Tag: Coronado rental

We are about to experience Carnival full blast.

We have been hearing for several days that Carnival in Panama is quite an event.  As I was writing our last post, Carnival began to sound like a winter storm in Michigan. The stores run out of supplies, there is no gas and traffic is at a standstill. Carnival starts officially today and ends on Tuesday night. That’s a 4 day party across the entire country. Many people here call it a drunk-fest and “no place for children”. You all can probably imagine the kind of Mardi Gras type stuff that will be going on. We understand that yesterday they turned all the lanes of the Trans American Highway to head out of the city for a period of time so that all the people could get to their weekend homes. The condo we are renting is owned by an American, but most in this building are owned by Panamanian people from Panama City who come here for vacation and weekends. It seems that the building is full now and the party here will be mild compared to elsewhere in the country. We are comparing it to our home on an inland lake in Michigan where a large percentage the properties are owned by non-residents. We only see them on the weekends and 4th of July. This week is like the 4th of July; they call it high season here.  The fireworks started on Thursday night. We think it must have been some kind of kickoff celebration.  Needless to say, we will be staying put here until Wednesday morning. We went out yesterday morning to pick up a few last minute supplies and driving here was like demolition derby/gridlock.

The main reason we went out yesterday was to go to our 1st meeting with our Spanish tutor, Jasmine. We were interested in learning more Spanish and Jasmine came highly recommended. Jasmine was all business, and our 1 hour session was packed full of important Spanish that we are to learn before next time. We are already finding it helpful, and are attempting to converse with one another as much in Spanish as possible. The Spanish here has a bit of its own Panama flare and most people here know a little English which gets mixed into conversation. The more we get away from the tourist area the less English speaking people we find. While we were out, we also filled the car with gas and picked up our passports from the courier. We found them stamped with our multiple entry designation. This will make customs easier, because we will be allowed to go through the line with residents. We can also enter and leave the country on a 1 way ticket. Tourists must have a return ticket when entering the country or they will not be allowed through customs at the airport or any check point at the border. Once a person gives up the tourist designation they are required to get a Panamanian drivers license. That process starts at the American Embassy in Panama City and ends at the local version of the Department of Motor Vehicles. We both have appointments at the American Embassy 1 week from Wednesday in the early morning so that we will hopefully complete the requirement and have our drivers licenses by the end of the day. The last stop of our excursion was to grab a few last minute supplies. We were literally scared to try to pull into the grocery store. The street out in front and the parking lot were gridlock. We ended up at the corner grocery by our condo. We have compared it to a 7-11, but by no stretch of the imagination is it a typical American curb store. We found it to have an ample supply of anything a person may need and fairly priced. We thought that the vegetables were even better there than the grocery store in town. We wanted to stop for lunch, however that stop was as equally frightening as the grocery store situation.

We have shared our research on the Fonda and even visited one earlier in the week. We learned that the translation for Fonda is food. These eating establishments intrigue us and we love to try them. There is one at the end of the street by our condo and it is our new favorite place to go. We can walk there and it is tasty, cheap and friendly. Our first experience with it was Wednesday. The offerings were Pollo Fritas (fried chicken) and Pollo Salsa (broiled chicken with Salsa). There was also some kind of boiled meat that we did not try, and Sopa (soup). The soup offering was Sopa de Costella (rib soup). We did not try it but others around were eating it and it looked good. All meals come with rice, beans, salad, and plaintain. Jen had the fried and I had the salsa chicken, we both had bottled water and our bill was $9.60.

After we took care of our groceries we walked down for lunch yesterday and had a similar experience. Jen again had the fried chicken and I had the Cinta Guisada (steak stewed). The steak was tender and delicious like swiss steak. We brought our own drinks and our bill was $7.50. Don’t let anyone tell you it is expensive to eat out here. You must be open to new experiences, and ready for adventure. We will try this place for breakfast soon, and let you all know how it goes.

We have been guilty of not taking many pictures. We wanted to share a couple of more photos on the roof. It is absolutely beautiful up there, and where we will be spending the majority of the next 4 days.

 

Our next Session with the Spanish tutor is Wednesday. Thursday we are planning to head to the Azarro Peninsula about 2-1/2 hours to the West and South. This will be our 1st official adventure excursion.

The most important thing we have learned is:  me gustaria el cuenta por favor (may I have the check please). That is the simple Spanish lesson for today.

que tengas un buen sabado!

