Random TidBits

I was thinking the other night that I tend to blog mostly about our extravagant vacations with our amazing visitors.  You might be getting tired of seeing us lounging on the beautiful beaches or hiking in the jungle.  This post will be dedicated to random day-to-day things we experience/do/see/hear.  There are many things that happen daily or weekly that you probably don’t know about.  So, here it goes:

-          Alex and I have a weekly dinner date with our friends, Talia & Gerardo.  Talia is an American, but has lived in Costa Rica for the past 10 years or so, off and on.  She met her husband there, Gerardo, and they most recently lived in the beautiful cloud forest of Monteverde, before moving to Panama.  He worked as a tour guide and she was a teacher.  Anyway, he doesn’t speak English, so we have weekly dinners for us to practice our Spanish and for him to practice his English.  Talia enjoys drinking lots of wine and laughing at all of us because she’s fluent in both languages.  Damn her. 

 

-          I get up at 5:15am (ok, maybe 5:30, but the alarm goes off at 5:15), which is awful.  I thought I would get used to it, but I haven’t.  I hate waking up.  I carpool with 4 other people who live in our building, though, so getting up on time is a must.  The five of us have 3 cars with which we rotate.  We take the Corridor Norte to get to school, which takes about 23 minutes on a good day.  We hit 3 tolls in each direction, totaling just under $8 a day.  Expensive stuff!  Hence, the reason why we carpool.  We usually spend our drive laughing at the crazy shit that’s happening on the road.  The other day we were waiting at the toll and witnessed a small mirror-to-mirror accident.  The two drivers got out and argued.  One driver then proceeded to run and get his bat from is car and started chasing the other driver through the stopped cars on the highway.  He started hitting the man with his bat and everyone watched.  Finally, a cop casually walked over and sent the two back into their cars and we were all on our way.  Back to normal.  WTF??

 

-          Since I get up so early, I have the privilege of watching the sunrise over the Pacific, every morning.  Pretty weird, right?

 

-          We live on the 25^th floor of our 63-floor building.  It’s right on one of the main roads in the City, so it’s pretty loud during rush-hour.  Panamanians LOVE to honk their horns.  They pretty much have a language.  They honk to say hi, get out of my way, watch it, who wants a ride?, etc.  It’s comical, however, pretty annoying when we’re trying to enjoy a cocktail on our balcony after work.  Tough life, I know. 

 

-          Our balcony looks over the City, Casco Viejo, the Pacific Ocean, and all the ships waiting to go through the Panama Canal.  You can see the Panama Canal from our guest room.

 

-          My school has outdoor, covered hallways.  On a daily basis I have geckos in my classroom, and on a weekly basis, I see iguanas running around the campus. 

 

-          We typically walk to the grocery store every couple days.  Alex and I put on our (matching REI) backpacks (such gringos…) and walk the 4 blocks to our local Riba Smith store.  We get whatever we can fit in our bags.  We also only live on cash, no cards.  You can use them here, but I don’t trust the system.  So, it’s a fun game of, “How much can we buy with the money we have and the space in our bags?”

 

-          Netflix is our best friend, and we have become big fans of House of Cards, Justified, and Pixar movies.  Downloading movies has also become a big hobby. 

 

-          WhatsApp is the #1 way people communicate around here.  Calling is second to that.  There is also a website called DeliCentro.  It’s a company that contracts with about 30 or so restaurants.  The website has all the restaurant menus.  You can order online and DeliCentro rides its scooter to pick up your food and delivers it to your door.  Super awesome. 

 

-          Alex started building some things for the school.  They are having a school play in May and need some pieces for the set.  He was able to get them to pay for a bunch of tools, and then obviously the materials and labor.  He’s enjoying getting back into building stuff, but the Panamanian Way has definitely made things difficult.  The quality of materials and lack of efficiencies in the stores wastes a TON of time. 

 

-          We’ve been here for just over 8 months and have had 19 visitors and have 7 more scheduled to come.  That’s amazing and makes us so happy!!

 

-          We turn the AC on every single night.  It’s hot here.  I constantly forget what month it is.

 

-          Having a phone is super cheap, once you own a phone.  $15 a month for unlimited data, plus pre-paid calling minutes.  $40 a month for 2 phones, compared to the $180 we were paying the States.  I’ll take it. 

 

-          People don’t text and drive here.  Driving is so crazy that you would be an idiot to do so.  Drivers, although crazy as all hell, are extremely aware of their surroundings.  Fender-benders happen often, but big accidents are rare. 

