March 2012
Music Starts Soft & Simple - Then Builds As Night DescendsIt also unexpectedly and unusually rained that night.
We actually went back the next day so my older daughter could go on some rides.
We had only made it to the bumper cars when the sky opened on us.
It only costs 75 cents to come on Sunday, so it was an easy decision.
Plus on our yearly trip to the Fair we like to make it relaxing by staying in a hotel.
By leaving earlier, we got some more relaxing hotel time.
When we first started going to the fair, we would drive to David.
(It is an hour to an hour and a half drive from Puerto Armuelles to David Panama.)
Do our errands and then go to Fair in the cooler part of the day.
That scenario involved us driving home late and in the dark - and all of us very weary.
Now we rent a hotel room.
We get into David, do errands in a leisurely manner, enjoy the hotel amenities. Then go to the fair in the cool of the evening.
But instead of driving the hour home exhausted. We go to our hotel room. Get a good night sleep and then a relaxing morning before heading home to Puerto Armuelles.
This is the first time we stayed in the Gran National Hotel. It was very enjoyable.
I was a bit dubious because of the mixed reviews of the Gran National in Trip Advisor.
Turns out it was perfect for us.
The Gran National had a variety of places to hang out. The kids enjoyed the pool, the exercise room, and the fish aquarium in the lobby. There were a number of places to eat in the hotel.
The breakfast buffet (included in the price) was a big hit with all of us.
I had wanted to stay at the Ciudad de David Hotel. But it was full.
We visited it the next day. I am glad we stayed at the Gran National.
The Ciudad de David Hotel looked alittle too stiff and "perfect" for us.
The Gran National is more of an old school sprawling hotel. Lots of people rave about the Ciudad de David Hotel though. At least according to Trip Advisor.
Update: We have since stayed at the Ciudad de David Hotel. We liked it alot. Not only is the customer service refreshingly attentive, but they had an excellent breakfast as well. I do still like the more relaxed hang out aspect (esp. by the pool) of Gran National better, but the Ciudad de David is a provides a superior hotel experience.
Oh, the Fair. The Fair was fun as well.
The David Fair is very much an Agricultural/Cowboy event. We always start by seeing the animals. Lots and Lots of cows! Big, Small and HUGE!
Horses are a focal point. Horses are judged, there are rodeos, pony rides, and lots of cowboy hats.
Then we see the plants.There are displays of produce and plants. Some are for sale and some are planted in displays.
It is a great place to buy plants for your garden.
Actually it is a great place to buy handcrafted furniture, toys, and more.
They sell items at the fair I have not seen for anywhere else.
There is alittle "zoo" of a variety of local animals and birds on display. You can see them for 50 cents more. It is interesting to see the animals and the birds. If you have strong feelings about the caging of animals, you may want to skip it.
Then of course there are the rides, cotton candy, and food venders. There is lot of music too. Loud music. But we are usually gone by time the music starts.
In short, the fair is fun.
Maybe if I didn't have children, I wouldn't go. But I am always happy I went.
According to the US News and World Report article:
When choosing a place to spend your retirement years, the cost of living is important. But it is only one consideration. The ideal retirement spot is a place where you can live a rich life filled with friends, travel, discovery, physical and intellectual distractions, and opportunities for growth. A super-low cost of living is great, but more important is the quality of life your retirement budget is buying you.
Many of the best options for enjoying an enormously enriched retirement lifestyle on even a very modest budget can be found overseas. Here are the world’s 18 top retirement havens, where an interesting, adventure-filled lifestyle is available for a better-than-reasonable cost.
1. Panama. Panama is the world's top retirement haven. Panama City no longer qualifies as cheap, but other spots in this country certainly do. Panama continues to offer the world's gold standard program of special benefits for retirees. The currency is the U.S. dollar, so there is no exchange rate risk if your retirement savings and income is in dollars. The climate in Panama City and on the coasts is tropical, hot, and humid. However, the climate in the highlands can be temperate and tempting. Panama is the hub of the Americas, meaning it's easily accessible from anywhere in North and South America and Europe.
Yes, most of the country is cheaper than in Panama City.
Where we live in Puerto Armuelles it is definitely less expensive.
One must be careful when choosing a restaurant in Panama City.
We went to a great Indian restaurant in Panama City. We enjoyed a very tasty and relaxing meal. We didn't even look at the prices when we ordered.
Everything was always so affordable in Panama.
We had got out of the habit of checking the price of things.
