Panama City - day 18 - Gorgona

Today we went casa hunting again. This time we focused on some beach front houses and condos in Gorgona, which is about 2 hours outside of the city. At this point I wish that we had already gotten our visas and sold everything back in the states. We stumbled upon a condo right on the beach, with a real nice 3 bedroom that we could almost afford. They are just now starting construction, and the units will not be available till August 2014. There are only 5 units left that have not been sold. Can you spell capital DARN. We went thru the model and really liked it. The master bedroom faced the ocean, and had sliding glass doors that opened up directly to the balcony. What a beautiful view to wake up to every morning.

For lunch we stopped at Pantay restaurant again in Coronado. We ate there a few days ago and thoroughly enjoyed the flavorful food. Today we had the fish of the day and grilled chicken. Both came with coconut rice. This is now our favorite place to eat.

We also visited a gated housing community that already had a few houses occupied. We toured a couple of 3 bedroom homes that would work for us, and the prices were right. Unlike the houses in Altos del Maria, these houses had a carport for 2 vehicles. Below are a few pictures of Malibu housing community.

Panama City - day 17 - Isla las Perlas

Today has been another long day. Up at 6 am so we could get to the Trump tower by 7:30 for the ferry ride to the Pearl Islands. Traffic at 6:30 in the morning is a heck of a lot better than at 6:30pm. It took us about an hour to get 3 miles coming home afterwards.

But enough about traffic.........the ride to the Pearl Islands was about 2 hours. We made 2 stops at other islands before we got to our beach. On the way there, the boat slowed to a crawl, so we all jumped up out of our seats to see why. What we saw before us was way too kool. There was a super pod of dolphins crossing in front of us, so we slowly cruised thru the thick of them. We could see them swimming right along side us, in front of us, behind us, etc. hundreds of them. We were so excited to see them, that unfortunately the pics did not come out so well.

Isla Perlas Ferry

View of the City as we head out to the Pearl Islands

After reaching Isla Contradora, we went walking but the hilly terrain caused us to turn back and stay at the beach where we landed. It was a nice beach, with a bar/restaurant just up the hill. We lounged around in beach chairs drinking cervazas until one of us got a little sunburned. Oops, I am hurting now!

The ride in the morning was smooth as glass. The ride coming back was choppy with 3 to 4 foot waves. Whoo-hoo, but it didn't help trying to convince Jan to get a 43 foot sailboat to live on......

Panama City - day 16 - Chame

It is now 8 pm and we just got back home. Someone please remind me that I absolutely hate driving around in this city at night. It is bad enough in the daytime.

We spent the afternoon in Chame, which is a small town about an hour and a half outside of Panama City. We visited Clyde and Terry who most of you may know as the owners of "Along the Gringo Trail" . They moved to Panama just over a year ago and Terry does an excellent job writing about their experiences.

Before visiting Clyde and Terry we had an excellent lunch in Coronado. I had grilled chicken with coconut rice, and the favors were unbelieveably delicious.

We had a great day, well except for the drive home. Nerve racking but home safe.

Lunch at Pantay Restaurant in Coronado

Terry and Jan 

Clyde the Host/Cook/Bartender

Panama City - day 15 - Portobelo

Today we drove across Panama from the Pacific side to the Caribbean/Atlantic side. We thought we would visit Portobelo, a sleepy and impoverished town that was once one of the most important ports of the Spanish empire. Here we were able to visit Castillo Santiago de la Gloria, a fort now in ruins that folks say never did protect the town very well.

The drive was particularly interesting, as we drove along the coastline of the Caribbean, passing thru many small towns. After visiting one of the souvenir shops, and walking thru the fort, we found a nice quiet place on the beach for lunch. The town was rather quiet today, probably since it was Tuesday. The weather was rather cloudy, and it misted off and on while in town.

After soaking in the scenery including the wave actions along the beach, we headed back towards Panama City. We would have liked to go on into the town of Colon, but we have heard that it is not a safe town to travel to. Colon was one of the stops we made when we took a cruise a few weeks ago, but we did not venture out beyond the cruise terminal. We heard of a few reports of the cruise passengers having trouble while in town, so we decided that we could very easily skip seeing Colon.

Here are a few pics of Portobelo......

Driving back we stopped at the Parque Natural Metropolitano, which is a tropical forest right on the city limits of Panama City. After getting information on the many trails available to explore, we decided to leave that for some future morning when it would be a bit cooler.

In order to get back to the apartments, we had to once again drive thur the gauntlet of downtown traffic. I finally got my groove on, and started to blow the horn on that little Sentra like a mad man. It felt good!

One a side note, we have been fortunate enough to see various wildlife while here. We have seen a monkey, a few capybara's, a crocodile, but no sloth yet. Well on the drive to Portobelo, we saw our first sloth, but unfortunately he must of been too slow to cross the road, and had ended up as road kill on the side. Poor fellow.

Panama City - day 14 - Trump Tower

Today was an off day. We jumped into our Nissan Sentra and went out looking for the Trump Tower. Apparently there is another ferry service out to the Pearl Islands that leaves from the dock at the Trump Tower. Previous attempts to find the dock failed, so this time we decided to park in the Trump Tower garage and do some looking. Finding the lady selling the ferry tickets, we made a reservation for Thursday. Yea, that part was done.

We then found a nice little restaurant on the Amador Causeway selling Texas Longhorn BBQ. But not at lunchtime, so we'll have to go back later after 6pm to sample the BBQ. While having lunch, we watched a tanker pass by the docked sailboats on its way up the canal.

Panamaniac Rules of the Road

1. No matter what speed you are driving, you are going too slow.
2. Regardless of the posted speed limit, you are going too slow.
3. If the road is marked for 2 lanes, there is room for at least 4 abreast. Plus a bike or two.
4. When the light turns green, blow your horn repeatedly no matter how far back you are.
5. When the light turns red, there's time for 3 more cars to go thru.
6. When in doubt, blow your horn.
7. If you are on a motorcycle, there are no rules.
8. If you need to park, just pullover and park, regardless of where you are.
9. Just because an emergency vehicle is behind you with lights flashing, you are still in a bigger hurry than they are.
10. And the number 10 rule of the road, pray and then GO FOR IT!

Panama City - day 13 - El Valle de Anton

Has it been 13 days already? Our trip is more than half over, and as much as we wish to be home, we are still enjoying our 'total' immersion of living in Panama. There are still a few places we want to visit.

This morning we drove about 2 hours to get to El Valle de Anton. This is another mountainous area that has a big mercado on Sundays. Jan and I went there last year when we visited Panama in January 2012, and we noticed that not much has changed. There is a huge fruit and vegetable market, along with numerous vendors selling their wares. After picking up a fresh pineapple and onion, we bought a few trinkets, then headed out of town. On the way out we found a little coffee shop so we dropped in for a quick waker upper.

Coffee Shop

After getting back down to the highway, we stopped by a new condominium that had an 'Open House' sign out front. We tried to explain to the guard that we were interested in the open house sign, but he did not speak any english. Somehow we got it across that we wanted to 'see' the condos. He smiled and let us in. But it was Sunday, so no-one was there. Bummer. We may go back next Wednesday.

Off we went to Coronado to see the beach. We drove to a gated community and explained to the guard that we were going to the Coronado Resort and Hotel, and they let us in. We picked up that little trick from the Moon Panama guide. Otherwise the guard will not let you in unless you are a resident. Eventually we found a path to the beach between two houses. What a disappointment. One kool thing is that the beach was black sand.

Black sand beaches

Heading back home we stopped by for a refreshing refreshment.....a cold coconut with a straw..

Enjoying a cold coconut drink