A WEEK IN PANAMA

As usually happens more often than not, yesterday went by with Ray and I wondering where the day went, and how the day ended up the way it did--it was a little confused, but it was still a better day than a day at the dental office.  No complaints here!  While I didn't accomplish my tasks at Woody's House of Hope (it will get done), we did meet with a new friend late in the day that will be installing blinds for us (waiting for his quote, but it will certainly be better than a first quote we have been given by another company).  We met him at the beautiful Bijao complex on the Santa Clara beach in nearby Coclé, Panama.

                                                      http://www.bijao.com/

  He is the property manager for many properties west of Coronado, and it was in one condominium here that he could show Ray and I samples of the work he has done with different style blinds and shades for our new home.  We followed him to another condominium in nearby Playa Blanca (the large resort with the lagoon for a swimming pool) to see other examples of shades and blinds.  I was so busy looking at the amazing views out of the condominiums, I had to remind myself to look at the material hanging from the windows.  Once we agreed on the type of blind we would want installed, he then requested one more measurement of our very large sliding glass doors in our soon-to-be family room.  Gee, now we have to go back to the house to get the measurements.  We had just told Carl (the builder's son and also a builder himself I should add) that we were not going to return to the house for one week.  We were there last Friday, and as of the end of this week, all of the wood work is to be done.  The man responsible for this job is one month behind in installing our wood cabinets, door frames, and everything wood.  He has this week to complete the job.  But since we needed those two measurements, we stopped by the house and chatted with Kevin, the builder and founder of this project.

http://www.azurapanama.com  

We found out he has new buyers that will live across the street from us come December.  Or earlier depending on occupancy permits and the government bureaucracy once the house is built.  And we saw the bathrooms in our house being completed with gorgeous teak cabinets and the granite resting on top.  The switch plates are installed, and we now have a sliding glass door in the family room.  The little things matter, and once the dust settles from the cutting of the granite, fixtures, lights and ceiling fans will start going up.

I should write here how we met this man that is property manager of over forty properties with his wife and also a specialist in blinds.  While in the pool with our friends, Robin and John, we met two women that own a house in our community here in Chame.  We have never seen them before, because they are not in Chame permanently.  They are here quite often (every eight weeks or so), but our time here has not overlapped their time it seems.  They have owned their home for five years and live in Kentucky.  After talking to them a little bit about Panama, what has changed in the area since they bought their home, their lives in the States and how life is there and here, we were invited the next day to a dinner party.  This is where Ray started chatting with the man grilling my filet just perfectly (without letting it touch the shrimp nearby).  He found out this man and his wife have lived here for seven years, and yes, he installs blinds and shades.  What a night, too.  We saw what our rental house looks like when homeowners are not renting the property.  A beautiful home, garden, furnishings, paint colors, with it all so cozy and inviting.  A really great way to spend a Sunday night in Panama.

After taking the measurements of the walls surrounding the sliding glass door, it was now dinner time.  We had decided to try a new Chinese restaurant to us in San Carlos (on the InterAmerican Highway) called Don Mario's.  We were given large menus with pages of appetizers, soups, salads, entrees and desserts (thinking of our friend, Greg, and his love of flan), but many things were marked in pencil "No Hay" meaning "There is no".  However, when we asked about these items, we were told that the items were available.  Always ask.  We enjoyed the pork and chicken egg rolls along with our entrees.  It is a place we will revisit especially when we live on that side of Coronado.

Last week, we found ourselves again at Bluwater Bistro.  This restaurant is in the Bahia complex in Gorgona.  No need to twist our arm here.  

http://www.insidepanamarealestate.com/blog/bluwater-bistro-bahia.htm

We were having a send off meal with friends that are headed to Boquete, Pedasi, Panama City and then home to Canada.  They have been in Coronado for almost two months and will be missed.  But alas, there weren't any pork chops this past week on the menu.  Always a good place to catch up on weekly events, and this was also the meet up point for me to gather the goods for Woody's House of Hope.  So great to have six people to load up our car that night!  

The next night Ray and I decided to go to a new Happy Hour at Sukha.  We had driven by the restaurant one week prior while our friends were visiting, and it seemed like a good place to again catch up with friends.  This bar, and soon to be restaurant, took the place of what had been a steakhouse restaurant in Coronado.  We have been told it was a not so good steakhouse which explains why it is no more.  Friday nights there is a band playing that is the same band that had played on the rooftop at Trypp Hotel in Coronado.  My favorite kind of music was playing, and there is always dancing and karaoke (the later not for me though).  Sitting outside, we had to remember to hold onto our glasses.  There is a strong, cool breeze kicking up some nights, and the week prior, several glasses bit the dust.  This night, I only heard one crash to the ground.  Not mine though!  

