FUNNY THING ABOUT THE DAYS HERE IN PANAMA

Before retiring to Panama, the most asked question from family, friends, co-workers and even my patients was "what will you do when there?".  At the time (less than one whole month ago), Ray and I didn't have any real concrete answers, and the concern always seemed to be that we were too young to retire.  We would usually answer with "we will get settled, decide where to live, discover the interior of Panama, take Spanish lessons, travel the country, travel back to the States, travel to other countries, volunteer, and become involved with whatever we find to become involved in".  Well, we have been in this rental house for a little over three weeks, and we have realized the days just go.  I am a planner.  Duh.  Anyone who knows me for even a day knows this about me.  But while plans here are made, they are made now, today, in a few hours, or sometimes the night before (except our road trip we just took, because with that we needed to carefully plan to insure such a phenomenal nights stay at the Express Inn haha).

Pretty much yesterday Ray and I had no plans except to do almost nothing.  We knew we wanted to take a drive to La Chorrerra to find the Nissan dealership and service station.  We then had a very lazy day.  A normal weekend day of R & R with an errand or two thrown in the mix.   Last night Terry emailed me to ask if we wanted to take a drive to Sora to visit with friends.  She was emailing them to see when they would be home, and she would let me know the time.  This morning, with the gym being closed on the weekends, Ray and I took a walk in our town of Chame (we ventured beyond the gates to the unknown--oh no, the horrors of walking in a Panamanian town) first thing this morning. We weren't picking Clyde and Terry up until 1:30.  We had time to take a walk, and forgetting sunscreen, we stayed in the shade, still feeling the heat and humidity starting up at eight am.  We said hello and good morning to those that were already sitting on their porches and walking to Church.

Yesterday, we noticed the bank line was wrapped around the bank building.  Payday for the Panamanians.  Today, they were all grocery shopping, and once again Ray and I stupidly shopped with them.  After our walk, we went to El Machetazo for maybe ten items.  First thing we wanted to do was order a cake for Clyde's birthday party this Wednesday.  We are bringing "green stuff" (a Jello recipe my dear friend, Holly in VA, has shared with me), and a cake.  This is not meant to be a complaint or a whine, but grocery shopping is exhausting these days and, with the crowds it was even more so.  Ordering a cake in Spanish--what size, shape, colors, what will it say on it, flavor, can it be ready by a certain time, pay for it now and bring back the receipt once you pay, and all of this in Spanish.  We muddled our way through and hopefully, we will have a cake to pick up before the party!  Then while Ray was on line for thirty minutes paying for the cake, I did some light grocery shopping.  I needed cornstarch for a recipe.  What is this called in Spanish?  It is written three different ways on Google Translate and ITranslate (I didn't have my phone at the time, and I looked it up later.)  It is labeled on the packaging two different ways.  Found it.  I needed block cream cheese.  I didn't want to pay for the brand name of Philadelphia ($5/block), and the store didn't have it anyways.  Did I just want to buy Queso Crema and risk screwing up a recipe?  Pecans.  None.  Not that I could find.  Minced garlic.  None.  I have seen it in several stores, but not today.  But I can mince fresh myself easily enough.  Juice.  So many varieties (peach, pear, apple, orange, then the usual brand name for the Cranberry), and I was trying to decide which juice to have with Seco Herrano.  I wanted to mix it up a bit and try a different Panamanian flavor.  Or did I?  Seco Herrano is what I may be imbibing at the party OR maybe I will just have the wine I bought from PriceMart.  Another decision.  Back to the juice.  I went with Orange.  Seco Herrano is an alcoholic beverage, by the way, distilled from sugar cane.  It is the Panamanian national beverage and can replace rum or vodka in most recipes.  Herrano is actually made by the Varelo family, and Panama's President as of July 1 is Juan Carlos Varelo.  Back to Ray standing on line for thirty minutes.  He had selected a short line.  Little did he know that the man in front of him with a few items in a basket had a wife with him.  Only while he stood on line, his wife was shopping and loading her shopping cart full of groceries.  She came back just in time to load up the belt.  This is why Ray's short line wasn't so short after all.  This is how Panamanians shop.  Well, after paying for the cake, I made a decision to put my cold groceries back and to just bail out of the store.  There were five or more items from my list (half of the list) that I couldn't find and the lines were getting longer, so we left and drove across the street to El Rey.  We have decided again (second time) that we like this store a little better.  This store had all of the items on my list along with pecans.  Expensive, but they are expensive in the States as well.  And as far as cream cheese goes, Ray picked up the Queso Crema again and asked a store employee if it was the same as Philadelphia block cream cheese.  Again, in Spanish.  We just learned how to say "the same" in Spanish.  She said "sort of".  Then she told him she would be right back, went to the back of the store, and came back to him with block cream cheese ($2 less than brand name).  Great customer service!  Let's see how "the green stuff" works out!  Well, here it is almost noon, and we have finished grocery shopping for "a few items".  My head is spinning with reading labels, thinking I know the right words only to be looked at like I have two heads, and why didn't I eat breakfast before I left the house?  Good thing I am retired and have all morning to grocery shop.  No complaints or whines here.  It will get easier.  These are just things I find to be different, of course, and challenging.  Who would think it would be challenging to retire to this now called "developing nation" Panama.

