Greg and I had just been
talking about a lady (Susan) that we met at Picasso when we first moved here
and the last we saw her was on the whale watching trip that we did. She was
going to go home and sell everything and prepare for the move. She literally
just got in that day and was at Picasso that night. She’s staying here at the Bay as well. Welcome!
We went to a Playa Community
dinner at Candela. About 35 people were there and the food was pretty good. It
was a 3 course meal with a choice of pulpo ceviche (octopus) or buffalo wings
for a starter; the main was a choice of Garlic Prawns or seafood stew and the
dessert was flan. It came with a glass of sangria. Susan came with us to meet
more people. The sense of community here is a very good thing! If one wanted to,
you could be busy every night.
The
highlight of our walks at the Sendero Eisenmann has been getting to see the Lance-tailed
Manakin cooperative courtship dance. For 2 days in a row we were fortunate
enough to witness it several times. The male Lance-tailed
Manakin has an interesting breeding display, unusual in that it is cooperative
rather than competitive. The first time we heard the call they make
while performing their dance. We followed the noise and they were pretty close
to the trail so we got to watch as the 2 males Two males perch next to each other on a bare branch and
jump up and down alternately, sometimes giving short flights. It’s hard not to
giggle in awe of their performance. Interesting that we still have not ever seen
a female. The Lance-tailed Manakin has a number of calls, including a Toe-LEE-do, a curry-ho, and a frog-like buzzing croak given by displaying males. What we hear most is the ping and wrah sounds (or waah sounds). Hearing the breeding call was very interesting.
Here are some photos from our walks:
cool bug
Anhinga
Anhinga
Anhinga
Motmot
cocoon
Lance-tailed Manakin
I think this tree needs to give up drinking.....
fishermen and pelicans
caterpillars
another cool bug
can't get enough of these Manakins
Roadside Hawk
Streaked Flycatcher
part of the Sendero Eisenmann
Greg has been having some dental work done. He lost part of a filling and had it repaired. Then, one morning while out hiking I felt like something was stuck on my tooth and then realized that part of the tooth was missing and that was the roughness I was feeling. So, I visited the dentist this week and found out that since the tooth is part of a bridge (my oldest one), they can’t fill it since the materials won’t bond. So, I need to think about replacing the bridge or looking into veeners to fix the issue. Of course it’s one in the top front. I have a cleaning scheduled in the next couple of weeks so will discuss all the options and make a decision. Right now it doesn’t pose any issues other than cosmetic and it’s not too bad.
We continue with Jasmine for our weekly Spanish lesson and still doing the Chat Club at Picasso’s on Wednesdays. She also has a chat for “advanced” people at 2:00 which we are going to as well before the Chat Club starts at 3:00. I’m not advanced, but I go sit in since it’s helpful for Greg. I may pick up some things here and there. Happy Hour starts at 5:00 so, it’s a long day/night there. Quite a few people come for the chat.
Sunday we got up early to drive to the city for our one night stay at the Intercontinental Playa Bonita all inclusive resort. We went back to the Parque Nacional (a rain forest about in the middle of the city). We hiked several of the trails and had some great wildlife sightings. Before we even got to the trail we saw two people intently photographing something. When we turned to check it out there was an American Kestrel very close to us. We watched it fly, but seemed to stay close. It wasn’t until we got home and really looked at the photos that we realized it was 2 different Kestrels, one might be an immature one.
Kestrel
Kestrel
adult Kestrel
Straight-billed Woodcreeper
Mono Titi
Mono Titi
Mono Titi
Squirrel Cuckoo
Blue-crowned Motmot
pond at the park
huge trees cut up
interesting tree trunk
After that we went to the Albrook Mall for a late lunch at Leños & Carbón.
We also were in search of a
travel agency located there where we were told they speak English. We couldn’t
find it on the directory and walking the huge mall in hopes that it was there
somewhere isn’t an option. (it really is a huge mall) However, there was a COPA
kiosk there and we were able to book our flights to Manaus (for the Amazon
trip) and they applied the pensionado discount (25%). However to book our
Africa flights we will need a travel agent as it won’t be flying on COPA. However,
when we got the confirmation email we noticed that there was a “t” missing from
my first name. We weren’t able to change it online due to security reasons and
were told we need to present at the airport in person and there would be a $50
charge. (to fix their error!?!) Often times the ticket counter forgoes that
charge especially if they understand that it was probably just a typo on that
agents’ part. She read us the info and we agreed it was correct, but we didn’t
see the hard copy. If we have to pay of course we will, they may or may not
make it an issue when we try to board for the flight but we don’t want to risk
being denied boarding and miss the flight. Hopefully, we can find an English
speaking travel agent to book our flights to Africa (to apply our discount). Or
we book directly online and then go to KLM at the airport and they can adjust
it.
We checked into the hotel
and walked the grounds and hung out by the pool for a while before getting
ready for dinner. We hadn’t realized that school was out for a week and the
place was packed with families with lots of children. The restaurant was so
loud it was incredible. Food was OK, but not WOW. While we were eating there
was quite a lightening show going on outside. Loud thunder boomers. Finally, it
starts pouring rain. All night long the thunder and rain serenaded us. We had
planned to kayak in the morning, but liquid sunshine persisted. We had about an
hour when it stopped and we took another walk around the grounds before packing
up and checking out and having lunch.
view of the Westin Hotel next door
lobby
iguana sunning by the pool
we were on the 3rd floor
pretty view with ships in the background waiting to transit canal
adults only pool area
On the grounds were a pair
of Lapwings with 3 babies. They seemed to be living on the putting green. We
also found a pair of Oyster Catchers with a chick as well. We also saw a couple
of young Saffron finches as we were leaving.
immature Saffron Finch
female Lapwing with all 3 chicks under her wings it was taken with an iPhone, so not a great photo
American Oystercatcher
American Oystercatcher chick
For the same $$$ we prefer
the Gamboa Rain Forest Resort with its proximity to world renown (to birders)
Pipeline Road and the Tower with its hiking trails. Beautiful views even though
it lacks the beach of Playa Bonita. We live on the beach so that isn’t as big a
draw for us. It was nice to watch all the ships waiting for their turn to
transit the canal. (container ships and car carriers for the most part)
paddle boarder with ships in the background
our room
Until next time…..
