A couple of months a year we
have Aguamala or Medusa. (Jellyfish) There are quite a lot of them and many
washed up on shore. It’s best to avoid the water at this time and many
stingrays are in the shallows as well. That said, many people are in the water
and seem to be enjoying it. While we have seen lots of jellies we haven’t seen
stingrays. Here are some beach pictures during low tide:
Jellyfish
cute crab
another cute crab
vultures & remains of stingray
Laughing Gull eating a fish
silly looking egret
men harvesting oysters
I finally got my permanent
residency visa and Greg got his cedula. My cedula should be ready in a few
months. So, we had to make a trip to the city. I had a new girl processing my
paperwork and it took over 2 hours there. Then we followed Pier to the Tribunal
to get Greg’s cedula. That took another couple of hours. We had a late lunch at
our fave Chinese place and then we shopped at PriceSmart and the Discovery
Center. We really only need the permanent resident visas, but the cedulas are
more respected by Panamanians. Cédulas issued to
foreigners start with the letter "E" (for extranjero, or
foreigner in Spanish.) Issued by the Electoral Tribunal, the "cédula"
is basically the national identification card issued to all Panamanians.
We continue to take one on
one Spanish lessons with Jasmine. She is so patient! Greg’s doing well, but I
struggle with the grammar. Understanding is easy, but the speaking makes my
mind go blank…..
Bahia’s new condo tower in
Gorgona had an open house, but we skipped it. We had already seen the models
(though they weren’t finished) and since we aren’t planning on moving there we
didn’t see the need to go.
Jill & Don had a pool
party at the Pink Towers. Everyone brought refreshments and finger foods &
more and it was a great way to spend an afternoon. Lots of old and new faces.
The painting of our condo
and the grouting of the master shower was done in a day and everything looks
great! I don’t miss the pea green wall behind the red couch. I actually liked
the pretty aqua wall behind the bed, but without the same paint to match we
just went neutral with that too. It’s all kind of bland, but will be easier to
buy a pretty spread to brighten up the room.
We hiked a new trail right here in Coronado. Our guide
in El Valle said it was great, but it never looked that exciting from the road
(we thought it might be overgrown). Another guy told us it’s great and that they
maintain it and goes from scrub up into a dry forest. Eugene
Eisenmann (19 February 1906 – 16 October 1981) was an American and Panamanian lawyer and amateur ornithologist of German-Jewish ancestry. He had a long
association with the Linnaean Society
of New York (LSNY) as well as with the American
Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the American Museum
of Natural History (AMNH). He was an expert on Neotropical birds.
Interesting (or not) that Roberto Eisenmann owns Coronado
and the main street through here is named after him, but he doesn’t seem to be
related to Eugene despite the same last name.
We saw a new bird that is really cool. A Lance-tailed Manakin. We
didn’t get a good picture, but he’s quite different with a red “hat” and a
light blue patch on his back. It has 3 different calls and one is “Wah” (think
crying baby) and one is kind of a ping. We just kept following the Wah until we
spotted him deep in the trees, so it was really hard to get a good photo.
entrance to trail
Lance Tailed Manakin
skink
Red-legged Honeycreeper
We went back to the Campana National Forest and heard lots of
birds, but they were hard to find. We did find a few and also saw a bat. Greg
nearly stepped on it before it flew up and hung upside down from a branch. We
took a picnic and ate at one of the tables close to the beginning of the
trail. We thought we saw a new bird, but it was a female that looks very
different from her male counterpart that we had already logged. Today we went
back to the Dry forest here in search of the Manakin, but despite hearing
several we didn’t see any! We did spot one new bird so that was a plus. The
tide is low again in the mornings so we will be doing beach walks again.
bat
female Western Slaty-Antshrike
We ate at 2 of the local “fondas” in the area.
Fondas are where you can taste the most
authentic Panamanian food costing next to nothing. The majority of locals eat
at fondas and little to no English is spoken. Some are small stands and others
are like a small house with an open dining area and an attached kitchen. The
woman starts cooking early in the morning and they are open for breakfast and
lunch and stay open until she runs out of food. There are generally choices of
chicken, beef or pork, includes a salad and a mound of rice and beans for
around $3.00 to $4.00 per person. Generally there is a homemade soup as well. Some
have chorizo sausages, empanadas or tamals. We haven’t eaten there for
breakfast, but the sign said eggs and toast were $2.00. It’s definitely “home
cooking” with each one being unique with the different spices and choices each
uses. Both were very good, but not exactly “diet food”.
Don Saul Fonda
I'll add the photo of the other fonda next time.
Here are a few photos from our daily walks:
Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet
male Barred Antshrike
Brown-throated Parakeet
Orange-chinned Parakeets
Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Red-crowned Woodpecker
Wattled Jacana
Crested Bobwhites
Snowy Egret & Caiman
Caiman
street legal? (tarp and tape) on the road from our condo building.. Tryp Hotel in the background
Crested Caracara
Eastern Meadowlark
"beware of dog" tile on gate of house
pretty red dragonfly
pair of Smooth-billed Ani
Blue-crowned Motmot
orange moon over the ocean
We booked our Amazon River
cruise for January 24 with Nature Expeditions International http://www.naturexp.com/destinations/desti_centralnsouthamerica.html
We are
doing the 7 day Heart of Amazonia with 2 nights in a Manaus hotel prior to the
cruise.
“Your 7 night expedition cruise aboard the M/Y
Tucano will penetrate the deeply hidden areas of the Amazon, revealing its lush
vegetation and fascinating wildlife. You’ll observe “caboclos” living in stilt
houses along the river, see gold prospectors, and watch fresh water pink dolphins
playing in the wake of the boat. Highlights will include alligator spotlighting
in a canoe and piranha fishing in the surrealistic waters of the Rio Negro.
You’ll also go on easy jungle treks where you’ll observe wildlife, flora and
learn about jungle survival techniques. And you’ll cruise to the "Wedding
of the Waters," where the coffee-brown Amazon and the inky-black Rio Negro
meet and flow side by side for miles before intermingling.
The 18-passenger M/Y Tucano is a comfortable,
informal cruise ship that enables travelers to experience the flora, fauna and
people of the Amazon River up close. Unlike large cruising vessels, the M/Y
Tucano is able to navigate narrow tributaries, stopping en route at villages
and wildlife sites along the river. Each of the ship’s cabins is an “outside”
cabin with a large window, private bathroom and air conditioning.”
COPA flies nonstop from here to Manaus, Brazil
so that will be nice, except for the return flight which leaves somewhere
around 2:30 in the morning. UGH! We’ll have a city tour on the last day so that
will kill a little time and maybe the hotel won’t mind if we hang at the pool
or we can hang at the airport. January is a long way off……
I've added another album to Picasa if the above weren't enough...LOL
Til next time….
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