Birds and Critters

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Kris Cunningham

My “office” is the table on the patio where I can enjoy the birds and other wildlife in our yard. These are a few recent photos of some visitors I have seen in the last few days.

There are so many birds in Panama! We have put out a couple pans of water and a lot of birds come to drink and bathe. I think this one is a clay colored thrush. They are frequent visitors who bathe enthusiastically until soaking wet, and then go up in the tree to flap vigorously to dry off, only to come back and bathe again.

First, some singing might be in order.
Then, a bit of bathing is good.
Lets really splash around and throw water everywhere!
Now I am soaking wet and will have to go flap in the tree to dry off. (these are all pictures of the same bird taken within a few minutes of each other)

There are a number of other birds that also visit, but to name them all would take some thinking and looking in my bird book! It is interesting that some just come to drink, others to bathe, some come solo, others in pairs, and occasionally there is a group, even a mixed species group that manages to visit peacefully. At other times one bird will claim the birdbath and until he’s done, no one else is allowed to approach.

There are also birds in the trees. I see quite a few and hear a lot more who I can’t identify by their songs. We see the paisanas (or chachalaca in English) quite often. Usually they are very quiet but once in a while they get all wound up and make quite a racket. I came out one morning and there was a group of them in a tree behind our yard calling loudly!

This one was beautifully silhouetted against the sky.
They are interesting and elegant birds, though they seem to spend more time hopping around in trees than they do flying.

Of course birds aren’t the only wildlife around here. There are a variety of reptiles as well, and I often see these beautiful lizards in the grass. I believe they are a type of whiptail.

This is a very handsome lizard!
His friend is much more green.
The two of them seemed to be hanging out together, or at least happy to share the same area.

The newest thing here is a frog. I have heard these frogs in many areas but never in our yard until a few nights ago when I heard chirping that seemed to be coming from the birdbath.

(there is nothing to see here but turn up your sound to hear the frog, and the rain in the background)

Then, the other night, Joel went out with his new flashlight and managed to spot the little frog!

Photos of wiggly creatures by flashlight don't come out very well, but at least you can see the little frog.

Photos of wiggly creatures by flashlight don’t come out very well, but at least you can see the little frog.

Other than hanging out on the patio and watching the wildlife, I’m not sure where the days go but they keep flying by! We’ve had some more cyclists staying with us on their way from Alaska to Argentina. (Check out their interesting website). We’ve spent a little time with friends. We’ve done the usually shopping and chores. I’ve spent a while working in the yard, and I always seem to have things on line to read, emails to answer, and other blogs to visit.

I’ve also been spending more time on the bicycle to get in shape for traveling. I met a young woman who plans to bike from Panama City to Mexico. ( Check out her website.) I plan to join here when she arrives in David and bike at least as far as Ometepe Island, Nicaragua.  She is less than half my age though so I’d better get in shape PDQ! She’s very interesting person and I am really looking forward to getting to know her better.

That’s pretty much what is going on with us here in Panama. It continues to be a very good life and we both feel so very fortunate.

 

Posted in bird watching, Miscellaneous, Panama, wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Visiting the New Locks of the Panama Canal

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Kris Cunningham

Last Sunday we had a fantastic opportunity! The ACP (Panama Canal Authority) opened the new locks to the public for one day only, and anyone who wanted to visit was welcome. I had seen photos and read articles, but to actually go to the construction site was too exciting to pass up. Next month they are going to start filling the locks with water so this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

It all started when someone posted this article on Facebook http://www.prensa.com/sociedad/visita_a_esclusas_0_4201080042.html  All we needed to do was show up at the designated parking area wearing long pants and proper footwear for a construction zone.

So, we took the bus to Panama City on Saturday, booked the Allbrook Inn for a couple nights, and contacted Luis Arce to pick us up and drive us to the site.

There was a ton of traffic and it took us two hours of stop and go to arrive at the parking area.
We went on the Centennial Bridge over the canal.
We made it to the parking area! It was full though so they directed us to the Comisariato Aeronaval nearby.
I’m not sure what the goats were doing there but they acted like they belonged. Maybe they were part of the lawn maintenance team. They were there when we returned also.

