The Panama Adventure

Rejected

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Recently I posted about International Living, and their request for reciprocal links between my blog and their social media sites. After much thought, I decided to try it out and I put their link on my sidebar. But, my photos never showed up on their sites and my stats never showed any traffic from them, so I emailed to ask about this.

I received a reply this morning. It seems they have retracted their request. I can certainly understand this. I had a lot of hesitation about including them on my blog as well. If they don’t want someone with my views and lifestyle though, I’m not sure why they asked me in the first place.

It’s nice being in my position. I don’t need to make money and I don’t need traffic. I blog for my own enjoyment, and it’s a bonus that I’ve made some great friends and helped others on their journeys. My blog is always going to say what I think and feel though. I try to be kind and polite, but I will speak the truth as I see it.

So, this is why I had a link to International Living one week and none the next. It’s for the best. Opposites aren’t always meant to attract.

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged International Living | 30 Comments

Sunday is Election Day in Panama

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Sunday seems like a good day for elections, a day when many don’t have to work. Panama has compulsory voting for everyone over 18 but I don’t think it is strictly enforced. I know one of my neighbors doesn’t plan to vote “I don’t like any of them. They are all the same.” That sounds like a lot of people I know if the US.

It’s very interesting to watch the election process here in Panama. Candidates are out and about and making themselves as visible as possible. There are signs and banners and flags all over town. (One of my local friends told me that the candidates have to put up the money to take down all their stuff before they are even allowed to put it up, which sounds like a very good idea.) People drive around with flags and signs on their cars, there are ads on TV, trucks drive around with loudspeakers, and there are rallies small and large. There was a huge one in town last weekend with thousands of people, free lunch, t-shirts, hats, speeches, performances, and enough traffic to jam up the Pan-American highway.

This notice is also out from the Tribunal Electoral, the folks who manage the voting process.

Notice – Dry Law

The Tribunal Electoral makes public knowledge that from noon on Saturday the 3rd until noon on Monday the 5th of May, 2014, will close all the bars, saloons, centers of night fun (nightclubs), dance halls, and other places that sell alcoholic beverages and it is prohibited to sell, gift, transfer, use or consume.

The measure has the objective of granting a climate of peace and tranquility for the general elections of May 4th which is a civic holiday, and once again will be evidence of the political maturity of the Panamanians.

Excepted from this prohibition of consumption are foreigners in hotels where they are guests.

This was a surprise. We don’t do this in the US. Apparently if you are found drunk or drinking around town, you will be taken to the police station. This is probably a good weekend to be very well behaved, even for those of us who can’t vote.

There are three major contenders for president and candidates for many other offices as well. It will be interesting to see how this all comes out! I have some friends who aren’t very involved, and others who are totally passionate about their chosen candidates. I hope no one is too badly disappointed, and whoever wins will continue to lead Panama in its very positive direction.

Posted in Miscellaneous, Panama | Tagged elections, Panama, voting | 16 Comments

Another Successful Border Hop

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

It was time to get the passports stamped, so we headed off for a visit to Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica. We have enough travel plans these days and didn’t want to do anything major, so an overnight visit to this pretty, laid back town was just the thing.

Going to Costa Rica is no problem. We got stamped out of Panama and walked to the Costa Rica checkpoint. There, the official was on his cell phone and didn’t even ask us anything, just stamped our passports and we were on our way.

Coming back, this was our first experience with the new tax to get out of Costa Rica ($7.00). If you are facing the windows at the checkpoint, on your left is a hallway behind these offices. There, in the middle of the hallway on the left was another office. Thankfully there was an official there to help us through the process of scanning our passports into a machine, putting our credit cards in, and then taking out the receipt. It wasn’t difficult and reminded me of a check in process at the airport. The machine was just a bit picky about how the passport was passed through the scanner, and there were a few things to touch on the touch screen. When we were done, off we went with our customs paper, tax receipt, and passports to get stamped out of Costa Rica which was fast and easy.

