ruthkennedysretirementblog

Playa….beach…Nature 2020 Panama

Mother Nature has been on display for the last several days. The first time we went to Playa Rincon it was calm with a massively large beach area. A couple of days ago we went when it was windy, choppy and the tide was partially in. Almost unrecognizable as the same beach,

What a difference the wind makes. Who would even know the picture above and below are of the same beach.

The blowing sand was pretty, and desert like. Felt like ice pellets when it it your bare legs.

On the windy day even the rocks were not showing their face nearly as much as on a quiet day:)

The last three days when we have been out walking the beaches, even the birds are not wanting to fly away. I have never been able to get as close to the birds on all the prior walks.

We walked for kilometres on this beach….as most of the others. Unlike other times, this time we saw one other couple.

The next two pictures are basically the same spot taken on different days. both are beautiful, but I think the stormy seas are even more so….and powerful.

Yes, Mother Nature is powerful and beautiful. Not a good day to go swimming, perfect for walking.

Life in Panama is good for this retiree.

Cheers

Ruth

2020, Beaches and more, Pedasi

We had not yet been to Playa La Garita. This beach has rocky areas. The day we went it was super windy.

A beautiful day to walk the beach, always being mindful of the waves.

We also went to Punta Mala. Again, beautiful but oh so windy.

The picture above and below are basically taken in the same spot. The one above was taken a couple of weeks ago when the water was calm. It has been windy every day since the new year arrived.

We walked to the end of the spit….breakwater…. It sure makes for a nice calm bay.

This pelican let us get close before flying away.

Lots of fishing boats in this quiet bay. This large, fancy home must have quite a view.

Marie said she was too hot and needed to partially strip…. and yes, posted with permission.

Sometimes you have to do a bit of cleaning and then a bit of shopping.

Sisters.

We had chicken at a local restaurant, the patacones were fresh and hot!

Sometimes in the evening we play games. Daryl said he won….maybe he did and maybe he didn’t, but the game Phase 10 is addictive.

Yes, life is good.

Cheers

Ruth

2020, Going to Church in Pedasi

Sunday morning I went to a “gringo” church with Marie, we walked on the back road to avoid the heavy traffic…..the 3 or 4 cars that would normally pass us.. lol.

It is quite a scenic route, horse and all.

It is only about a 10 minute walk from the house. Even at nine in the morning it was quite hot. Thankfully the church was air conditioned.

The songbook had both Spanish and English.

I believe this picture includes all the ladies attending church on Sunday morning.

And then it was over. Time for the scenic walk home.

Cheers!

Ruth

January 2020, Marie visits Panama

December 30 Daryl and I drove to Panama City, we were picking Marie up the next day. There is a structure being built that has the most interesting siding. Ever time we pass it, it is a little further along. It is a long drive from Pedasi to Panama City, and we only stopped for food.

Christmas is still very much in evidence, this huge Christmas tree on the boardwalk in Panama City, with the changing light colours, was beautiful.

We picked Marie up at 10:30 in the morning, then booted it out of the city to get ahead of the traffic. We will spend time in the city at the end of the trip….only 3 weeks left.

We made it back to Pedasi. New Years Eve and we needed food. Sad to say none of us made it to midnight.

Playing in the fountain.

We ended up at Smiley’s restaurant for food and music. Marie said it was the best rice she had ever eaten!

Some of us had a pretty slow start to the new year.

New Years Day there was a Polar Bear plunge at one of the local beaches, Playa Arenal. There were bags of ice….

We walked the beach, just could not brave that icy water…haha

Next day we went to a different beach, Playa Escondido, thought we might be able to go swimming but no go. Way too rough for me.

What’s a guy supposed to do when you leave your hat at home and you need to protect your head from the blistering sun??

Next morning we did a bit of exploring. We went to Las Tablas, Tonosi, and then Playa Venao for a cold drink before heading home.

I would say somebody is not too impressed with the meat selection.

We kept an eye out for monkeys crossing the road, unfortunately we did not see any.

Playa Venao has a beautiful surfing beach, just not the best waves today. The drinks were great! Daryl would always say a Balboa is best on a hot day. My maracuyá and Marie’s piña colada were good too.

Enjoying life in paradise.

Cheers

Ruth

2019, Living in Pedasi

One of our favourite activities since we have been in Pedasi is walking the beach. The sand is fine and well packed, and seemingly endless. Yesterday we went for a walk and we were the only people, although lots of birds especially pelicans. There was also this little guy.

There are lots of pretty sweet houses here…affordable too! I love the backyard bohio’s….makes outside living quite comfortable in the hot sun. Everything grows so quickly, you have to keep on top of the trimming .