 

-          Reversing out of a toll lane is totally normal.

 

-          We lived in our house in Burien for three and a half years, had a huge yard, and never grew anything.  We now live in an apartment in the city and have a 5x12 foot balcony and have oregano, basil, peppers, tomatoes, and green onions growing. 

That’s all for now.  Posts to come: Visits from My mom & Molly, and Jenny & Travis!

American Baseball in Panama

The Yankees came to town and played the Marlins this weekend, and we were able to go with a big group of people.  Tickets were $17, $65, or $130.  Of course, we opted for the $17.  The point of the game was to celebrate Panamanian Yankee Mariano Rivera, as he retires from the MLB.  They honored him before the game started, and he threw the first pitch.

 

Dollar beer stands inside the stadium

 

There were tons of people there.  The stadium is about 15 minutes away from our house, but we decided to take a cab because we figured traffic and parking would be chaos, and it was.  We had the cab drop us off about a mile away and we just walked the rest of the way.  There were cars parked all over the place, and not in any organized fashion.  Half of our group took a different cab and we lost them by the time we got to the stadium.  As we approached the entrance, it took us a while to figure out which door we were allowed to go into.  They told us there was an entrance on the right and one on the left.  We went to the left.  Little did we know, once you go left, you’re stuck on that side of the stadium and can’t walk to the other side without having to leave and go back in. 

We got some $1 beers and headed up to our general admission seats, which were just long concrete slab with bird poop all over.  We attempted to find the second half of our group.  They said they were in section 224.  Oh perfect, we are too.  We looked around and looked around.  We couldn’t find them anywhere.  And, really, it shouldn’t be that hard to find another big group of white people.  Are you sure you’re in 224?  Yes, in 224.  They finally told us they were in the nose-bleeds in right field.  Well shit, we’re in the nose-bleeds in left field.  What stadium makes two sections with the same number?  And now we can’t even get to them without going out of the stadium, and then probably wouldn’t be able to get back in.  So, the two groups stayed separated the whole game.  Oh well. 

 

This little baggie was helpful!

I was pretty hungry so Alex went a got me a hot dog right away, during the 1^st inning.  It was pretty American tasting, for the most part.  Some others left at the end of the 3^rd inning to get a dog as well, and the stadium was sold out.  Sold out of hot dogs??  By the 4^th inning?  I guess they didn’t anticipate the crowd…

The game wasn’t that exciting.  The Marlins ended up winning 5-0 and pitched a no-hitter.  Too bad for Rivera.  Panamanians don’t know about the 7^th inning stretch.  We were the only ones standing and singing “Take me out to the ballgame” and they all stared at us.  Then everyone stood up between the 7^th and 8^th inning.  Hmm….  They were pretty enthusiastic about doing The Wave, though. 

Toilet paper being handed out in the bathrooms

The beer stands on the way out

The streets were packed with people as we left and walked the mile back to the shopping center to catch a cab.  We crammed 6 of us in a tiny cab to get back to the city.

Overall, successful American experience in Panama!

Wood Visit

The whole Wood Clan made it down to Panama!  Bill, Koi, Matt, Daniel, and Roxc!  As mentioned in the earlier post, Bill and Koi arrived a couple days earlier than the rest.  MD&R were scheduled to fly in late Saturday night, but due to the crazy east coast weather, they didn’t make it here until Monday morning.  That was a bummer.  I think it sucked more for them, though, considering that they packed for a hot, tropical destination and they spent 36 hours in freezing snow and ice.  Brrrr…

Once they finally got to some warm weather, we spent the day relaxing at our pool with some beverages, catching up on everything we’ve missed over the past few months.  It was great to have everyone back together!  We toured around the city and just enjoyed everyone’s company.

We headed out to the Gatun Locks the next day, located on the Caribbean side near Colon. There’s a section with a draw bridge which allows you to drive across the canal, right in front of the lock holding all the water.  Very cool!  We watched some ships pass through and, even though Bill could have stayed there and watched for days, the rest of us were ready for the beach.  We drove about 30 more minutes to the local Caribbean beach we like, Playa La Angosta.  Since it was a weekday, the beach was empty and quiet, making it a very relaxing experience.  The Woods got a taste of some true Panamanian food when we stopped for lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall place in the town of Portobelo.  Pretty much the only option was fried fish and rice, so at least it was easy to order. 

