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Remember the Guayacan Tree.

Yesterday we went walking on Santa Clara beach. I love it down there. The breeze is cooling and the water feels like warm silk. It is so much nicer than trying to go into the ocean in Canada or even Ontario lakes in July. No goose bumps and blue lips! I really hate to leave the beach but it's important not to get burned and that would be easy to do, being so close to the equator. We limit our time to 60-90 minutes because of the intensity of the sun. Part of our routine is a walk along the ocean's edge to enjoy the sun and air.... our way to exercise. I go one direction and Bob goes the other.

In this edition of the blog, I'm including some beautiful pictures Bob took last week of the Guayacan trees near us. When we saw them, he said we had better get the pictures quickly so we didn't miss the blooms. The next day I was told this saying. I hope I am quoting correctly. "May your sorrows last as long as the blossoms of the Guayacan tree." We didn't know this saying when we took the pictures but glad we hurried.
Our friendly neighbour, a Gregory's Tamarind Monkey, continues to be entertaining, curious and persistent in her attentions. We are still constantly shooing her from the house where she sits on the top of the door and tries to wheedle her way into the room. We are pals anyway (if I have food) and she will jump to my shoulder to see what I have on offer. Her favs are pizza, bananas and K D, yes Kraft Dinner was a big hit. Lately her owners have been away, so we are letting her out and tucking her in at night. Actually she tucks herself in under the covers in her cage but we close the door so she is safe from predators during the night. One time, our neighbour Justin went to uncover Napa's cage in the morning (it's out on the bohio) and found a large possum in the cage with her, so now the cage is locked for her safety.

Last night we saw a dance troupe of children from Rio Hato who perform traditional dances. They performed to a packed house at the XS campground, restaurant and motel here in Santa Clara. The children were wonderful and so cute you could pinch their cheeks all night. After the performance they pass the hat for "propinas" that are used to sustain the group. The owners of the XS etablishment try to help them out as they come from very poor homes.The lady who is their teacher had a fire in her house and some of the costumes were burned along with their CD player. That is a huge loss for these people. The audience pitched in some extra dollars to help with repairs for their practice space and to buy material for new costumes. True to the performers creed, "the show must go on" and a wonderful, spirited and entertaining show was enjoyed by everyone. I even got to dance with two of the charming little boys. Their group name is Orgulla Rio Hato Dancers. I have included the pics I took. The bird pics are from the restaurant also.

Today we went to Playa Blanca and enjoyed that beach. The tide was out and you have to walk really far to get to the water. We haven't been there when the tide is in but will have to see what the difference is. We also went to the big pool and checked on our house (no apparent change from last time). I included some  pics of the beach there and Bob enjoying the big pool.

Recently a former colleague of mine from Canada, Lorraine and her husband Morris were in Panama and stayed at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort. Although we didn't manage to meet up, we spoke several times on the phone and she said that this resort and the area around it were very lovely with many interesting birds, flowers and other wildlife. We have been enjoying the pictures she has posted on Facebook. Gotta go and organize the picture for this edition and figure out what's for dinner.

Until next time, keep reading,
Chris and Bob

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Here Comes Carnival

A view of the Town Centre at Playa Blanca

Well here's a bit of this and that. To follow up from last week, we attended the lunch social at El Paraiso Restaurante on the road to El Valle and enjoyed it a lot. We spent the afternoon on the patio, yakking, eating and of course having a few frosty Panamas. We met two couples, whose company we enjoyed. One couple, Steve and Barb are from the US and Sherry and Ken are from Alberta. We have their numbers, so will give them a call one day soon. The mariachi band was good too, compliments of the restaurant. The organizer of the event, Louise, had 100 RSVPs and 140 showed up. The kitchen was slammed but put out an excellent lunch. Louise first contacted us through a comment on this blog. I followed up with email and found the Playa Community website where I found info on the Mah Jong group, the social functions, which we have started to attend and a lot more. This week we are also going to a business meeting of the social club in Coronado.

 We're pretty busy this week too. Yesterday we were at the dentist for cleanings, $36 each with our "Jubilado discuento" of 20% (Do you like that one Jon?). The dentist, Dr. Atencio, was very friendly and funny and his English was excellent. He lived in Toronto for 5 years and has been back in Panama for 18 months. His practice is in Santiago, about 2.5 hours from here, but he also works at the Clinica San Fernando on weekends. We expected a dental hygenist, so were surpised that in Panama, the dentist does your cleaning also.

The Clinica San Fernando is great because all the staff speak English, there are doctors for routine visits and an emergency room as well as a pharmacy. Normally the clinic is open 24 hours Friday night and Saturday but because of Carnival coming up Mar 4 to 8, they will be open 24 hours everyday until it is over. Those who know say it is a wild party. People stay up and party 24 hours( including the kids).We are advised to stay home and stay off the roads because of the drinking and driving. We have stocked up on groceries and I will forgo my Mah Jong group until it is over. There is no way I could get a bus during that time so we will hunker down. We were in Canada but our neighbour, Justin, said that on New Years Day, our neighbourhood was bumper to bumper traffic and fireworks all night long, so we think it will be the same except for 4 days straight. Can't wait!. A lady I heard of, had to tranquilize her dogs because they barked themselves sick every time fireworks went off.

Yesterday we went over to Playa Blanca in the afternoon to see our house. No body was around so we walked through and had a good look. It's far from being ready. Our sales agent, Farid, called today to say he checked with the contractor. He says best case 6 weeks, worst case 12 weeks, translated to the local dialect, I think that means "Not a hope it will be done before 12 weeks! Anyway, I felt excited to be standing in our house, none the less. We will be able to see a bit of the ocean from our living room window and backyard. After our tour of the building site, we went to the ocean club and enjoyed our membership there. We lounged in the shade and floated in the giant saltwater pool for a couple of hours. Ah bliss. Going back tomorrow. We need a car to get over to Playa Blanca so really want to start looking.

We took the girls for blood tests and grooming today.The bloodwork was fine and they start taking heartworm tablets every month now that they live in a hot climate. While we were in town, we saw that the kids are starting back to school today. Lots of parents with kids in their white shirts and navy skirts or pants. The high schoolers wear light blue shirts. Despite some changes to the education system, Panama still ranks among the world's worst education systems. Because of this problem with the public schools, it would be a terrific opportunity to open a private school. There is a new english language school opening in Coronado in August.That doesn't solve the problem for the average family though, who make very low wages. The country's economy is booming but won't be sustainable until  everyone can get a decent education and qualify for better paying jobs. There is expected to be a real shortage in trained workers for the booming tourist industry, so it will be interesting to see what happens there.

Special treat: Pulled over in a radar trap today, didn't realize we were in a lower speed zone. He didn't come right out with a request for money but did everything but draw us a picture. He said something about how hot it was and how they needed cold drinks. No ticket if you give the cop some money for refreshments. We were pretty slow on the uptake but a guy we met the other day told us the same thing had happened to him. Bob gave him $10 and we avoided a $100 ticket. I guess we have been initiated. Yikes!  Hate to abet that sort of behaviour but the thoughts of going to Panama City, well they have you there. They should be ashamed, especially when their vehicles have the logo same as in Canada, "To Serve and Protect".

The Sea Club Pool at Playa Blanca 

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Hasta luego, mi amigos