Of course, the most challenging part is getting back into Panama and I was ready. Big, noisy trucks were going by and I couldn’t hear a thing the official was saying so I handed over my passport. When she looked up at me I handed her the print out of our airline reservations back to the US in July. When she looked up again I handed her the printouts of our bank statements for 3 months. She looked at everything, handed it back, stamped the passports, and we were done! Whew! Even when you think you know what you are doing, there is always that niggling little worry that something will happen so it’s a relief when the whole process is done.

We took buses on this trip and I’m always appreciative of the Panamanian buses. The assistant helped me out of my backpack and stored it for me. He helps everyone with their packages, keeps track of all the various points where people get on and off, and collects the various amounts of money. He gets out at some points to recruit riders and communicates with the driver at stops and starts. He calls out the upcoming stops along the way, and does all these activities with a smile. The Costa Rican buses are fine too but there isn’t the assistant so you are more on your own to manage your stuff and get yourself off at your destination.

Of course, if I go anywhere I will have a camera with me.

Sitting in the ferry, watching the rain sprinkle, enjoying the scenery.

Puerto Jimenez, we left the rain behind.

Pretty scene with all the clouds

More rain in the distance. It caught up with us after we made it to the hostel, and stopped about the time we decided to go out for dinner.

We got really lucky with the weather, only getting rain when we were in a bus or under cover, not when we had to be out.

Walking back from the supermarket, we passed this guy on his horse.

Cool iguana

This is one of the few paved roads and the main road along the water. This pretty much sums up the pace of the town, this dog sleeping in the road. People just drove or biked around him.

Sunday morning, heading back to the ferry and the clouds were gorgeous.

Sitting in the ferry waiting to go back to Golfito, and watching the guys fish. They had line wound around spools or even plastic bottles with hooks on the end and maybe a small silver fish, and they were casting this into the water. We were there well over half out and didn’t see anyone catch anything, but they were having fun.

If you need more information about doing this border crossing see my previous posts
https://blog.thepanamaadventure.com/2013/01/25/the-border-hop-or-the-passport-shuffle/
https://blog.thepanamaadventure.com/2013/11/17/crossing-the-panama-costa-rica-border/
https://blog.thepanamaadventure.com/2013/12/04/crossing-the-border-back-into-panama/

We have been to Puerto Jimenez before too. If you want to see previous posts on that, just type “puerto jimenez” in that search box in the sidebar on the right and you’ll find them.

It was a nice little getaway, but it’s always nice to be home!

Posted in Costa Rica, Getting Things Done, Panama, travel | Tagged Border Crossing, Costa Rica, Golfito, Puerto Jimenez, Visa | 18 Comments

Dengue Fever

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

A flyer fell out of a package of trash bags so I picked it up. I know that there is dengue fever in Panama, and that the authorities are working hard to prevent it and educate people on mosquito control. I have heard that they are even going house to house in some areas to check for standing water and to be sure people understand what they need to do.

HIT BACK HARD at DENGUE

What is dengue? A viral illness which can be serious or not. Transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti.

Dengue can start with:

fever
pain en the muscles, bones, and joints
headache and pain behind the eyes
vomiting and diarrhea
rough and/or red skin
malaise

Dengue with warning signs

abdominal pain
persistent vomiting
difficulty breathing
bleeding gums and/or feces
drowsiness and/or irritability

If you have any of these symptoms, get help quickly at the nearest health facility. Do not self medicate.

Prevention:

Eliminate the hatcheries of the mosquito Aedes aegypti:

Eliminate containers where water can accumulate like: bottles, cans, cups, bowls, plastics, saucers, vases, tires
Empty, clean and brush the water tanks and drinks of pets daily
Cover the water storage tanks (plastic or metal) so they are airtight. Before filling them with water, brush to remove possible eggs of mosquitoes.
Clean the channels (canals?) periodically
It is recommended to use nets, mesh in doors and windows

ELIMINATE THE BREEDING SITES,
WASHING AND CLEANING

Beverage packaging, cartons, and cans.