We were also able to spend a day at a Pacific side beach as well, Playa Santa Clara.  We relaxed in the hammocks, played some card games, and watched some fisherman bring in crates full of the day’s catch! 

Koi was able to do a time share swap and rented a big room at the Gamboa Resort.  After spending a few nights in the city, we moved to the rainforest.  It is a beautiful resort, surrounded by mountains and rivers.  It has restaurants and pools, everything you can ask for! Koi, Daniel, and Roxc were able to take a hike in the jungle, while Bill, Matt, and Alex went back to the canal to watch more ships.  Meanwhile, I napped by the pool.   

For our last day in Panama, we were able to enjoy watching the Seahawks win the NFC Championship!  Earlier in the day, everyone went to the fish market to get lobsters for dinner, and had a snack of fresh ceviche.  All dressed in our Hawks gear, we all hunkered down on the couch and cheered our team on.  It was super fun for Alex and I to be around fellow Hawk fans again J. 

Sunday morning, Alex, Bill, Koi, and I left early for the airport to head to Costa Rica.  MD&R left later that night on the bus.  Koi was able to use her time share swap again and snagged an awesome townhouse in San Jose for the week.  Alex and I were only able to join them until Wednesday because I had to go back to work L. 

The first day in CR, the four of use rented a car and drove about an hour and a half to a beach town called Jaco.  It was amazing!  So amazing that Alex and I ended up going back a couple more times that week!  It’s a pretty well-developed surfer town, with shops, bars, restaurants, and condo buildings.  It had a long, clean beach and you could look back and see the mountains in the other direction.  We had lunch and swam, and then headed back to SJ. 

Monday was Alex’s birthday!  Big 2-8! The clan had discounted tour packages for the week, but we did not, since we were leaving early.  So Bill and Koi began their tour on Monday, and Alex and I headed back toward Jaco beach.  We wanted to find a waterfall to hike to, but didn’t want to be surrounded by tourists the whole time.  As we entered the beach area, there was a river that was covered with huge crocodiles.  We sat and watched them for a while, amazed by their size and quantity.  We assumed they hung out there all the time because so many people feed them.  Smart little suckers.  We continued driving along the road and there were commercial signs for hikes and adventure tours everywhere.  We then saw a hand-made, chicken scratch sign that just said, “Waterfall. You can swim,” with an arrow directing us to the left.  We decided to follow that sign, and it took us up along this long windy road for a while.  We finally reached it, and although skeptical, we went for it.  It was very well-manicured trail, but physically pretty difficult as well.  We hiked about an hour in and found the waterfall.  Alex thought he was going to stand under it, until he realized how powerful that sucker was.  There were some swimming holes, so we took a dip and had a snack.  We did not see even one person on that trail!  We had it all to ourselves.  Super awesome.  We hiked back out and checked out the town some more, then headed back to SJ to meet up with everyone for a birthday dinner.  DM&R were pretty exhausted from their 17 hour bus ride (ugh! Poor guys!), but they powered through to celebrate with Alex. 

The Clan continued with their tours the next day, so Alex and I went and checked out some volcanos.  We went up to Volcan Poas, which is a huge crater with a lake in it.  You have to go super early in order to beat the late morning clouds that roll in.  Unfortunately, we didn’t make it before that, and man was it cold! And wet!  We hadn’t felt that cold from natural weather since we left Seattle.  It also didn’t help that we showed up with shorts and t-shirts.  Oops.  We walked around a bit, drove around in the mountains, and then bought some fresh strawberries and cheese from a stand on the side of the road.  The Clan wouldn’t be back until late (they had an awesome day exploring Volcan Arenal), so, again, we went back to Jaco.  We love that place!  We swam and then grabbed dinner at an amazing sushi restaurant called Tsunami Sushi.  Sooo delicious!

Our last day with the Clan was spent lounging by the pool at our place.  We enjoyed our visit with the Wood Clan so much!  As always, it was hard to say goodbye.  They continued their adventure the rest of the week exploring tons of volcanos and beaches around San Jose.  I went back to work the next day, and our 4-week adventure was over L.  Koi and Roxc took tons of pictures and Koi created two awesome slideshows that capture each country.  Check them out: Panama Slideshow  Costa Rica Slideshow

Thank you so much, you guys, for coming to see us!

