Monday Q and A - Traveling around Panama, contacting home, best places to visit, and much more.

Happy New Year!

Can you believe it's 2014 already, the year President Martinelli plans to finish up everything? Seriously, living in Panama, it seems the answer to every challenge and every new project is, "It will be completed in 2014." 

At El Panama Hotel

So hopefully this year means an end to our traffic woes (with the new Metro train station due to be completed by the end of this year). I hope you all had the chance to see our New Year video. I posted it on our Panama For Real Facebook page and on our Youtube channel, but incase you missed it, here's the link to that video. I tried to embed it, but for some reason it's not working right now. So here's that link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBk4NwThXo0

We had a great time at El Panama Hotel with Orquesta Zafiro, Samy y Sandra Sandoval, and Aldo Ranks all performing until very early the next morning. I think the music stopped at 6am. I retired to the hotel room with the boys at about 1am. They passed out right away. Marlene and the girls partied until about 4am. It was a lot of fun.

The boys made it 'till just after midnight, then passed out

So, I took a brief holiday break to spend time with the family, but I'm back now, and ready to get today's Monday Q and A going. We've got a lot of information to cover as I've been receiving lots of emails over the past two weeks. As always, I invite you to add to my answers in the comments section. So many people have so much great info to offer, so let's all share. Okay, here we go.

Les wrote (via email): 

"Just read your article on taking the bus and being scammed for baggage charges. My wife and I will arive in Panama mid January and plan to travel around the country a fair bit. We're from Canada, currently in Ecuador for 3 months, and now realizing we packed way too heavy. We have two large 50-pound suitcases and two smaller ones about 25-pounds each. I think it would be reasonable for the bus company to charge us for extra baggage, but wondering if you have any info to share on that point? Also, the security of bags checked under the bus, how is that monitored? Thanks in advance for any info or advice you can share with us."

Chris replied:

"Hi Les,

"You'll be glad to know there are a lot of Canadians here. There's even a Canadian Report every Wednesday from my friend Michael Drouillard on Cool 89.3 FM. If you haven't seen Michael's site, you should definitely check it out at www.canpanconnection.ca. He has a lot of great info on his site and he's a really nice guy. 

"As far as I know, you shouldn't be charged any extra for bags. I've been told that no one pays extra for bags. I know when you're just here visiting, and have all your vacation cash, an extra $5 doesn't seem like much, so if it's mentioned and you're okay with that, then go ahead and pay it. I don't think it'll even be mentioned though. I just happened to run into a crook. I've been here a long time and I don't have the money I had when I first arrived. I live like a local and definitely notice when someone is price gouging me, so every $5 counts, lol.

On the Coaster bus from Pedasi to Las Tablas

"Depending on what kind of bus you're taking, and this depends a lot on where you're traveling, you may find your bags on top of a Coaster-style bus or in the bottom compartment of a nice Greyhoud-style bus. To be honest with you, there's no real security system in place for your bag. But I suppose it's no different from having your bag thrown into the bottom of a bus in the U.S. or anyplace else. Once it's in, it's in. I'd just hang around and watch them stow it away. Then get off the bus quickly enough and wait for your bag. If you don't, they will just sit it out on the curb until you get there (that's probably the biggest security risk). 

"Keep anything valuable on you or in a carry-on just in case. I've never had anything taken out of my bags while riding the bus and I've ridden quite a few. Hope this helps. Thanks for checking out the site and for your email."

Dan wrote (via email):

"Do Telechip International cards only work from pay phones, as I've read, or from cell phones and private phones as well? Enjoyed the travelogue about Penonomé, but it doesn't seem to be a place we'd like. Thanks anyway because the towns/areas and cities that are not to our liking are useful information also."

Chris replied:

"Hi Dan,

"I've never used a Telechip International card on a payphone. I use mine from a regular landline phone. I've never tried on a cell phone. I've called the U.S. from a cell phone here, with the regular prepaid minutes cards. It works fine that way, it just eats up your minutes really fast. When I first moved here, before discovering the Telechip International cards, I'd just buy a $5 or $10 Movistar card (I have my cell phone set up with Movistar), put the minutes into the phone, then call family just as I usually would on any phone. I know I was able to have at least one fairly long conversation. So if you're only calling every once in awhile, that can be an option too, but the Telechip International cards work great and allow more talk time.

"By the way, in order to use your foreign cell phone here in Panama, you'll need to take it to one of the cell phone shops, like the one in the photo below, and have it unlocked. This usually costs about $30, but can vary depending on your phone. An iPhone will probably cost more than one of the old free Nokias. Once it's unlocked, you'll be able to put the chip in from one of Panama's cell phone providers, and use it like a local, with a Panama phone number.

