Marañón – Cashews

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Summer in Panama is the time for cashews, both the nuts and the fruits. It’s really interesting to see how they grow!

Before living in Panama I didn’t know there is also fruit, usually called a cashew apple. It’s very delicate and doesn’t travel well which is why you only see it on the trees, not in the supermarkets. The locals here often make drinks out of it and believe it’s good for your health, especially for your stomach.

The nut itself is found on the end of the fruit. There is a toxic substance in the shell so the nuts have to be roasted. After roasting they are no longer toxic, and it’s possible to crack the shell to get the nut. No wonder cashew nuts are a bit expensive.

A pretty tree with bunches of immature nuts.
A cashew nut on an immature fruit.
A green fruit and a mature red fruit.
Fruits also come in yellow. The yellow ones tend to be a little smaller but otherwise there is no difference in flavor or use.
Posted in food, fruit, Panama | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Perspective

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: Perspective

This week’s photo challenge is about perspective: post a photo which is not what it seems to be. Make sure you share what the photo actually is of in its caption! For those who are looking for an extra bit of challenge, show us two photos, each one showing a different angle or interpretation of the same subject:

The bougainvillea are blooming, and everywhere you go there are masses of color in people’s yards.
But, closer inspection shows the actual flowers – tiny white ones within the color.
Tiny flower buds within the pink bracts.
A close view of a tiny white flower.

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This tall cane is seen a lot around here, and is often used for animal feed. I liked this red colored cane so I brought some home for our yard (much to the amusement of my neighbors)
The cane has some delicate looking plumes at the top, which on closer look are quite interesting.
A close look at the detail of the plume. Are these flowers or seeds?
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Posted in Panama, Photo Challenge, photography | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

El Explorador in Boquete, Panama

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Wednesday I went to Boquete to see Holly and Emma, a couple blogging friends. There is a related post HERE. Our stop at El Explorador was so interesting however, that it deserves a post of its own.

I’m not sure how one would describe El Explorador – a botanical garden? a playground? an inspirational place? all of the above? It is definitely unique. I wish I had learned the name of the lady it belongs to. She was so delightful! She told me that she has been there 50 years. She just loves working outside, and she has made the place what it is for everyone’s enjoyment. She is very happy when people visit and have a good time.

There are 28 pictures, and then 11 flower pictures in a slide show.

This is what you see at the entrance. The funny signs start from here. (I can’t make out this one though – something about this message is for the good looking people. The ugly ones are much more sought after… maybe, the last words are behind a leaf)
Discover it!
Old sewing machines with eyes, buckets with faces, more signs that say – Anything that makes you feel good will attract more, We are experts are mending broken hearts, and how is yours?, I invite you to be happy, I pay, and under the old shoe – I have no strength to renew.
Ruta = route. This sign says – If you are overcome with worries and anguish, work! Work relieves many sorrows.
Where did the woman come out? The woman came from a man’s rib, not from his feet to be trampled on, or the head to be superior, but from the side to be equal, under the arm to be protected, and next to the heart to be loved. And, the smaller sign – laughter is the orgasm of the intelligence.
Brujas? (witches?)
The rose garden isn’t blooming right now, but when it is I’m sure it’s gorgeous!
There were quite a few of these doll house sorts of things on various themes. This sign says – everyone is special. We are born capable. The trick is to find out of what we are capable.
I hate it when ugly people stare at me as if how nice it would stick … (or something like that. )
Photo ops! Cinderella
Superman/woman
and superman!
Just some of the extensive gardens.
Flowers next to one of many sitting areas.
Some of the garden area with vegetables, and a couple naranjilla plants – this fruit turns orange and is a bit tart, sort of like a citrus, and is often used to make drinks. It doesn’t transport well though so it’s rarely seen in markets.
More of the vegetable garden area.
Another very pretty spot, with a very pretty lady in the middle.
A little area where you can sit and relax. I like the TV screen that is a mirror instead.
The view is beautiful!
The owner talking to a couple other guests.
More flowers.
More whimsy – one of the many old purses hanging from this trellis.
Grownups in the playground!
We hadn’t played like this since we were kids.
Emma tests out the hammock with Holly’s help.
Holly and I played on the teeter-totter in front of shrubs with eyes, and a ghost that says – Before it was indecision… now I don’t know!
A little rock garden outside of another sitting area.
El Explorador presents the polyphonic choir if I painted (or something like that), and – TV is a mirror that reflects the success of our entire cultural system.

Please correct any errors I may have made in the translations!

There were a lot of beautiful flowers so I couldn’t resist taking some photos of my favorites.

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That’s just a taste of this unique place. It should be even more beautiful after the rains return. If any of you have a chance to visit, I would highly recommend it!

Posted in Exploring the Area, Flowers, gardening, photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Bloggers Get Together!

