April 23 to 29- Last Week in Panama

The last week of our time in the paradise of Cerro Azul was here.

Because at the start of the week the mornings were sunny we did our favorite thing- hiking. We again did the trail up to the lookout platform but this time we walked right from home rather than drive to the trailhead. This added another 1+Km each way but we needed the exercise.

And when we got half way up we decided to try the other direction, instead of to Vistamares we went to Atalaya- we had no idea and still don't what this was.

The trail started as a combination of up and down but once we got to the sign

it was all downhill. And we knew, what we walk down we MUST walk back up.

So brave souls that we were, we turned and went back.

The best thing that happened though is the finally we saw a critter. And better yet I actually got a photo.

Right in the middle of the path we were following, there it was.

Maybe 4' long and only a cousin to our common garter snake.

We were pretty elated- finally a critter plus I got it on camera.

The next day we took another hike but this time along the subdivision streets. We've done that many times before but always find new roads to explore and houses to check out. This one had a pretty lookout room on top with a terrific view.

And another with another amazing view.

And for the second time in a row we met yet another snake -this time crawling right across the road. He was off to the side before I finally got my camera out.

Mid week we went back to Panama City to pick up our friend Kathy who was here from Canada on business and staying at a new hotel on Playa Bonita which is on the far west side of the city. We wanted to show her a couple of our favorite places.

First we drove to the Amador Causeway and walked around the marina.

We then took a taxi to Casco Viejo- no way was I driving there. We did some walking around, bought some Panama hats ( which we all now know are made in Ecuador) and did some sight seeing in this picturesque old part of town.

We had a couple of cervazas and lunch while there.

The city views in the background are pretty spectacular from this location.

Our last week here it rained at least part of every day. And it was so foggy! But it seemed that this was only true on the mountain- our friend informed us that the city was sunny. Damm that early rainy season- wasn't due until June.

We got a couple more hikes in and saw yet more critters.

This interesting lizard- almost looks like a Jesus Lizard that run on top of the water. This one was right on the road.

And some neighbourhood domesticated critters

On our last Saturday we drove back into the city. We spent some time in the downtown mall called Multicentro.

Very modern and large

And had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe

April 22- Our First Anniversary

This is the first anniversary of the most incredible year of our lives! One year ago today we finally got up the nerve ( LOL) to quit our  well paying jobs and retire for ever, leave a place ( Arizona) where we really enjoyed living and embark on our travels. And what a year it has been!

We've seen such beautiful places- New Orleans, Louisiana; Cortina, Venezia & Firenza, Italy; Trogir & Split, Croatia; Cuenca & the Pacific coast, Ecuador; Cerro Azul & Isla Grande, Panama..... I could go on for ever. So much 'eye candy' my head is spinning!

Most important of all, the wonderful people we've met and the new friends we have made... the world is truly an incredible place and Uwe & I are very very blessed.

And the beat goes on ..............................................

April 14- 21- Week 5 in Panama

For something different to do we took a drive and checked out  Costa del Este, a kinda suburb east of Panama City. Costa del Este is famous for many upscale high rise condos and has a beautiful road running along the ocean shoreline.

Because it was Sunday ,we assumed, the road was totally deserted. We parked our car and took a walk along the ocean front taking lots of pictures of some pretty incredible highrises that were way beyond our budget.

We found a Papa John's where we had a couple of beers and a pizza for lunch. Take a look at the pictures of this road- wide street, palm trees, red tile roofs, gated subdivision
- sure looks like our old home Chandler, Arizona. It really is a small world- the more we travel the more we realize this.

On Monday it was back to nature  with another hike in Cerro Azul on the 'Jurassic Park' trail, this time starting from the river and walking towards the trailhead we had departed from last time.

Each time we have hiked it has been eerily quiet, rarely bird sounds, never any critters even though we stand still and look around often. I'm assuming they are all watching us stroll past hidden away.

After lunch we decided to take a swim in one of the many natural pools along the river that we had discovered on one of our previous hikes.  We wore our bathing suits. packed our towels and parked our car along the river. We found a likely spot within a ten minute walk along the hiking trail.

