OUR RETIRED ADVENTURE
qUEREMOS VIVIR AL SOL
KSha
Costa Rica is amazing! Beauty abounds.
Panama is "home" for now. Loving life!
South America is next! Columbia here we come.
Costa Rica is amazing! Beauty abounds.
Panama is "home" for now. Loving life!
South America is next! Columbia here we come.
I needed three days of rest after the workout of climbing the hills on Saboga Island, so my swim routine had to wait until Monday morning to resume. As Sha was setting up her yoga, I left the house to walk down the two stories of the parking garage to get to the pool and could hear the high tide waves coming ashore. Arriving at the pool I was surprised to not be able to see the sand on the beach because the water level was so close to the complex wall; a few moments later a large wave crashed over the wall at the lower deck of the complex. That’s when I realized the entire deck was lined with a 3 foot high wall of sand bags. Multiple resort employees were watering, shoveling and sweeping the sand that already had accumulated on the lower deck. The high tide, at 6:42 AM, was at a height of 5.4 meters (just shy of 19 feet), luckily, by the time I was done swimming at 7:25 AM, the waves were no longer coming over the lower wall. Coffee/tea and some breakfast allowed more time for the tide to go out as we waited for a safe time to go for our beach walk. Upon returning from Saboga Island, Sha had seen some news of the high tide waves causing devastation in Farallon, a small fishing village we visited on our first trip to Panama when we stayed at Playa Blanca. The pictures we saw online showed houses washed away from the impact of heavy waves during the high tide. We were worried about our stretch of beach as we headed down to go out for our walk. The first two pictures below are older ones for a reference point of what the recent high tide waves did. The next few high tides didn't help things either. The repair work has begun in earnest and probably will be continuing for awhile. In Panama, you can only get a driver's license if you are a resident; which seems fairly logical. We weren't too concerned about that until we found out that you could stay in the country for six months at a time--but only drive with an out of country license for three months; which to me, is not logical... Now you may think, drive carefully and no one will have any reason to check your license. Well, I don't think I have mentioned the fact that at different points on the road and at any hour of the day there may be a group of police personnel conducting random checks of IDs, licenses and sometimes passports. There seems to be no pattern or rhythm to these checkpoints; however, we have been stopped at multiple times and places. As we approach them I get my license out to show the officer and routinely I offer a "buenos dias/tardes/noche", show my ID and get the wave to keep moving through. On three occasions I didn't get the quick pass through. The first time was coming home from Punta Chame after spending the day there visiting friends from Canada. About 10:30 PM we came to a sometimes manned, sometimes not manned structured checkpoint for the area. I offered my ID and was questioned further (we managed to figure out the directive) about my passport and (more difficult to figure out) date of entry stamp on my passport. Well, we had a picture of our passports on our phones, and showed them; but didn't have our date of entry stamp picture. For a tense minute or so I was mentally working overtime to be sure I understood what he said and making sure I didn't (accidently) say sometime stupid or wrong. We figured out that he was telling us to be sure to have that information with us at all times and we thankfully were allowed to continue home. The second time was fairly routine because we had the entry stamp pictures to show when we entered the country, and we were not stopped long. The third time we were asked to show more information; we (maybe just me) actually "felt" more confident that we knew what we were doing. However, the officer threw us both for a loop when after looking at my date of entry, said I could only drive with this license for a month. Now this occurred at the beginning of August and we still had 4 and half months before we planned on leaving the country. That's when we called up our friends Randi and Ed (deliverer of the great games 5 Crowns and Rumikub) in Georgia and planned a get together in September. This way we would have an entry stamp with less than 3 months in Panama before we left in December. Just to be on the safe side, we didn't go into town quite as much prior to our return to the States. Our drive to Panama City and the airport was dramatically less dramatic than our drive to the ferry. We parked our car near the airport and rode the shuttle to arrive when we planned. Our flight to Atlanta was on time, smooth and arrived even a little early. Our arrival was rather late in the evening so we had reserved a car at the Atlanta airport to avoid our friends having to pick us up at 9:30 or 10 PM and driving