Have you done any of these?
As you eat each one, make a wish. 12 wishes for the New Year.
They also say that the grapes will predict how your year will be. For instance, if your 2nd grape is sour, then February will be a bad month. But if you get a sweet grape, that month will be a sweet experience.
Then count the number of seeds.
You use the number of discarded seeds to determine your lucky lottery numbers.
The lottery is very popular in Panama.
Don't forget to clasp some money in your hand while you are eating your grapes!
Having money in your hands at midnight will help ensure you will have money throughout the coming year.
This will ensure a new year full of travel.
It gives you good luck throughout the new year.
It will attract love in the new year
It will attract wealth for the New Year.
Sometimes people also pour water on a pound of rice. I am not sure what this signifies. Perhaps another cleansing ritual.
This will get rid of bad energy from the old year
The benefits of doing this are 3-fold: prosperity, work and health.
One of Panama’s unique New Year traditions is that of the Muñecos.
These life sized effigies are an old Panamanian tradition. These "stuffed people" are called many names:
They are stuffed with firecrackers. Then are lit and beaten at the stroke of midnight.
According to folklore, by beating and setting the effigies aflame, the sins and evil spirits of the old year are destroyed. Making way for good fortune in the new year.
The fire crackers are said to help drive the evil forces away, since ghosts are afraid of light and noise.
The Muñecos are usually made to look like well-known politicians or movie stars from the outgoing year. For instance, Fidel Castro, Irving Saladin (Panama’s first Olympic gold medalist, 2011), Celia Cruz, Betty la Fea, etc.
Sometimes people attached strings to the Muñecos so that they can sit on their porch and have the doll "wave" its hand to passer-bys.
Muñecos are especially common along the Pan-American Highway.
This ocean swim will "clean out" the bad things of the previous year and bring in good things of the New Year.
This year we are going to try to do as many of these rituals as we can.
Although I hope doing them at midnight is not required. We are usually asleep well before then.
Please share your Panama New Year experiences in the comments below.
Did we miss a ritual?
December 31, 2012
In Panama, any holiday is considered the perfect day to enjoy friends, family, eating, and drinking - lots of drinking.
Dinner traditionally includes:
The whole family gathers to enjoy each other and to wait for midnight to arrive.
The sound of fireworks announces the midnight hour.
Then, family members embrace each other and enjoy the dinner they have prepared.
After dinner, people visit and/or call each other until the wee hours.
The young people often go out to the bars and clubs. On New Year's Eve (and during the holidays) the Zanahoria law is suspended.
The Zanahora law dictates that bars close at 3:00 am.
However, the party is just part of the New Year rituals and traditions of Panama.
Panama has a number of interesting and unique New Year rituals and traditions.
Please comment or ask questions below.
If you are considering moving or retiring to Panama, you may find this helpful.
In this video Robin Sare lists his reasons for retiring in Panama.
Transcription below
[leadplayer_vid id="547D139515FAD"]
Robin and his wife Diana bought their property in Puerto Armuelles Panama about 6 years ago.
The last 2 years they have lived here more or less full time.
Adventures and active sports for him and warm weather gardening for her.
This mean you know it will hold value. (Robin and Diana are Canadians)
Which means you don't have to worry about your house being destroyed in a storm
The temperature "ranges from 22 at night to 28 in the day. It can get hot in the sun, but with a ocean breeze or shade it is very pleasant."
Hi, my name is Robin Sare, and my wife Diana and I live here in Puerto Armuelles.
We bought land about 6 years ago and we have been living in the house pretty much full time for the past two years.
We're Canadians and I am now retired.
When we first bought the land, I was still working, but I'm now wonderfully retired, and enjoying it immensely.
We've always traveled extensively. We've probably visited about 50 countries around the world, and we've done a lot of adventure travel sea kayaking, skydiving, river rafting, hiking, mountain biking, that kind of thing, as well as cultural tours.
And so, there came a time when my wife was a little less keen on the adventure route, and I still wanted to keep it up, and my wife is a very keen gardener and loves the warmth and so we thought that Panama would be the ideal combination for the two of us.
The adventure for me and a place for a wonderful garden for her after the cold wastelands of the Canadian North. So, we ended up in Puerto Armuelles having looked at a few other areas in Panama. And really having looked back at our catalog of places through the world where we've been.
First of all, Panama was quite affordable.
Secondly, it uses the American dollar, so your money here will always have some form of value.
They don't have hurricanes here, so you know your house will be here when you get back from wherever you've been off traveling to. The climate is delightful. It goes down to about 22 at night up to about 28 in the day. If you're at noon hour in the bright sun, yes it's hot, but as long as you have a sea breeze or you are in the shade, its truly wonderful.
I do a lot of sea kayaking out in the bright sun and it's no problem being out on the sea, it's very very comfortable there.