Tires

Pet drinks

Dishes of planters

Scrap

Dish rack

For your Health: No breeding areas, Eliminate them to avoid the dengue

I seem to be on a dangerous bug thing this week. This is important though. I don’t believe there is much dengue in our area, but I know it is a concern in most tropical areas worldwide. I have also heard that if you get it a second time, it can be much more serious. It is even recommended that if an expat gets it, they return to the US or wherever they are from to avoid a second exposure. For me, I think this would be even worse than getting sick.

This is a Wikipedia photo of the aedes aegypti, the mosquito that can carry dengue (and also some other diseases). They are easy to spot because of the white bands on their legs. We see very few mosquitoes here, thankfully, but I have seen these occasionally.

May we all stay healthy!

We are headed to Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica for the weekend. I promise, no more bugs! Well, not unless I see something really interesting and pretty 😀

Posted in health care, insects, Miscellaneous, Panama | Tagged aedes aegypti, dengue fever, mosquito | 36 Comments

My New Shower Buddy

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Joel and I were taking a shower the other day. I had my hair all lathered up and my eyes closed to keep the soap out of them, and he tells me “don’t move” in a very serious but quiet voice. “OK, you can dry your eyes and open them, but don’t touch the shower curtain.” So, I dry my eyes and look at the shower curtain, and this is what I see.

It’s not the greatest picture, but Joel had dashed out for the camera and a bucket while I kept an eye on our friend (who seemed as stunned as we were and remained immobile). I quickly snapped a couple photos before retreating to the other side of the curtain so Joel could knock him into the bucket.

We don’t see scorpions very often but we have had a few in the house. Hopefully, with normal precautions, we won’t find out what a sting feels like.

We actually have very few problems with bugs and critters here. In a year and a half, I have been stung by one little wasp who must have been on a lemon I was picking. I get bitten by ants but that’s my own fault for getting in their way when I’m working in the yard. I have had a few somethings that I believe are chiggers, and I’m trying to think if I have had any mosquito bites. The bugs here seem very mellow and non aggressive, quite different than Florida or anywhere else I’ve lived in the US. I remember being driven indoors by mosquitoes as soon as the sun got low in the sky, but that doesn’t happen here.

Still though, it pays to be aware of the wildlife. Don’t poke your hands into places you can’t see. Use a tool instead, and wear gloves. Shake out clothes and shoes before you put them on, and don’t let your bedding drag on the floor. Wildlife doesn’t want to see you any more than you want to see it, but anything will defend itself if it can’t flee.

I love bugs and critters. I try to be cautious and sensible but I’m not afraid of them. The scorpions look so strange and exotic though, and they have always been portrayed as something to be feared. I’m still not quite sure how I feel about them. In a way I’m excited to see such an interesting creature, but I’d also be OK if they didn’t visit us in the house.

But, since they are here, maybe the next time I’ll be calmer so I can slow down and get some decent photos. It would also help if I wasn’t wet and soapy.

P.S. This scorpion was tossed over the fence into the woods where hopefully he will finish his days free of human encounters and more time in a bucket.

Posted in insects, Panama, wildlife | Tagged alacran, critters, insects, nature, scorpions, wildlife | 30 Comments

International Living?

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Why do I have a link to International Living on my sidebar?

Many who know me know that I’m not enthusiastic about a business who’s main purpose is to make money by selling expensive conferences, books, magazines, and other merchandise to potential expats. I don’t think it’s realistic for most of us to “fund our life overseas” using one of their amazingly easy money making ideas. A property recommended as an investment opportunity may not be the right option for you. Panama may not be the inexpensive paradise many are lead to believe, and people could make financially and emotionally costly mistakes.

International Living has many readers. I think most of us started there or at least checked it out at some point. Perhaps if some of these readers find their way to my blog, they will get other perspectives that may help balance their view. When I was first approached by International Living my knee jerk reaction was to decline. But, after much thought and discussion with my husband, I changed my mind and decided to try this for a while. Perhaps the exposure will be good for me and helpful to others.