back the 90 minutes to their house. That all looked good on paper. At least it did until we walked about 2 miles from our gate to Customs, rode a shuttle 30 minutes from the International terminal to the Domestic terminal, and then took the airport train to the rental car area. By this time the day was feeling quite long and we were eager to get the car and be on the road. I want you now to think of a famous Seinfeld episode; one that we later chuckled about after a brief strong bit of profanity once we left the Thritfy Car Rental counter. [Pause your reading for dramatic impact...ok continue.] It went something like, "I understand you have a reservation...but we don't have a car for you." The agent also added; I think to make us feel better, "We are the world's busiest airport you know." Then I added; to make me feel better, "Then you ought to have more cars, don't you think!" When the group after us came away empty handed as well and said "It's the Seinfeld episode!", as Sha had just said as we left the counter right before them; we had to a least crack a smile. Now what!? We checked another company and got the same answer...no cars available. Well we thought, Uber to the rescue. Sha went to work and secured a ride that would charge us $93 for the 90 minute ride to Greensboro...first, I wasn't sure we'd find one--and then wasn't sure how steep the price would be. This felt like we were lucky! It wasn't easy to find where the Rideshare pickup place was at; but we made it with minimal profanity or sweating. Upon exiting the building to the pick up area, a man asked us if we needed a ride. Long story short...no got one...where to...Greensboro...how much ya paying?...$90...I can give you a great deal...how much?...($350)whaaat? no thanks...that guy won't show up...we'll wait...come see me when he doesn't...sure thing, thanks. "Big" Willie, our Uber driver, picked us up 3 minutes later. Now Willie is a good ole southern boy, born and raised just outside of Atlanta and he can talk the ears off a dead donkey. I felt like that donkey in the back seat as we heard about the entirety of his family history and the sorted happenings of parent discipline, children and siblings. I do have to say that it made the drive go by faster; except when he be into a sorted tale and I'd notice he was doing 20 mph under the speed limit...oh well, he did eventually get us to our friends' house. A great but tired reunion, a couple of beers to shake Willie's stories off the brain and we hit the hay. Randi and Ed have a wonderful home where a 2 minute golf cart ride has you at the dock to board their pontoon boat for a cruise on Lake Oconee to look at the sights (nice houses dot the shoreline), fish or just float and enjoy the day or watch the sun set. Girls: Sha is bottom left and Randi is top right. Heading to the dock in the golf cart to go fishing! Randi is our, self-appointed, "fun director" and she's good at it too. She informed us that she had rented a house in the mountains (yep, Georgia's got 'em) and that she had some "fun" excursions for us to vote on once we got there. Georgia is a very interesting and beautiful state with more trees than you can shake a stick at. It has beautiful lakes and rivers, mountains and waterfalls! Traveling to our destination in the Helen Georgia area, we came to realize that there is no direct route to anywhere unless you are on one of the main Interstates of the State. We took more small little backwoods roads--some not paved--and turned back and forth so many times that we all seriously questioned whether the car's GPS was on drugs or working properly. None of us were disappointed when we entered the beautiful 3 bedroom home on a private lake. There's something to be said about being able to step out your backdoor and walk 20 feet on your patio with your fishing pole and cast your line into the water. Some of us are good fishermen (note the one-handed grip to display the beast)... And then some of us are much, much better! (note the need to use two hands.) That was the biggest bass I have ever seen! Our house was just a few miles outside of the town of Helen; a little Alpine village in the Georgia mountains. We just so happened to arrive on the first day of Oktoberfest! Visiting the town, we found shops of all kinds, restaurants along the lazy river that ran through town, tubers floating down the river and music at every other place you passed. The beer was pretty good too! On day two, we set out to follow our fun excursion plan and explore the surrounding area. Our first stop was seeing Tallulah Falls in Tallulah Gorge State Park. Tallulah Gorge is 2 miles long and nearly 1,000 feet deep and has 5 individually named waterfalls. Fun fact: On July 18 1970, Georgia's governor and 30,000 spectators watched Karl Wallenda tightrope walk 1,000 feet across the gorge 750 feet above the bottom. It took him 18 minutes to cross to the other side, adding two headstands along the way. The first one was in honor of soldiers in Vietnam, the second just for fun. The tower used to hold the cable is