As Michael in the video says, your time isn’t structured with work and obligations. You don’t have to get up in the morning looking bright and ready to tackle the day. You aren’t responsible for children or other obligations. Alcohol is everywhere and it’s inexpensive so it’s way too easy to get carried away.

I have heard about excessive drinking here also. There are people who go to the bar every afternoon and stay until they are barely able to stumble home again. I have been to a party, at noon, and the main objective was clearly to drink. By the end of the afternoon some were embarrassingly drunk, and I was very concerned about the participants who all had to drive home. I’m sure there are many other people who drink at home and stay out of sight.

I don’t have much advice except to say if you find alcohol very seductive, you might factor this in when you build your new life in retirement. Find other interesting things to do, and get involved with people and activities that don’t involved drinking. Don’t spend your precious retirement years in an alcohol fog.

It seems like I have been out and about more than I have been home lately. Monday, a friend and I decided to visit Boca Chica. It’s my favorite area on the water so you don’t have to twist my arm to go there. I didn’t take many photos because I’ve covered it quite a bit in the past, but we did see something interesting, a small plane landing on the water. The waitress at Boca Brava said it’s a private plane that comes from David. That would be a much shorter trip than by car.

As you can see, it was a beautiful day, quite windy but clear and sunny. We had a nice lunch at Boca Brava, and then stopped for a drink at Seagullcove Lodge to enjoy the beautiful atmosphere and scenery there.

Yesterday some other friends wanted to buy some fish. We hadn’t had fresh fish in a while so a trip to Pedregal sounded like a very good idea. The market was a little hole in the wall with fish in coolers when I first went there, but now they have a large tiled room with large covered ice bins. We both got a large piece of pargo (red snapper) cut from what must have been a huge fish.

This is their price list (per pound) Red snapper, sea bass, mackerel, some others I’m not sure what they are called in English. Camaron is shrimp.

they will clean your fish and cut it up however you want it. I cleaned my own fish once and had scales all over the kitchen! Now I just give them a tip and let them do it.

There are some fish shops on the main street that you can spot by their signs. This one was recommended by Panamanian friends not long after we arrived so this is where we usually go. I don’t think you’d ever find it though without someone to show you, something I’m happy to do because I like fish too.

Since we were in Pedregal, we decided to check out the marina.

As you can see, it was a really pretty day. I think that green and white sailboat has been there every time I have visited.

There were some fairly big boats there. These two bigger ones say they are from Florida, and the last one in the distance says it’s from Wilmington. I’ve seen it before and the guys working told me that it has been here for a year. It’s a really big one!

A view from another direction

If I had a boat I’m not sure I’d choose to spend an extended amount of time at this marina. It’s not the most scenic area, but the proximity to David is good for daily needs. I’m not sure if there are other options in Chiriqui.

It seems like there has been a lot going on lately. There was the somewhat time consuming expensive lesson about car documents last weekend, then out and about Monday and Wednesday. What did I do Sunday and Tuesday? Sheesh, I can’t even remember. Wednesday night we went to the opening event for the Blues and Jazz Festival in Boquete and it was great. We’ll be going back tonight and through the weekend. Then, we have three days before our trip to Cuba!

This retirement is rough, I tell ya, just go go go all the time! 😀

I happened across this cool site! https://lmgtfy.com/     It shows people how to do a google search. I know it’s kind of snarky but I still love it.

What kind of money does Panama use?
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Panama+currency

Is it hot in Panama?
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=is+it+hot+in+Panama

Cool huh?

And, a couple favorites that bring quite a bit of traffic to my blog
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=crocodiles+in+Panama (why are so few people writing about crocodiles in Panama?)

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Panama+Push+button (my push button post is always in the top ten posts visited today! Sex sells 😀 )

I participate on some forums and of course I have this blog, so I see and get asked questions all the time. It is unusual that a day goes by that someone doesn’t contact me about something. I enjoy talking with people and I’m happy to answer questions, but please don’t ask something that can easily be found with google or YouTube.

One forum moderator said that if he could find the answer in less than 15 seconds, he would kick out the person who asked 😀 I don’t think he ever actually did it but I understand the feeling.

So, if you see a snarky “let me google that for you” response from me or someone else, maybe that will remind you that the internet has tons of information that you can find yourself.

And, for those of you who want to see Panama through the eyes of people actually living here, which is an excellent idea that I totally understand, here is my list of Panama blogs.

http://www.panamaforreal.com/ Panama City and eastern Panama
http://www.panamadiaries.com/ Panama City
http://pty.life/ Panama City
https://blog.thepanamaadventure.com/ David
http://www.chiriquichatter.net/ David
http://www.anewlifeinparadise.com/ David
http://onemoregoodadventure.com/ Chiriqui (Boquerón)
http://panamaprattle.blogspot.com/
http://hollycarter184.wordpress.com/ Boquete
http://tombseekers.wordpress.com/ Boquete
https://bobandsuzisperpetualvacation.wordpress.com/ Gorgona
http://www.ourthirdlifepedasi.com/ Pedasi
http://indacampo.wordpress.com/ Pedasi
http://panamadude.com/ Pedasi
http://time4panamaniacs.blogspot.com/ Panama City
http://panamaforbeginners.com/ Panama City, and general info for expats.
http://www.2RetireesinPanama.blogspot.com Chame and Coronado area
http://blog.wanderpanther.com/ travels all over Panama
http://panamajen.blogspot.com/ A peace corp volunteer in the Cormaca

and last but hardly least!

https://latitudeadjustmentblog.com/ Boquete

Many people consider shipping household goods and/or a vehicle to Panama when they move, and questions about it come up on the forums and discussion groups all the time.