When the bill came we wished we had glanced at the prices.
The cost was more than we would have paid in Seattle for a similar restaurant.
Without a doubt it is cooler in the hills than on the coast.
It is not as humid as you would think it would be though.
I grew up in New York and my husband in Washington DC.
It is definately more humid in those places than in Panama.
Summers in DC are hotter, more humid, and MUCH more buggy than they are in Panama.
Okay I have not been everywhere in Panama. But where we live in Puerto Armuelles certainly less humid and buggy.
I agree with everything else the magazine says about Panama.
Mono Feliz is a wonderful, rustic eco-non-resort.
It is located at the very tip of the Punta Burica peninsula, in Panama's Chiriqui Province.
Staying at Mono Feliz is an amazing way to get back to your basic practice of “being”.
You are in a spectacular tropical jungle and at the apparent end of the known world.
Also there is a secret surf spot - actually, more than one.
A Relaxing & Rustic Place To StaySurfing on Punta Burica is very much worth the effort required to get there.
(Mono Feliz is nearly hour and a half drive from Puerto Armuelles, over some pretty rustic dirt roads. Or alternatively, a smoother and pleasant hour long drive on the beach - for most of the drive, but only during low tide.)
I had decided not to bring my surf board to Mono Feliz.
It was the off-season (early March), and the ocean in Puerto Armuelles was about as flat and calm as it is possible for the ocean to be.
Ideal for barefoot waterskiing, I'll bet.
I figured the surf conditions would be the same on Punta Burica as in Puerto Armuelles.
I was wrong.
When we arrived, I was surprised to find quite a bit of wave energy.
Albeit the surf was blown out by the wind.
I spoke to Michael, one of the sons of John (known better as Juancho) and Luzmila, the owners of Mono Feliz.
Michael told me that he and his brothers had been catching good waves lately.
I was surprised to learn that the boys claimed to be able to surf all year long out on the Island (Isla Burica).
Isla Burica is located a few thousand meters off-shore.
Isla Burica is reachable by kayak, surfboard, or in super low tides (-2), one can walk to the island.
At breakfast the first morning, Michael mentioned that they had surfboards for rent.
He invited me to join him for a trip over to the island to surf.
However, this was a family trip for me, not a surf trip.
Also, I seriously doubted that there could be a decent wave on the island, since the rest of the ocean around Punta Burica was as flat as a lake.
(According to the scientists at Magic Seaweed the swell was 1-1/2 feet)
I said no, I wasn't interested in paddling over to the island.
Michael, however did talk me into the lesser adventure of walking down the path five minutes to the nighbor Sean's “surf camp” .
There was reportedly a pretty decent wave at the surf camp as well.
I decided to join him for a short surf session there.
Though the surf was tiny, I was quite impressed with the form of the mini bay/inlet in the rocks in front of the neighbor's house.
It was obvious, from the clean mini lefts and rights peeling over the rocks at either side of the inlet, that this place must absolutely rock during the big wave months from May to December.
Despite the fact that the waves were small, and the thruster I had rented (a 6-2 with not much foam) made it tough to keep up any board speed, I had a fun time riding the small lefts (we were on the left side of the inlet).
I marveled at this ideal surf spot.
Michael, who is only fifteen or sixteen was also a super amiable surf partner.
As we walked back to Mono Feliz, I kept thinking to myself, “If only I had brought my Von Sol Shadow (my favorite fish) along."
Anyway, I reminded myself, this was a family vacation, and not a surf trip.
The following morning at breakfast, we met a couple of Juancho's and Luzmila's older sons.
Myron, who is about twenty five, and Edgar, twenty three.
Aside from really enjoying the good nature of the guys, I was beginning to be intrigued by tales about the surf on the island.
Myron had been away for a couple of days, and he was really eager to surf the island.
Edgar and Myron were enthusiastic to share the Island surfing experience with me.
So I grabbed my rented board, my sunscreen and followed them to the beach where we jumped into a huge, inflatable kayak.
With the three of us paddling, it took ten minutes or so to get to the island.
We beached the boat, and I followed the guys up a steep trail a short distance, before it flattened out, and quickly descended to the other side of the island, probably no more than two or three hundred meters.
As we climbed down through the trees, you could hear, then see the main peak, rising up, a perfect point, breaking left and right.
We got down to the beach, waded out into the water, and paddled out.
I was barefoot.
(I would recommend surf booties, since the rocks are slick and occasionally sharp.)
