The Panama Adventure

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

Wow, a while back I wrote the post Connection, inspired by a video that really moved me. Many other people also found it so meaningful that they commented, wrote to me, and passed it along on their blogs and social media. People have found my blog through these shares and have become new followers. I have visited some of their blogs and found the most interesting people – writers, artists, and all kinds of loving, creative,  and wonderful people.

And now, I don’t have anything to say. Sometimes things are happening or I have ideas in my head that I want to write about, and at other times it just feels blank in there.

Of course there is the political nonsense in the US. I try to stay out of it but that is almost impossible. Even the Panamanians ask my opinion everywhere I go. A new friend from the UK says people are taking to the streets in her country in support and solidarity. There were women’s marches in so many countries that every continent was represented. I am filled with gratitude and hope because of all these wonderful people. Maybe as my new UK friend says, this negativity is what we need to wake us up and fight for what is right. Meanwhile though, there will be a lot of muck to suffer through.

I guess my head wasn’t a total blank after all 😀 Mostly though, it’s just regular life here. I got stung by a bee on my eyelid, first real sting since I’ve been here. It was my fault though. I had been ripping out an overgrowth for a while, not realizing that there was a bee hive in there. Finally only one came out and nailed me good. I used to keep honey bees in the US and they would have sent out the whole cavalry if I did that to them. You would think here in the tropics the bugs would be a huge problem but they aren’t at all.

We have been dancing. Since Joel is always on stage we never get to dance together like regular people, so we have been turning on the music in the living room. I have minimal experience dancing but I’m catching on and having fun, and he is also exposing me to a lot of music I don’t know.  It’s probably good exercise too. I hope so since I didn’t meet my biking goals last week.

I did set out this morning on the bike with the best of intentions. I clicked down to low gear to go up the hill in our neighborhood and bam, there went the chain right over the gear and wedged itself next to the axle where it’s almost impossible to get out. I decided I’m not dealing with that ever again so off we went to the bike shop.

Now I have a nice plastic guard thing so this won’t happen again, thanks to the suggestion of my biker son-in-law. Parts and labor were $5. Tomorrow I’m going to clean that funky chain!

I’m back in painting class again, and finally finished my latest one. The teacher kept asking for more light here, more shade there so much that I think it’s almost overdone, but hopefully my friend is happy with it. Another friend requested a calla lily and I have that one composed in my head. I’m excited to start it and see if I can bring it into reality.

I went out Saturday night to Joel’s gig and had a great time. They sounded fantastic, a number of my friends were out so I had people to dance with and it was so much fun. So… dancing, painting, trying not to discuss politics (unsuccessfully), biking a little, doing a few chores and errands, hanging out with friends… the tough life of a retired gringa.

According to this Wikipedia article, “Ageing and mortality of the individual organism became possible with the evolution of sexual reproduction, which occurred approximately a billion years ago. The sexual organism could henceforth pass on some of its genetic material to produce new individuals and itself could become disposable with regards to the survival of its species.” Since we aren’t single cell organisms, this is our fate. We are disposable.

What does this mean? If we are disposable does this make our life more meaningful? People say the Buddhists are always thinking about death. Yes, and that teaches us to value every day that we are alive. But, as we get older are our lives less valuable, as society seems to tell us?

I ran across this article that talks about musicians. There are many senior musicians who are playing as well, or even better than before like The Rolling Stones, The Who, Paul McCartney, Neil Young and Roger Waters to name a few who are still actively playing and performing. I even see this with Joel who turns 70 next month. In the 27 years I have known him, I’ve never heard him play and sing so well. As the article says “ if you’ve got your health, if you’ve got the desire, if you’ve spent decades refining your craft, then there’s no reason you can’t still do great work.”

I also found the Ageist website, dedicated to studying people over 50 who are living active, productive lives. It is time we respected the older generations for their wisdom, energy, and continued valuable contributions to society.