So, that is why there is a link to International Living on my blog.

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged International Living | 19 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: On Top

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: On Top

In a post created specifically for this challenge, share a photo that means On Top!

We have been watching the construction of an overpass for months. Friday was Good Friday-Viernes Santo, so the workmen were on holiday. We took the opportunity to go up on the bridge for the first time. (Shh, don’t tell the security guard below!) It certainly felt like ON TOP from up there.

Joel went up first, while I went around below. When I came to the highway, there he was waving from on top of the bridge!

Joel biked up first, while I went around below. When I came to the highway, there he was waving from on top of the bridge!

I figured since he had no trouble getting up there, I’d go too and snap some photos. This is the Pan-American Highway which, believe it or not, goes from Alaska to Argentina except for the Darien Gap, a wild jungle between eastern Panama and Colombia. This is the highway as it goes through David, Panama. Downtown is to the south but there are many businesses and a shopping area here, and it’s pretty congested. The overpass will allow people coming down on Via Boquete (from north of the city and the mountains) to pass right over the highway and go downtown, which hopefully will relieve a lot of the congestion in this area.

The photo above is looking west over the highway. You can see KFC, McDonald’s in the distance, and the Ford dealership on the left. Yes there are a lot of US businesses and fast food here, not sure if that is a good thing but that’s a subject for another day.

This is looking south towards the center of town. The lights on the left are a sports stadium where they have popular baseball and soccer games. This road has a lot of smaller, more local type businesses. From here, it takes maybe 5-7 minutes on my bike to get downtown.

This is looking east, and the area ahead is one of the biggest and most upscale shopping areas. You can see Blockbuster and Pizza Hut directly below on the left. The Hyundai dealership is on the right. Farther on the right are a couple banks, and the taller gray building is a Super 99 supermarket that is under construction. In front of that with the white corner and red roof is Super Baru, another good supermarket.

On the left you can see the Toyota dealership. Beyond that but not visible is a TGI Fridays. Conway is part of the shopping center and a high quality store selling everything from clothes to housewares to furniture. Arrocha is a pharmacy and then some, selling a large variety of things from cosmetics to office supplies, kitchen supplies, clothes, toys, and medicines. El Rey is also there, a very large 24 hr supermarket, and DoIt Center (like Home Depot or Lowes), Novey (another Home Depot sort of store), Panafoto (electronics, appliances and more), a furniture store, and a variety of other stores – phones, lighting, wine, pets, electronics, Subway, etc. As you can see, we are not suffering in Panama! This is one reason we like being here. Everything we need is very close by.

So anyway, I took this photo challenge and ran off with it to give you a little look at our city. Zemanta.com doesn’t seem to be finding things today, but I wanted to share a few other good entries in this photo challenge so check these links below.

http://cardinalguzman.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/on-top-in-jerusalem/

https://solaner.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/the-daily-post-on-top/

http://esengasvoice.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/weekly-photo-challenge-on-top/

http://ambitiousdrifter.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/weekly-photo-challenge-whats-on-top/

http://inkhammer.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/weekly-photo-challenge-on-the-top/

http://follygirlsphotoworld.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/weekly-photo-challenge-on-top/

http://maraeastern.com/2014/04/18/weekly-photo-challenge-on-top/

http://words4jp.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/weekly-photo-challenge-on-top/

http://empireoflights.com/2014/04/18/let-me-take-you-on-top/

Posted in Panama, Photo Challenge, photography | Tagged Chiriqui, David, Panama, photography, postaday, Weekly Photo Challenge | 11 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Monument

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: Monument

In this week’s challenge, show us your take on a monument (broadly defined). It could be a fresh angle on a well-known tourist site, or a place nobody knows outside your community. It doesn’t even have to be an official monument. A legendary coffeehouse, a churchyard cemetery, the remains of a treehouse you’d built as a kid — anything can be monumental as long as it’s imbued with a shared sense of importance.

