Feb 8 – This morning we said goodbye to the Pacific.
One more sunrise One last breakfast on the veranda
We dragged our suitcases back down to the Pan American Highway, and had lunch at a truck stop while we waited for a bus.
Delicious flaky fish, with pineapple and tomato salad, and rice and beans, of courseA lovely mural on the wall
We were just finished, and our bus pulled up – a big one with air conditioning! Yay! It was an easy two hours back to the Panama City bus terminal and an easy Uber back downtown.
Feb 9 – One more night at the Executive Hotel, then up at 5:30 for an early hotel breakfast and an Uber to the airport.
Downtown Panama City looking pretty in the early morning light
We encountered a new wrinkle in airport security this morning. After waiting in line to check in, and enduring the shoe removal and X-ray machines, we walked to our gate, looking forward to a sit down prior to boarding. The officials then rounded up everyone in the gate area and subjected us to an additional security screening, then cordoned us off so we had no access to coffee, water or bathrooms. Those in the know told us it was an extra security measure for those headed to the US, looking for drugs. Humph!
Four hours later we landed in Houston, had a six hour layover, then home to Norfolk by 10 pm.
It was a fabulous trip, and it’s nice to be home. Thanks to all who traveled with us!
Feb 3 – So, what makes a successful beach vacation? Swim, walk, eat, and repeat!
The sun comes upIn the morning, after coffee in bed looking at the ocean, we walk along the sandy beach, then swim in the Pacific.After lunch and perhaps a siesta, we swim in the lap pool, which we have to ourselves.We like to watch the family of iguanas that live in the pool shed. The adults are about two feet of body plus another two feet of tail.There is an incredibly loud bird in the nearby tree – he mimics different calls and sometimes sounds like a monkey. We are amused.For our evening walk, we head down to the little promontory to watch the big birds gather to watch for fish.A lone fisherman sitting on the rocksA full moon
Jan 5 – Now here’s some excitement! We were running out of food, so got up early to trek up to the Pan American Highway to reprovision at the little market. We wanted to go before it got too hot. For the first time all week, I had to put on pants and shoes!
Mini Super Interamericana – not much to look at, but it had everything we neededWe are amused that soy sauce is called Chinese Sauce, and Worcestershire sauce is called English Sauce. Seems it doesn’t take much to amuse us!Colorful chicken buses (repurposed old US school buses) are alive and well here, although they were banned in Panama City in 2010.
Even though it was early, it was still mighty hot. We made it back alive, and resumed our day. Walk, swim, eat, repeat!
Feb 1 – When Jim designed this trip, he divided it into three parts: a week of culture (Panama City), a week in the mountains (El Valle de Antón), and a week at the beach. You’ve traveled with us for the first two adventures. Guess where we’re going now?
We had one more scrumptious breakfast (and I did the dishes one last time in cold water) then we packed up, taking all our leftover food and condiments with us to our new apartment.
We bade farewell to the family of squawky ducks who kept up a conversational racket under our window 24/7.Farewell to all the tropical flowers
We wheeled our bags to the bus stop on the main road. Within five minutes a van pulled up with our destination on the windshield – San Carlos. We got in and watched as the 15 passenger van took on at least 20 people, then stopped wherever a person stood waiting to get on or signaled to get off, as we traveled down the mountainside. Although others paid with a dollar and received change, we were charged $2 each for the experience.
In about 45 minutes, we reached the beach (playa), and the bus let us off in front of the huge Playa el Palmar building – 28 stories tall and the only skyscraper around. We walked about 10 minutes in the broiling midday sun down a private road until we reached a security booth.
There it is!
We had to show our passports to the security guard to get in, and the landlord left Jim a series of videos (in Spanish, of course) explaining the code to work the door and how to operate the state of the art appliances. We’ve never been in a place like this, ever!
We’re on the 22nd floor – vertigo inducing when you look down!One of our pool choices, with the beach just beyond. Looks like a resort ad!There are the two pools, seen from our veranda
Now, if you’ve been traveling with us for a while, you know that we are modest travelers who don’t go in for anything posh. So, everything about this place is just blowing my mind. Our bedroom wall is floor to ceiling glass, looking out at the Pacific.
View from our bedView to the leftView to the right
The downside (and there always is one) is that this hi-rise is not near the town, and the commenters said it’s definitely not a place to stay if you don’t have a car. Jim took this as a challenge – there’s no place that we can’t walk! But the lack of shade and consistent temperature of 90 / feels like 95 every day will be interesting. Stay tuned!
Jan 30 – Jim had one more hike on his list, so we set off this morning in another direction to find Loma el Pastoreo / the Grazing Hill.