Get your foreign cell phone unlocked for use in Panama

at small cell phone shops like this

"Thanks for checking out the Penonomé report. Even if you don't imagine living in some of the places we report on, they could still make excellent mini-vacations once you're here."

For anyone wanting to check out the Penonomé written report, click here.

For the Penonomé video report, click here. 


Ariel wrote (via email):

"I'm seeking out expatriate communities because it's been my dream to buy a house (someday) in Panama. I'm starting with visiting for spring break. I may join a school or research team, but if not, I want to travel safely as a single female. 

"Funny side note, I'm pretty racially ambiguous and even in Vietnam I melted into the crowd easily. I do speak some Spanish but not fluently. I mostly understand it. I'm studying to be an ESL teacher among other subjects.

"So my question is, where are my best resources for connecting to young non-retired communities?"

Chris replied:

"Hi Ariel,

"Are you wanting to live in Panama City or in the interior? If you're looking for young, non-retired folks, you'll probably need to stay in Panama City for the most part. At least start your adventure there. 

A little late, but...Yep's New Year's Eve event

"My best contact for young expats (and to all the readers, like myself, I know we're all young, right?) would be Skyler, who runs Young Expats in Panama (YEP). The link to the facebook page is below. They're constantly having cool hangouts, meet-and-greets, and fun parties. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/youngexpatsinpanama/

"I think your best bet, since you're not here yet, would be to get involved in some of the Panama Facebook groups and meet people. I see young expats on these pages all the time. Some of the good ones to know are:

Playa Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/54462871494/

Expats in Panama: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2397416901/

Tropical Cowboys and Cowgirls: https://www.facebook.com/groups/tropicalcowboys/

Panama, land of my heart: https://www.facebook.com/groups/9190600325/

Where? When? How? Panama!: https://www.facebook.com/groups/536740279713342/

"There are others, of course, bust those are just a few to get you started, if you haven't done that already. If any readers have additional info for helping Ariel get in touch with young expats, please tell us in the comments below."

Dave wrote (via email): 

"Hi Chris, I'm going to be in Panama in February. What places do you suggest for a 2-3 area experience in your adopted country. I love golf, beaches, yoga, and I love to dance. I'm not a heavy partier but enjoy beautiful, healthy women." 

Chris replied:

"Hey Dave. Are you planning to move here eventually or you just want 2-3 beach destinations worth visiting? 

"If you're just coming for vacation and want the cool places to hang out, I'd say:

Bocas del Toro
Isla Grande
San Blas

"If you're thinking of living here, and are scoping out where you might want to eventually base yourself, I'd say:

Coronado (beach area with most expats)

Coronado from a condo balcony

Pedasi (best beach area for surfers, expats from all over the world live here, it's a small town)

Best beaches for surfing in Pedasi

Bocas del Toro (popular beach area, I hear people looking to move here mention it all the time)

"Some other cool places to visit: 

El Valle de Anton (mountain area, but has horse/ATV rentals, ziplining, great fruit/vegetable and souvenir market for tourists)

Amazing sunsets in El Valle de Anton

Casco Viejo (great place to visit in the city, full of jazz bars, hip restaurants and clubs, old fashioned architecture, etc.)

Close up on Casco Viejo

Portobelo (on the Caribbean side near Isla Grande, has cool pirate history, still has canons set up and everything)

Awesome pirate history in Portobelo

Amador Causeway (in the city, has nice restaurants on the water, can rent a bike and cruise up and down the strip)

Go for lunch, for a jog, or for a bike ride on the causeway

"If you want to stay at a resort:

Nitro City (plenty of activities, like windsurfing, surfing...just check out the website) http://www.nictrocitypanama.com/

Gamboa Resort (all kinds of rainforest activities) http://www.gamboaresort.com/

Playa Blanca (all inclusive beach resort) http://www.playablancaresort.com/

Hotel Decameron (all inclusive beach resort) http://decameronhotelpanama.com

"That's all I can think of right now. Everyone has his or her favorite resort in Panama, so maybe others will chime in in the comments section and let you know about some other great places to visit."

Allison wrote (via email):

"Happy New Year! I wanted to "pick your brain" and was wondering if you have any ideas for restaurants to try and dine at next week when Ray and I are in Panama City. We are staying at the Courtyard Marriott at Multiplaza Mall. We have not stayed in the city before, so I don't know the layout so to speak. Are there any good restaurants you would recommend near our hotel, or in the mall? They can be Americanized restaurants or not, doesn't matter."

Chris replied:

"Hey Allison and Ray!!!

"I'm glad to hear you're still moving forward with your move. You're gonna be in a great spot at the hotel because you have everything nearby. There's a lot of construction going on right there, but that's usually during the day so it shouldn't bother you much.