Greg and Jen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Panama City Day 2

Our day started early at Servicio National de Immigration. We met our attorneys assistant, Mariana, who walked us through the process of “opening a ticket” for the process of obtaining our Pensionado Visa. We started in a line to get a number like that one at the Secretary of State or DMV. Once we had our number we had to wait our turn. There were a lot of people in this room. We didn’t take pictures inside, as the people here are very insistent that the respect in government offices is maintained. We dressed appropriately for conducting business with the government. Jen wore a dress with closed toe shoes and I wore dress slacks with a button shirt and dress shoes. This initial meeting is so that the government can review the documents that we carefully prepared on Thursday. Once satisfied with our documents they then open our ticket and the process  begins. Our Passports were stamped that this process is underway. This is what ultimately will allow us multiple entry into and out of Panama. This is important if we retire here so that we can travel in on a one way ticket. As a tourist, to come to Panama, you must have a return ticket. We then had to wait in another line to pay $5. The real work will be on Monday. We will lay out our Monday experience after it happens. Having been to Immigration and having had Mariana explain everything, we now know what to expect from this process. Monday will be the last day we have to spend in Panama City.

Panama Immigration Building

We will be going to our condo in Coronado Saturday and returning to Panama City on Sunday afternoon for our Monday meetings. We will, also be picking up our rental car. We are going to be brave and drive back on Sunday afternoon. As of now, we will leave the car at the hotel while we go to immigration. The short taxi ride will cost us less than parking at the Immigration Building. The drive back to Coronado is what scares us the most. Traffic out of the city is basically gridlock 24 hours per day. Once out of the city, it should not be a bad drive back to Coronado. This will be our biggest test.

Having completed out business for the day, we decided to explore in Panama City. Our research told us that the best place to discover in the city is Casco Viejo (Olde Town). It is the original site where Panama City was settled, and we found it charming but areas were depressed and run down. There are buildings everywhere being restored, and the restored portion of Casco Viejo reminded me of New Orleans. We wanted to take a tour, however the tours that interested us were limited to Thursday, Saturday, and Tuesday at 5 pm in the afternoon. We made our own tour and visited most of the things that interested us. Our first stop was a coffee shop at the American Trade Hotel.

By the way, taxi drivers will take you anywhere, but seldom know your destination. Be prepared to communicate a nearby landmark. We have been negotiating the price for our cab ride in advance and that has worked well even if the driver has a difficult time finding the destination. We have learned, for instance, that to get back to our hotel we have to tell the driver that it is near the Do It Center (hardware store) in El Dorado. There are very few street addresses to identify location. We got out of the taxi in front of the hotel, and after having coffee we walked back toward Cathedral Metropolitana and the Plaza de la Independencia. We were having a bit of trouble getting our bearings so we ducked into a small shop and bought a map. We were disappointed to find the Cathedral totally tarped for restoration. The Plaza was nice and surrounded by Museums for everything Panama. We may find some of those interesting on another visit when we have more time. We were in search of the famous organic chocolate shop, which we did not find.

We found a beautiful old church, which was not yet being restored, on the walk.

The walk was quite hot and we worked up an appetite and thirst so we went into a sidewalk bar that was very unique. We were seated at a table near the back in front of an open door/window. The breeze coming through was quite nice and we enjoyed a fresh seafood appetizer. We didn’t want to eat much, because our ultimate destination will be the seafood market. We noticed through that open window, a huge gate with a guard. We soon learned that the gate was the drive leading to the presidential palace. We asked if we could walk there and were told that this was as close as we could get without a guide and a prior reservation. Our table was actually inside the gate.

Our walk led us along the waterfront and down to the fish market. Based on what we had found in our research, this wasn’t completely what we expected. It was very interesting and there is no shortage of fresh seafood if you are hungry. We saw the seafood market, the harbor where the fishermen bring in their catch, and found the place where you can eat about any fresh catch. We enjoyed some fresh Ceveche and a cold beer before heading back to our hotel.

Gracias for following along. Please like and share if you find this all interesting. We are getting ready for our journey to Coronado. Please stay tuned for more.

Greg and Jen

The Vacation Countdown Continues

With only 13 days to our vacation in Panama I must apologize for my lack of posts over the past 2 weeks. It turns out that hurricane Irma had different plans for me. I took a trip to Florida to spend some time with my dad who has been hospitalized, and ended up evacuating him to safety from a category 5 hurricane that made a direct hit just north of his home in Florida. During the horrible ordeal we were ultimately safe, but had no internet, TV, or proper healthcare for him. The moral of the story is one of the biggest attractions Panama has for a permanent retirement home, in my opinion, is that there is no risk of being in the path of a hurricane there.  In Panama I will never have to install hurricane shutters again.

Jen and I have both got our clear FBI reports for our visa’s. That process is continuing, and we are gathering the other documentation so that all will be ready for our extended trip in February.  We have also finalized arrangements for a driver/guide to deliver us to Coronado where we are promised a variety of rentals to select from for our stay this winter. We have our reservations for the Panama Canal trip and our excitement is building by the day.

I am feeling good about blasting this  blog out to my mail list, so if this is the first your seeing this, please like and share. I am still having some trouble getting all the social media links to work, but for now it is good. Let us know what you think and respond with suggestions. Ultimately we want this blog to be as exciting for all of you as it  is for us to write. Subscribe below to keep our blog coming to your in box or check back often.