still present on the trail along the gorge. I was glad to have had the workout in Saboga Island as this trek was mostly uphill along the trail we took; except going down the stairs...but I forget about going downhill because we had to come back up. It was well worth the energy expended to see. On our way to Anna Ruby Falls; our next fun destination, I had to change shirts before we grabbed some lunch. Anna Ruby Falls is near Unicoi State Park and is actually twin waterfalls created by two streams. Both creeks begin on Tray Mountain (Georgia's 6th highest peak); Curtis Creek drops 150 feet and York Creek falls 50 feet. The Falls have a 0.4 mile paved path to view it...doesn't sound too bad does it? I'd like to have a talk with the guy who measured that distance; sure seemed a heck of a lot farther than that as I walked up the hill. AND, nobody said it was a crazy steep paved path! Oh boy...I didn't bring a third shirt. The path followed the stream and was beautiful everywhere you looked; information plaques along the way gave a weary walker local information and a chance to catch their breath. About halfway up the hill, (1.2 miles into the 0.4 mile walk) we had a short sun shower to crank up the humidity for the rest of the climb. Fairing much better than I did on the climb to see the Falls; I'm quite sure, our niece and family (Jennifer, Kevin, Rachel[now a senior at UNC] and John[second year at West Point]) made the climb back in 2011. The A/C was a welcome comfort in the car on the way to grabbing some dinner before going back to the lake house. Rehydrating on the patio with a fishing pole was the order of business as the sun was going down. We had tried and failed the night before to have a campfire on the patio by the lake; due to wet firewood, but we were determined to succeed on our last night. The fire was so peaceful as the stars started to pop out of the moonless sky. The last couple of days by Randi and Ed's place were filled with fishing their lake and playing cribbage. The battle of the sexes started out with the boys dominating--for a very very short time before the girls came from behind to win or simply just crushed us for the remainder of the games during the trip. We all got up early for the drive to Atlanta for our mid-morning flight back to Panama. We are very thankful for the hospitality and the adventures in Georgia. Thank you Randi and Ed for a wonderful visit. Our flight home was uneventful, as was our shuttle pick up to get the car parked at a near by hotel. Our troubles began on the way out of Panama City when, using Waze on my new phone, it gave us bad information and had me turn when I knew I shouldn't but did. We had to drive to find a way to turn around and get back on the road I just exited. Following my own knowledge after that snafu, I ignored and silently cussed out the voice on Waze and got us out of the city and heading home. It wasn't long before we were neck deep in cars on the road going slow or stopping altogether. Waze said it would last 12 minutes...we found out that was a crock of bull when we were barely moving 20 minutes later. As traffic started to back up on the opposite side of the road too, Sha found out on line that there was an overturned truck ahead that was struck by two people on a motorcycle resulting in both cyclists dying. The accident happened closer to Coronado than Panama City, so we knew it would take a long time to get home. Our normally hour and fortyish minute trip lasted over four hours before we arrived in Coronado. We've had a couple of excellent Italian dinners last week at Luna Rossa, which we can walk to and Club Med, which is halfway to town from the house. We also tried our hand at shrimp fettuccine that turned out pretty good for a couple of nonItalians (not pictured). We had an interesting house guest for a short time a few days ago. NGG had to reach out online to her bird expert in Pedsi, Panama, for the proper identification: Roadside Hawk. We let our artistic ability run rampant at our second Sip n Paint on the 20th. Although we don't think an art gallery showing is in our immediate future, we had a great time. We are getting back into our normal routines for our last 3 months in Panama; yoga/swimming, beach walks and floating in the pool. Seems like we have been here a long time...
Oh, before I forget, I think I mentioned that after Panama we would be going south; I now realize that was incorrect. We will actually be going slightly north and east to our new location. Our next destination on our adventure will be Columbia; specifically Cartagena for Christmas and New Year's, and Santa Marta for January into February. We have yet to decide if we will further our stay in Columbia after that or move into our next country of South America. We are not thinking about packing yet as there is much more Panama to enjoy. Another mouthful has erupted from BB and the locals are calling for a cease and desist order from the authorities...so before the law comes down hard on me, I better call it a day. Ciao for now amigos! Pura Vida!