We made it to the parking area, and then made our way to the main parking area where there was a long line around the parking lot and down the street.

The line goes all the way down the street and around that parking lot you can see in the distance.
We made it to the parking lot!
This bird was very upset with anyone who walked across the field by the parking lot.
A few people, like this lady, went over to the bird. It was fine as long as you faced it, but when you turned to walk back the bird would attack.
According to my bird book, this is a southern lapwing.
More and more people kept arriving, and the line stretched farther down the street.
We’re almost to the buses!

We were in this line about two hours before we made it to the bus, most of it in light to heavy rain. People were upbeat and cheerful though and didn’t seem to mind getting wet. Here though the rain is warm and getting wet is a common occurrence.

The bus took us on a short ride, and then let us off in another parking lot where there was a huge line!

The line looked really huge but it moved fast and took only about an hour.
The last part of the waiting was in this covered area but by now the rain was letting up.
Then, finally, we made it to the end of this line, passed through the entrance, and then we were loaded on to more buses.
In a few minutes we were obviously getting into the construction site.

And, then, we were THERE!

 

The bus drove down into the lock and let us off.
Joel is excited too!
This is one of many water stations we saw throughout the day. The staff all had t-shirts that said – I am a part of history! They were very friendly and seemed happy to help guests and be a part of this day.
I was wet and bedraggled too, but really happy!
There were various spots for photos. Here a staff member is taking a photo for these folks in front of one of the spaces where the water goes in and out of the lock. The sign says – A day in your history.
The most popular photo spot was in front of these massive doors.
This is looking south to the other end of these locks.
The huge doors run on these tracks.
There were many police, soldiers, attendants, and other personnel keeping order (not that it was a problem. Everyone was pretty mellow)
Looking north from where we were, we could see more buses coming down into the lock.
Everyone was excited to see this guy, the director of the canal. (white hat, black shirt)
There was a drone making passes overhead, and when it went over everyone would cheer and wave their flags.
The director stopped for photos with many people.
Finally, after a wonderful visit and many photos, we got in line for the next bus.

I believe I have identified the director in the white hat and black shirt as Guillermo O Chapman, Jr.  and clicking on his name will take you to some information about him.

We boarded the next bus and headed to the “mirador” or look out spot. Every bus had someone in a lime green t-shirt cheerfully telling us where we were going, what we were going to see, and any other information that would be helpful.

We passed a few of these big trucks used for hauling dirt.
Another bridge, and I’m not sure if this is part of the chambers and holding areas for water. These locks will reuse water because they use too much to fill them from the lake and discard it all downstream.
Buildings under construction along the way.
And, a tower is going up.
We approach the other end of the locks.

At first I thought we must be at different locks, until I looked way down in the distance in one of these photos and saw we were actually at the other end of these same locks. The size and scope of all this is pretty incredible.

We are dropped off at another spot with people to guide us, more bathrooms, and water stations.
Behind us is the canal currently in use. That black ship was making its way south towards the Pacific.
There was a big container ship on the far side loaded with containers.
They had constructed a look out area for people to see the site and take photos.
Here is the view from up there! It wasn’t until I got home and looked at this photo that I was sure we were looking at the same locks. Look closely way down in the distance and you can see buses bringing people down into the lock.
All good things eventually come to a close. We were loaded on buses and taken back to the area of the second lines, and from there there were buses either back to the parking area or to Albrook bus station.
As we left I saw this sign – Never Forget this Day, a Day in your History. Yes indeed, so true!

This was an all day event, but an excellent experience! I heard later that 45,000 people visited. A lot of credit goes to the people who organized all this, the personnel, the buses, the parking and waiting areas, the water, the bathrooms, the little flags that were handed out to everyone, music, drones, security, and I’m sure a lot more things than we realize. They did an excellent job of handling this many people and making it a great day for everyone.

Here is some more information on this construction project

http://micanaldepanama.com/expansion/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_expansion_project

Plans are for the canal to be open and operational in 2016. I definitely want to go back then, and that will be even more interesting after seeing it before the water!

 

 

Posted in Exploring Panama, Miscellaneous, Panama | Tagged , , | 25 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Forces of Nature

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: Forces of Nature

This was easy this week since I just went to the beach to check out the unusually high tides and big waves.