Once we unloaded the groceries and practiced Spanish, we picked Clyde and Terry up and drove to Sora.  This is a town that is part of the Chame district and is sixty miles from Panama City.  It takes about thirty minutes, again up a few steep hills, to get our new friends home.  The couple, Paul and Nancy,  we were visiting recently bought a house in the mountains and have it turned it into a beautiful bed and breakfast.  It just opened and would be a wonderful place to stay when discovering the interior of Panama. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3047317
The views and grounds are stunning.  The house is warm and inviting just like the owners.  We were given a tour of the house and the landscape, and then for three hours we sat on the balcony and talked with new friends, along with listening to the distant thunder, birds and occasional rooster.

 When we left, it was already dinnertime, so we tried a BBQ place that Clyde and Terry ate at more frequently when they lived in Capira.  Los Arrieros is an open aired restaurant alongside the highway, with big speakers playing loud music (the norm here), picnic tables, a parking lot jammed with cars, a swingset and playground in the back for the children to play while the parents eat and drink (large bar here), and being served are arepas and BBQ.  Not the BBQ I was thinking (choices are chicken, pork or chorizo, and there is no menu), but my chicken BBQ on top of a white cheesy arepa was delicious.  Arepas are flat, round patties made of corn that are grilled and stuffed with anything.  These were stuffed with white cheese melted on the open grill.  They brought back memories of our first trip to Panama when we met Clyde and Terry at their home.  Clyde grilled me my first arepa served with Ron Abuelo and Coke.  This arepa tonight was almost as good.

Here are views from the house today.

We can head to those beaches of Gorgona, Coronado, Santa Clara and beyond seen here.

Or sit on a friend's balcony enjoying the mountain breezes staring at Cerro Picacho (sleeping cat)

Giant African Violet

Chorizo hanging, with the cook grilling

Outdoor seating

 And there was the day.  Some planned, most not, and definitely getting used to just being able to come and go in this retirement of ours.

***Briefly about today, Labor Day.   I didn't realize when making a yearly appointment (gynecological) that it was Labor Day.  I scheduled it for nine am.  I always like to take the first appointment as a just in case.  I have to remember that here in Panama, I am not running around in one day doing all of my errands, so so what if doctor is running a little behind.  And last year, I scheduled a seven am appointment, and the nurse practitioner overslept.  So early isn't always better.  Ray drove me to the appointment, and when I went into the office I understood this from the receptionist---something about me being the only appointment of the day, I could return at a different time today, and perhaps the doctor was on his way.  I decided to return (learned this word just last week!  Regresar.), and she pointed to ten am in the appointment book.  She also said she would call me hahaha  That should go over well, I thought.  Ray and I went to El Machetazo to buy a few things not on my list from yesterday, and we looked at grills.  We will comparison shop at Do It Center tomorrow.  Then we looked at birthday cards.  Another mentally draining task, but it was all accomplished in good fashion.  We learned more words!  Hopefully, we bought a birthday card for Clyde and not an "In Sympathy"--he is turning sixty after all!  (Just Kidding, Clyde!)

Christmas comes to Panama!

Ho, Ho, Ho!  

After speaking our broken Spanish to an employee at the store about the grills (do they come assembled?), my phone rang, and it was the doctor's receptionist.  I gathered this information--you can come now, the doctor is in (I think).  I met with the doctor in his office, and he put my medical history into his laptop.  He is a nice man with great English speaking abilities.  However, he still has a Spanish dialect, so I turned my hearing aids up and read his lips as well.  He asked "Do you have Diabetes or in the family?", but diabetes came out like "deeeaabetays".  So I muddled through the Q & A, proceeded to the exam room right next to his office (through an alcove), hopped up on the table, and the exam was complete!  Free Pap Smear, order written for mammogram and an order written for blood work to be done (whenever I want, since I asked what he recommended) for hormonal levels to be checked, cholesterol and other things I can't read (in English but written just like a doctor would write it out--scribbled).  The Pap Smear results come back in eight days.  The cost for the appointment with my discount--$50.  I turn my receipt into our insurance broker for it to go towards our deductible that we hope never to meet, because we will stay healthy.

Clinic in Coronado

Back to Casa 40 to throw meal in the crockpot, cram for Spanish and Ray will help Clyde pick up some chairs for his party Wednesday.  I think for me, it will be time for a nap!