SO MANY HAPPY HOURS, NOT ENOUGH DAYS OF THE WEEK

One of the events on our busy social calendar this week was a CASA meeting this past Wednesday.  The meetings are held under Louise's spacious bohio at her home in Coronado.  Coffee, iced tea and cookies are set out, and I must say, it was great coffee!  After talking and mingling, Louise stood up to welcome the old and new expats and noted (she is the President of this organization) that there are throngs of new retirees along with young families moving to Panama.  She has been in Coronado for seven years, I think, and she said this was definitely not the case when she arrived here.  And at the time, there was ONE mixer a month and very little to do in the interior of the country.

CASA stands for Coronado Area Social Association and this meeting was a morning coffee social as well as a meeting to review the monthly events.  There are fewer events during rainy season apparently, and there are less attendees, but so far, Ray and I have noticed that this area is busier than we were visiting here two years ago (in October).  More restaurants are open, and more people are frequenting them.  Now here, many of the nightly events are two words:  Happy Hour.  But some coming up are community affairs.  This past week, Ray and I went to four happy hours, and we listened to a band called Zodiac play last night at Picasso's.  Good thing the days are quiet, so we were rested for the evenings.  Truth be told, we had four planned (planned means that the night before you decide what your plans are for the next night), but we made it to three.  Some included sangria, others Balboa beer or an occasional happy hour will be just water or soda.  Like Louise said at the meeting, expats can stay busy just by frequenting all of these happy hours.  They are great places to meet up with new and old friends.  The community events discussed had to do with Kings Day in January where baskets are put together and delivered to the underserved Panamanians in the mountains.  We first make crowns for the handicapped children to bring to them with the baskets.  There was a chance to bring unused jewelry and clothing to a woman that helps out at the orphanage, and she is looking for volunteers.  We discussed the Christmas party to be held in December, and a Halloween get together to be held at the end of the month.  Mostly it was a great meeting to see and meet new people and talk to friends we have made since moving here to Panama.

We spent a few hours Tuesday night at a happy hour at La Teca.  La Teca is a Spanish restaurant in The Village shopping center of Coronado.  Free rum daiquiri tastings (really a full solo cup drink as a tasting!) with mango and then passionfruit juice, appetizers, and prizes of Ron Abuelo being raffled off along with excellent sangria (I am taste testing these all over), and chatting with newly made great friends made for a wonderful night.   A small crowd, but with a lot of conversation and laughter.

The next morning, which was right before the CASA meeting at Louise's house, Ray drove Miss Daisy to the beach, Playa Caracol.  I was hoping to see the eclipse of the moon, but I knew I was too late at six am.  I also knew it was too cloudy.  I still just wanted to set my feet in the sand, and maybe see part of a sunrise here.  Cloudy, but gorgeous.  The sun, the clouds, the water at that time of day was stunning.  And so quiet.

Good morning.  Seven am on the beach.

 That night we met Clyde and Terry at Picasso's and compared to some other Wednesday nights in rainy season, it was a packed house.  The four of us sat at a table catching up, since we hadn't a chance to talk in a few days.

Thursday it was an early start to our Spanish lesson, and then I was solo at the gym.  I also went alone on Monday and got into a heap of trouble.  On Monday, Ray still wasn't feeling so great with his cold, so I drove all by myself to the gym.  I told Ray I would call when I arrived.  I entered the gate of the resort ten minutes after leaving Ray, and the gate wouldn't close.  I said hello to a woman that lives in one of the condominiums there, and I walked up closer to the gate to try to get the key fob to make it close.  Before this, I had tossed my phone into the glove box like I always do when Ray drives us everywhere.  Just a habit.  I then found Giovanni, the groundskeeper, and told him about the gate not closing.  I jumped on the treadmill and about twenty minutes later, I realized I never called Ray.  I hopped off the treadmill saying a few choice words loudly, and I walked fast to the car to get my phone.  I called Ray.  Let's just say he was a little upset.  I was so upset for upsetting him.  I finished my workout, and I drove back to the house feeling like a sixteen year old getting ready for restriction.  Needless to say, when I went solo to the gym again, I did not forget to call him.  Foreign country.  Bad drivers.  Police checkpoints.  All this surmounts to panic when you tell someone you will call, and you don't call.

Back to more fun, because going to the gym is anything but that, except that I am getting some good reading in while on the treadmill.  On Thursday night quite a few of us were planning on going to the Happy Hour at Bahia.  This is the resort on the water in Gorgona with gorgeous views, and here, there is very good Sangria.  Ray chose this over Balboa, and he agreed. And there were free appetizers again.  We had a glass of sangria, eight of us sat around, talked and mingled with others, and after two plus hours, we were back at the house.  These happy hours give everyone a chance to catch up after lazy days or days of running errands.  Here with the retirees, happy hours are more about socializing and less about "it's been a long week, let's meet up for drinks this weekend".  They occur nightly.  But I can only have so many sangrias.  Truthfully.  It's great to sit at the end of the day, seeing friends, making new one's that come along with the other one's, people watching, and planning the next day.  haha  Or the next happy hour.  We then face time chatted with our daughter, and it was another good day!