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At our age, birthdays last more than a day...sometimes they last a month. I guess when you're living your dream, every day can feel like your birthday! Well, we finished off Sha's "birthday month" in style and went to Saboga Island in the middle of the Gulf of Panama for 3 days to go whale watching (again). More on that in a bit. Prior to our leaving for the island, August seemed to fly by rather quickly. This is the first year I was caught off guard when I heard school was starting; nope, still don't miss it. I got into a regular morning swim routine while Sha does her yoga. Our regular walks on the beach still turn up the occasional interesting items and are continually being reshaped by the high tide waves. We've had some good storms, with the winds blowing pretty hard and the ocean has tossed a lot of debris onto our beaches on several occasions. Surprised to see so many tree trunks, branches and wood pieces, along with the disturbing plastic bottles and such (no pics of that gunk). Storms out at sea. Sha's mom Arlene's favorite cookie. This poor shack is still hanging in there. Not sure what this big thing is; but looks like a bottom feeder, or sucker fish. We've been back to Mambo Italiano and enjoyed a new kind of caprese salad (left pic below) and found that they changed the way the prepared their lasagna; looks cool, but Sha didn't like it as the taste changed also. The pizza was still excellent, thankfully. We still eat pretty good at home too. We signed up for a Sip n Paint at the local Art Studio on the road into town on the 20th. We had a great time painting 'Boat on a Beach'. [slideshow below] Our "final" birthday activity for birthday month was the trip to Saboga Island on the 29th. For those Survivor watchers, Seasons 7, 8, and 12 were filmed here. We needed to leave the house at 4:30 AM to get to the ferry in Panama City for the 7:30 AM departure. If you were to think of the worst traffic jam you've ever been in, you would have to multiply it by 50 to get close to the traffic jam going into Panama City that we were in; it started jamming up about 50 miles from the city. At many points of the trip we weren't sure we were going to get there before the ferry departed. The ferry left from Flamenco Island, the last of three islands connected by the Amador Causeway, an 8km road just outside the city. We were excited about the 90 minute trip out into the ocean traveling to Saboga Island. As we left the harbor, the view of the city was pretty cool. There were too many ships to count that were waiting to get into the Panama Canal that we saw as we motored away from the harbor. Panama is experiencing a drought which has greatly affected traffic through the Canal. Hundreds of ships were waiting their turn to enter the Canal in the waters outside the city. We both were amazed at how fast the ferry was traveling in open water as we zipped past the huge ships. We arrived at Saboga Island in no time and upon disembarking from the ferry, found our panga; piloted by one of the 713 local residents, waiting at the dock to take us to Villa Noelia. The trip from the dock took us around to the west side of Saboga Island. The scenery and colors of the water are hard to describe, and we spent the 15 minute boat ride admiring the beauty of it all. [slideshow below] We got off the panga right on a white sand beach where we were met by Bayron, who led us across the sand to a bricked pathway leading up the hill into the jungle. You may recall that big steep hill we climbed in Costa Rica; well this path to Villa Noelia was just as steep...thankfully not as high though. I didn't document it because I was working too hard to walk up it and was thankful when I made it to the top. Villa Noelia is on a side of the hill in the middle of the jungle. We could easily see and hear the ocean through the trees; but the hard climb made it seem like we were farther from the beach. Darling, Bayron's mom, was there to greet us and check us in. By the time we had unpacked it felt like it was late afternoon; when in reality it was just midmorning. Sha's pre-trip research had found the island has a 500 year old tree that we wanted to see and also beaches that we wanted to visit. Bayron, who we later learned is guide, luggage carrier, handyman and waiter, packed up some water and off we went to see "the tree". We walked back down the hill to the beach, much easier going down. Crossing the beach we headed back into the trees...and yes, the hills. It wasn't long into the trek that I realized they should have a warning about the terrain you'll be covering, and have you sign a waiver! The path was not paved, the ground was not smooth...and there was moist clay and rocks everywhere. Rough going to say the least. [slideshow below] We walked up hill and down hill and back up for what seemed like hours (maybe it was a half hour). The