Demers Visit



The Demers (Phil, Karen, and Nicki) visited us for 2 weeks over Christmas and New Years.  They flew in on the 23^rd, and after a loooong day of travel, they caught a couple short Zzzzs and then we were off to the Pearl Islands.  We stayed there for 2 nights and it was our first hot, beachy Christmas ever.  The island is pretty small, but we decided to rent a golf cart (mule) in order to get around quickly and easily.  We found a beach after checking into our hotel and spent the day lounging, resting, and swimming in the ocean. 

On Christmas Day, we paid a guy to take us around on his little fishing boat.  We attempted to fish, but it didn’t work out well.  We stopped and snorkeled a few times and saw lots of fish.  We even saw a shark!  Yikes!  Nicki and I quickly swam back to the boat after that one.  He also took us to an island called Mogo Mogo, which was the island where they filmed Survivor for a couple seasons.  It is a deserted island, but there are still remnants of the show, like benches they built and ropes they used.  The water was clear blue and green and about as warm as bath water.

We made our way back to the city on the 26^th.  Here we are “checking in” and waiting at the “terminal” for the ferry. 

 

The 27^th was Karen’s birthday, so we decided to go to the local fish market for some fresh lobster tails and have a big birthday dinner.  The tails were huge and delicious!

We headed out to the Caribbean side the next day and stayed at Scuba Portobelo for the night.  Typically a low-key area, the place was packed with divers and vacationers.  We checked out the town (see the other Portobelo blogs for info on the town and ruins) and then we decided to grab dinner.  We settled on a place called El Castillo.  There were only 2 other tables of people so we figured it would be quick and easy.  Not so much.  We ended up being there for 3 hours because 3 tables of customers was waaay too overwhelming for them.  At one point, I decided to just grab the pad of paper and take our table’s order.  I took it to the kitchen and told the chef what we wanted.  On the way, I checked in with another table to make sure they had ordered as well.  A few minutes later, we needed more drinks, so, naturally, I went behind the bar, picked out a bottle of wine, added it to our tab, and we had what we needed.  While we waited forever for our food, we met a very nice man from Wyoming named Kevin.  His family had just bought a vacation home about an hour outside of Panama City and was down vacationing for a couple weeks.  We had a nice chat with him, met his family, and talked about exchanging information.  Our food finally arrived and it was worth the wait.  Unfortunately, amidst the scarfing of our food, Kevin and his family left and we were unable to get his contact information.  Bummer. 

From the Caribbean side, we then ventured toward the mountains to El Valle, one of our favorite places.  We stayed at The Golden Frog and it was gorgeous.  Both the town and the hotel (more like B&B villas) were amazing.  We spent 2 nights here, New Year’s Eve and Day.  Since it’s a mountain town, it was slightly cooler and breezier, which was perfect after being in the high heat of the city and beaches.  We explored the town market, hiked up to some waterfalls, and swam in the river.  One of the nights, we took a night hike through the jungle with an experienced guide.  It was creepy to hear all the animals and bugs and not be able to see anything.  We saw lots of huge spiders, some small snakes, many other insects, and only one sloth.  For New Years Eve, we were able to watch all the different fireworks shows in the surrounding towns from the balcony at the hotel.  Have we told you how much Panama loves fireworks??  It was quite the show!  On our last day in El Valle, we stopped to take a dip in the river on our way out.  Nicki, Alex, and I decided to hike a little further up the mountain, so Dad and Karen waited for us below.  When we came back down, they had great news for us.  They coincidentally ran into KEVIN!  What are the odds?!  They exchanged information and Kevin invited us over to check out the house on the way back to the city.  We thought this would be a great opportunity to make a contact, so we went.  Kevin has an amazing house on the beach!  He has a main house, a guest house, and a maid’s house with a 24-7 maid.  He told Alex and me we could use the house anytime we needed a getaway from the city.  Awesome!  Super excited to take him up on that offer!

 

 

As the Demers visit was coming to a close, the Woods were starting to arrive!  Bill and Koi flew in a couple days before Matt, Daniel, and Roxc.  We had a couple day overlap of exploring some city sites and the Canal.  We all went to dinner at the Miraflores Locks, where Alex and I went with the school when we first got to Panama.  As you eat dinner, you can watch big ships move through the locks .  Very cool!

We were very sad to say goodbye to Dad, Karen, and Nicki!  We had a great 2 weeks exploring LOTS of Panama! 

Here's where we went over the 2 week visit.  Kinda hard to see, but the red circle is the Pearl Islands, Green is the city (where we live), and the black circles are Portobelo and El Valle. 

Next up, The Woods!