The article that led me there was this one on Dr Connie Mariano, white house doctor for George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. She says presidents visibly age while in office, but they also live long lives afterwards. She thinks it is the sense of purpose, the feeling that your life is significant, that you look forward to every day and have things to contribute.

I love this paragraph  There is an old saying that we have engraved on our wall in our home in Colorado: “It’s never too late to live happily ever after.” Never too late. When I bought my wedding gown 5 years ago in LA, I asked the lady, “How old was your oldest bride?” and she said, “My oldest bride was about 75 and she had to call her mother who was 96 to ask her about the dress, to tell her about the dress.”

Dr Eleanor (Connie) Mariano has a Wikipedia article if you want to know more about her, and she has written a book The White House Doctor. I might have to read that one myself.

What does all of this mean for those of you who are reaching your third stage of life? Of course health is a big deal. If you are sick or disabled that changes your options. But, if you are healthy and functioning, what do you do with this stage of your life?

For me, it’s a gift. I’ve spent my life in service to others which was very satisfying, but I don’t feel that need now. This is my time and I want to use these years to strengthen myself physically and mentally. I want new experiences, to learn more, understand more, and develop new talents and skills. I believe in being generous and putting positive energy out and I certainly want to continue that, but it’s also a privilege to follow my own inclinations and spend my time as I choose.

It’s an interesting time. The body sags and the hair gets gray. As the Doors said in Roadhouse Blues “The future’s uncertain And the end is always near.” But every day is sweeter because of this.  I see as more and more of us age, we aren’t going to be treated as second class citizens any more. We are going to fight to be recognized, fight to contribute, and to live fully. We can start with ourselves by staying engaged and involved in life, and by refusing to retreat to the rocking chair for as long as possible.

Many people read this blog because they are interesting in living in Panama, or they are already here. For me, the biggest challenge of relocating was the language. I’m not good at languages and teaching me is like pounding information into a stone head, and with holes because what goes in is likely to come right back out again.

It’s not too late to make resolutions for 2017. If learning Spanish is one of them, here you go. Yaira is an experienced teacher, and she has the patience of a saint (I’m not only slow to learn, I get frustrated and whine.) You can have your own private teacher thanks to Skype, and she is flexible about times, number of classes, goals, and anything else you need.

Here is Her Website. http://www.yairatutoria.com/

Teaching privately has allowed Yaira to go to university to further her career as a teacher, and to also spend more time with her young son. I thank her every day for my ability to communicate and I’m happy to recommend her to you all.

There is a blogger who I don’t know, but she has touched me through her words.

There are many things that need to be fixed in the USA but homelessness has found a place in my heart. Last spring I got to feel homelessness first hand, the fear as I approached people, their wish to avoid me, the inability to get anyone to stop and help me. I talked with many homeless and I heard so many sad stories of unfortunate circumstances, no family or friends for help, and no resources with which to get going again.

Read this post written by an articulate, educated, intelligent, creative, and well spoken woman. If you really want to know what it’s like to be homeless, read the whole blog.

https://warriorsandghosts.wordpress.com/2017/01/17/the-homeless-chronicles-what-i-hope-to-achieve-with-this-blog/

This could be you. This could be me. This could be any of us.

She has a GoFundMe page too.

Summer in Panama means many things are flowering and fruiting. At this time of year we see flowers that we usually don’t see at other times, and I see fruit trees covered with flowers everywhere I go. The bougainvillea are spectacular and I need to spend a day pointing my camera at them very soon.

Mangoes are one of my favorite fruits. If a little dog (perro) is a perrito, is a little mango a mangito? We have mangitoes everywhere so it might be a bumper crop this year. Last year I picked up enough to freeze and enjoy all year, and I plan to do the same this year.

This is one of my favorite trees. The fruit is smaller and yellow, but doesn’t bruise as much as some of the bigger fruit when it falls. This tree is also on a vacant lot and the fruit just rots on the ground, so I feel no guilt for picking it up and bringing it home.