point where we turned off the path didn't look like a path until you stepped over the fallen tree. About 5 minutes later we arrived at "the tree." [slideshow below] We admired the enormous tree and tried to rest a bit to reenergize, knowing we had to go back. When we departed, I found I needed a sharp focus on where my feet were stepping along the path back. We had talked to Bayron before beginning the trip about also going to Saboga Lodge (rooms, restaurant and pool connected with Villa Noelia) to check out and see. We stopped at a junction of two paths, seemingly for a quick rest, when Bayron indicated this path went to the beach. I was so tired I said no; and then quickly changed my mind as this was one of the things we came here for. Bayron assured us it wasn't far. I wasn't 100% convinced until I saw the water. Boy was I glad I didn't say no. Bayron took his dog to the far end of the beach and we spent the next 45 minutes alone in the teal colored ocean floating and relaxing in the gentle waves. We then headed back into the jungle and made our way to Saboga Lodge; arriving just as my legs were screaming STOP! We went straight to the outdoor shower and the pool. Rested (sort of), we headed for the restaurant for some lunch. Bayron had gone back to Villa Noelia sometime between our pool visit and lunch; so we were on our own going back. How hard could it be? We knew it was only a "10 minute walk" from Villa Noelia and there was really only one path leaving Saboga Lodge. So...follow it and get to the beach; cross beach to paved path, climb (steep) hill to Noelia...right? Well that all sounded good in my head. It was when we both couldn't remember crossing the wooden bridge on the way back that I started to get a bit nervous. I didn't think I missed a turn; so we had to be going the right way...right? We climbed a muddy incline and stopped to rest when Sha saw a Noelia sign pointing toward a path going up a steep hill. A green sign in the jungle, how'd I miss that? The path didn't look like a path but was lined with sticks with orange tape fluttering in the breeze. We asked each other if we remembered the orange markers and we both shook our head no. Do we believe the sign and go up the really steep hill on the path that doesn't look like a path? We decided we trusted the sign and started up, quickly finding out that this was the steepest hill of the day. Half way up I had to stop for the third time wondering if I would have to spend the night there due to exhaustion, when I realized I could see the top. Summoning my last reserves, I fought my way to the top and with sheer delight was looking at the front of Villa Noelia! We spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool, then to the main deck for some cribbage and rehydration. After cards we ordered dinner and Darling cooked us up two wonderful pasta dishes in the kitchen you can see behind Sha in the above pic. We were excited and talking about the full "Blue Moon" (second one in August) coming on the 30th when we realized the sunset painting the western sky. We quickly headed down to the beach to enjoy the spectacle. [slideshow below] Early to bed, early to rise, cause tomorrow is whale watching day! We enjoyed a relaxing morning and Darling fixed us a wonderful scrambled eggs, sausages and fruit breakfast. We talked with the young couple, Alfonso and Gabriela staying here as well who came on the ferry with us about the whale watching we would be soon doing together; and then the four of us went to the beach to wait for our 10 AM pickup. Our panga showed up on time, for Panama, and we boarded the boat at the shoreline. We weren't sure if this was our whale watching boat or if we would transfer to something different at the ferry dock as we headed back to the north side of the island. We had our answer when we kept going straight out to the open ocean. Saboga Island is part of an archipelago in the Gulf of Panama; and after traveling for about 15 minutes, it appeared we were headed straight for one of them. We were confused when our captain steered us toward the white sandy beach because we all were expecting to be looking for whales. Al and Gabby conveyed our concern and translated the response that we could enjoy the island and that the boat would return after completing some other undisclosed task with the boat. The small island is uninhabited; and as the boat puttered away we felt like we were left on a deserted island. As we laughed about being stuck here, we found and shady spot for our things and set out exploring the small beach and rock outcroppings. It wasn't long before we were in the gently lapping turquoise waves offshore. [slideshow below] We had been enjoying floating in the ocean for quite some time when we heard a boat approaching the island and thought it was time to go. Oops; not our boat as we watched it continue on and circle the island. As there was no other