This monument is in El Parque de Madres (the park of mothers). It’s a small park in an ordinary urban setting that you could easily drive by every day and not notice. The background isn’t remarkable, and the sun tends to shine on everything but the front so it’s not photogenic. But, the other day I decided to bike over and take a closer look, and I was very touched by the words on the monument.

Panama and the Latin cultures have a very high respect for mothers. Mother’s Day here is more important than Christmas, and not just to sell cards and gifts. It is to honor the mothers in your family and among your friends. I also see the respect and support given to mothers on a daily basis.

The immortal vibration in you is the voice of the supreme creator. You complete your exalted mission perpetuating humanity. Mother: In your work there is always the divine impulse, the breath of eternity.

Posted in culture, Panama, Photo Challenge, photography | Tagged Monument Weekly Photo Challenge, photography, postaday, Weekly Photo Challenge | 12 Comments

Last Stop, Aruba

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

The last stop on the cruise was Aruba, and we were told this is the best of all. We decided to spring for a tour this time, and got on a bus that took us around the north end of the island and then dropped us on a beach for a couple hours. We took some of the beach time to also visit a bird sanctuary and walk around the area.

Aruba is a Dutch island like the others, but it seemed even dryer and there was cactus everywhere. I suppose this is good for tourism because your day at the beach will rarely be rained out. I wasn’t surprised to read that 75% of the business in Aruba is tourism. There were tour buses everywhere, a happy party atmosphere, and tons of huge resorts. It felt almost like Las Vegas with a beach and not as much glitter.

It’s Thursday so this must be Aruba!

Party Bus! (tour bus) If you look closely you’ll see the back door handle is a vice grip.

Another party bus (tour bus).

When you need to renew your tags, apparently you just get a small plate and screw it on top of your main plate.

We hop on the bus and take off to go see some things.

We go through some residential neighborhoods.

The tour was in Spanish and the PA wasn’t very clear, and he mumbled and made jokes, so I don’t guarantee that any of my info is correct. But I think houses are fairly expensive here, or maintaining them is, or both.

Our first stop was at these interesting rock formations.

An interesting tree, and lots of cactus.

Another interesting thorny tree. The whole island is dry and desert like, except where things are obviously watered.

Joel finds a friend

We climb to the top of the rock formation to look around. That’s our ship way in the background!

I catch Joel in front of the view in the other direction.

We drive through more residential neighborhoods on the way to our next destination.

I’m not sure what is remarkable about this neighborhood besides the fun colors. I don’t know if I would want to live where the tour buses drive people by to stare at my house.

Our next stop was the Alto Vista Chapel, site of a chapel built in 1750. The site was discovered and a new chapel built about 60 years ago.

The inside of the Alto Vista Chapel.

It was dry with many cactus up here too.

Then, we headed towards the lighthouse, passing some of the upscale neighborhoods for the rich folks, and this golf course.

A fancy neighborhood.

The driver said this is a $5 million house.

More residential areas.

We arrive at the California Lighthouse, and the sand dunes below are pretty.

I snapped a photo of the lighthouse as we were driving away. I spent most of our few minutes there talking with the driver because I couldn’t figure out what he was saying about the lighthouse, and needed him to explain it in English. Apparently a ship named California ran aground here, and the people of Aruba took care of the people until they could get on their way again. In return, the ship people went diving and retrieved the furniture in the ship, and sold it to the locals for cheap prices.

I’m sure this place isn’t cheap either. The back yard goes to the beach.

We drive along by the beach on our way to our beach destination, passing many scenic spots.

We also start passing huge resorts.

Steak, anyone?

The people get out at the beach, and when the driver learns that we are interested in the bird sanctuary he drops us off down the street nearby. The first thing we notice are these amazing lizards!

One of the girls, perhaps?

We had a great time photographing these beautiful lizards.

But, in this peaceful and green place, you only have to look up to see the huge resorts not far away.

Here’s another one!

One of the beautiful egrets walking around in the water lettuce.

Oops, yet another lizard. My searching leads me to believe these are Aruban Whiptails.

