Happy July!

On Wednesday Eric & I set out for a few days at the beach. First stop about 4 ½ hours away was Playa Blanca Our friend Wendy has a new villa there and we were taking a few pieces of furniture and tools for her new place in the van. She has rented another villa so we have a great place to stay, cooler packed and off we go. Our plan was to drop off the items, spend a little time at Playa Blanca and then go to explore an area we haven’t been in a while. Pedasi and Cambutal ( see the Panama Report)  both located on the beach at the bottom of the Los Santos Province and in some of the best surfing and fishing areas in Panama on the Pacific side. We have been anxious to see the progress there and since we would be somewhere in close proximity at Playa Blanca  we figured it was a good way to spend the weekend.

About 3 hours into the trip the chauffeur (Eric always does the driving so he won’t sleep) ran into a little problem and thus here is our Spanish word of the day!

Galote = turkey vulture - Here is what happened as I was perusing the map to identify some of the side roads and go down memory lane trying to recall events from when we traveled those side roads before – almost 3 years ago.

About 5 minutes following the accident  and while I was still on the phone with the insurance company we were stopped by the police who said we were speeding. Since there was no sign designating the speed limit and we were on the Pan American Highway I guess it was possible that we were, but highly unlikely since Eric was almost leaning out the window so he could see to drive. Unfortunately in all the hubbub Eric didn’t have any small bills so that stop cost us $20. It is typical to not take the ticket and just pay the cop. We did check on the way back and could not find any speed limit sign in the area nor we could we find the dead vulture – no doubt his friends and family “cleaned him up” so to speak.

Well – the good news is that our insurance company covers this damage with a $75 deductible. The roadside emergency service was great and very helpful, it was not a Panamanian holiday, and we are alive and well. On the down side we did have to continue to Playa Blanca with the windshield vibrating in the wind to drop off the things. There was only Panama City or David to go to get it repaired – one another 2 hours in the wrong direction and the other our “go  to” city.  We had a great dinner treat at Buenaventura Resort, slept over and turned right back around and headed to David in the morning to try to beat the rain so we would not have to use the wipers.  Every time Eric would turn the wipers on, little shards of glass would fall on the dash!

We never even saw the beach!

Eric always used to fish on his birthday which was yesterday and Vulture catching wasn’t quite what he was hoping for – we will have to make that up to him once the van is repaired. Now the challenge is to find a windshield for a 1998 Ford Van in Panama! Below is our culprit – or one like him!

Technorati Tags: pacific beaches, playa blanca, travel to panama

Goodbye General Motors

I am a fan of Michael Moore but even if you are not a fan he makes some really valid points in this letter and has some great suggestions for what we, the country, can do to turn GM’s failure into a positive for the future.

Technorati Tags: US Economy

My son was surfing Paunch Beach in Bocas Del Toro for his holiday from college in Orlando Florida so instead of him traveling to Boquete we thought a beach Christmas would be just right this non- traditional year.  Admittedly we needed a chance to “thaw out” from The Boquete climate that many of our Canadian friends seem to think is just wonderful. Unfortunately for our middle aged bones and bodies accustomed  to sunny and tropical Florida this “eternal spring” gets a little cold and damp for us. Yes we do love the rainbows but really how many do you want every day when you have to have the Barajeque (misting rain) to get the rainbows? Oh well, a butt for every seat as they say.

We drove to Almirante and took the Taxi 25 to Bocas, Isla Colon where our son and his friend met us in a 4 wheel drive ready to get some sun, salt air and sand.

We spent time at a lovely hotel called La Coralina right on the beach near Paunch and had great food, outstanding company and a memorable lobster dinner with outstanding side dishes. The owner Stacy works really hard to see that everyone is happy and comfortable.

La Coralina from the bottom of the driveway looking up.

We stayed in Bocas for 2 wonderful nights and then headed back over the Bay to pick up our truck in Almirante. We arrived in Almirante to a friendly face telling us that we had left our lights on and had a dead battery so immediately began to look for help and as is typical in Panama (even in Almirante) we quickly found some. While this transpired we were told that the road was closed over the mountains and I was thankful for earlier lessons learned in Panama. We are always ready with some drinks, extra clothes and the attitude necessary to sleep in the truck if the need arises.