Myron and Edgar are natives and have super tough feet.
The paddle out was easy, as we were paddling around beside the main peak, and the surf was small.
However, the guys assured me that when the waves are big, they break further out, and there is a great tide rip to whisk one out to the break.
Myron was the first out, and he had already taken off on a couple of waves.
Just as it looked from shore, the wave consisted of a big, almost hollow drop, and then it quickly faded to nothing.
Still, Myron who was on a 5'-8” thruster was able to get down the line pretty well, including a couple of decent slashbacks.
In fact, Myron, who has been surfing the same peak for five years now, continued to take the drop, as far back as possible on the wave, and rode mostly rights for the next couple of hours.
Edgar also got some nice waves.
I hadn't surfed in months, and was on a borrowed board, but still I managed to make the drop and get a way down the line.
At the time I was only thinking about how much fun I was having.
But now I've decided to leave the Von Sol at home and bring my thruster to surf the island next visit.
If this is what the conditions are like when the Pacific Ocean is flat as a pancake, I could only imagine what the surf would be like when Magic Seaweed's buoy reading was say 6 feet, 7 feet, 8ft....
On the paddle back in the inflatable, Myron explained to me that there were a couple of other breaks that the brothers liked to surf, also reachable in the kayak.
You can also rent a fisherman's boat and go about fifteen minutes “around the corner” to the Costa Rican side of Punta Burica.
A place that is rarely surfed.
A place that always has a breaking giant of a wave, just offshore.
Reportedly, during the big wave months, this monster breaks for nearly a kilometer.
I can't remember which way it breaks.
Probably left, since it's on the Pavones side of the point, and the prevailing wave angle is for lefts.
As you can probably tell, I will definitely be going back to Mono Feliz during the swell season (May-December).
But, frankly, since Mono Feliz is so laid back, and there is so much for the kids to do there, I think we will make it a combined surf vacation/family vacation.
Surf in Panama is great.
It is particularly great to have such a wonderful place to surf so close to our home in Puerto Armuelles Panama.
December 2, 2011
Let It Rain! We Love itThe rainy season is going to be a long one this coming year (2012).
That is what was forecast during the Climate Forum held in Mexico recently.
The culprit: La Nina.
Usually, Novemeber is our rainiest month and then it tapers off until we enter the dry season sometime in February.
The folks at the Climate Forum predict that Panama, and all Central American countries, will experience both intense and moderate rains through December and January.
Even in February there will be intermiten rains.
Basically, the weather experts are asserting that La Nina will cause the dry season to come two months late.
We love the rainy season, so it is good news for us.
However, many areas of Panama have already expereinced too much rain. There have been landsides damaging home and causing harm and in some cases deaths.
We were driving down the Inter-Americana between David and Paso Canas the night the bridge went out.
At times driving down the road was like driving across a strong stream.
We think we went over the bridge only a half an hour before it went out.
Let's home there are no more causalities - structures or lives 0 from the anticipated long rainy season.
Of course, they could be wrong about this new forecast for our Panama weather.
Source for forecast: Don Winner of Panama Guide
Mid flood-tide, beach break, waist to chest high glassy, offshore breeze.
Decent waves for Puerto Armuelles.
I was out on my fish, and I had a bunch of fast little rides; a fine way to start the day.
My favorite surf spot is located a ten minute drive north from the center of town (twelve minutes on a bicycle).
The beach is called Corazon de Jesus. It is a small beach front neighborhood that is becoming popular with expats.
For that reason, it is probably the most surfed beach in town.
Corazon is a beach break, as are most of the local surf spots, with equal numbers of lefts and rights.
The waves there are usually clean, rideable probably about a third of the time in the rainy season.
Right now it is the rainy season.
The ocean in Puerto Armuelles has been know to be flat as a pancake for a solid month during the rainy season.
However, the rainy season is also when we get our south swell.
We have ten days of solid of 3-5 foot “epic” Puerto Armuelles conditions usually once or twice a season.
Guys come from as far away as David (an hour and a half) to catch our ideal surf conditions.
About that time, David's own main break Playa Barqueta is getting pounded by 15 to twenty foot close-out faces. Playa Barqueta has a full-on exposure to a huge Antarctic swell. It is an all -around nasty place to surf with super dangerous currents.
In Puerto Armuelles, under ideal conditions, we are probably riding 8-10 foot faces.
Surfing in Puerto Armuelles (Sarah pictured)The usual situation involves an offshore breeze in the morning that turns to onshore around midday - Except on cloudy days, when the wind never picks up and the surf stays good all day long.