We saw some pretty ducks on the water. The water was green and murky though, so we couldn’t see what was below the surface but I think there were some turtle heads peeking up when we stayed very quiet.

Another pretty bird by the water.

After our visit to the sanctuary, we head up to the beach location passing many huge resorts along the way.

We also passed a lot of iguanas!

Another huge resort.

Another iguana.

I had more fun photographing iguanas than resorts.

I photographed some resorts too though.

What an interesting bird in the tree.

The trees along the road were amazing.

We were told that the wind is always blowing hard in Aruba, so maybe this is why the trees are so interesting.

The Hyatt Regenc lost it’s Y

and another…

Across the street were shops and restaurants.

and more shops and restaurants

We made it to the beach spot! (the Holiday Inn beach)

The beach as far as you could see was umbrellas and beach chairs.

Joel on the beach in Aruba. Who would have ever thought?!

There were a few of these sailboats around, and I think they were for tourists to enjoy.

There were a lot of boats, and parasailing was going on in the distance.

Inflatable sofas were being dragged behind other boats.

As we leave the beach and head back to the pier, we pass many other beach areas.

A casino

On the way to town we pass the container shipping area. Since everything has to shipped in (except the children and dogs, according to the guide) it makes sense they have these facilities.

A more industrial area of town.

A few more houses

I could do this to my bike! That’s a creative kickstand.

We stop at this shopping area to buy a few gifts for friends back home.

We return to find a Holland America ship at the port, even bigger than our ship.

The Scientology ship has also arrived.

The ship is huge!

The men prepare to untie our ship.

The last look at town as we leave the port.

The white thing that looks like a submarine was being towed by a tug.

It looks even bigger from a distance.

Some other ships become visible in the distance.

An airplane comes in for a landing as we leave the island behind.

This was the last stop on our cruise. The next day was a day at sea while we made our way back to Panama.

I must say, if you have a choice on a cruise take one with a lot of Latin American people. There was music and dancing every night by young and old. There was hardly a quiet place on the boat because groups were always laughing and having lots of fun. There was the friendly attitude we love from both the staff and passengers. It’s too bad that this particular cruise route is going to end soon, but I’m sure other opportunities will come along.

For now though, we are back in Panama and the blog will go back to news and experiences of our life in Panama. Retirement is a wonderful thing, and so is living inexpensively so you have a bit of money to do some fun things.

Posted in travel | Tagged Aruba, cruise, travel, Travel and Tourism | 14 Comments

Next Stop – Bonaire

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Bonaire looked similar to Curaçao – beautiful water, dry land, desert type plants, wind, and pretty pastel buildings. It is also a Dutch territory and also has multilingual people. Tourism is a big industry because of the wonderful diving and snorkeling. We were told that you can go in the water from anywhere on shore and find wonderful things to see.

By now the water was really calling to us, so we set out with the intention of finding someplace to snorkel. I figured with all the tourists who come to enjoy the water we’d find someone willing to rent us snorkels. Sure enough, we found a resort who was happy to fix us up for $5 each, and let us swim around in their water. Oh the things we saw! The fish were amazing. I wish I had an underwater camera. There were so many different kinds of fish of all sizes. The most striking were probably the big blue parrot fish and some others I think were surgeonfish, who were very curious and followed us around. One even startled me by nipping my leg when I was just floating. The water was cooler than I expected but a very pleasant temperature for swimming, and so clear that it was easy to see everything. Our time in the water was definitely a highlight of our trip.

After snorkeling, we returned to the ship for a shower, dry clothes, and a bit of lunch. Then went back to town to walk around a bit. We spent most of the time walking along the waterfront, as you will see from the photos of crabs and other critters.

Every morning it’s exciting to run up to the upper deck to see what today’s town looks like!

Yes indeed. Bonaire is known as one of the best diving spots in the world.

I must have had a reason for this photo, but I don’t remember now. Maybe it was the menu out front with meals from $7 – $22. Prices didn’t seem too bad for a tourist town where almost everything has to be shipped in.