"As far as restaurants, at the mall alone you have Fridays, Benihanas, Tony Romas, and a handful of other great restaurants. In the food court you'll find one of my favorite places to eat, Leños y Carbon (you have to try the Pollo Gratinado, butterflied chicken breast covered in melted cheese, and if you'd rather have steak, my wife likes the Punta Palomilla). I know there was a Ruby Tuesday opening up, but I don't think it has yet. And Multiplaza has a movie theater too, just make sure any movie you want to watch is Subtitulada (in English with Spanish subtitles).

"If you like sushi, my favorite seafood/sushi restaurant is right next to the mall. Just look for the 3 big towers next to the mall parking lot, called Torre de Las Americas. The restaurant is called Sake and is located inside the main tower. Just walk out of your hotel, walk through the mall to the opposite end, cross the parking lot, enter the main tower and you'll find it inside the main door on the left hand side. Their website is http://www.sakepanama.com/en/.

"Oh and a good website to know, if you ever want to check restaurant reviews here in Panama is www.degustapanama.com. I think it's mostly in Spanish, but at least you can see how many stars the restaurant you're curious about has earned. Hope some of this helps."

Paul wrote (via comments on PFR site): 

"Chris, thank you sooo much for getting this project going! I came across your blog, which in turn led me here (PFR site), after searching for info on putting kids in school in Panama. 

"Originally from Seattle, after 10+ years building a life, family, and business in Bolivia, my wife and I feel it's time to leave here, but the States is not very appealing to my wife. We took a short vacation to Panama a couple of months ago on a whim and LOVED it, and the idea has been getting on us ever since to relocate there.

"Your site will undoubtedly help us save a lot of time in doing initial research before we make a trip back to see in person where might be the best fit for us. Best of luck with your endeavor/adventure, and just a side note--have you considered a donation option so people who benefit from your site and would like to could be able to contribute?"

Chris replied:

"Hi Paul. Wow...Bolivia. I hope some of the info on the site helps you guys with your decision. To answer your question, I did recently (like a week ago) put a donation button in the right sidebar of the website. It just says something like, "All this info is free, but if you'd like to buy us a coffee or a beer, you can do so by clicking here." It goes to my Paypal account. So far no donations, but of course any is seriously appreciated. Right now all of the money for traveling (and everything else) is coming out of my pocket. Thanks for mentioning it and thanks again for making use of the site and for participating with your comments. That's what it's all about!"

Kevin wrote (via comments on PFR site):

"Hi Chris, thank you for your efforts to inform us of life in Panama. I will be traveling from the U.K. to Panama in February. To avoid driving through Panama City, I plan to stay the night in the city and get the bus to Penonomé the following day, where I intend to hire a car to continue my journey to David, Las Tablas, etc. If you can remember, are the car rental places you mention in the Penonomé article anywhere near where you get off the bus from the city? Thanks in advance. Cheers."

Chris replied:

"Hi Kevin,

"I don't blame you for wanting to avoid the drive through Panama City. Sadly, neither of the car rental places are super close to the bus stop, but it's kind of funny because once you reach Penonomé, you'll see that people start calling out "Parada!" to stop at regular bus stops along the way. By the time I reached the final stop, there were only maybe 5 of us still on the bus.

Dollar in Penonomé

"So, if you speak any Spanish at all, you can probably tell the driver or his assistant that you want to get off at the Dollar Rent-A-Car. The Dollar is on the right hand side as you enter Penonomé, before the bus veers right to make its way through the old part of town and to the final stop. Both car rental places are on the Pan-American Highway. The other place I mentioned in the Penonomé article, Express, is closer to the McDonald's and Super 99, farther down the highway (you won't pass it on the way to the final stop). 

Express in Penonomé

"If you're not comfortable getting off early, you'll find plenty of taxis at the final stop. It'd probably only cost you $1.50-$2 to catch a taxi to one of the car rental places. Also, if you're traveling with heavy bags that will need to either be placed under the bus or on top of it, they might not be too fond of unloading alongside the highway outside the Dollar Rent-A-Car. Good luck." 

Mike wrote (via comments on PFR site):

"Thinking Chitre might be a decent size town in the lowlands/interior to do such an expose' over. Thanks again for all this inspiration, you're a busy man with this site."

Chris replied:

"Hi Mike,

"Thanks for commenting. Yes, Chitre is definitely worth visiting and reporting on. I've been to Chitre before and I like it a lot. I love how Chitre has a mall, small movie theater, and large supermarkets, while all the areas around it don't. So it's kind of an escape for those living in Las Tablas and Pedasi, but it's still small town enough that you don't feel like you're stuck in the city.