Jason has experience in auto transport and some great advice on moving to Panama. You can check out his facebook page: A1 Auto Transport, Inc. or his website www.a1autotransport.com/ship-car-to-panama.php for further information on importing your vehicle to Panama.

Before making your move, you should consider all that comes with the move. Panama has a wide array of things to do for fun. Whether you like spending time at the beach, getting to know your neighbors or heading out to spend time shopping or checking out the local restaurants and lounges, you’ll find many things to do here. It’s a good idea to learn Spanish before you make the trip if you don’t already speak it. The language is spoken everywhere and while many people speak English, you’ll find it easier to communicate when you at least know some basic Spanish.

Panama is a far move from the U.S., so you need to be sure that you’re moving the items you need, including your vehicle, with you. Without your own vehicle, you may find it a hassle to find reliable transportation with taxis or buses locally, especially if you live in a rural area.

What to Expect with Shipping Goods and Your Vehicle

When you want to know what to expect, it is important to note not only how it can be done but what the prices are going to be like. Enjoy more from the move when you choose a reputable, highly qualified shipping company to work with. You will need to provide documentation when moving items, such as a declaration of goods being shipped, title of the vehicle, insurance and government documents including your passport. You’ll also need to pay import taxes on the vehicle which can range between 50-60% of the value of the vehicle.

There are a few types of transport that you can choose from, depending on how you feel on each. The roll on and roll off (RORO), as well as container shipping options provide you with a way to get your items, as well as your vehicle to Panama. Containers generally cost more, but it protects not only your vehicle, but your items that are being shipped with it. Air shipping is usually reserved for extremely expensive cars and it can be costly to use. RORO is the most economical and is widely used and trusted for overseas transport.

When you need to ship household goods you need to have a detailed shipping list to show every item inside your container so customs will not have a problem with their inspection and clearance. Some people prefer to ship vehicles separately just in case the household goods are held up with customs and delayed for clearance.

You should expect to have your items around a week or two after you have them shipped. You may want to bring along some necessary household items when you fly over to start your life in Panama. Shipping times can vary depending on the shipping company you work with. It also depends on their shipping schedule and how far out they need to go.

Pros and Cons of Shipping Your Vehicle to Panama

There are pros and cons to everything and importing to Panama is no exception.

Pros

• You can trust a reputable company to ensure that your vehicle makes it to the destination

• You can travel in Panama without relying on the public transportation system

• Enjoy the fact that the value of your vehicle is not going to go down when you move it, since they do not devaluate as fast as they do in the states

Cons

• You may have to save some cash to move the items and your vehicle to your location in Panama as it can be a little expensive

• When looking for the right company to move your car, you may go through a trial and error phase until you find the one that is best for you

The pros outweigh the cons when it comes to vehicle transport and a pro can help you get all your items from one place to the next without having to worry about a thing. Whether you are moving or simply taking a much-needed vacation, you will quickly find that Panama has much to offer visitors as well as residents and it’s a place you will find easy to call home.

I found this very touching video about the communication of only looking into someone’s eyes.

Marina Abramović is a Serbian performance artist who works with the interaction between artist and observer, and the limits of the mind and body. Check out her Wikipedia page here. She is controversial, creative, courageous, and many other adjectives but definitely a force in the world.

This video is a bit of The Artist is Present performance art at the Museum of Modern Art. The artist sat in a chair and audience members would sit in a chair opposite and they would just look at each other. Ulay was Ms Abramović’s collaborator and lover for 12 years, but they hadn’t seen each other for 30 years. He came to MOMA and sat opposite her.

It still makes me tear up every time I see it, such powerful emotions but not a word is said.

There is an HBO documentary (below). Watch it if you can. It’s 1 3/4 hour. It’s all interesting but the last part is about The Artist is Present at MOMA. You will see person after person after person sitting across from the artist. She closes her eyes after each one, and when the next sits down she opens her eyes to gaze directly into their eyes, no looking around, no figeting, only the direct, concentrated gaze at the person in the other chair. It was something to just watch it. I can only imagine being one of the people across from her.

According to the Wikipedia article, Ms Abramović sat across from 1545 people, 736+ hours over the space of 2 1/2 months, sitting without moving, only gazing at the person in the other chair. She said that the show changed her life “completely – every possible element, every physical emotion”.  People lined up to participate even camped outside the museum so they could be sure to get in line the next morning.

Another interesting work was Rhythm 0, 1974. The artist (who would resist nothing that happened) and 72 objects were on a table for the audience to use in any way they wished. After 6 hours the artist was naked, bruised, and bleeding. Factions in the audience who wanted to harm her were fighting with those who wanted to protect her. When it was over she got up and walked towards the audience, “she said the audience left, unable to face her as a person”.

