 |
| Night before our departure. |
 |
| 300 plus pounds of more "stuff" |
After spending two minutes first thing in the morning (eight am--no gym for me today), we drove to La Chorrera to have Ray's passport notarized for the shipping company. We needed a Panamanian notary and could not have this done in the US. There is a Notary in La Chorrera, and the office opens at eight am. We arrived forty-five minutes after the opening hour to the Notaria Sexta building.
We grabbed the last parking space. There were two lines, and there were seven men already sitting in all seven chairs. Not looking good here. We were behind one person on the first line, we gave our copy of our passport to the man behind the desk, he stamped, sealed and even signed it, and put the paper in the pile to his left. We then knew (we had been watching and paying attention) to go to the window to his left and pay the lady behind the glass. We paid her ten dollars (Ray is a Notary in the US, and he is only allowed to charge maximum five dollars. But he is also not appointed by the President, and this is not the US.) We then stood against a wall. Some men dropped their papers off and left, so we thought this process might take a while. We contemplated standing and waiting, asking the nice man how long the process takes, and maybe just returning another day. Then a man in a business suit walked through the door closer to nine am. This was the Notary. The man behind the desk took the pile of papers he had been stamping and sealing all morning, and he gave them to the man in the business suit. He flipped the papers for the man while the man signed away. A few minutes later, fourteen names were called before ours with papers being given back to the owners. Within ten minutes, we were walking out with our papers. Nice!
Third errand was to head back to the Tribunal Building where we hoped to pick up our Cedula cards. We had tried this once before we left for the States, and we were told to come back later. Even though we showed up a few days after the day we were told to pick the cards up. Traffic was horrible, we blamed it on construction, but it was really heavy traffic outside the building. There wasn't any parking, so the cars were simply circling the building, re-entering the highway, and re-circling. The cars were jamming up the highway. Cars were parked in both parking lots, along the curbs and other cars were parked parallel to these cars along the curb. A mess. At least police were directing the traffic, sort of. Ray and I entered the parking lot, circled the building once, and then we decided I would run into the office while Ray circled the building. I walked quickly up the steep steps (need to get back to the gym!), and yay for me, I had my Panamanian ID card in my hand! Ray had circled the building once, I jumped into the driver's seat, he walked quickly to the office, and after I circled the building once, he had his ID in hand.
 |
| A beauty of a car we traveled behind in the city. |
Now to find the the shipping company. We love using Waze on our phones. There aren't street signs for the most part in the city (there are more than I realized, but they are in neighborhoods and for major roads usually). The one's we need to find are difficult to read (the side roads have small signs with little lettering). Waze works really well, usually. This morning it was an off day. We put the address in for the shipping company and were directed to a housing community on the other side of Albrook Mall near the airport. Ray called the company, and we were given pretty good directions. Ray understood the office to be in El Dorado close to "the cake building". The receptionist confirmed this with him. The cake building is a round building that sells pastries and cakes. It's a large bakery. It's official name is La Casa Redonda del Dorado. He believed this because when he asked "oh, by the cake building?", the receptionist told him the office was 'by the dome near the university once you turn by Novey'. This is how directions are told here. We arrive to the cake building, drive again to a housing neighborhood, and Ray makes a second call. Clarification made, and we drive back to "the dome". I have yet to get into that bakery! We found the office very close to where shipping containers can be seen near Albrook Mall. This is where we thought the office should be (and not in the city of El Dorado by the cake building), and once inside the gate, we were told our crate with five hundred pounds of "stuff" should be delivered mid-January. Then the papers need to be sorted, Customs needs to check out the goods, and our crate should be in our hands by the third week of January. Our four errands has taken three plus hours. Not too shabby. Traffic, miscommunication, and making our way around the city a little more today.
 |
| The Cake Building |
Finally, we had more enjoyable things planned for the afternoon such as shopping! We, along with hundreds of others (holiday week perhaps), were sampling Vodka, wines, and Amaretto at PriceSmart. We were in a different PriceSmart, but they are all the same (except for those samples)! Clyde and Terry had told us on our way back from the airport about MegaDepot, so we checked that store out as well. It seems to be like a PriceSmart (which is like a smaller Costco), without the membership fee but higher prices. Once through with the shopping, we hightailed it out of the city and stopped for lunch at Westland Mall. At three pm, the mall was crowded, but with just needing some food, we were able to eat lunch and frozen yogurt along with some shopping at Conway.
Not to be ready to end the day yet, I dropped Ray off, hopped in the drivers seat and made my way to Wandita's. I was going to have a much needed manicure and pedicure! Manicures are $5 with pedicures being $15. In the States, I paid close to $40. I told the girl my hands and feet were a mess, and she smartly agreed. I, in my quest to practice Spanish, spoke with the woman next to me about her two year old daughter that was there in the salon. I saw another woman get her haircut just like mine had been cut last September (her head was upside down, but her hair was wet and had been colored). I also slept a bit. So relaxing. I was getting primped and polished for the big day ahead. Today.
Back to the gym. Maybe not so relaxing, but it was quiet. A casual walk on the beach with Ray. A cool swim in the pool chatting with a couple from Connecticut. Back to face time chats with friends and our daughter. Losing electricity for thirty seconds. Twice.
So here is what I have noticed since being back to Panama these past few days. The muñecos. These are life-like figures resembling cartoon characters (I have seen Sponge Bob, Super Mario, Spiderman to name a few), political figures, anyone really or even just situations of the past year. We were told today that our town, Chame, is having a competition (judges have been traveling the roads and stopping by houses selecting the best of the best), and on New Year's Eve cash prizes will be given to the winners. These figures are a way to start a new beginning, and then right before midnight, they are lit on fire and the parties begin (or I imagine, continue)!
 |
| Super Mario |
Gas prices have gone down along with those in the US. A gallon of gas is now about $2.49 (.66/liter--it was .86/liter when we left). We paid anywhere from $1.95 near the lake house to $2.49 closer to Northern VA. Food prices are the same for the most part. We will buy some brand name things here in Panama, and other things we are fine buying Panamanian brand. We'll go with what tastes good and with what works for us.
The sun is hotter and more intense. It's now summer, and the temperatures are no longer registering 89-91 degrees. It is now 95 degrees, but there are breezes! Warm breezes when in the sun, but on my back porch at Casa 40, there are cool breezes and really no humidity. This is only based on the past three late afternoons. But I can sit on the porch again. Like I could in August. And then the air turned a little stagnant in the back yard. Burning has started instead of having the machetes cut back the high, dry grasses along the highway.
A new building is going up near Coronado just like the owner's at Frosty's promised (possibly an Arrocha). The Gorgona Mall has windows in it now. Progress! And we still never really know what lane we should be in when driving in the city! And that in Panama, no one else knows along with motorcyclists being able to get around it all scarily, but they get around it while we wait. And wait.
 |
| There are actually five lanes here. One turns left, but there should really be only three. |
 |
| The white truck puts a stop to all of us proceeding. |
 |
| So the Crowley truck can back up. The motorcyclists came up from the back. Because they can. They did wait patiently except one drove on the sidewalk around the mess. |
This is retirement in Panama. My five weeks in Virginia were amazingly busy and wonderfully happy. The next few months here in Panama I will embrace and love just as much all the while looking forward to seeing my daughter, sister, family and friends once again in VA as well as here. Home here and home there. It's all so good.
 |
| I love palm trees, ocean water, cool breezes and sunny skies. |
No comments:
Post a Comment