We drove to
Miami on June 8 and turned in the rental car and toted our luggage to check in
at Copa Airlines. There was a family of 3 that wished to sit together and one
had a first class ticket that he said we could have if we split up so they
could sit together. So, I took his seat in first class and Greg stayed in
coach.
It’s about a
2.5 hour flight to Panama City and we arrived early. It seemed it was nonstop
service so I really didn’t even have a chance to read. First they served cold
drink of choice (soda or alcohol) and then brought a bowl of warm mixed nuts,
pretzels etc. Then they came around with more drinks. Then it was our appetizer
course. (smoked salmon on like a corn soufflé, a salad and a roll) The main
course was a choice of chicken or shrimp. Then they brought around dessert of
flan or sundae with your choice of topping. Greg has less choices in coach, but
still good food. We arrived in PTY and found our luggage and went through immigration.
Then got the car rented.
Renting the car
was interesting, we had all the luggage in the vehicle and had already done the
inspection for dents, scratches and the like, when the guy said it was the
wrong car. So, we waited for another vehicle to be brought around and all the
luggage put in etc. Finally, we were off!
We stopped
at a local mall to get sim cards for our phones, but Greg said the line was
long and we’d wait until we got to the Coronado area. It’s around an hour to
drive to Coronado and we went to a grocery store to get something for breakfast
the next morning.
We arrived
at Coronado and were admitted by the gate guards with the pass our landlords
had sent us. We drove around for quite a while inside as we were having
problems finding the house. We drove by it quite a few times…finally I think we
noticed it since the owners opened the gate. We met Lise and Richard a lovely
French Canadian couple that own the 3 villas. We were pleasantly surprised at
how nice our villa was.
We asked how
to get to Gourmet Pizza, which is right here inside the Coronado gate and had a
very nice pizza. Then, we set to work getting a few things unpacked and turned
in for the night. We were tired!
Next
morning, we got our first experience with taking a shower here. I told Greg,
our biggest adventure of the day shouldn’t be taking a shower! It was scalding
hot or cold and if you got a comfortable temperature, it didn’t last more than
a minute. So, washing dishes and taking showers has been “interesting” to say
the least! Other than that, we like it very much here. We went to one of the
malls to get local sim cards that we can reload minutes as we need them and set
up the data plan for a month. That took almost 2 hours. But all works fine.
Then it was time for lunch and we went to Don Lee an Asian restaurant that we
found last time we were here.
Our next
adventure was to grocery shop. There are actually 3 nice grocery stores just a
couple of blocks outside the gates here. El Rey, Super 99 and El Machetazo
which has groceries on the bottom floor, housewares, clothes and electronics on
the second floor and hardware and lawn and garden on the third floor. They have
escalators and you actually put the cart on a lift that takes your cart to each
level for you. Way cool! Everything is then paid for on the bottom level as you
leave. All 3 have pharmacies and small cafes in them. El Rey is open 24 hours.
There are also small local owned and run stores called Mini Super (plus the
name of the person that owns it). Kind of like a 7 Eleven of sorts.
While you
can find a lot of things, it can be a challenge to find things you may think
you need. I took a shopping list for about 3 recipes to see if I could get what
I needed. It took all 3 stores, but I found most of what I wanted. There was no
chile powder so Greg gets on the iPhone and finds out what ingredients are
needed to make you own and we found all of those and I made my own. (it’s
pretty good too!) Same with Allspice. I think there may be better selection in
the City or close to it, but that will have to wait.
Cuts of meat
are also interesting. Chicken not really cut the way we would expect. I got
half chickens and the back and most of the liver were still attached, so
cleaning a chicken before using it takes a bit longer. However, it tasted
really good! Didn’t have a positive experience with the pork that I bought, definitely
need a new plan for that. Beef isn’t cut like anything we have ever seen either
and isn’t overly tasty. So, doing some more research on cuts of meats so we
know what to buy is in order. Of course everything is in Spanish. We did manage
to order meat in Spanish from the kid behind the butcher counter. Whoo Hoo!
People here
are very friendly and always have a “buenas” to say hello. When we went to a
steak house we saw last time we were here, but it hadn’t opened yet, Greg
greeted her and ordered in Spanish, she smiled and told him how good his
Spanish was. Then, she insisted on
giving us the Pensionado discount even though we said we didn’t have it yet.
She said you are from the U.S. right? Then you get it. We had chicken Cesar
salad and fish fingers. Pretty good!
Used the
oven for the first time here in the villa. It’s a Frigidaire stove and the
control for the oven only said 1, 2, 3, 4. Hmmmm. I emailed Lise and Richard
answered by email and Lise came by with a manual. They live on property up
front so that is nice. Basically, the numbers stand for 100, 200, 300, 400.
Worked well enough.
We have
walked on the salt and pepper beach that is just a short walk from the villa.
The villa also has a pool that we used for the first time yesterday. Not a lot
of time for relaxation yet. Lots of researching places to live and what kind of
vehicle to get.
Living here
and how convenient it is to get to stores etc. has made us rethink living in
Altos del Maria, which is quite a drive up and down the mountain each time you
want to go anywhere. Also, since we like to travel it is easier and safer to
leave a condo instead of a house.
Yesterday we
went out with a realtor named Cat (from Texas) who took us to quite a few condo
buildings right on the beach in Coronado and also Gorgona which is about 10
minutes from here. We really liked the ones in Coronado Bay. So we are thinking
we could rent in there for a few months to see if that appeals to us. She also
had quite a few “tips” for us getting things done like buying a car etc. We had
already heard of the guy she recommended using to get us a good used car. We
went to see him today and next week he will take us into the city to see a guy
he trusts that has a Honda dealership, but also has good used cars of all kinds
and stands behind his warranty. The same guy here (not the one in the city)
also gets kudos for repairing cars. When you buy one he checks them out to see
which ones are quality and then once you choose one he negotiates the best
price for you. All paperwork and insurance is also handled through him and his
affiliates.
Hopefully,
next week we can look at places that are for rent in Coronado Bay. Cat’s agency
only works sales not rentals so she said she would get in touch with a couple
of agencies that kind of work together with them. There is no MLS system here
for real estate, so you need to contact different realtors for whoever handles
the property you are interested in.
Coronado had
its own Parque de Bomberos (fire station) and the Police station is right
outside the gate. There are a few restaurants inside here as well. One is
Picasso and there are expat happy hours there every Wednesday. We skipped it
this week since we have so much to get done, but definitely want to go next
week. We drove by on our way out to run errands and it was packed! Kat, the
realtor was there and said they are great to go to. Another place in one of the
malls has one on Tuesday. She recommended a place called Cholos to have lunch
and we had some good Mexican food and the owner lived in the States for a while
and he came out and talked to us for quite a while.
There is a
bit of everything here in Coronado. Hummingbirds and other birds, toad and
frogs that sing at night, roosters crowing, one place has chickens, geese and
ducks. It’s quite a mix of some really large mansion type homes and small local
homes. Right outside the gate is an equestrian arena and neighborhood with
houses and such. Lots of mango trees, bananas, etc. There are mountain views as
well as ocean.
Well, that’s
our first week here! I have added a few albums from the world cruise to the Picasa
Web albums. I think I’m up to Ha Long Bay, Vietnam so far.
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