There might be as many as a dozen surfers in town, mostly old gringos, mostly longboarders.
Most of these surfers have lived and surfed in Hawaii, California, or both.
Most of the surfer gringos are busy starting up businesses.
Ah.. Surfing in Puerto (Tegus pictured)(A few of the old guy surfers run the Hooked on Panama fishing lodge. They are often too busy with clients to get out surfing much.
Sometimes, however, they come back to town with fantastic stories about surfing the really big breaks out at the tip of Punta Burica
Punta Burica is about a half hour from town by boat, or an hour and a half by car.
There are witnesses who say the wave out there is huge, hollow, and breaks for almost two kilometers.
For guys who really want to chase big waves from Puerto, you need to drive out of the shadow of Punta Burica.
Punta Burica effectively blocks about eighty percent of the power of the prevailing southwest swell.
Surf in Nearby Pavones1. If you are looking for professional class surf, just hop in your car and drive the two hours to world famous Pavones.
Pavones is on the Costa Rican side of Punta Burica. It hosts some of the most amazing left handed barrels on the planet.
2. You could also charter a local Puerto Armuelles fisherman to run you out to the tip of Punta Burica for the day.
You can decide to stay out on the point with Juancho and Luzmila at Mono Feliz.
In season, you can get into some awsome waves out there.
My wife and daughter travelled all over Panama for three solid months when we first got here in late 2006.
We visited some of the top surf destinations: Santa Catalina in Veraguas Province, Playa Venao and others in Santos Province of the Azuero Peninsula. We have since spent time in Bocas del Toro.
The bottom line was that the best surf destinations had that sort of “cool” surfer vibe that just didn't attract us as a family.
In addition, most of the best surf places were no more than a collection of cabanas, a few restaurants, and lots of bars.
There was no sense of “place” to anywhere we visited.
That is, until we arrived here in Puerto Armuelles.
My wife and I moved from Seattle, Washington.
We did not want to lose the very livable small village lifestyle that Seattle's neighborhoods are so famous for.
Like Seattle, Puerto Armuelles is also composed of distinct and attractive neighborhoods.
Searching for Perfect Family Surf SpotPuerto Armuelles is a highly “liveable” town with an excellent sense of place, and a “good feel” to it.
My decision to become a Puerto Armuelles surfer was a decision to put our family's quality of life ahead of just surfing.
For our family, it was definitely the right decision.
For me, as a surfer, Puerto Armuelles has been a good choice.
P.S. If you are looking for surf conditions in Panama. A good place to look is Magic Seaweed.
November 20, 2011
My 10 year old daughter loves to go barefoot. She hardly ever even wears her flip-flops.
So perhaps it wasn't surprising that she got a cut and it got infected.
I didn't learn about it until I discovered her trying to rid herself of the painful infection with a pin. Yech!
For a couple of days we medicated it at home with antibotic cream and trying to keep it clean. I had thought about going to the doctor about it, but it seemed like it was getting better so I decided not to go.
That was on Friday mid-day.
At about 9pm that day, I noticed an almost healed cut on her big toe was suddenly inflamed and swollen with an under the skin infection.
It had had zero infection at mid-day.
I unintentionally freaked out my excitable daughter. To put the issue and child to bed, we decided not wait to see the doctor in the morning, but to go to the hospital emergeny room.
I packed a bag of things for my 5 and 10 year old to do. I anticipated a long wait. That had always been my experience in the States.
However, it didn't take long at all. There was alot of treking from processing window to processing window though.
We arrived at the emergergency room entrance. Not alot of signage. We wandered about lost for abit then someone kindly directed us to a window outside to declare our desire to see a doctor.
He gave us a fecha (a ticket with a number on it) and said to go knock on the nearby triage door and announce ourselves. We did.
We then waited about 3 minutes in a quiet waiting room. We were called and directed to an examination room.
A doctor quickly examined my daughter. We were handed a form and told to go back to the outside window.
We handed the form to the gentleman at the outside window. He asked for our daughter's information and then typed up another form. He gave us that form and directed us to pay for our visit.
We then treked about 30 yards up a hall and then to the right to another window. We gave the gentleman behind that window the paper work. He gave us a factora (bill) to pay.
Then we went to an adjacent window - the caja - to pay our 50 cents. We got a reciept.
We trekked back to the 1st window and gave him our reciept for payment.