Wall art!A calf tied to a roadside fence – maybe she’d like to come grazing on the hill.
We walked down a road that was not a main road. On either side were large private homes behind stone walls and iron gates. So peaceful and so pretty.
More high-stepping horses!These horses looked sadThe yellow frog is the national animal of Panama. It is an endangered species, so this is probably the only one we will see.Yes! If we ever get a palatial retreat, we will name it Villa Amnesia.
We finally reached the trailhead, if you can call it that. It looked more like a dry stream bed, full of sticks and rocks. Jim said, Up! So up we went.
I’m coming as fast as I can!
After a steep, but mercifully short scrabble, we reached the vista. We could see in all directions. It was so windy!
Happy Jim!
Our time in El Valle is drawing to a close. We had dinner at the Colombian restaurant, with excellent patacones (fried plantain chips as big as your hand), and one more evening walk down the main road. El Valle has been a magical place for us, and we’re going to miss it.
Jan 28 – I’m hobbling like Grampa from The Real McCoys today (who is old enough to get that reference?), so we won’t be traveling very far.
Lucky for us, we are just down the road from the Butterfly Haven.
The owner, an Italian, bought this place two years ago and has been raising 15 species of butterflies and releasing the surplus to the wild. He spent all the time we wanted showing us the different species and answering questions.The butterflies seem to like himThe Blue Morpho looks like an owl’s eye when at rest so predators won’t mess with it Swallowtails Monarch?The Blue Morpho really likes Jim!Some feed on fermenting fruitOthers prefer feeding from little tubes of honey waterSome tiny onesSo many different kinds!We saw some really big caterpillars, and a PBS movie on the lifecycle of the butterflyThe cocoons are wrapped to keep them safeThe Blue Morpho was definitely my favorite!
Jan 27 – After a day of rest, today was a day for action! We had an early breakfast and set out for El Valle’s most famous hike, up La India Dormida. Although the reviews called the hike ‘challenging, steep, rocky, and moderate to difficult’, Jim assured me that it would be no problem for an experienced hiker like me. Famous last words.
We walked all the way through town, then down a road another mile to the start of the trail.
There’s La IndiaWe paid the $3 per person entrance fee and off we wentA big boulder contained ancient petroglyphs, sheltered from the weather by the slant of the rock face.This is believed to be an ancient mapMore petroglyphs – what do you think they represent?The trail started out benignly……but soon we were scrabbling over big rocksA pretty waterfall Up and up we go!Another petroglyph boulder We reached a clearing where we could see across the valley. At this point, I called ‘no mas!’- I could go no further.Others must have had the same idea, as there was a very uncomfortable bench built here. Jim was determined to get to the summit, and continued the climb for another half hour. I waved farewell and sat on my bench.Jim graciously shared his pix of the summit ridge……and the town in the valley below
Jim climbed back down, all happy, and we ate our lunch on the bench. You might think that scrabbling down is easier than climbing up, and sometimes you’d be right, but the muscles at the front of my thighs had already given all they had to give, and our descent was painfully slow.
Stopping for a breather – at least one of us is smiling
We finally made it down, then only had to walk one more mile to get back home. It was a long mile! We stopped halfway for a strawberry ice cream cone, which made me feel better, then home for a hot shower, which made me feel better still.
Jan 26 – Happy birthday to our Lexi, 12 years old today! Baba and Grandad love you forever.
Who knew that sitting on a bus could make you so tired? Maybe it’s the higher elevation? Or maybe we’re just slowing down to vacation pace. We decided to take it easy today and see what there was to see in town.
We were drinking our morning coffee in bed (Jim, the best husband ever, brings me coffee in bed every morning, no matter where we are), when it got suddenly quiet. On this beautiful, sunny morning, the electricity went out! I wonder how often we should expect this? And how long will it last?
Our two burner stove works on propane, and there’s only cold water in the tap anyway, so there was really no impact. Jim made us a yummy breakfast that we ate in our outdoor dining room. I washed the dishes, heating up a pot of hot water for the final rinse. We know how to do this!
El Valle is a tourist town. It’s located inside the crater of an ancient volcano, with green peaks and ridges surrounding it in every direction. Less than 10 years ago, the streets were unpaved and the offerings few, but the perfect climate (high of 80, low of 65 consistently every day) and the lure of nearby mountain hiking made this a destination town.
Now the main street is paved and lit, with sidewalks and a bike path. Italian restaurants (pizza and pasta) proliferate, although there are eateries of many kinds: Chinese, Peruvian, Colombian, Thai, and Creole. There are several well-stocked supermarkets, and a variety of things to do and see.
