In my anal retentiveness style, first thing first. Six thirty am came way too quickly today. The room didn't brighten up, because little did I know it was going to be an overcast kind of day. I don't look at the weather here often, because it seems to be the same. It was the perfect morning to sleep in, but once again (this happened one other time that it was raining in the morning), we had things to do and places to go. Out of the house at seven am and on to the Nissan Dealership in La Chorrera to have our XTerra's 10km service done. There was a line at our gate to get out of the development. We have yet to see this many cars coming or going here. I have to say the road was active! And not just with cars. Here in the interior of Panama, everyone walks. I say it this way because our insurance broker told us the reason there are many large Panamanians (and remember that when I get back to the clothing story) is because they never walk. Not so around here. All the moms were out walking their children to school and to the bus stops along the highway (think US Hwy 1 without all the stop lights, if you are familiar with the East Coast). At seven am, school was just about beginning, and the bus stops were also becoming crowded with people commuting to work. Once to the dealership, it was pretty much the same as in the States. We pulled into the service line behind a Nissan Sentra yellow cab. One woman looked for our name on her list. Uh oh. Even though we were just here Saturday making our appointment, our name wasn't on the list. No problem though. Whew. Another woman put the paper mat on the floor of the driver's side, and she wrapped the driver's seat in plastic. And by the way, since I was laughing about how Panamanians have ONE job to do only, Ray says there were three people that checked in his car at the Nissan shop in VA, as well. A man then wrote down on paper why the car was in line, the cost, and when we should expect it to be ready. Four hours. We were told 2-2 1/2 on Saturday. Always plan for longer. We were then asked, in Spanish, if there was any money in the car. Or maybe even jewelry. We told them we had nothing valuable in the car. Ray showed the man a part that he thought could be repaired while the car was in the shop. This part is the handle that you put your fingers into when you want to reach up and pull the hatchback trunk down. The inner part has come unglued. I guess they don't glue things back here, because, well, maybe that guy was fired? No. Cracking myself up over here. No, he just told Ray to get some silicone and stick it back in himself! Will do. Easy enough. And maybe since it wasn't on the order? And usually I just pull the whole thing down from the inside, so this isn't really all that important. So while Ray was showing him this part, I was asking in my perfect Spanish, if they had rubber floor mats to buy. She told me to ask inside in her speedy perfect Spanish. We then talked about general things such as where we were from and where we lived. We told her Chame, NOT Punta Chame, as everyone seems to ask. I told her something to the effect of "we don't have that much money" which she knew because we don't keep it in the car obviously. And we chatted that we were from Virginia near Washington, DC. She made a face when I mentioned Washington, DC. Interesting. We followed her into the dealership, and Ray and I sat down on the gray, drab couch that was there by the service desk. We saw people sitting here on Saturday and assumed this was the waiting area. "No, no, no, follow me", she told us. In the area with the brand new, shiny Nissan cars and SUVs sat thick, red, comfy leather chairs and a couch. She offered us complimentary coffee, as well. I was greedy and had two dainty cups of coffee. Then I drank my Peach Juice. I have learned that when in Panama, I should always bring my Tervis to stay hydrated. This size paper cup is also found at the bank by the coffee machine.
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| Coffee and Peach Juice--breakfast |
No Wifi at this Nissan, so Ray and I played games on our phones, I took notes on my tablet, read the paper (and used WordLens app on my phone to do some reconfiguring of the Spanish words), and I realized I really do need a new battery for my IPhone 4 (what was my daughter's from years ago). The usage time--2 hours. Dead. Time waiting for car--3 hours. Hey, less than the four hours they wrote on the paper. Oh, they do not carry floor mats. And the bathrooms are super clean. BUT if they don't put the "Please do not throw paper in the toilet" sign in front of my face, I am not going to see it (it was off to the side). This is a common occurrence in Panama. Most restaurants and public places ask that you throw the paper in the trash can. Fortunately in my rental house, we can throw it right into the toilet. Ah, such is the life at Casa 40. Power just interrupted. Ray woke from his nap on the hammock (my purple one, since this is where I have the fan blowing) when the fan stopped blowing. Nope, it popped back on in good fashion.