It's hard to get a photo of how wild these waves were.

It’s hard to get a photo of how wild these waves were.

This photo was taken at Playa La Barqueta in Chiriqui, Panama.

One of my blog readers shared some wonderful information in the comments of a recent post on this subject. These waves are from a system called Ocean Swell, or Mar de Fondo in Spanish. The current swell is from between Australia and South America and has travelled over 10,000 Km. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swell_(ocean)

Here is a twitter feed from Mexico that also explains this  

Thank you oldcameraman for the much appreciated info. Thank you to the sea for many great photos, and for the Ocean Swell that gave me something new to learn about and photograph.

 

Posted in Exploring the Area, Panama, Photo Challenge, photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Intricate

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: Intricate

The first things that came to mind were some of the intricate patterns found in nature.

I've seen this interesting tiny, baby lizard a few times on the terrace, but Joel got a great photo of him.

I’ve seen this interesting tiny, baby lizard a few times on the terrace, but Joel got a great photo of him.

xx

This tiny moth was barely a centimeter across, but so beautiful.

This tiny moth was barely a centimeter across, but so beautiful.

xx

One night this beautiful cicada landed on my table.

One night this beautiful cicada landed on my table.

xx

Among the bugs there was this gorgeous moth on the wall (in Nicaragua)

Among the bugs there was this gorgeous moth on the wall (in Nicaragua)

These photos aren’t new, but are some I remembered from doing some blog backup a while ago.

Here’s a few other posts on this photo challenge:

https://veronicapanita.wordpress.com/2015/05/06/weekly-photo-challenge-intricate/

https://6degreesofberlin.wordpress.com/2015/05/07/weekly-photo-challenge-intricate/

http://theramblinggardener.com/2015/05/08/weekly-photo-challenge-intricate-3/

http://ozarkmountainhiker.com/2015/05/03/weekly-photo-challenge-intricate-in-the-ozarks/

http://hnen.hassenorelius.se/weekly-photo-challenge-intricate/

 

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High Tides and Pounding Waves

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Kris Cunningham

Something is going on in the Pacific Ocean, and I have heard that there are unusually high tides and large waves all along the coasts of Central and South America. Some say it is the season, and others say that this is something bigger than anything that usually happens. It is affecting Panama and there have been warnings to stay out of the water and use extreme caution in all Pacific beach areas.

http://www.prensa.com/sociedad/oleaje_pacifico_alerta_verde_0_4204079704.html

Yesterday I decided to go out to La Barqueta and see what was going on. There were definitely high waves and pounding surf!

As I approached La Barqueta I could hear the waves from this far back. Ahead of me are the condos, and the Las Olas beach resort is to their left.
To the right, construction has started on some new high rise condo buildings.
It seems odd to put high rises out here. Most of the beach is barely touched and in a very natural state, and there is nothing much out here, not even a convenience store. But, I suppose if you want beach living and don’t mind driving into town for everything, it would work. It’s such a beautiful and natural area though I almost hate to see it built up.
There is a little fonda on the beach where I stopped for a drink and a rest. These parrots were playing under a table.

There were police and guards posted at the public beach area to keep people from going anywhere near the water. When I got within sight of the water the surf was the loudest I have heard.

This beach shelter is usually a ways up from the water’s edge. Today the sand was wet and people told me that the high tide had flooded it. The tide was coming in again and the waves were inching up towards the shelter again.
Waves come farther and farther up the beach.
It’s hard to get a photo of how wild these waves were.
The guy in the orange shirt had just come over to warn me and tell me not to go any closer to the water than in front of the beach shelter. I’m not sure what the guy in the white shirt was doing, but he had a camera pointed at me the whole time the other guy was talking with me. The guy in green looks like a policeman, and there were a couple other guys in the shelter who had arrived in a bomberos (firemen) truck.
More waves, looking west up the beach
Just as I was about to leave, this big formation of pelicans flew overhead.

Ooh, I almost forgot to include the video!