Chitre is a really cool town

"Plus, it's the only place around to eat American fast food. So if you get a craving for McDonald's or KFC, Chitre is your place. If you plan to live there you might want to get out of town during Carnaval though as Chitre and Las Tablas are the most popular Carnaval party spots and things get really wild. 

"I'll be hitting Chitre this year for sure. I can't wait to get it all done. 2014 will be a very busy year!"

Kevin wrote:

"Hi Chris, thought I would let you know of my experience getting a bus from Albrook Mall to David last November. I don't speak a word of Spanish and the ticket person didn't speak any English. He was very patient with me and I eventually managed to get my ticket. I knew nothing about the RapiPass card, so I had a bit of a problem when I had to go through the turnstile. The attendant at the turnstile saw my confusion and with a smile, let me through a gate at the side of the turnstile. So in contrast to the rip off artist you encountered, all the people I met were more than helpful."

Chris replied:

"Hey Kevin, good to hear from you again. I'm glad you had a much easier time with the bus. Sounds like you had good luck all around. I've traveled to the interior by bus on many occasions and that one bad trip as the first time I've been hassled. Thanks for sharing your experience. It's important that people realize it's not a Panama thing, but an asshole ticket counter guy kinda thing."

Well, that's it for this Q and A session. Thanks for reading and I hope some of this helped.   

If you haven't already, check out our new website at www.PanamaForReal.com. It has a ton of info and enter your email address into the field below the red suitcase (in the top right corner of the page) to start receiving our bi-weekly newsletter. 

And check out our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Panama-For-Real/418977398194595 

Our Youtube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6N7Ih2bjD0FjOBnDg_-Flg

Thanks for reading,

Chris

New Year's Eve in Panama!

Hey everybody,

Sorry it's been awhile since my last post. I took a little bit of time off to spend with the family over the holidays. I'm back now and excited to start the New Year off right. This will be a short, and very quickly written post, as I'm about to head out with the family. We're staying at a hotel and partying tonight. But, I didn't want to go out without wishing everyone a Happy New Year, and writing a quick post about the traditions here in Panama. 

We spent last New Year's Eve with extended family

New Year's Eve is such an extraordinary time of the year here. Everyone is in great spirits and ready to party like rock stars (minus the hardcore drugs and naked groupies). It's rare that you'll find anyone just sitting around watching TV when the ball drops. Why is that? It's because Panamanians believe that how you start your new year is how the rest of your year will unwind. 

Last year, my wife asked my mom how she spent New Year's Eve, and my mom replied that she was so exhausted from work that she passed out and didn't wake up until well after midnight. You should have heard my wife's gasp. She turned to me and whispered, "Your mom was sleeping at the start of the New Year?"

To Marlene, and to many other Panamanians, starting the new year off in bed means there's a good change the rest of the year will be lazily wasted away. Now, if you're in bed doing other things, does that mean that's how the rest of your year will be spent...in bed...not-so-lazily? Hmm...

We always keep the family together to start the new year

Okay, I was about to go off on a tangent again. So, I'm writing this post, early in the afternoon on New Year's Eve, to push you to get out and do something. It doesn't matter if you're dancing in your living room, sipping champagne, just husband and wife. The point is, you're dancing and having a blast at midnight. Just grab some pots and pans and get ready to bang them together like crazy with your neighbors, or relax in lawn chairs and watch the fireworks go off all around you. 

The kids love New Year's Eve!

Panamanians have a lot of fun, and some odd, traditions for the holiday. My sister-in-law, yes, Dr. Dar, held a toy car in her hand until after midnight because she believes that having a brand new car at midnight means you'll soon be getting a real, brand new car. She did that with a house the year before and guess what...she bought a brand new house in David. So, if you haven't already, head out to your local toy store and buy some new toys. I might pick up the Barbie Mansion and hold it in my lap until 12:05 (maybe the 5 extra minutes will help).

Found this car in my sons' toy box. It's going in my pocket tonight!

Another tradition, and if you're living here in Panama you might have seen this already, is the running around the neighborhood with a suitcase. Panamanians who love to travel, or wish to travel, will sometimes grab their rolling suitcase and take it for a stroll. This is supposed to ensure that you'll spend the year traveling. 

Make sure you have 12 grapes (per person) ready, as it's another tradition that you're supposed to eat a grape for each year of the month. This is supposed to lead to good luck and prosperity.

Happy New Year!!!

I could probably go on all day about the traditions here in Panama. I've been told that you have to have on new underwear, and new clothes, and I've been told that it's good luck to have money (bills) between your toes at midnight, and you have to have some money in your wallet, and I can't remember all the others. 