We were told to sit in the waiting room to wait.
Unfortunately, that waiting room had a tv that was louder than we found enjoyable. It didn't seem to bother the other people in the room who were mostly ignoring the tv and quietily chatting.
I settled down to wait, wishing the TV wasn't so loud.
But we only waited until the patient being seen in the examination room exited - about 5 minutes.
We were called into an examination room.
My daughter received great care.
The doctor and nurse explained everythng.
They said the infection was not urgent. The doctor drained the big infection on the bottom of my daughter's foot, dressed both infections. Then to my daughter horror, they gave her an antibotic shot in her butt!
The doctor explained that if we returned with our daughter everyday, they would clean and dress her wounds.
We said thanks but we would do it at home.
Therefore, they gave us prescriptions for the special antiseptic soap, antiseptic spray, and, of course, for antibotics.
If we were willing to get her daily dressings at the hospital we would have only needed the antibotic presscrition. Those daily dressing appointment would cost 50 each as well.
The reason for this very inexpensive visit is because Panama's Social Security pays the difference in the cost.
If we had gone to the doctor, we would have paid $5 for these doctor services.
She was told to keep off her foot for a few days.
But instead we bought 2 sacks of live chickens from the La Ninas who were passing by. The chickens inadvertantly escaped!
So my limping daughter, my husband, and our breakfast guests spent a significant amount of time chasing the chickens around our property.
November 16, 2011
Should Noriega be Sent to Panama?But Noriega may finally serve his sentence for murdering 3 people in Panama during his 6 year military dictatorship.
The United Staes has granted its approval for the extradition of the former Panamanian strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega to Panama.
Noreiga is currently serving a 7 year sentence for money laundering in France. He was sentenced in France in July 2010.
Previously, he served 21 years in the United States for drug trafficking.
Noriega has never served time for the 3 murders he was convicted of during his term as a military dictator of Panama (1983-1989).
An extradition hearing to decide the matter will be held in France on November 23, 2011
The family of one of his victims is trying to block his extradiction. They fear that Noriega will be sentenced to the relative comforts of a house arrest for his murders.
Such a sentence is allowed in Panama due to his advanced age and health condition, as allowed for under Panamanian law.
Noriega is currently 77 years old.
The source of this story is Don Winner at Panama-Guide.com
November 14, 2011
Carrot Law Outlaws Liquor Sales: 3am-9pmAnd being Panama, there is alot of wiggle room in that law.
Prior to the Carrot Law there was no real restrictions on the sale of liquor in bars.
The "carrot law" states that from 3:00 am in the morning until 9:00 am of that same day, bars and discos, barbecues and grills, cantinas, wineries, and such, will have to close their doors.
However, casinos and hotels do not have to close.
I wonder what a business has to do be considered a casino or a hotel?
I bet a heck a lot of bar owners are thinking that too.
In the meantime, expect the noise level to go up on streets after 3 am.
PS. Don Winner of Panama Guide sleuthed out the significance of the name Ley Zanahorias. A reader emailed it to him as follows:
. . .It is basically called like that because in Colombia the "zanahorios" you can translate it as "carrot people" is a urban term used for people who have a healthy lifestyle, do not drink, do not party etc. therefore the law when passed was given that name. I hope this wikepedia page that will explaining it better to you.
Please comment below.
November 15, 2011
Dragon dancing at the circusYes two circuses.
I'm sure neither circus was thrilled.
They faced off from each other in the empty field in front of Pricesmart in David.
The Beijing Circus and Circus Renato.
We went to Circus Renato last year and enjoyed it very much.
Beijing Circus was only in David 1 more week and the Renato is in David until Nov. 25th.
We went to the Beijing Circus.
The ticket vendor at the Beijing Circus assured us the their show was "more professional" than Renato's.
We did enjoy the Beijing Circus; however, it doesn't hold a candle to Renato.
The Beijing circus had acrobats and Tigers - Siberian and, hum... don't know the name, the usual orange stripped Tigers.
For a few dollars you can pay the Beijing Circus to get your photo with this Siberian Tiger. We did.One very cool thing at the Beijing Circus is that you can get your photo taken with a Siberan Tiger at the Beijing Circus.
That would definitely not be allowed in the States
My daughter Skylar and her friend Kia had their photo taken while they were petting the tiger.
They said the tiger's fur was surprisingly coarse and rough.
Last year at Renato we got our picture taken on an elephant.
We will let you know if they do that this year as well.