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Emma of A Woman, A Plan, a Canal… Living in Panama! had a bit of vacation, and decided to spend it in Boquete where Holly of Let The Adventure Begin lives. Of course we had to take this opportunity to get together, and we had so much fun!

We met for breakfast and then set off to check out Holly’s land and site of their new home which has recently begun construction.

This is the road in, where they have made excellent progress on a retaining wall.
We checked out the site for the casita where they will live while the main house is built. The women do photos and selfies, while the men talk construction.
The foundation for the casita is underway.
Then, we walked farther up the road to the main home site.
The main home site only has materials and a storage building at this point, but much much more will be happening later on.

On the way down, we stopped at El Explorador. This is a unique and fascinating place, and will have a post of its own shortly.

After that it was time for lunch at Big Daddy’s. I was told that margaritas are required because they are the best in town (so of course I had to comply). They were right. The margaritas are excellent!

Three bloggers talking without typing for the first time!

Three bloggers all talking together without typing!

Next, we stopped at the Boquete Country Club where Emma and her friends had rented a place. They have stables, so Emma grabbed her bag of carrots and we went off to visit the horses.

Holly makes a friend.
Do you want a carrot?
The horse next door is doing his best to get involved in the action.
This, however, represents the life of these horses most of the time. They are alone in very nice stalls but probably without much human contact. Many of them shied away from us when we approached.
The view from the stables is beautiful!
Volcan Baru in the distance.

After the visit to the horses it was time to end our day together. But, plans have already been made to get together in June! It is so fun when you meet someone you have known on line, and then have an even better time in person. I’m sure there will be many more adventures together in the future!

Posted in Exploring the Area, Miscellaneous, Panama | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Water, or no water, or using what comes

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

It’s summer here, a time when water shortages are common. This summer has been much better than last and we have only had a few times without water for part of the day.

Tuesday was one of those dry days, and then it went into Wednesday. No one in the neighborhood knew what was going on. People in Boquete has been told there was no river rafting because of Carnival. The water people figured the stores were closed, everyone was at Carnival and the demand for electricity would be low, so they slowed down the flow through the hydroelectric plant which in turn decreased the flow into the river used for rafting. Since we get our water from the river, is this why we also didn’t have water?

Many things are a mystery in Panama. But, I also notice that these things are taken in stride with little complaining. People know it happens and have water set aside, and just patiently use the stored water as needed. I have found that it’s surprisingly easy to get by, and I’d much prefer problems with water than with electricity.

By Thursday afternoon though I was feeling the need for a shower about the time I heard thunder in the distance. Rainwater! Yes!

RainShower3514

It’s actually pretty fun bathing in the rainwater that runs off the roof, and I felt good after a nice shower and shampoo. And, wouldn’t you know, the water came back on in the house not long after. 😀

I’m also not sure what is going on with the rains. We had a couple downpours before this, and it rained some again last night. I thought it might rain this afternoon too but so far it’s just dark clouds. Some people think summer is ending and the rains are coming back, and other say it’s just something odd and the real rains don’t come back until April. Either way it’s nice to have everything turning green again.

It’s been an interesting week, especially the great day I spent with fellow bloggers in Boquete. I have lots of photos to sort through but I’ll get a post about that out soon.

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Summer Rains and Flowers

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

We’re in the height of summer when it is expected to be hot and dry, but we’ve had two rainstorms in the last week. What a welcome surprise, and it seemed like the lawns and fields turned green overnight.

It rained like crazy on Friday afternoon. I went out on my bike thinking I could beat it, but got caught on the way home. It was quite a workout fighting that wind and I was soaked. Thank goodness the rain is warm here and it doesn’t matter.
Yesterday, again, we had another downpour! I was home though and only had to worry about keeping things dry in my “outside office” because again, the wind kicked up quite a bit.

With summer comes changes in the landscape. Things that are usually only green burst into flower.

I first noticed this tree because it was buzzing. Then I noticed the carpet of purple petals on the lawn.
When I looked up to find the buzzing, I saw masses of beautiful purple flowers.
If you look closely you’ll see one of the bumblebees who were creating the buzzing. They would burrow into the flowers so you could only spot them when they were flying.
I also saw this tree covered with hanging somethings.
This is one of the “somethings”. What an interesting and different…. flower? bud? seed pod? I will have to keep an eye on it and see what develops.
There are a lot of these trees with yellow/orange flowers right now.
I caught a few of the flowers hanging in the sunlight.
When you get close you can see the details of the flowers.
Most interesting of all were these pretty trees.
When you look closer, you can see bits of bright red-orange.
They aren’t flowers, but some sort of seed pods. Today I noticed black seeds coming out of the pods. I picked up a couple and they are very much like olives – black, smooth, and firm but slightly soft to the touch.

and a few other random photos –

I have planted a number of pineapple tops in my yard, and now one of them has a baby pineapple!
I passed this beautiful horse yesterday.
The lot next to my friend’s house has an interesting new lawn mower.