I'm sure you have some traditions of your own back in your country or ones you've brought here to Panama. Share those traditions. Panamanians love to learn new fun ways to bring in the new year. So wherever your new year finds you, whether with family, friends, or complete strangers, make sure you're receiving it well, with smiles, laughter, dancing, and a good mood to set the pace for the coming year. 

Happy New Year and thanks for reading,

Chris

Panama's week of patriotic festivities

Hi everybody,

I just want to start by saying thank you so much to everyone who has visited the new site at www.PanamaForReal.com and for all of the support, the super sweet emails, and the rapid growth of my subscriber list. I'm so excited about all this. I promise not to bother the subscribers. You probably won't hear from me any more than once every two weeks and that will only be to share any new posts or info we've posted since the last e-letter. No sales BS from this guy. I hope you've had the chance to  check out the videos as well as it seems some people haven't noticed they're there on the site. If you want to take a quick look at any videos, check out our Youtube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6N7Ih2bjD0FjOBnDg_-Flg

And every like we get on our Facebook page keeps us moving forward: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Panama-For-Real/418977398194595?ref=hl

I love this blog so I'm definitely going to keep it going, but you'll also find these blog posts on the PFR site's blog if you'd rather read them there. I think that blog looks a little big cleaner, but this one is easier to operate, so I like writing the posts here, then copying them to that site. 

Alright, back to today's post. Today is the day of Panama's Patriotic Symbols. It used to be Flag Day, but they changed it last year so that it now includes the national anthem and the emblem as well. This whole week is practically a week out of work/school for most Panamanians to celebrate Panama's many independence days and patriotic festivities. The parades have taken to the streets and everyone is having a great time. My kids don't go back to school until Wednesday so they're definitely happy. You wouldn't believe how quiet the streets are right now and how easy they are to navigate (in Panama City) with half the population gone to the interior of the country for the long weekend. Marlene turned to me last night at the dinner table and asked, "Do you hear that?" 

"Hear what?" I replied.

"Exactly," she said. 

It was super quiet. No honking horns, no loud music blasting from taxi windows, and not even the sound of barking dogs. The dogs must have headed to the beach too. 

Panama flags are for sale everywhere

Panamanians are very patriotic. Anytime there's a major futbol/soccer game involving the Panama team, nearly everyone on the street is wearing a red jersey or T-shirt. And it's normal to see cars displaying the flag on the day of any game or around any patriotic holiday.

A patriotic family in Santa Elena

The Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, is November 2nd, but doesn't show up on many lists of Panamanian holidays. It's definitely a day that's taken seriously in Panama though. It's the day people pay their respects to loved ones who've passed away. I made the mistake of driving past a cemetery on Saturday, the 2nd, and I got stuck in traffic for about an hour. 

Marlene paying her respects on Dia de los Muertos

On this day, you'll find vendors selling flowers in the medians of most streets and along the sides of the roads that lead to the cemeteries. A lot of people go to Colon to pick up more affordable fake flowers. My mother-in-law came home with bunches of fake flowers to take out to some of her family's loved ones. 

Flowers on the way to the cemetery

As much as it seems like a sad holiday, people seem in good spirits headed to the cemetery. Vendors are set up outside, selling everything from raspados (snow cones) to my favorite coconut ice cream to hot dogs and sodas. 

Vendors in front of the cemetery on Santa Elena

I'll never forget my first year in Panama and the first run-in I had with these holidays. Here, the Day of the Dead takes place the day before the first of Panama's independence days. Their day of independence from Colombia is on the 3rd of November. So, when my wife said to me, "Tomorrow is Independence Day." I went in to my good ol' boy American mode and thought, "Well hell, what goes with Independence Day? Barbecue and beer of course!" I was excited to celebrate my first Panamanian Independence Day. So I headed to the supermarket. 

In the supermarket, when I went to grab my beer, I noticed there was masking tape marked in an "X" across the entire beer and liquor shelf. I figured they must be doing some sort of construction and it was their attempt at keeping the liquor on the shelf if it shook or something. It was a stupid thought now that I think about it, but at the time it seemed to make sense. 

When I got to the cash register, the cashier looked at me like I was crazy and took the beer from me and set it on the side. With no Spanish speaking ability, I had no idea why she'd taken the beer. So, I asked in my best broken up Spanish, what was going on. I didn't understand the answer. But I took the beer and placed it back onto the conveyor belt. 

The guy bagging my groceries started laughing. The woman took the beer away from me again. I was thinking, "Hmm, is that beer not for sale? Did I take it off of some sort of display or something? Do I need to grab a different brand of beer?" 

Finally a manager came over and tried to explain to me, in Spanish, what was going on. At some point, one of the customers behind me finally said, "No alcohol on Dia de los Muertos." Turns out, on the Day of the Dead, out of respect for the dead, you can't buy alcohol. I felt like such a dumb ass. 