Since we were in La Chorrera and so close to Westland Mall and the Do It Center (Home Depot), we decided to pick up a few items while out. Ray wanted to get some more lightweight shirts. The past few days have been warm here. Normal, I know. But we haven't seen the car thermometer show 37 Celsius yet. Until yesterday. 99 degrees. And without rain, we haven't had breezes. The last few days we have decided the porch isn't really the place to be during the afternoon. The mall made sense, and to spend more money made even more sense. Again, we didn't know it would be nice and overcast today with breezes on the porch (this is why we are back outside enjoying the birds). We first went into a store called Arrocha. This is a variety story with a pharmacy, "As Seen on TV" items, perfumes, candy (Skittles!), and it reminds me of a bigger Walgreens or CVS store. We were there to purchase a Driving Regulations book. Clyde told us, as he was told by Phil, to keep this book in the car. It basically tells you the rules of the road when driving in Panama. There are rules?! Who knew! It will be good to read, since it is in Spanish. More practicing. On to El Costo which is a large department store. Ray went to the second floor and found several shirts right away. I scanned the women's department. I had six items to try on, and they ranged in cost from $2.99/shirt to $6.99 for a Marcia or even Jan Brady style dress. So colorful! I even picked up a shirt that was colorful in the front but had a lace back. They seem to have a lot of tops that are lacy or see through in the back, and they are shorter in the front and longer in the back. I should have taken pictures. Next time. Once at the dressing room, I was stopped and the white shirt I was holding was put off to the side. I forgot. White clothing cannot be tried on in Panama. I started to explain why I had a red and a white shirt that were the same but different sizes (like maybe this was the problem?). I had one in Medium, and I had one in Large just in case. I usually wear Small and Medium tops when I shop in the States. Then she told me "blanco", and I remembered the golden rule. I might get makeup on the white one (not the red or green or purple one, mind you), so she put it off to the side, and while I was struggling in the dressing room to try on the large red one, and then the large sized shirt with the lace in the back (this is the one that stuck to my skin so tight, and the tag poked me in the eye), the nice lady brought me a black one to try on instead. Ray actually said to me "maybe it was the way the shirt was meant to be worn, but you just aren't used to it fitting like that". Cracking up over here again! Okay, Panamanian women might wear jeggings one size too small and tight jeans, but their tops do not fit the way this one was fitting, or not fitting on me. Ray was outside the dressing room at this time, so I chose to walk away from the groovy dress I had with my selection of tops. I just walked away. I will try again another day. Maybe once I lose those two pounds that I obviously gained in my arms and back and neck.
The rest of the day has been uneventful. We drove to Do It Center to comparison shop grills and to look for a tool set. Not too many grills to choose from, and nothing beats the price of El Machetazo's grill (the one found in the large grocery store). And tools are expensive in Panama. I do remember reading this, but we both thought it pertained more to electric tools. We did pick up floor mats instead of waiting until we could order once in the States ($20/four mats). We stopped at one restaurant to eat lunch at along the PanAm highway. The name is El Haciende, and it's sign translates in my head to "typical Panamanian food". We walked in and saw a crowd lined up at the buffet, and we decided to try the next restaurant. We weren't in the mood for typical, I suppose. Next stop was Delizz, which is right along the highway as well. It is a pretty restaurant with bright colored walls, glass covered tables inside and out and large ceiling fans. There was a tv in the corner, so I could catch up on my TeleNovela (soap opera). First, we asked for our discount (have to ask up front, so the waitress knows to take off the 25%). We think since we had just ordered soda and were looking at the dessert menu, she thought this is all we were having, and she told us they didn't offer the discount. But once the three of us put our heads together and spoke Spanish all at once, we understood each other. Ray ordered the greek salad, I had the mixed/house salad, he also ordered french fries (duh), and I ordered an Emparedado. With chicken. I asked the waitress what this was, and I was so mad that I had forgotten learning it in our Duolingo lessons this past summer. But I haven't seen it on menus here yet. She told me it was "pan con pollo, jamon, queso, pescado"....bread with chicken or ham or cheese or fish (they have many selections). I ordered the chicken sandwich and that bread was so good! Light, airy, soft and tasty! Loved the sandwich. Shared it with Ray, and I stole some of his fries. Then Ray and I talked about the batidos (milkshake made with either milk or water) and that it was too bad they didn't have pineapple flavored milkshakes. Ray said they had pineapple, and she named it when we asked her the flavors. I knew she had only told us papaya (because I don't usually love papaya smoothies) and peach. So we asked the flavors again, and this time she listed two more flavors. Ray then specifically asked for pineapple, and she said yes! I guess they had two flavors and then when asked again, they now had five. So we had to order this to try. This week I can check arepas and batidos off the list of food I am enjoying in this new retirement life of mine. Maybe this is the cause for those two pounds!
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| Outside Delizz |
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| Inside room of Delizz |
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| Pineapple batido with oil and vinegar (white) nearby. Oh, and me finishing off Ray's half of the sandwich. |
Once back at the house, Ray cut the floor mats to size, laid in the hammock for a nap, and is now sitting at the porch table with me winning big money (coins) on his Casino game. It is really nice outside when the sun isn't so bright and intense as it has been the past few days. (And we aren't swimming in the Caribbean.) So besides noticing all of the walkers today, the small clothing sizes in stores that equal the coffee cup size, the toilet paper not being allowed to be thrown into a toilet in all places the Nissan dealership, I was also reminded of how big the leaves grow here in Panama while sitting on the patio. Bugs and leaves--all big in Panama. Just like me, supposedly.
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