For me though, The Artist is Present is the most powerful. Like the refugees and European individuals I shared in Connection, to see someone, to really look at them and really see them…  she made a space in the middle of a crowded room where there was only that connection between two people.

There are random police checkpoints all over Panama. There is a permanent one on the road up to Boquete in response to an increased amount of crime, and word is that this has helped a lot. Usually the police just wave us through but, once in a while, they get more thorough. I don’t know if it was because of a home robbery in the area a few days ago, or if it just wasn’t Joel’s lucky day.

He headed up for band practice and a short while later I got a phone call. “Do you know anything about my car documents, my insurance documents?! All I have here is a paper that isn’t good past Dec 2016!” HELP! Unfortunately I don’t know anything about his car documents, and any papers we have are in the car. By now he is off to the side of the road, papers spread all over the car, and the cops are calling a tow truck. No proof of insurance, no driving!

I call our insurance people who respond immediately. They call Joel, talk to the police, and send him an updated document with his current insurance status to his email and WhatsApp. Unfortunately once a tow truck has been called, it’s too late to reverse the situation. But, I am very thankful that they got busy immediately and did everything they could to help.

(our insurance people – Melva Vega
Asistente de Cobro, F&C Corredores de Seguros, Ubicación en David
Edificio Galherna, Oficina #2
Tel: 775-9237 / 775-1615 / Fax: 775-8478)

I also gave Joel the number of Eduardo Horna, our friend and real estate agent. He hopped on his motorcycle and was there within minutes. He talked to the police, helped with communication, and vouched for Joel that he was a good guy, just lacking a document. Joel said he felt much better with Eduardo there, and the police relaxed and were more friendly after talking with him.

(Eduardo, a good guy to know for houses, transportation, tours, translation, and getting a multitude of things done around Chiriqui – https://findingmyselfinpanama.wordpress.com/2015/04/09/video-of-ed-horna-rental-property-available-in-davidboquete/ )

I keep thinking of selling our old Mazda because it just sits here most of the time, but in times like this it is good to have. I head up the mountain, and there is Joel sitting by the side of the road with all his musical equipment. He wasn’t about to leave it in the car, and the tow truck driver didn’t want to take him back down to David.

Joel took a selfie while he was waiting. He was at the checkpoint on Via Boquete at the Caldera road intersection.

Eduardo gave us instructions to go to Sertracen the next day, the office in Chiriqui Mall where you get your drivers license, and apparently pay fines like this. After some conversation that I had trouble understanding from a women behind a window, and another nice gal who spoke some English – no, we don’t have the car, and all the documents are with the car. No, we don’t have the title. All we have is this insurance document and the ticket from the police – yes, we want to pay the fine today – after some back and forth and $50.25, Joel is given two receipts and is told we can go get the car.

The Sertracen office

We head out to Taller El Cid in Las Lomas. We go around the curve as instructed, and another curve, and another, stop at a gas station where the attendant asks a taxi driver who had just pulled in. She came back with directions. We just hadn’t gone far enough. The taxi driver offers to lead us there for $1.50 but I say thanks, I think with all our info we will be able to find it. Sure enough, a while later we spot the shop on the left, so we double back in the next “returno”.

This is only a very small bit of what makes up this shop! But, that green building behind is the office.

I should have taken more pictures. It’s a really big shop and it looks like they mostly fix big trucks and 18 wheelers. Down below is a parking lot with cars. The young man makes color copies of Joel’s receipts, the insurance document, and his cedula (Panamanian ID card), collects $150 (ouch!) and asks us the make and model of the car. We go to look in the parking lot below and I don’t see the car. “Are you sure it is at this shop? Who told you that?” We walk across the shop and look in the other side of the area below, and there it is. Whew! OK, all in order, just need the key. He looks in the desk drawer, in a box of random keys, on the wall, no key. He calls the boss who says he will come shortly to find the key.

Joel brings the car up above on the bad bumpy road, and we wait for the key to be found. An aside – yes that is a July 2016 plate. If you don’t get your plate on time, they don’t order you one for next year. Joel has been to the office twice and gotten a piece of paper that says he is legal, and maybe some day the plate will come in. No, they don’t have stickers. You get a whole new plate every year.

We wait. We talk about his English studies at university. We talk about things in the US, of course including our current president. We talk about a lot of things, and wait, and after 45 minutes or so he calls the boss again who apparently sent him back into the office. He immediately returns with the key wrapped in a bit of paper. Yeah! Ready to go. (I know, I know, you would think they would have all this much more organized! But, TIP.)

Now that you have read all this, go check your car. Do you have your title? Revisado (inspection)? Current insurance document (check the expiration date)? Do you have the correct phone number for your insurance agent? It doesn’t hurt to have a couple copies of each document also, just because TIP. If you don’t have your plates, be sure you have that document also.

I’ll leave you with this picture just because I thought it was very funny. These two guys had put a piece of cardboard under the big truck and were taking a nap.

TIP = this is Panama