Still staying on the subject of eating and drinking, Saturday night we enjoyed a really good dinner at Picasso's.  We don't usually eat there, because we eat a little earlier most nights, but we wanted to get a table, drink Sangria and listen to the Jazz music.  We met with the same friends we had dinner with a few nights prior at Bluwater.  And we met another couple that is renting at Coronado Golf.  He and his wife recently moved to Panama permanently from Chicago.  I will say everyone is very friendly whether an expat or Panamanian here.  People want to meet others, and they will walk right up to you and say hello.  Another thing is that everyone is also available to answer questions and offer up tidbits/advice/suggestions and just different ways to do things or try things that we might not have thought of in the first place.  Phil, who owns a bed and breakfast called La Joya de Chicá is one of many friends we can rely on to answer a question or point us in the right direction.

http://www.lajoyadechica.com 

 In the link below, there are pictures of his place in Chicá along with our trip to Campana National Park.  I wrote about this when Clyde and Terry took Ray and I on a day trip in March, 2013. 

 http://www.2wannabretireesinpanama.blogspot.com/2013/03/looking-listening-learning-and-with.html  

Phil also gave us the information about a jungle tour when I inquired where we could take a lake tour and possibly see more monkeys.  I have read recently though that Monkey Island is gone.  The monkeys have had to find a new place to hang out (no pun intended), due to the expansion of the canal taking away the island.  

http://www.junglelandpanama.com

And while Panamanians are not necessarily at these happy hours or sitting listening to the bands we listen to, they do say hello and smile wherever we see them.  They make themselves available to answering questions ("do you know where this is, how can I find that" and so on).   It is a very friendly country from what Ray and I have found since moving here last August.  

Moving backwards in my thoughts, how can I forget how we spent the day last Friday!  We took a drive to El Valle to see our friend, Tonette.  We had made plans to enjoy lunch at Casa de Lourdes, and boy, we did enjoy our lunch!

http://www.lacasadelourdes.com/  OR

http://panamainfo.com/en/listing/casa-de-lourdes-el-valle 

We shared several appetizers sitting outside by the pool with more cool breezes.  We also shared two amazingly delicious desserts one of which was called "El Heart Attack".  We caught Tonette up on our life in Chame, and she caught us up on her life.  WE chatted in her casita, walked the grounds admiring the new casita being built on the property, and we made promises to visit again when our daughter was with us in a few weeks.  The temperature was a cool 84 degrees in El Valle that day.  

***FYI--A brand new two bedroom, two bathroom casita in El Valle to be completed in June for rent.  Beautiful, private grounds with great neighbors!  Can get contact information to any person if interested.

Outdoor seating at the restaurant

Dessert One of Two

Taking a break on the couch.

Besides eating and drinking, there have been things on our to do list for this month.  Ray and I have been to the little yellow clinic (next to the Barber Shop by the bus stop in the Coronado area) to have our blood work done, and Ray's numbers (for cholesterol) are ideal.  Of course they are, and I shouldn't be miffed haha  He has not had his checked in a number of years. My numbers came back the lowest of low!  Awesome!  For four tests each, the cost with our Jubilado discount was $22.50/person (without discount $25/person).  My appointment with  Dr. Levy with discount was $12.75 (without discount is $15) to review findings.  I had a dental appointment and had my crown delivered finally, and yes, the tooth is just fine.  He honored the quote he gave me last August when I first lost my veneer and he said I would need a crown someday.  I am unsure what his current fee would be today.  I am just annoyed it had to be done here in Panama in the first place.  Oh well.  It's done, and I can now bite into an apple again without worry of losing it!  On Tuesday, we had six bar stools delivered to this house.  They arrived the day they were supposed to, but not at the designated time of ten am.  When Ray called inquiring about them at one pm, he was told three pm.  Then we found out the driver was thinking they were to be delivered to a nearby storage facility.  Ray put our neighbor, Gus, on the phone.   He could speak faster Spanish and get the matter resolved quickly.  He looked at the directions we had written down for the driver and commented "perfect".  Unsure how they ended up at a storage facility.  They were going to unload a great looking king size mattress into our house, but we told them we only had six bar stools.  Assembly was done, and we slid our rental units six bar stools out of the way.  We are now enjoying our bright red chairs.  They are much more comfortable, and here's knowing that they will pop in the new house!  

And with all of that, new restaurants to try, furniture delivered successfully, dental and doctor appointments covered, happy hours to catch up with great friends, Ray and I squeezed in walks on the beach along with pool time.  We had to be lazy at some point soaking in the pool chatting with friends.  Okay, the walks are not the lazy part.  Ray and I can cover a lot of ground when we get ourselves out there.  And yes, while I had been to the gym last week a few times alone, there was that one morning I decided I had enough time to use the weight machines before our beach walk.  And this time, the one time I am only there goofing off with just the weight machines for thirty minutes, I am not alone.  I walk in, the A/C is running and there is the owner's daughter, who happens to be a strikingly beautiful model from Canada.  And her just as beautiful boyfriend is nearby and also a model.  I am thinking I enjoy my alone time all the more at the gym, but perhaps the beach walks will keep calling my name for a few more weeks.  As long as Ray wants to hit the sand walking in the morning, I can give up the treadmill, no problem!  Okay, after today's St. Patrick's Day feast (Kudos to Louise, President of CASA, her husband, all other Board Members and those that were part of set up and clean up for throwing a wonderful party full of green!), I better hit the gym one more time in this thing called retirement.