To the Mountains we go

One weekend we thought we could try a change of scenery, and decided to explore the nearby mountain town, El Valle. The town itself wasn't much to write home about, very touristy, but the scenery leading up to there was pretty. This post is just for some pictures from the trip.

The air was balmy, not as hot and humid as down by the sea-level. It was quite possible to drive with the windows open, which we had to do since the car overheated going up and down the mountain roads.

Chuck likes the mountains, whereas I prefer the ocean, but we reached a compromise and will look for a little finca (farm) up in the mountains too, where we can grow apples and berries we can't grow down in the tropical zone.

This last picture should show the ocean shimmering far in the background...

Congratulations to the new President of Panama

Last night, there was a general election in Panama and a new President was chosen for the country. The voter turnout is usually 70 - 80 %, which means that most of those who can do vote.

The banners and ads were out in full force at least 3 months before the election, when we moved here in February.

On the Saturday, before Sunday's election, stores stopped selling alcohol at noon, and restaurants stopped serving it until the election was over. The stores must've been busy before the noon deadline... On election day, the buses were free, and there were no tolls collected on the roads. 

There are 3 major parties in Panama, and none of the parties have been in power more than 1 term in a row since Noriega. It is perceived that Panamanians don't want any party to rule beyond 1 term... or there is a danger of dictatorship (somehow I'm reminded of Nicaragua, go figure.)

So it came to be that a center-rightist Juan Carlos Varela was elected President by a 7% margin. 

Jose Domingo Arias, despite being backed by the incumbent President, spending lots of money, and having the president's wife as the vice-presidential -candidate, lost.

In general, it's not expected that a lot will change with the new president, and why would it? Things are going well for Panama, with the growing economy.  However, in the local congress, the new president-elect's party has only a minority of representatives. This means that he must seek to cooperate with the 3rd party, in order to get anything through the congress. He cab't go to Arias's party, because being the former vice president, and later falling out with the president doesn't grant him a warm welcome there...

Our first trip to the Caribbean Panama

Last weekend we made our first reconnaissance trip to the Caribbean side of Panama. Panama has two coastlines; one on the Pacific side (where we live now), and one on the Atlantic side. The distance between the 2 coasts is 50 miles at its shortest. So we headed off towards Colón on Corredor Norte. Driving in the shadows of the jungle made us happy it was daytime, especially with the car's tinted windows.

Colón is the biggest city in the Caribbean side of Panama. It's got a big port, and it's a hub for commerce. They have tried to get rid of its seedy reputation by adding tax-free incentive zones and a huge tax-free shopping area. We didn't go there, but approaching Colón we could see all the different ads for the stores. (many pics here, but not all...)

Our intention was to drive around Colón, but with our less than accurate GPS, we ended up driving right into it. Luckily we were able to skim through the outskirts of the city, and not into the inner city that all guide books and forums warn you about. We did, however, notice how run-down everything was, and by the looks of all, I was glad it was daytime.

Finally, getting past of Colón, we continued our journey east, with the intention of reaching the town of La Guaira with its beautiful beaches. On the way there we stopped to enjoy the scenery here and there. The ocean breeze was warm and refreshing, and we started liking the coast very much...

The Easter weekend (Semana Santa) is one of the biggest holidays in the Latin America, and all the beaches were packed, like the small town of Portobelo, we drove through on our way. 

There's also an ancient fortress right as you drive into Portobelo, where you can still see the cannons lined up. The area was very popular with the pirates, and it's said that some of them might even found there last resting place in the town.

As we continued on our way, we were flanked by the palm trees and crystal waters of the Atlantic on one side, and the rolling hills of the inland on the other. 

When we got to our destination, we found that there were so many people packed in the beach that we couldn't even find a parking spot. With one last look, we decided to head back home and try again another time. I did manage to snag a few pictures of Isla Grande tho, a very popular holiday destination for many Panamanians with it's beautiful white sandy beaches.

On our way back we saw an interesting looking "Castle" on top of a hill. El Castillo is apparently a hotel, and its commanding presence overlooking the sea and the road made it intriguing. Like a toy castle.

Also looked like the CIA had a branch here. The Caribbean way.

So, we never got to splash around in the water, but we felt strongly that the Caribbean side was where we wanted to set up our place at. They seemed to have wi-fi in many places, so it wasn't as technologically challenged as we first thought either. We'll be back!

Life is a Beach

On Sunday we packed up the exuberant Kaleb with us in the car, and headed off to Playa Santa Clara, to check out the beach about an hour away. Kaleb was so happy not to be left behind, home alone, which usually happens.

Here are some pictures of the beach. (You can click to enlarge them.)

And finally it was time to jump in!

 Then it was time to head home. I have to say, I loved it, and so did Kaleb. We didn't have our ears and noses full salt water, didn't have to gag every other second to purge the water out of our breath. I didn't have to hold on to my bikinis for fear of them falling off at the waves. And it didn't hurt that the water was nice and balmy. Yes, I think I'm going to love it here!

Glimpses of Panama City

We've had to drive to Panama City quite a few times, mostly when buying our car. The traffic there is crazy, I'm so happy Chuck is doing all the driving. Here are some pictures of the city that the locals just call Panama. (It was a little confusing at first.) Here are pictures of the skyscrapers by the ocean (no ocean pics tho...)

Our attorney's office was in one of these buildings, and we were in awe, having to first introduce our business to the front desk to get a "ticket" to go in through the gates (like subways). Then we had to take the elevator up to the particular floor. Believe it or not, we needed assistance to figure it out. Apparently you pressed the button to call for the elevator by choosing the floor you wanted to go to. The number it then showed on the display was the number of the elevator you had to go to, and not the floor number...

This house (above) I thought had a pretty look: there were flowers hanging from the balconies and a cute rooftop garden also. 

And of course there is a nice-looking church in town too. (you can click the pictures to make them bigger)

These are pictures from the old town Casco Viejo.

And here, just one example of the traffic in Panama. This is actually a 2-lane road: 1 lane each direction. Our car is in the middle lane, the only official lane.