The most famous mountain is La India Dormida, the Sleeping Indian. Can you see her below, her head on the right with green hair flowing?
La India Dormida The benches and planters along the main street have been prettily hand-paintedMaybe we should get tattoos?The local church Lovely stained glassMy favorite statue: “Aieee John – that water is cold!”A high-stepping horse! Lexi said it’s a Friesian, often used for dressage.When’s the last time you saw a seesaw at a playground? Jim and I told each other tales of injuring our younger siblings on them, back in the day.Wall art!
As we walked, we kept looking in shops to see if the electricity had returned, but no bueno. The supermercados had generators to keep the cold food cases cold, which was a good thing.
Jim made supper a little early, because we weren’t sure how we would see our way around the apartment once the sun went down. Then, hallelujah! The electricity was back and we ran inside to recharge all our devices and take a warm shower. It doesn’t take much to make us happy these days!
Jan 25 – This morning we packed our bags, had one more breakfast that couldn’t be beat, and Ubered over to the Gran Terminal Nacional de Transporte, otherwise known as the bus terminal at the Albrook Mall.
The terminal was huge, and we were passed from one tout to the next until we reached the booth selling tickets to El Valle de Antón. Tickets cost $4.50 each, for a three hour ride.
We were directed onto a bus, and sat there for about half an hour until there were sufficient customers for us to leave. The bus was not a shiny new one like the city buses, nor was it as large, but it did have air conditioning. It also played loud mariachi music.
We saw some of the old, colorful “chicken buses” at the bus terminal, but none were in use.
As soon as we left the terminal, the bus stopped on what seemed like every corner until it was full. The music changed from mariachi to Spanish rap. Each bus has a driver and a guy who opens the door, yells out the destination and hops off to collect money as passengers get on and off. It took us a long time to get out of the city, in bumper to bumper traffic, with road construction all around. Now, this feels more like Central America!
After an hour or so, the traffic thinned and we started to make good time. After another hour, the driver turned off the air con and we started to climb. We’re going to the mountains!
We made it to El Valle!
At the third hour, we arrived in El Valle. The driver stopped the bus right at our place, and we hopped off.
Los Aramos, owned by a former ambassador, is full of European furniture and artwork, and has been made into apartments of various sizes. We have a bedroom, a bath and a full kitchen, so Jim will be able to cook for us. The multiple dining and living rooms are outdoors, and shared.
An outdoor dining areaA living room, including hammocks and a big TVAnother dining room!I wanted to capture the exterior of our house, but it is literally covered in foliage. You can see a bit of the red roof.The reception areaLoads of blooms here!
We will be here for a week enjoying the cooler weather and taking in the sights and the hiking trails. Stay tuned!
Jan 24 – Our week in Panama City is drawing to a close, and there is one more hill Jim wants to climb. It’s not near our end of town, so we called an Uber to get us to the foot of Ancon Hill.
It turned out to be more of a paved road than a trail, but it was nice and shady, and gave us glimpses of the city as we climbed.
The bayThe shiny city At the top was a statue of Amelia Denis de Acaza, who wrote a poem to encourage her people to fight to reclaim Panama’s sovereignty in 1906A plaque commemorating Jimmy Carter agreeing to return Panama to its people in 1977The Panamanian flag, which can be seen for miles from atop Ancon Hill – the biggest flag in the country A lovely Portuguese woman named Mathilde offered to take our picture Looking toward the canalSo many shipping containers The Bridge of the Americas As we started back down the hill, we spied a monkey!There he goes!Safe in his treeLooking down toward Casco Viejo – see the two towers of the Cathedral?And back down – a fine activity for our last day in the city!
Jan 23 – We approached the Old Town from a new direction, and what did we find? Chinatown! It seems that every city has one. This one was definitely not included in the modernization we’ve seen in other parts of the city.
Iglesia de la Merced, Church of Mercy, had lots of life-sized statues.
This one was called Jesus the King. Very regal, but his hair looks a little gray for a 30 year oldThis one was called Poor Jesus. Maybe because of the outfit he has to wear?“Oh Lord, how long must I hold this candle?”My personal favorite – Jesus plucking his guardian angel’s last nerve
The church next door had a more modern feel. I really liked the artwork.
A mural dedicated to those lost to Covid 19
Jim read about a church here with a remarkable Nativity display. We found it!
The display had so many vignettes, we had a hard time finding the mangerEgyptians!The Annunciation Romans!There they are!
The display continued into the next room, with modern characters:
Taking Our Time 