This year, at the Rey supermarket in Chanis, they posted signs 

instead of the masking tape "X" like previous years.

I went home and said to my wife, "Not being able to buy alcohol today would have been some good information to have before I made a complete ass of myself." She'd been in the U.S. with me since we got married when she was 18 and I was 20, so she'd forgotten all about it. 

No beer on November 2nd

I've learned my lesson since that embarrassing time back in 2009. Now I make sure I pick up my beer in advance. Or I just wait 'till the morning of the first Independence Day and do my shopping then. Just thought I'd fill you in on this handy piece of information so you don't make the same "gringo" mistake I did. 

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to check out www.PanamaForReal.com.

Chris

Dia del Niño in Panama

Wow, has it really been a month since I last wrote? Sorry it has taken so long. I used to be better at pumping out posts. I need to get back on my game. With this post, and I know I'm a little bit late, I thought I'd bring up the subject of Kids' Day here in Panama. 

Dia del Niño takes place every year here and it's kind of a big deal. This year it fell on Sunday, July 21st. In years past I've gone to Parque Omar, one of the largest parks in Panama City, where they've had free activities for the kids, like face painting, amusement park rides, games, etc. 

This year I made the mistake of taking the kids to the mall. The plan was to eat pizza, buy the kids a toy, and go to a movie. Most of the stores have sales on Kids' Day, like 20% off all toys. We went to Metro Mall, and it was packed. The center of the mall was filled with families watching the events taking place. 

The mall was a madhouse

A stage was set up with costume-clad hosts and animators putting on a show for the kids. Batman, Cat Woman, Superman, and Supergirl were dancing to salsa, reggaeton, and techno. They threw prizes out to the kids and invited some up onto the stage to assist with the show. A bouncy house and video game stations were set up, familiar characters from cartoons were walking around, and snacks were handed out.

During the festivities, I decide to go up stairs to the movie theater and purchase tickets for a later show. I knew if I didn't get them in advance, I might not get seats at all. I wound up standing in line for well over an hour to get movie tickets. It was crazy. 

Enjoying Kids' Day at Metro Mall

I think it's great living in a country that celebrates children. We all have a birthday and we all celebrate Christmas or New Year or whatever your holiday is. We've always celebrated Mother's Day and Father's Day, but what about the kids? Sure, you could argue that every day is kids' day, but seriously, out of 365 days in the year, it's only right to give one to the kids. 

Did you know Panama even has a Grandparents' Day? Seriously, Panama has a Grandparents' Day. 

Just a funny side note. My sons go to a preschool called a Coif, which is basically a very inexpensive school set up for the children of government employees. My wife and my in-laws work for the government, so we got hooked up with this school. So, the school sent out invitations for the grandparents to attend Grandparents' Day at the Coif. I think it was Friday of last week. 

My father-in-law is a very serious guy. He's a lawyer and it's rare to hear him speak in a reasonable tone. Most of the time he's yelling about something. So, he received the invitation, and without telling anyone he'd attend, he just showed up at my sons' school. My wife just happened to decide to keep the kids out of school that day for some reason, and my dad-in-law didn't know about it.

He arrived at the school to find that my sons weren't there. The teachers and the school staff wouldn't let him leave. They made him play all of the games, eat lunch, and dance with the kids. I guess he was a good sport about it, but when he got home, he was pretty pissed that the boys weren't in school that day. 

That's all I've got for right now, but I've got all kinds of blog ideas, so you'll be seeing more from me soon. 

Thanks for reading,

Chris

Father's Day in Panama

Father's day week (when you have 4 kids it lasts all week) just passed, and it was a whirlwind, that's for sure. It started with my twin sons' school Father's Day celebration on Wednesday which ran from 9:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. My sons are still in preschool, and the school invited the dads to spend the time hanging out in the school with them.

Nico (left) and Matteo (right) with our craft projects

We started the celebration off with each kid having to state their dad's name to the rest of the class. Then we sang a few songs, did a few dances, and sat down together to work on the little stick puppets you see in the photo above. 

I come from a family where I bounced back and forth between divorced parents. For a part of that time, my brothers and I lived with my mom. She was a single mother taking care of three boys. So I know how hard that can be on a kid. This worried me a little bit when I showed up for the celebration early and saw moms dropping off their kids. I started thinking, "Man, this is going to suck for any kid whose dad doesn't show up."

That got me thinking, as much as I love spending time with my boys at their school, in some ways I think Father's Day might be a holiday better celebrated in the home. I can imagine how bad it must feel seeing other kids with their dads and not having mine around. I lived it for a long time, but I don't remember ever having a Father's Day celebration at school. 