Many baby mangoes! It might be a good year for fruit.

People are remarking on the avocado trees too. They are covered with an unusual amount of flowers so we might have a bumper crop of avocados too. It’s a bit too early to see many fruits but you can already spot an occasional one. They don’t freeze well like many fruits, but frozen avocados can still be used in smoothies and other recipes. If I get a lot I will freeze the extras and experiment.

This is one of my neighbor’s two trees. When she has them she shares, so it might be a good year for avocadoes too.

Can you see the baby fruit right in the middle of the photo?

The start fruit or carambola is flowering and starting to fruit again. It seems like the last round of fruit just slowed down a month or so ago. I like to eat them fresh, and they are great in fruit smoothies. I still have some in the freezer and it looks like when I run out, new fruit will be ready.

You can easily see the two young fruits in this photo

This is harder. The fruits look very much like leaves but if you look closely, maybe you can spot quite a few fruits by looking for the ridge along the sides.

The cashews are very cool! I never realized how they grow until we found them here. There is one nut on each fruit. The nut must be roasted or heated to neutralize the toxins before it can be opened to get the nut inside. No wonder they are so expensive. I wrote a post about them in the past where you can see the fruit, and there is video of people roasting the nuts on an open fire. The fruit has a very unusual,  almost pungent smell and flavor. It is very delicate and doesn’t transport well at all which is why you never see it in the markets. People here use it to make drinks, and it is really good chopped and cooked with maybe a bit of sweetener and/or some vanilla.

Trees are covered with little pinkish flowers now, and a few nuts are just starting to appear.

You can see a green nut in the center of the picture. Eventually the fruit will form from the dark purple stem looking thing, and the nut will turn gray.

Guandu, or pigeon peas are very important to Panamanians. They are pretty much required for holiday dinners for the traditional arroz con guandu (rice and guandu). They can be expensive though, especially around Christmas so they are a very common sight growing in people’s yard. I have found that they freeze well, and they can also be dried and cooked like beans.

My neighbors have a number of beautiful plants covered with flowers and developing pea pods.

My plant with flowers and young pea pods. They are a bit of work picking and shelling the peas, but I like the plants and especially like the flowers. This plant produces black peas and the flowers are beautiful yellow and purple.

Here to finish up are photos of a number of other random plants and trees.

One a coconut gets going, it seems to produce continuously. This one has young green coconuts, small ones to the left, and flowers above just starting to form into little coconuts.

This is not a baby. This is a lemon bigger than a grapefruit. It has a flavor much like the lemons we are used to in the US. I have been freezing the juice so i can have lemonade for a long time.

I have another bunch of plantains coming

We have a guanabana (soursop) tree that produced quite a bit of fruit recently, and now I see a lot more baby fruit so there will be more coming soon.

We also have a bunch of red bananas coming

I still think these flowers and way of fruiting is so interesting

These are mariñon corazon, so called because they look like the cashew apple but the seed is inside like a heart. They are light, white, and somewhat bland raw but cooked, they are very much like apples. If all those bunches of little green things develop into fruit, there is going to be a lot of it!

Our limon tree has a few baby fruits

This almond tree is also flowering

I spotted just a few almonds but I’m sure there will be more soon from all the flowers

A few notes on the fruits above. The huge lemons are great! I have been picking them up from two trees nearby. I wrote about them in the past.

The mariñon corazon, I can’t find any information about them. The people in Nicaragua call them peras, but that didn’t lead anywhere either. The trees are tall, nicely shaped, and when they flower they make feathery purple blossoms. Soon there is a beautiful carpet of purple under the tree.

Our limon trees are usually loaded with fruit by now, but we had a brush fire come through here last year. The heat from the fire even outside our fence was enough to cause the trees to lose all their leaves. They have recovered nicely but there were very few flowers, so we have very little fruit this year. Hopefully we will have better luck next year.