boat insight, back in the water we went. It seemed a great deal longer than we expected to be there when the boat returned for us; although none of us minded because of the relaxing beauty of the little island. We boarded our panga and set off to find some whales. Our little boat made this experience so much different than our first adventure. As we traveled into open waters, we all were scanning the surface ahead and to the sides of our boat (this time we had 2 extra sets of eyes looking). Just I was beginning to wonder if we would have any luck at sighting the giant sea creatures, the captain cried out pointing out to the left of the boat! Sha was quick enough to see the fin as it crested the surface; but I missed it! That started it rolling. Another difference that we noted was we were able to see the blow spray of the surfacing whales that gave everyone a chance to see them no matter who spotted them. We also saw whale tails as they dove back down into the depths! I caught one in a pic (a bit blurry), and Gabby caught one in a short video!! NGG captured the first two pics. We were pretty giddy with our new sightings and experience as we continued to search. Counting, we reckoned we saw about a dozen whales as we encountered a lull in our sightings. Continuing to search; but thinking we might be done seeing whales, we saw the sight of a lifetime. Straight in front of the boat, a couple of hundred yards away, a whale jumped right out of the ocean! Three fourths of its body was out of the water! We saw its ribbed white belly and fins as it twisted before hitting the water with a tremendous splash. I'm getting goosebumps remembering it as I write this. What a sight; wow! That ended up being the last whale we saw that day. As we headed for home, we motored by Contadora, another populated island near Saboga. More developed and populated than Saboga, the east side of the island had some beautiful beach residences and resorts. After passing by Contadora we were back to the northeast edge of Saboga and around to Villa Noelia on the west side. The below pic is what we believe is Saboga town, which we didn't get a chance to visit as it was an hour's trek through the jungle to get to from our villa. We disembarked from the panga on our home beach satisfied and happy whale watchers. After conquering "the hill" to Noelia, we spent the rest of the afternoon in our pool with Al and Gabby. Darling, again prepared us a great dinner with Sha having a garbanzo bean salad and I had seafood fettuccine. We didn't have to wait long after dinner before the full moon was out. The ferry was scheduled to leave at 3:45 PM on our last day on the island, so we planned to go out on the resort's kayaks and paddle boards with Al and Gabby after breakfast. Always up for an adventure...maybe should have passed this one time. Bayron, apparently in need of another title, became the kayak and paddle board transporter as our equipment was at Saboga Lodge, and he had to bring them to us. It was a little windier than the previous two days and the waves were sneaky strong as we attempted to launch at water's edge. Al and I helped launch Sha on her way with minimal problems. As I attempted to get into my kayak I immediately found myself in the water with my overturned kayak banging into me from the waves hitting it. With extreme difficulty, I emptied the water out of it, and with Al's help set off afloat in the ocean. The ocean was rougher than any of us thought or were prepared for. As I watched Gabby's difficult launch and Al get afloat and end up in the rocks; I knew it was time to go back in. As Sha came back to shore, we were all happy to be out of the water. We decided to explore our home beach from the safety of the sand and check out the interesting rock layers at the top of the beach. Our transport to the ferry this time, we found out, was to be by "car" instead of the panga. Another of the local residents picked us up at the Villa and took us through the jungle roads to the ferry dock. On the ferry ride back we must have been really flying because it got us to the harbor ahead of schedule. As we let the A/C cool the car off before we left for home I was still marveling at the ships in the waters outside of the city. It was apparent, as we drove off of the Causeway, that not everybody had as great a last three days as we did. We experienced the evening version of the traffic jam from the netherworld on our way home, but...we eventually made it.
Not sure what I'm going to do next year to top this birthday month. I think I've said a mouthful in this edition of the KSha adventure, hope you enjoyed it. BTW; we've booked our next adventure for the first two months after we leave Panama...we're moving south. More to come later. Stay safe all! Pura Vida!! |
Kevin & Sharon SeibelBeginning our next big adventure! Archives
December 2023
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