Once we arrived in Punta Pena we stopped to visit with a friend for an hour or so and found out that the road over the mountains had just opened and would not stay open for long since it would soon be dark. So off we went to get on our way to Boquete.

The road has gotten much worse since the previous landslides. Willie Mazu which was a lovely little eco birding park in the National Forest on the Bocas side has been turned into a lake, cabins are under water and the “moving lake” continues to wash over the road creating havoc.

Here is what we found along the way….

Our first indication of the traffic jam

Approaching Willie Mazu on the Bocas side above Mali.

I have never seen so much mud!

This pipe is taking some of the water but with no where to drain really.

Off to the right is where Willie Mazu used to be; the road washed away on both sides.

And it is as nerve wracking as it looks, really a white knuckles ride!

Everybody is either working or waiting.

This was the next big problem area.

What is left of the road is the little part to the left of the yellow tape.

There is a lovely but very busy waterfall right there just around the bend.

I am not sure why the front end loader is working on the waterfall but I am sure there is logic to it somewhere that I am missing.

This washout opposite the waterfall.

Yikes! Looking back is no less scary!

From here we had relatively smooth sailing and luckily there was no rain or fog.

If you are going to the Bocas Del Toro mainland side just be very careful and plan for delays. You will want to plan your crossing for daylight and have water and snacks just in case. More rain will mean more damage and slow the work down so if we have more rain on that side it would be good to check to see if the road is still open. Once again these guys working on this road mess are amazing in a crisis and working so hard to make the road right again. I can’t help but think though that It would just be grand if PTP (the oil company that is responsible for the road maintenance) would grasp the concept of “maintenance” rather than emergency management!

Too much to hope for???  Oh well, Happy Holidays and safe travels!

Technorati Tags: flooding, landslides, travel to Bocas del toro, travel to panama

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Keel Billed Toucann

One of the most amusing things about the government here in Panama is they love to make laws quickly and regularly. It is sort of like market testing – they write a new law, throw it out there in public and see how the public responds. Now this is the best part- the foreigners – us- always panic and go around for days or weeks calling attorneys and reading every English news we can get our hands on to try to find out what really is the new rule. Then just about the time we think we have a handle on what it is, who might be affected and who might possible be enforcing; they decide it was a bad idea and just take the law off the books.

So good news! According to everything I have read this past week the Panamanian government has decided against implementing the yellow fever shot requirements. Now please stay tuned because you just never know what is next but for now the only people affected were the poor unfortunates who were recently preparing to travel soon and just figured they should get the shot, no problem. I prefer to skip the shot unless there is a real risk since too many people get sick from shots.

It’s amazing how quickly laws will change here (sort of) but how slowly the government really moves to serve the public. Just something to get used to and at least they don’t smother the TV with election news even though we are in the midst of presidential campaign here also. There are so many people running I cannot keep the ballot straight but a friend’s uncle is running for president and our dentist is running for a post similar to mayor so we are just hoping to know some good people who have influence; after all it can’t hurt! Important to remember though that the country is the size of South Carolina just to keep perspective.

In the meantime we just read, laugh and wait until the dust settles before we get too concerned about any new rules. And since I have discovered how to get Saturday Night Live on my computer there is plenty of political and election excitement right here at home in Boquete.

Important safety tip when you travel to Panama; NEVER EVER sweat the small stuff; not here; it just isn’t a part of the culture and you will feel strange and get strange looks if you do .

Technorati Tags: Travel Safety, yellow fever shots

See this article in Panama Guide for clarification and a map of some of the countries in question. Also to keep updated click on this link to the World Health Orginization for more than you ever wanted to know about Yellow Fever!

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The Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia is NOT passable by car. You will need to load your car onto a boat. Also, you will need to check with EACH country to make sure you can import your car to that country (I dont think you can in Colombia) Also, the road from Say Cartagena, to Say Guayquil will take you through some FARC Controlled areas of Colombia and that, my friend, is a bad idea.

Technorati Tags: Travel Safety, travel to panama

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