It was back to the gym Friday (Ray tagged along), and while we thought we might get to the pool one day this past week (or several), it was actually cloudy three whole days in a row.  It was a nice break.  It made the house less hot.  The sun wasn't out to make it intense.  There was a breeze.  After the gym, I decided it was time to get my haircut.  Sometimes I just want it done.  Terry offered to cut it for me, as did another friend, Nancy.  But I had been told about Wandita's in Coronado mall (more like a plaza), and for seven dollars, I thought I would give it a try.  The friend that told me about the salon was in the hair and salon business with Redken for over twenty years.  She had just had an overall trim there.  Her appointment and haircut was normal though.  I had no idea hair could be cut the way mine was cut, but then my stylist friends told me this is how they cut their own hair--tipping their head upside down and giving it a trim all over.  Ray and I walked into the salon, the receptionist spoke English, and she sat me in a chair.  I told the stylist, who spoke no English, I wanted an inch cut all over.  I didn't get a shampoo, my hair stayed dry, she did take my ponytail down (I'll give her credit for that!), and she had me then stand up.  She had me tip my head forward and down, used a comb and scissors, and she cut.  I saw the hair fall on the floor, and it looked like an inch, so I wasn't sweating too much.  The salon had great air conditioning, but I was suddenly nervous and warm.  She then sat me in the chair, swished back my hair with her fingertips, and I looked in the mirror.  I saw hair that was a little shorter.  I think I was still dumbfounded.  I asked her to trim my bangs, since I didn't think they were addressed when my head was tipped over.  Not too bad, but my stylist in VA might have a lot of "straightening" out to do.

This is how I stood for my hair cut.

That night Ray and I were headed to Hotel Trypp for the Happy Hour.  It was our realtor's birthday, and she had told us to come out and celebrate with her family and friends.  I wet my hair to see how it would style for me.  Looked perfectly coiffed.  haha  Then it rained.  Oh, it also poured.  And the wind blew.  Why did I bother?  Why did I care?  Before happy hour though (which was going to be on a rooftop, if it was to happen with the rain and winds anyways, who knows), we made our way to our new friend's condominium nearby (the husband and I met through my blog).  Ray and I wanted to see some furniture that they had just had made at a shop nearby, and they were more than happy to show us their condominium, too.  Their condominium is just perfect--bright and airy with fabulous views of the mountains and the Pacific Ocean, and it was a pleasure to sit down and take in all that they have done to make it home while feeling like they are on vacation everyday.  There was Balboa beer for the men, and wine for the ladies (a bottle of it no less).  And we missed happy hour.  Oh well.  Two hours later, we walked to an Italian restaurant, Luna Rossa, that Ray and I had been to in the past.  We loved it then, and we loved it that night.  The place was packed, and the food was delicious just as I had remembered it from last year.  We rolled ourselves out of there, and we called it another full day in retirement!

Luna Rossa restuarant

Yesterday I had plans to take this same friend (from Friday night) to Finca La Maya for the art program.  From 1-3 on Saturdays, the children work on various art projects.  Since she had majored in art in college and also designed after school art programs, she was all over the idea to help at the school.  But first, Ray had agreed to see a new housing development that is being built in Punta Barco.  This is about fifteen minutes from where we live now.  Our attorney wanted us to see this area and model home.  We picked up our friends to take them along for the ride, and then we were going to show them where the school was in San Carlos.  We met a realtor at the housing development, did a once over, decided it wasn't all that, and we toured the area.  We found a beautiful beach and showed them another Punta Barco beach that Ray and I had stumbled on weeks ago.  This beach was the one with the small, Panamanian, open aired, three sided residential homes on the water.  Both beaches are public, and it is a no brainer which one we would want to visit again.  

At Punta Barco looking west (the water was bluish-green!)

Keep the beaches clean, but let's paint the walls.

Looking east.  There were surfers arriving, and there are swimmers way out there.

The side of the hill. 

Once we arrived to Finca La Maya, Starr came to greet us.  But she had canceled the class.  The students in the morning English class weren't going to be staying for art, but next week she laid out t-shirts and told them the art project would be decorating their own t-shirts for the upcoming parades and holidays in November.  They were also going to start making Christmas cards.  The students give the cards away, and they also sell them to raise money for the school.  Here's hoping next week will be successful.  Having not been to the Vista Mar development, but hearing all about it, we drove into the gated community.  We walked the grounds, and there we saw stunning views of the ocean.

Inside Finca La Maya (t-shirts for next week's art program)

Supplies

Past art work

More art work--a town made out of cigarette cartons.

Paper mache

Learning to recycle

Top of the hill in Vista Mar

Homes in Vista Mar

The pool at Vista Mar

A random picture in El Rey grocery store of Barefoot Wines (notice inflatable foot on top)

 And then it poured.  It's good to see the rain though.  I am not complaining about this one bit.  We dropped our friends off, and later last night (eight pm!) Ray and I went to Picasso's--it was the owner's birthday, and her favorite band was playing there.  For those who like Classic Rock (sixties) and Beatles music, this was a great band.  I talked to the owner and her boyfriend, we caught up a little with Clyde and Terry (it was difficult to hear anything except during break), and since it wasn't dancing music along with Ray not knowing any of the songs haha (imagine that), we left after two hours.  Another night that we were out mixing and mingling, but now we may settle down for a while--until the next event at least.  There's always more right around the corner.  For today, it's time to make it another great day and head to the pool while the sun is shining!  Another day in Panama.

Pictures below are of a fishing beach (although there was a swimmer) Ray and I found when we drove into Capira and along the road to Cermeno.  Up and over mountains, along a two lane windy road, and at the end was this beach.  He had just spent $6 at another car wash last Monday (Lava Allison was closed that day), and then it rained.  Here, they don't offer the special "if it rains within 24 hours, we will wash your car for free" deal.