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.
Our last night in Panama City we had a "fancy" dinner date at the 7th floor restaurant Azahar. Exiting the elevator, we were faced with only one way to go; into a flower shop. Luckily before I looked stupid, a waiter opened the door in the back of the flower shop and invited us in. Our outdoor seating had us on the balcony, overlooking the city skyline. The food was even better than our view. Our bread came in a mini dresser with drawers; and the butter was pizza flavored! A bottle of wine and some chocolate finished off a fabulous dinner. November 23 was our travel day, and we waited in the lobby to be picked up and taken to our rental car. After some worrying and a little confusion (when no one came for us), we found out our car was being delivered to the hotel. This ended up being quite convenient as we checked out and signed for the car in the parking lot outside the hotel door, and drove away. Locking our new destination into the Waze app, we heard the Wise Waze Woman (heretofore known as WWW), expertly navigate us out of the city and on our way to Playa Caracol and the Punta Chame District. The majority of our trek was to be on National Highway 1; but WWW soon initiated a change in course as traffic and construction delays awaited us if we continued on Hwy 1. Our alternative route immediately appealed to both Sha and I as we took a sharp turn onto a two-lane asphalt road that went uphill from the start. I found myself saying, "We're still going up.", for over a half an hour as we drove along the winding road. Near (what we thought was) the top of the climb, we happened upon a lookout area that we stopped at. As we drove on, we needed 15 more minutes before the road began to decline. The descent was just as interesting-maybe slightly more harrowing, as we twisted and turned our way down the mountain. Houses would seemingly pop out of nowhere (enviable views, but isolated from "civilization") as we descended and then we drove through small communities of houses as we neared the bottom. WWW reunited us with Hwy 1 for a short stint and she then found our turnoff to Playa Caracol. Our Costa Rica research had touted the dangers of potholes in the roads throughout the country. That was helpful to be wary and a defensive driver while we traveled Costa Rica (the first time). If we would have had this same advice in Panama, it would not have prepared me for the road we took to our condo. This road of 15+ miles had more potholes on it than "Carter has liver pills". I don't think my speed reached over 30 mph (50 kph); although I rarely had time to check my speed as I dodged and weaved back and forth on the road. THE absolute worst road I have ever driven! It was a welcome relief to drive into the complex area of our condo. As we opened our condo door, we were glad to have driven (and survived) that road. After we had unpacked the majority of our worldly possessions (two bins in storage at B&N's AirBnB not included), we hit the beach to investigate our new surroundings. Our complex is part of an area that is still being developed; new buildings are being constructed in and around completed buildings. The property currently has about 3/4 of a mile of shoreline it occupies, with 3 distinct areas: our 2-building complex, a second multi building area and an area solely for residential buildings with private access. Construction is occurring intermixed throughout the property. There is a Surf Shop at the far end of the property. We found out quickly that we are far from any supplies one might need in order to use the nice kitchen we have in our condo. White sand with streakings of black volcanic sand make up our beautiful beach. We enjoyed the walk along the beach to the Surf Shop and had a couple of beers (Coors Light cost $2.14 each) and watched the waves come in. Enjoyed talking and making friends with Eyal, a local surfer. The "store" behind the Surf Shop; which we had high hopes of stocking our refrigerator with its bounty, turned out to have dog food, ketchup and a couple of different sodas. We soon realized we would have to retake the road from hell to get supplies from the area we went through before turning to the shore. The trip to get groceries was WAY worse than our first trip in on it. You may ask how could that be? Well, the sun was going down and it was pouring rain! 'Nuf said! Because I'm still writing, you can assume we both survived the there and back excursion.
We didn't have a turkey in our oven this year for Thanksgiving, but our view was the best we've have on the holiday. We also got to video chat with the South Dakota (and Nebraska) Seibels checking in on their turkey and ham feast as they had the marble games going strong. Speaking of games, we have re-engaged the PCC in Playa Caracol and Sha is currently ahead by a slim one game lead. Our days here so far have been sun-filled and warm, generally mid to high 80's with a gentle breeze by the ocean. We try to start the day walking on the beach, with Sha soloing a few times because my knee flared up after a long walk on the beach after we arrived. We find a chair at the beach for tan line reinforcement and then hit the pool to cool off after lunch. Our investigative options to explore the surrounding area is limited. We are located at the base of the long thin peninsula of Punta Chame, so we took the single road in and went to the end. What we found was way more than we both expected. As you enter the community, street signs mark the intersections and signs direct you to different shops and hotels. Multiple restaurants dot the area and just when you think there is nothing "down there", you find property for sale. One half of the community is based around the fishing industry; many boats were "docked" in the sand during low tide. As we continued our tour, we found a second half that appeared to have larger houses and more fare for the visitor (hotels, residential property for sale and restaurants). We spent a couple of hours slowly driving around the end of the peninsula enjoying the sights. BTW, 2 market/grocery stores are also here! We were very happy as we could buy the butter and cooking oil we forgot at the "big" store down the road from hell!! We plan to return to enjoy several restaurants we drove by and then researched in this interesting community at the tip of the Punta Chame peninsula. Will update upon completion. Until then... Pura Vida!
1 Comment
Lisa
12/2/2022 07:45:24 pm
Wow, all these pictures are amazing! Dare I say Panama is giving CR a run for it's money?!? Love you guys 😘
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