There is a lot of concern now about the state of the earth. The high tides and waves are only a part of it. There is increased volcanic activity in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, our neighbors. The weather has been very hot for this time of year, and people say the it is because the earth is unusually hot which means we are at an increased risk for earthquakes. There was a 5.1 today in Nicaragua and a lot of activity in Chili. We are supposed to be in the rainy season but it hasn’t rained for days. Some days have been hot and humid enough to make even me unhappy, and though the humidity of the last couple days is a bit less, a cooling rain would be most welcome.

After checking out the beach, I knew I was in for a couple more hours on the bike to get home, so I headed inland.

A tractor passes a pretty rice field.
more rice
Heads of rice
A bull was leading all his cows somewhere. The photo shows only a few of them, but there must have been more than 100 altogether.
I stopped for a moment, looked up, and saw this young bull looking at me. Or, maybe he was looking at all the mangoes lying on the ground outside the fence.

I hadn’t done this long a bike trip in a while, and there was a lot of mind over matter. The first hour out I was thinking – I am hot and tired now. Why do I want to get more hot and tired? Why do I want to see again what I have seen 100 times? I’m 5 miles out, 5 to return, 10 miles total – that’s a good ride so I can turn around. Then, 7 miles, 10 miles, more of the same calculating. I forgot my MP3 and I’ll be bored soon, so I should turn back. On the other hand – I want to see the beach. If I can’t do 40 miles in one day, how do I think I can travel and do 40-50 miles day after day?? I had better get with it!! Once I got out past familiar areas it was more fun and my attitude improved a lot.

On the way back I had a decent tail wind for the first hour, the road was flat, I exchanged greetings with people as I passed, and I had a great time. Then, I was back in the familiar areas again, it was after noon and hot, and the gradual incline from the south part of town to the north started. I could just call Joel to come pick me up. What? You can’t cycle 40 miles?? You have to get picked up?! You know you can’t do that if you are traveling. I could get a drink, something cold with sugar (I passed one too many gas stations with a fridge full of cold drinks and eventually I couldn’t resist). I’ll just go to the next cross street and then I’ll call Joel. Well, maybe just another 10 blocks and then I’ll call. This went on in my head until I made it to the Pan-American. I stopped to rest in a bus stop, where a sweet guy with some of his teeth wanted to teach me the name of every town and neighborhood around (*sigh* I just want to rest). Now it would silly to call Joel when I was this close to home. The rest break and the last of my soda revived me enough to get back on the bike, and I concentrated on moving the pedals around and around until I made it home.

I have learned that so many factors go into bike riding and a big one is attitude. If I’m excited and psyched up for a certain ride it goes much better. If I can get lazy, it’s too tempting to slack off. It’s harder when it’s really hot, of course. And, like anything, I have good days and off days. But, I try my best to keep on it and I’m definitely stronger than I used to be. With any luck I’ll be successful on the road trip planned for late June. But, that will be another subject and other blog posts.

For now though, it is now Thursday afternoon and I am happy to report that it is cloudy, it has rained a bit, and there is thunder in the distance so maybe we will get a bit more! Yeah!

Posted in Exploring the Area, Miscellaneous, Panama, photography | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

My Panamanian Neighborhood

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Kris Cunningham

It is easy to forget that my every day life is interesting to other people. So, I am going to try to post more about daily things. One thing I see almost every day is my neighborhood, and the two mile route between there and the shopping area where we go most often.