Surprisingly enough, while this post was in progress this evening we had a bit more rain! Can the dry season be coming to an end already? Maybe it’s making up for last year when the rains returned so late it was a problem for the country.

Posted in Exploring the Area, Flowers, Panama, photography | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

A little bit of Carnival

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

We went to Dolega yesterday afternoon unfortunately just after the music and dancing ended, and before the nighttime festivities. But, at least we got a bit of a look at what was going on there.

Dolega is just a small town up the road from David. I’m sure the celebrations were nothing like Panama City or the famous Las Tablas where people go by the thousands, and planning goes on all year for the event. But, we at least got a taste of Carnival.

We arrived at the Carnival area after passing a lot of happy and wet people in the streets, and a number of vendors selling food and carnival related items – mainly sunglasses and water guns.
We found the music and dancing area. What a mess! LOL Everything was soaking wet and there were water bottles everywhere!
The music/PA area, and apparently the center of the festivities..
The cans collection – that is a LOT of cans!
There were many people busy cleaning up, including this guy who had the biggest bag I’ve seen.
We noticed many police and security people everywhere making sure everything went smoothly. (and for you guys – did you notice the police? Yes the Panamanian women are gorgeous! )
Back out on the street – more people enjoying the day.

We’ll have to go back again next year. I’d be interested to see the music and dancing, and the water cannons in action. This year we mainly saw a lot of vendors, a lot of very wet people, a few tipsy people, and very happy people with friends and family. There were also groups of people supporting various political candidates dressed in their matching t-shirts. There was a lot of security but I didn’t see anyone having or causing any problems. It was fun to see tipsy people hanging out of bus windows though, waving and shouting at people in the street.

There was a police checkpoint on the highway south of Dolega (we got waved through both ways). When we left I noticed they had some people pulled over on the side of the road. If you want to enjoy lots of cerveza (beer) at Carnival it’s probably a very bad idea to drive.

If you want to know more about Carnival, google should bring up a lot of information. Brazil has the biggest celebrations but Panama is right behind them. Not bad for a small country, eh?

Posted in culture, Miscellaneous, Panama | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Abandoned

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: Abandoned

For this week’s photo challenge, show us abandoned. You can go literal, as I have, and share a photo of ruins, a desolate place, or your idea of a wasteland. Or you can interpret it in other ways, from images of overlooked things to forgotten people.

There is the shell of an abandoned house near our neighborhood that I thought might be interesting.

In the second photo, you can see a mango tree growing inside the house, complete with fruit!

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Posted in Panama, Photo Challenge, photography | Tagged , , , , | 20 Comments

Snake on the Fence!

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

What a lucky day yesterday! We just happened to be finishing a late lunch on the patio and something caught my eye on the fence.

Parrot Snake on the fence

Parrot Snake on the fence

It was a parrot snake, and I think it’s the most beautiful snake I’ve ever seen. I was so lucky to spot it because if it had moved to the plants, it would have blended in so well I may not have noticed it.

The snake was very mellow and patient, and sat quietly while I took many photos.
What are you doing with that camera?
Joel brought out his tape measure to get an idea of size (over 3 feet)
What a beautiful snake!
We’re still looking at each other.
Posing for more photos.
Later the snake moved down the fence into the plants.
Look at the beautiful blue-green tongue.
The snake gracefully moved through the fence.
Then, it moved along the top of the fence wall.
From the wall, it made its way into the neighbor’s shrubs.
Going up the trunk of the bush was no problem. From there it went along a palm frond and we lost it within the palm tree.

I love snakes. I think they are beautiful and fascinating, and are part of the ecosystem that keeps things in balance. This snake is not venomous and is not dangerous to people. These snakes live mainly in trees and eat lizards, frogs, and small birds. There are a number of varieties of parrot snakes, all green and very beautiful, but if you look for more information you will also see some that look slightly different.

How lucky we were to have seen this beautiful snake, and many thanks to the snake for patiently waiting while we took multiple photos.

Posted in Panama, photography, wildlife | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

Poison Dart Frog

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

I’m sitting here on the patio working on the computer, and out of the corner of my eye I see a tiny little thing hop across the patio. It’s no bigger than the last section of my thumb.

PoisonDartFron22814

How cool is that?! We saw a couple of these beautiful little frogs last summer too, and I was hoping to see another. Right now it’s hiding in the flower pots not 4 feet from my table. No, I didn’t try to touch him even though I don’t think he’s the very dangerous sort. I bothered him enough moving pots trying to get this photo. What an interesting and beautiful little creature!

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