That's how you do it, Dads!

When the celebration first started, only about 8 dads showed up, in a class of 14 kids. It concerned me at first, and at one point I actually pulled one of the kids aside, whose father hadn't shown up, and invited him to work with me on the craft project. Much to my surprise, his dad showed up a few minutes later. And the dads kept trickling in. By 11:00 only one kid in the class was dad-less. 

It was awesome! I don't know all the statistics, but I can almost guarantee that in most places where I lived in the States, there wouldn't have been that many dads in the class. Either they (the dads) would have been more worried about showing up for work, or they'd disappeared a long time ago, leaving the single mother to raise the kid. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that gringos don't father their children. Hell, I'm a gringo, and I think I'm a heck of a dad. I'm just saying that I was shocked to see that many men still in their child's life. That's horrible, right? 

Way to go Panama dads!!!

Dancing to Limbo by Daddy Yankee

My daughters had a similar celebration at their school on Friday. Both of my daughters, age 8 and age 10, practiced the dances they were going to perform every day for a couple of weeks. They were serious. My 8-year-old was going to dance to a Daddy Yankee reggaeton song with her classmates, and my 10-year-old was going to do a Panama folklore dance, dressed in traditional garb. 

My 10-year-old during her folklore dance

I had a lot of fun with this celebration. Each grade came out and either sang a song or did a dance. The school even invited a celebrity comedian. He seemed like he was funny. Everyone around me was laughing, but since I still don't speak Spanish, I didn't really get to enjoy the show. The school served all the dads food and even gave each father a gift, which you can see lined up on the table behind my daughter in the photo above. 

The dads showed up for this celebration too. 

I just explained to someone the other day that Father's Day in Panama is taken much more seriously than in the States. Maybe not everywhere and with every family in the States, but for the most part, it seemed to be a holiday that consisted of socks, ties, maybe some underwear, and that's about it.

Here, in Panama, it's taken very seriously. In our house, my mother-in-law baked two hams, we had potato salad with shredded chicken mixed in, an awesome salad with mango, almonds, feta cheese, etc, and coconut rice with guandu. It was amazing. The whole family came together. 

So again, when comparing life in the States to life here in Panama, I have to say that when it comes to the holidays, Panama usually comes out on top. 

Thanks again for reading,

Chris

Road trip to Panama's interior

I'm back in Panama City, and wow, this past weekend was an exhausting, but terrific one. Marlene (my wife) and I loaded up the kids, the bags, and the snacks and headed into the interior of the country. It was a mistake leaving at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday (the start of the Semana Santa). My wife had to work a half-day though so we got a later start than we'd hoped for. 

With the craziest music mix you can imagine (I let the kids help me put it together) we be-bopped along while we sat in bumper to bumper traffic. I'd expected there to be some congestion, but I'd never expected it to be as bad as it turned out. It was like carnaval traffic headed to the interior. 

I always get a kick out of seeing all of the young entrepreneurs lined up alongside the Pan-American Highway, selling everything from bottles of water to bags of chips to bootlegged mix cds. Anytime you hit traffic in Panama, you can rest assured you won't go thirsty. Someone will be smart enough to set up shop on that busy street corner. It's the same along the highway during any major festival or holiday weekend.

One of the great things about Panama, is everything is kind of set up in one straight line, well, one long curving line really. My point is that I'm always asked if it's confusing trying to get from Panama City to David or Boquete or anywhere else. Really, there's one highway that takes you most of the way. I'll explain what I mean by "most of the way" in just a second. The only decision you'll need to make in Panama City is which bridge you'd like to travel over when you leave the city.

One road heading out will take you past the entrance to the Amador Causeway and out over the Bridge of the Americas or Puente de las Americas. This is the exit you'd choose if you were at downtown Panama City or anywhere near the Cinta Costera, as it's the closest to that area. 

The Bridge of the Americas taken at Amador Causeway

The other option, if you're closer to the Bethania, El Dorado, Condado del Rey area, is to head out past the new shopping center, Centennial Plaza, where the Arrocha, McDonald's, Rey, and Taco Bell are (plenty of other places too). This road will lead towards the Estadio Nacional de Panama, also called the Rod Carew Stadium, where many of the big baseball games are played. That's where you'll find the Centennial Bridge. 

It's important to know how to get to each of these bridges because you never know when one will be closed down for maintenance. The day we were leaving, the Bridge of the Americas was closed down for a couple of hours because a truck spilled oil all over the place. By the time we left it was open again, but in that kind of situation, it's nice to know you can head over to the other bridge to escape town. 