I stopped by the vegetable market and looked south. The Pan-American Highway is down there past the Honda dealership on the left and Toyota on the right. The folks carrying bags are coming from The supermarket in the shopping area one block to the left. They have recently put up the tin walls around the lot on the near left. Maybe they are going to build something there.
We are at the back of the vegetable market here looking north. There is a car wash ahead on the left and a few other businesses up the road.
A little farther up the road is a distribution center, and the yellow bit is a part of a commercial center under construction beyond it. On the right are the car mechanics who have the calf staked out in various places where there is some grass for him to eat. Farther up on the right are more houses, and beyond the commercial center under construction is The American School.
One block to the right of the street in the last photo is this residential street with a lot of nice homes with pretty yards.
A little farther up it is all residential with some open lots like the one on the left
There are many large expensive homes in this area like the ones ahead. The field on the left is one of the good places to see Volcan Baru in the distance (when it’s not hiding in the clouds). .
They are building apartments behind this house.
Another pretty house we pass on our way home. On the left is a very large open field. The sign says there are lots for sale there, but I don’t see any utilities. Someone told me the lots are huge and very expensive.
Farther up is another area of fields. On the left is a dirt road that leads up to the water tank on the hill. The area on the right was fenced not long ago, and now there are three horses living there. Someone told me this land belongs to the government, and I don’t know what is up with the fences and horses but I enjoy seeing them as I go by.
That is paint on the road. It seems the common way to dispose of paint is to put the can in the road and run over it. There are a few places where the paint can has become embedded in the asphalt, and it is common to see paint stains like this one. These are some of the pretty houses just outside our neighborhood.
The entrance to our neighborhood, with the red and white archway.
As you enter the neighborhood you pass this lot on the right where the kids play a lot of soccer.
This is our neighborhood of nice homes and pretty yards, with some vacant lots still available. The small wall structures are for the electric meters. The beige one about in the center of the photo has a sort of cage below it. This is for trash. If it’s closed up the dogs can’t get into it and make a mess in the street. The fountain on the right is one of the neighborhood landmarks “You remember the fountain of the boy peeing? It’s just past that house.
Cedo’s house has an empty lot on either side. Someone apparently has made a deal with the owner of this lot on the left where if they keep it clean and trimmed, they can use it to plant food plants. It has yucca and plantains now.
This is our street, this little dead end street and we are in the yellow house. All along behind the house is woods. I was told that in the past there was a road that went down to the river but now, if you go much farther down this road you will go down the cliff! The lot on the near left has the same arrangement as the one mentioned earlier. They can use it to plant food crops if they maintain it.

This is what my world on the north side of David looks like. It’s doesn’t look that different than many places in the US. Maybe it’s not as manicured, but it’s still people living in houses, growing flowers in their yards, going to work, playing with their families, putting the trash out on Mondays, and just living their lives.

Posted in Exploring the Area, Miscellaneous, Panama | Tagged , , , , | 22 Comments

More Panamanian Greenery

Posted on May 9, 2015 by Kris Cunningham

Today I went southwest towards La Barqueta beach. I thought about going to the beach to check out the waves. There are really high tides and big waves right now all along Central and South America. By the time I got to the other side of town though, I knew it wasn’t going to happen. It’s hot, humid, few clouds, and a long ride in the hot sun was not appealing. I did go a ways into the country though. I love this area of mostly cow pastures and sugar cane.

This area is full of living fences
The sugar cane is starting to get tall again.
I am tempted to put the dirt tires back on my bike and go explore this road.
More beautiful green cow pastures and living fences. I’m not sure where the cows are today though.
There is a ball field in town that is being moved out here, and it looks like they are building a whole sports center. I’ve seen quite a bit of progress over the last few weeks.
Panama is such a beautiful country.

I’ve had people ask me – Now that you aren’t working, what do you DO all day?? This is what I did today. I rode through green fields (at a slower pace, and I stopped under trees to cool off and take photos) but I was out in a beautiful place. On the way home I stopped by the produce market because they have tamales on Saturdays. Then I showered, ate my tamale, drank a couple liters of lemonade (from the lemons in my yard), answered some emails, made chicken soup, cleaned the bathroom, swept the floors, helped a friend with a computer thing, and worked (played) in the yard. Then I showered again (did I mention it is an unusually hot and sticky day?) Now it’s time to make some dinner and watch some Netflix.

It never rained today. It didn’t look like it was even thinking of raining. Tomorrow is Sunday, a good day to bike downtown because there is so much less traffic. Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit cooler. But, I am thankful it never snows, and I live in a beautiful place with really nice people. Life is good.

Posted in Exploring the Area, Miscellaneous, Panama | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

The Rainy Season, or the Green Season

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Kris Cunningham

There are two seasons here, the dry season or summer, and the rainy season or green season. The dry season begins in December and goes to sometime in April. It rarely rains and some days are very windy. The temperature goes higher but there is less humidity, grass gets brown and crunchy, and brush fires are common. There are different flowers and fruits which are interesting but by March it is really hot and I am eagerly looking forward to the return of the rains.