Thanks for watching.
December 15, 2012
You Can Help The Many Poor Children In Bocas Del ToroAs a caring group of people, they recently rescued 2 tiny jungle kittens that had been taken by poachers.
Here is a link to a blog post about the rescue of the kittens. Another about one of their patients in Bocas.
At the end of each blog post, you have the opportunity to donate to the Floating Doctors.
You can donate one time or set up a monthly donation via Global Giving.
You can even volunteer for short or long term stints.
Click to find out more about volunteering, here.
Discover more about them.
Explore their site and see what they have been doing for a communities that have no other health care resources.
Thanks to SusanAgg1 of Gringos_in_David_Panama Yahoo Group. I didn't know about this group until I read her post about them.
Susan also says the Floating Doctors have helped out some expats with medical emergencies as well.
Please comment below.
December 8, 2012
Help Save Panama Bay For Migrating Birds. Audubon Makes It Easy To Get Your Voice Heard.As of May of this year, Panama is allowing development of the upper bay of Panama.
Before then, in 2005, Panama had declared it as a Ramsar site.
That means Panama publicly acknowledged that Panama Bay is a wetland of international importance.
In 2009, Panama confirmed this by declaring the wetland as a National Protected Area.
No longer.
Developers have convinced the government to withdraw the wetland's protected status.
30 species of birds use this wetland on their way south after breeding. In additon, it is important to the life cycle of fish and shell fish and to the ecosystem of the region.
In tandem with that, the government has also relaxed it regulations for mangrove preservation.
“If these wetlands are lost, you break the chain of wetlands shorebirds need for successful migrations”, says Rosabel Miro, Panama Audubon’s executive director.
BirdLife Partner, the Panama Audubon Society, and a coalition of local and international environmental groups including the US National Audubon are taking legal action to restore Panama Bay's protected status.
The Audobon Society makes it easy for you to get your voice heard.
They have a pre-written letter they will send in for you.
Just fill your information. Save the shorebirds of Panama and the World!
For more on conservation of seabirds worldwide, go to this site.
December 8, 2012
December 8th.
The whole country takes it off.
Government offices are closed. Everyone is off work.
Women are awakened at about 4am by being serenaded in the street.
To me - at this moment - it seems a punishment to be awaken in this way.
A band gathers in the back of a pickup truck and plays music for all the houses that have pre-paid for the honor. Loud music.
As you imagine, you can hear the music pretty well even if you didn't request the 4 am wake up.
We don't get these traveling typica bands in our small and quiet neighborhood. But when we lived in the densely populated San Jose neighborhood we experienced it.
Actually, it was kind of fun to see and hear it. A cultural experience. Maybe I would grow to love it. Maybe.
As my sister once told me, it is collective guilt over their treatment of women that makes some countries make a big deal out of mother's day.
Did I mention that Mother's Day is a National Holiday in Panama?
That is alot of guilt.
Happy Mother's Day!
December 3, 2012
He wanted it to cover both its history and its economic future.
I had fun creating it.
If you would like a copy, I'd be happy to share it with you.
For your 1 page summary, Click Here.
To Learn How To Safely Buy ROP Property, Go Here.
There are alot of steps to title property in Panama, but it isn't difficult.
These steps are described in our easy to follow guide, "How To Title ROP Panama Real Estate"
The guide describes the process and documents you will need to title land.
You can get your free guide on how to title land there, or by Clicking Here.
Please ask questions and comment below.
Don't crack open the champagne yet.
You must make sure everyone knows you -and only you - own it.
These measures will ensure that everyone is aware that you now own the property. And further that you are occupying it.
Remember ROP land is owned by those who occupy it over time.
In Panama, maintaining the property is considered one way to prove you are "occupying" the land.
If it is a nice house that someone would eagerly move into and enjoy, rent it at market value. Don't forget to get a signed and notarized rental agreement.
If it is a house that needs a major remodel, get a renter as caretaker. That is, rent the house for a nominal fee. It is a win-win situation since the tenant has a free or cheap place to live and you have a caretaker at no cost. We tell our "renters" not to pay the rent. It is free.
Make sure you sign and notarize a rental agreement with them. We make the rent a nominal amount like $50 a month. In the agreement, require the tenant to pay any utilities and other tenant-related bills.
We have never had a problem with a renter not leaving when we ask. However, putting a rental amount in the contract allows you to get enforcement from the Ministry of Housing. If necessary, you can tell the agency that the tenants have not been paying the rent cited in the contract. It can be hard to evict someone otherwise.
Click for a full explaination of ROP property in Panama
We created a titling guide, "How To Title ROP Panama Real Estate" to help you.
If you are still looking for your perfect Panama property, we invite you to explore our listings.
