April 2 - 6
We met Carol & Dave through Cruise Critic on a “roll
call” for an Alaskan cruise we took in 2010. We did a few tours together and
even met up on land in Alaska and did a few things together. We kept in touch
over the years and they wanted to check out Panama as a possible place to live.
A perfect opportunity to pick our brains on life here in Panama.
They both still work so they managed a long weekend over
Easter to fly down from Tampa. Despite being Holy Week here I tried to organize
their stay so that we were traveling in the opposite way of the heavy traffic.
We live in an area where a lot of people come from Panama City to stay at the
beach for the holidays. It worked out pretty well all things considered.
They arrived on Thursday and did a city tour in the
afternoon. Friday they took the ferry ride through the canal. (we begged off
since we have done that several times as well as on cruise ships). Since we had
scheduled an early morning tour for Saturday we decided to use our free stay at
the Marriott before it expired and spend the night. We drove down in the
morning and had hoped to go to the Summit Zoo, but it was closed due to Good
Friday. So, we did a short walk on a trail in Soberania National Park and then
checked out the mud flats. We found 3 new birds for our count and got lucky and
found the lone White Pelican very close. With malls and most everything closed
due to Good Friday we wondered if we would find food for lunch. Our favorite
Chinese place was open so we lucked out.
These photos were taken at Gamboa Marina:
Rusty-margined Flycatcher
Rusty-margined Flycatchers
Glossy Ibis
water lilies in bloom
road to Gamboa Resort
Morpho Butterfly
picnic area at the end of the trail
waterfalls at the end of the trail
Here are the photos from the mud flats:
White Pelican
Stilt Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpipers
Marbled Godwit
Marbled Godwit
Marbled Godwit
Marbled Godwits
Marbled Godwit
gulls & terns
Jumbo Restaurant
We then drove to Casco Antiguo (Old Town) to see if the
restaurant where we wanted to eat was open for dinner. We were told the bottom
was, but not the rooftop. We then drove to the Marriott and checked in and
freshened up and relaxed a bit. Good timing as we got a call from Dave and
coordinated to get together for dinner. We drove to the condo they rented. It
was a lovely condo with beautiful views of the city and the ocean. Since the
rooftop wasn’t open that night, we went to Lenos Y Carbon on the Amador
Causeway for dinner. We watched some raccoons for a while after dinner. After
walking around for a while we stopped at got some gelato and while we were
there we saw a young lady with the tiniest puppy we have ever seen. So cute!
How did I not take a photo of it? We went to drop them off at their condo and
there was a somber parade with Jesus right in front of their building.
They jumped out and made their way
through the parade. We had to reroute to get to our hotel as a lot of streets
were blocked for the parade.
views from the Bayfront Condo
Dave's fish at Lenos Y Carbon
Next morning after we checked out of the Marriott we went to
Carol & Dave’s condo and took our luggage upstairs as we were spending the
night at their place. Then we walked a couple of blocks to meet our tour van. I
had set up a Monkey Island tour and Indian Village visit. Our tour guide Ross
was fantastic and our boat captain found tons of monkeys for us. We found
Howlers, Capuchins and Geofrey’s Tamerands, known as Mono Titi here. One was a mother with twins hanging on
tightly to her. We saw tons of Snail Kites. The Indian Village was a different
one than the one we saw last time. Same tribe from the Darian, but they split
from the larger Embera tribe and are the Waunaan Tribe. It was an enjoyable
visit despite no music and dancing. Many had gone to the Darian to be with
family for the Holy Week. We stopped at
a food court at the end of the tour and then they dropped us back at the condo.
Capuchin Monkey
Howler Monkey
Mono Titi with twins
Carol feeding monkeys
Capuchin
another boat by us
Capuchin
he's licking mashed banana from her hand
Carol feeding Monkey
Ross, our guide
Snail Kite
Snail Kite
very small crocodile
Jesus lizard
Indian Village:
Purple Gallinule
immature Wattled Jacana
boat at the village
their houses
adorable girls
cute little boys
Ross interpreted
showing the handicrafts
nut carving
materials used in making their baskets
this dog needs to learn to relax,,,,
ceiling of the bohio
Yellow-backed Oriole
their school uniforms drying on the line
ladder to the house
the elder takes us on a nature hike
We all freshened up and since parking can be tough in Casco
Antiguo we got a taxi and walked around for a while before dinner. They serve
tapa style food and we had a variety of tasty things to try. After dinner we
walked around some more to see the lights and of course found ice cream!
wall art
Catedral Metropolitana
blurry photo, but you get the idea....
yes, that's a leg in the flowers
Tantalo's, where we had dinner
rooftop area
Dave & Carol
bathroom
wallpaper in the ladies room
Catedral Metropolitana at night
notice the collection of ice cream scoops
Back to the condo and chatted a bit before going to bed to
be up early to come back to Coronado. We had planned to drop off luggage at
their hotel and our condo, but it was a mass exodus towards the city and making
a U-turn would have taken a ton of time so we drove straight to El Valle to
show them that area. We had stopped at the nice lookout near Chica and drove in
the area of Altos del Maria so they could see the highlands. We drove around
the main street of El Valle and stopped at the vegetable/craft market and
wandered through a couple of souvenir shops. Then we headed to Casa Tortuga for
lunch. Hoping to find some “lighter fare” we headed to the Butterfly Haven
where there is a cafe with healthier food. The Butterfly Haven was open, but
the café was closed due to the owner visiting family for Easter. So, we toured
the Haven and then went back to Casa Tortuga. We drove around a few of the
streets to give them a feel of the area.
truck at El Valle Market
one hitching a ride on my bag
caterpillar
Then it was back to Coronado and traffic was a bit lighter.
We got them checked into their hotel and then we all came back here so they
could see our condo and show them the social areas. Before it got dark we drove
around the neighborhood to show them the variety of homes here. We went to
Gourmet Pizza for dinner. Despite their name, they have a wide variety of food
and I think it was a hit with all of us. We came back here to see the place at
night and after chatting a bit we drove them to their hotel.
Next morning Greg went to pick them up as I had set up an
appointment with Sharon a realtor friend to show them 3 other condo buildings.
I think it was a good representation of the options here. After that we went in
El Machetazo Supermarket to show them what’s available and get a feel for
prices. We then drove to the Westland Mall that is close to us and had lunch. We
still had time left in the afternoon to do whatever they wanted to do before
their flight out and they decided to visit the Albrook Mall which is huge and
has the city’s huge bus terminal. So, we wandered around there until it was
time to drive them to the airport. It was rush hour so traffic was horrendous,
but we made it in plenty of time. We dropped them off and headed to PriceSmart
and picked up some groceries. Then back in heavy traffic to find food. We found
a Carl’s Jr. and did a calorie splurge. On the way home we were going to stop
at the Westland Mall for gelato, but it was so packed we kept driving to the
new shopping center just a couple miles down the highway and stopped at a Dairy
Queen for Blizzards. It was another huge calorie splurge, but was soooo good!
transportation center at Albrook Mall in Panama City
We really enjoyed their visit and I think their trip gave
them plenty to think about for possibly a future move. It's been a hectic month and I am really behind in updating this blog. What do we do with our time?