We are now back into the rainy season. Some people unfamiliar with this climate are afraid that it rains constantly, but that is not the case at all. Mornings are beautiful so you try to do any outdoor activities then. It starts to cloud up in the afternoon and most days by mid to late afternoon it will rain, sometimes raining so hard it seems like the skies are dumping all their contents on the earth. It doesn’t last long though, usually an hour or two. By dusk it is finished, and it is unusual for it to rain into the night. After the rain everything is cooled off and evenings are wonderful.

I like the rainy season the best. Everything turns lush and green and it’s so beautiful. Today I had a fairly free day so I decided to go biking up into the hills where I hadn’t been since it started raining again. This is one of my favorite areas and though it was beautiful in summer, now it is green again and it’s gorgeous! This is a route that goes northwest of David, and it’s mostly pastures of cows with the hills and mountains behind them.

Cows in the beautiful fields are a common sight in this area.
One of the big boys!
The living fences are green and the cows enjoy the shade.
Who is this gal on a bike pointing a camera at me?
More fields, more living fences.
More cows relaxing in the shade.
I always enjoy crossing this pretty little river.
The hills don’t look as tall up here.

Sometimes I do a big loop around and come back into town through some more populated areas and crazy downhills. Today though, I just rode up through my favorite parts and turned around and came back down the way I came, carrying an 8 lb guanabana I found for sale up there. My friends are going to be happy. Maybe tomorrow I should go the other direction towards the beach and see if the sugar cane is taller.

Posted in Miscellaneous, Panama | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Shopping for Fabric in Panama

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Kris Cunningham

I was really surprised to see how much less the fabric costs here! Today we visited a couple fabric shops so I took a few photos. I wasn’t supposed to be taking photos inside but I did sneak a couple, and the rest are from outside.

The first place we stopped was Elena’s, and it’s probably the biggest of the stores in downtown David. They have everything – thread, ribbons, trims, buttons, anything you can think of along with their large selection of fabric. The only thing they don’t have are patterns. They don’t seem to be sold anywhere around here. There must be a lot of sewing going on judging by the amount of fabric for sale, so I figure people here must be quite talented and able to make things without patterns.

If you go to Cervantes park, face the big church on the north side and walk to your right 2-3 blocks, you will find Elena’s.
There is a small second floor and a fairly large third floor, and all this space is totally full of fabrics and sewing related items!
Sale club, all of April, 25×25, the advantage is yours. There was another sign farther down that said “we need clients”.

Next we stopped by Los Tejidos, which is located on the south side of Cervantes Park opposite the big church. You’ll find it by all the rolls of fabric out on the sidewalk.

There is quite a bit of fabric out on the sidewalk
There is more fabric in the windows
Looking in to the store
This is from inside the store (shhh). There is a bit of upholstery fabric in the foreground, and then clothing and other fabric in the background. The walls are also lined with bolts of fabrics.
At the back of the store is a section of upholstery fabrics

The first time I visited David I stopped in to look around in Los Tejidos. As soon as you enter this (and most stores) an employee will greet you and ask you what you need. This seemed so strange and intrusive to me back then, since I was used to the US stores where you have to hunt for an employee if you need something. Here though, I have found the staff to be very helpful. If, for example, I want to make a shirt they will take me directly to the softest and prettiest fabrics that are good for a woman’s shirt or blouse. Once I wanted material for pants with a bit of stretch. One store didn’t have it but the employee told me where to find it in another store. Curtains, pillows, clothes, whatever your project they will try to find something that will work for you.

If any of you have dreams of coming to Panama and enjoying some sewing, you are going to have a very good time here!

Posted in Getting Things Done, Miscellaneous, Panama | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Buying Fruits and Vegetables

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Kris Cunningham

This is my very favorite store! I’m probably there 3-4 times/week, either at this shop or another like it. There are many of these fruit and vegetable markets around town. This is one of the bigger ones, and others can be as modest as a table in front of someone’s house.