The water was not cold at all and totally clear. Since I was in charge of the camera there are no pictures of me in the water but trust me, I swam across the pool and then back so I could take pictures of Uwe under the little water fall.

Even though it is not yet rainy season, we had 2 days of rain this week. On Tuesday it rained all day and we had another quiet reading day- thank god for my kindle- and on Thursday, after our morning 2 hour hike, it rained hard all afternoon.

After those two days I hate to think how rainy season would be- six months of rain, June to December. Obviously not for me.

I've tried to take some pictures of some of our residents animals. Every evening a couple of toads come to our closed  window door to take advantage of all the bugs that are attracted by our light.

We also have many hummingbirds not only at our feeder but at the many wild flowers.

One of the more interested birds that hang around here is a kind of kite, very beautiful.

We've had many a wonderful cocktail hour sitting on the deck and watching the baseball games that Uwe gets on his MLB package on the Ipad or computer.

April 11-13- Visit to Isla Grande on Panama's Carribean coast

We decided during our 4th week in Panama to spend a couple of days at a resort on the island of 'Isla Grande' on the Carribean side of Panama.

Those of you who have checked out the geography of Panama or are familiar with it, know that the country of Panama runs east and west with the Pacific ocean to the south and the Carribean Sea to the north. Both our previous visits and this one so far had been around Panama City which lies on the Pacific side so it was high time that we checked out the other side.

First let it be known that Uwe and I rarely get lost , nor do we use GPS. We left around 10AM armed with our map of Panama and our hand-drawn map curtesy of our neighbour Paul. The first part out of the city past MetroMall where we had been twice before was no problem. We missed the first turnoff - we had assumed some kind of sign for Corridor Nord or Colon, NOT- so used one of the many 'retornos' ( Uturn  ) and got back on track. We finally got unto the Corridor Nord- nice 4 lane plus highway around north perimeter of Panama City. We were on the lookout for signs to the city of Colon and took the first exit with Colon on it- wrong again! Back ontu the highway and then hit a half hour wait at the second toll booth ( there are 4 all together along our route). Seems that in spite of the traffic only 3 booths were open so there we waited.
Once past the toll, we flew by our exit to Colon- no warning, just the Colon sign on the exit. Are you counting- we are now at 3 mistakes!

Finally we got on the highway north with 50 KM to go to the city of Colon which is shortly after we turn off towards the village of Portobelo. The highway was great, no traffic and quite scenic- rolling hills.

We did manage to find the turn towards Portobelo in spite of the Portobelo sign being twisted and not visible- Paul's map showed a McDonald's and  Supermercado. This road was only a 2 lane and again no signs! At the next village we missed yet another turn off and again no sign. After going down the wrong road for 5 minutes and ending up in a local subdivision, we figured out our mistake and backtracked. Finally, finally we were going the right way. After 4 errors we were headed towards Isla Grande.

We stopped at this very nice restaurant for lunch on the outskirts of Portobelo.

And had a necessary cervaza after our ordeal- LOL

The road from here on was very pretty hugging the sea shore.

We came to the resort parking lot, parked our car and went to the beach to wait for our boat which was to take us to the resort.

Here is our driver taking us on a pretty small boat.

After an approximate 10 minute boat ride to the island, we arrived at Banana's Resort

http://www.bananasresort.com/bananasingles/pag/bienvenidos_ing.html

our home for the next 2 days.

The pool and main reception/dining room

And the beautiful beach

Besides snorkling, this was my favorite activity for the day.

The next day we took a walk to the little village on the other side of the island. The path was made of concrete steps going up to the top and middle of island and back down the other side. Quite a strenous 20 minutes- are we getting in shape or what!

The way up leaving from our resort

And resting at the top

The village on the other side was very poor but very scenic

With the most incredible clear beaches

We had a beer in a little bar called Pupy's ( and met Pupy who looked a bit like a rasta man!)  where Bob marley music was played all day.

We spent the rest of the day hanging around our resort beaches, snorkling, and yes, laying in my favorite hammock enjoying the incredible 'eye candy'.

And having the odd cervaza or two