The Centennial Bridge is the newer, cooler looking bridge. If your desire is to cross the Panama Canal, both of these bridges will take you over it. 

Since this article is all about the road trip, I thought I'd mention the house in the photo below. This house is kind of known as the "haunted house" along the highway. It's been recently painted so it doesn't look all that freaky right now, but it's right on the corner as you head into the swervy part of the highway, in the Capira area. Many people have come back from road trips late at night and swore they saw the ghost of a woman walking alongside the road. Truck drivers have told tales of picking up a stranded woman to have her vanish from the truck cab a few minutes later. 

The Haunted House on the Pan-American Highway

I wonder if the people living there know that people think their house is haunted. They probably have no idea and if they stumble upon my article they might be pissed. Like, "Hey, that's my house. What the heck? Haunted? No, we've seen that ghost chick too, but she doesn't live here." 

So, the traffic cleared up right after Chorrera, which is right around where the two lanes of traffic (the one coming from the Bridge of the Americas and the other coming from the Centennial Bridge) meet. Even on a normal, non holiday weekend, you can expect to run into a little bit of traffic right around this point. After that it was smooth sailing. Watching out for cops became the new challenge. On most of the highway, when you're not driving through one of the small towns, you can count on the speed limit being somewhere between 80km per hour and 100km per hour (which is equal to 50-60 miles her hour). The limit changes quickly though. Watch out for the "Reduzca Velocidad" or reduce speed signs and the cops, which were EVERYWHERE this holiday weekend. 

Quite a few Panamanians know about the blinking of the high beams to let fellow travelers know there's a cop up ahead. It's nice when you see that, and to pay it forward I try to do the same whenever I notice a curbside cop in the opposite lane. 

Near Penonome

As I mentioned before, there are only a couple of detours you might need to make, depending on where you're headed to. If your plan is to travel to Chitre, Las Tablas, Pocri, Pedasi, or any of the other towns on the east coast of the Azuero Peninsula, you'll need to make a right onto the overpass in Divisa, which you'll find shortly after you pass Aguadulce. The overpass will take you up and to the left, where you'll begin your drive down the peninsula. Look at the photo below to see what I'm talking about. Once you're on the peninsula, it's pretty much a straight drive all the way to Las Tablas. Once you hit Las Tablas, you'll want to make a left onto the main street (the one across from the church) to reach Pocri, Pedasi, and Playa Venao. 

Head onto this overpass to travel to the towns on the east coast of the Azuero Peninsula

If you stay on the Pan-American Highway, you'll find that it's fairly smooth from Panama City until you get as far as Santiago. You'll still want to be careful for a few random potholes and some dips in the road. I was driving a little Suzuki Swift on this trip and I swear I thought I was about to launch my family into outer space when we hit this smooth dip and rise somewhere around Aguadulce. Somehow my wife slept through the leap and my kids cheering from the back seat. I swear, she can sleep through anything. 

Once you reach Santiago, it becomes a bumpy ride. Never never never ever never make this trip without a spare tire, a jack, and a tire iron handy. No joke. The road gets pretty nasty. And it's a good idea to try and make the trek during the day. Cows tend to roam across the road wherever they please. Night driving isn't a good idea unless you're in a huge truck and you know the area and its road very well. 

Just passed Tole and the sun was going down

We left Panama City at about 12:30 p.m. and reached David at about 8 p.m. That was with the traffic we'd encountered earlier in the day and we stopped to eat at the McDonald's in Santiago. So, I'd say that it probably takes a good 6.5 hours to make the trip with no traffic.

Near Volcan

Besides the turn towards the Azuero Peninsula, that I mentioned earlier, there are only a few other turns you might want to make as you journey to the country's interior. The turn towards Dolega and Boquete is located in David, and about twenty minute's drive down the highway, past David, you'll find the street that takes you towards Volcan. Still, as I mentioned before, each of these turn offs is located on the Pan-American Highway, and since each is a straight street that leads you towards your destination once you leave the highway, getting around this country is really simple. If what you're looking for isn't sitting alongside the highway, you'll be sure to find it at the end of a side street.

Our destination was David, where we hung out with my wife's sister, Darlene (Doctor Dar), for the weekend and visited the surrounding areas. We had a great time, good quality family time. Nowadays it's hard to get away from the computer, so for this trip, I didn't take it with me, and it was wonderful. 

On the way home we hit some horrible traffic, right around the street that takes you up into El Valle, right before San Carlos and Coronado. It took probably an hour just to get a few miles, but then the cops created a third lane by putting cones up to block off one of the west-bound lanes, which allowed some of us heading towards the city to move onto that lane. So, with three lanes headed back to the city, and only one headed away, the congestion thinned out and we were home in no time. 

Thanks for reading,

Chris