We are lucky to be here in Chiriqui province where most of the produce is grown, and we have access to these markets every day. This one is down the road from us on Via Boquete, just behind the Toyota dealership on the Pan-American Highway. We have watched it at least double in size and they are always busy. There is another good one across from the El Rey parking lot. It is fairly new but it has also grown from a couple tables to a tent with many shelves and tables of produce, and a lots of potted plants.

This is the front of the market. You can see avocados, passion fruit, papayas, parsley, bananas, pineapples, a bucket of flowers, oranges, and plantains.

This is the front of the market. You can see avocados, passion fruit, papayas, parsley, bananas, pineapples, a bucket of flowers, oranges, and plantains.

We have found the produce in the markets to be fresher, cheaper, and more flavorful than the produce in the supermarkets so we buy everything here.

It is handy to pull up to the back of the market because it's easy to park back there. Here you can see watermelons, lemons, oranges, more plantains, papayas, pineapples, and some ginger root.

It is handy to pull up to the back of the market because it’s easy to park. Here you can see watermelons, lemons, oranges, mangoes, more plantains, papayas, pineapples, and some ginger root.

There is a lot more stuff inside! I’m always discovering something new in there.

He was so busy waving for the camera that the picture came out a bit blurry. This guy is always cheerful, always making jokes, and always a pleasure to see.
The son of one of the workers was helping out on Sunday and he wanted to get in the picture too.
You can see quite a bit of the produce in this photo. On the bottom row past the potatoes and onions are bags of chayote, a small squash type veggies that is one of our favorites. Above, those brown round cakes are raw sugar, and past that are various types of beans. They also sell eggs and corn on the cob (which is a starch, not sweet like we are used to)
On the other side are a lot of root vegetables. The orange things on the right in front are zapallo, like a pumpkin or winter squash. If you only want a part of something, they are happy to cut as much or as little as you want.

The inventory changes a bit from time to time and by the season. On Saturdays you can get fresh, hot tamales for $1.25/each. Lately they have been selling gallinas de patio (yard chickens, or free range chickens) raised by the wife of the guy waving in the earlier photo. Let him know and he’ll bring one the next day ($2.50/lb which is almost twice what I pay for chicken in Canasta Basica, but it is excellent!) There is dried corn, some condiments, and lately there have been bottles of coconut oil and some salsas. I took photos of the price lists which will give an idea of the usual items.

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Lechuga – lettuce, repollo verde – green cabbage, repollo morado – red (purple) cabbage, zanahoria – carrots, remolacha – beets, papa – potato, brocoli – broccoli, coliflor – cauliflower, habichuela – green beans, pepino – cucumber, tomate – tomato, tomate perita – Italian tomatoes, chayote – the squash like veggie we like, peregil – parsley, repollo chino – Chinese cabbage.

415market2

papaya, bananos (3/$0.25), piña – pineapple (range from $0.75 – $1.25 each for a big one, depending on availability), limon – one of the many types of lemon/lime fruits available here, platano – plantain, yuca – root vegetable aka cassava, atoe – another root veggie from plants that look like ornamental elephant ears, name – another root veggie, zapallo – the pumpkin like squash, cebolla – onions, apio – celery, mango, toronja – grapefruit, coco – coconut, naranja – orange, melon – cantaloupe melon, porot / frijol – various types of dried beans, lentejas – lentils, avas – don’t know what this is, guandu – pigeon peas in green, spotted, or black, raspadura – cakes of raw sugar, cebolla morado – red (purple) onions, cebollina – green onions.

Whew! Lots of stuff. What you probably can’t see in the photos is there is a dirt floor, and on the south side of the shop there is a very large tree root that you have to be careful not to trip over. The cat is usually sleeping on some shelf or in some vegetable bin. They will also cut out a bad part of something, put the item in a plastic bag and put it back out of the shelf for sale. This is probably what is going on with the papayas in bags in front of the store. If something can be used it does not go to waste.

I am so used to these markets that I am always surprised when I go back to the US. The produce all looks perfect, and it’s all carefully arranged in beautiful displays. Here though, it is all about flavor and value for the money, not appearance.

I am so used to a lot of things here that this is my normal life. But, I realize that for others not living here, it might be interesting to see where we shop and what is available here so I am going to try to do a post like this now and then.

 

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