Going to a mall shopping, there are the same stores here as anywhere else…. This mall is very quiet, but in all fairness we were there as soon as it opened on a Wednesday morning.

For such a small town Pedasi has some really great restaurants. This little gem is Casa Bambu, we went there for breakfast, quiet that morning, I have been there when it was quite busy.

We both had the stuffed buckwheat crepes. The orange juice was freshly squeezed, the pineapple marmalade was so good… and the coffee was a taste sensation.

Terry’s is another delightful restaurant. We went there on my birthday.

Carrying on with the food theme, we went to a ‘flea market’. Our only purchase was hot, homemade tamales….hot as in just cooked and also spicy.

Hotel Casa de Campo…just down the street… has a little store. they have good wine, and we bought the best rib eye roast. It was BBQ’d to perfection, tender and juicy. And such a good price for a kg!

I was in desperate need of a hair cut, this “trying to grow it out” was a total failure as it felt like I was wearing a fur collar. A local stylist chopped off about four inches…. felt like freedom all over again. Have to say the straight hair only lasted a half hour. The back is a reminder of the colour in by-gone years:)

I got tired of looking over the top of my reading glasses, and after losing my ‘good’ sunglasses, went for new ones. So… this includes the exam, frames, progressive and transition lenses.

And then there are a few “out and about” pictures. Maybe this is Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”, and my favourite beer ad with the snowmobile.

Daryl and I wish you a Happy New Year with much peace, prosperity, health and happiness in 2020.

Cheers!

Ruth

2019, Christmas in Pedasi

Christmas in Pedasi is celebrated with gusto. By mid December the church and town square was nicely decorated. A large nativity scene was set up on one side of the church. The wise men were outside….and the road was blocked.

There was a Christmas Parade, the information said it was to start at 5 PM. Daryl and I went to the square. It was nowhere near ready!

We spent a couple of hours visiting, then on our way to a restaurant, about 7:30, the parade was just getting going. Now the floats were full of cheer.

I can’t even imagine how hot those kids must have been in the Santa suits… it was around 30C.

After dinner we stood outside the restaurant and watched an incredible display of fireworks.

Christmas Eve the church was full, hot…lots of fans but I was in danger of melting. It was very festive with the changing light colours.

We went to Chitre and there was a gigantic Christmas tree in the mall.

Las Tablas was the same. Even McDonalds had a tree…yes we went there. The picture is too dark, I was taking it into the bright sunlight….and no do overs:)

We had to go into the next town on Christmas Eve. There was a big display set up in front of this grocery store, selling baskets and such, and wrapping gifts. It was a zoo!!

Christmas Day we were invited out for a traditional turkey dinner. It was delicious! Someone said it was started years ago “for orphans”, sure lots of expats here without families. I think there were 40 people attending.

Merry Christmas 2019. Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Cheers

Ruth

2019 Playas….beaches…Pedasi

This time of the year makes me wonder if I am crazy for not being home for Christmas. Sure miss those grandkids.

And then we go for a drive and as I look at the splendour all around I think maybe we are ok. This is just a random view from the car.

We have been to quite a few beaches since coming to Pedasi. Each one is beautiful and somewhat different. For the most part there are good size waves….but not always.

Thought this beach was my favourite…. up there for sure, but maybe no longer number one.

Playa Destiladeros is the first beach we visited, this is where we lost our sunglasses (my first pair of many) and hats. Wild waves.

We went back a couple of days ago and it was much calmer. I love how the road ends where the beach / ocean starts.

Playa Destiladeros goes on forever…I swear. According to my phone we walked 7000 steps, and still beach as far as the eye could see. At some point I had walked far enough….

Daryl was so far ahead I could not tell if he was coming or going. He did come back…lol

The scenery on this same beach changed so much, from wide sandy beach to rocks to large red pillars.

Playa El Toro…Bull Beach… is quite close to town, maybe a couple of kilometres. it is one of the more popular beaches, but a tad rocky. Quite windy when we were there and that kept me out of the water in conjunction with the picture about the crazy currents.

We also went to Playa Playita. During the entire month of November this was the calmest beach. Unfortunately we have no pictures of the beach itself, except one and the color is off.

Arenal is another beach close to town. Lots of fishing boats, also where you can catch a boat to go to Isla Iguana. We still haven’t been there but need to, supposed to be the best place around for snorkelling.

This trip to Playa El Arenal was on a Sunday, lots of families out enjoying the water.

What’s a person supposed to do when they lose their hat, haven’t yet found one that fits and it is blistering hot outside?? Umbrella’s work (it was $4 at the fish market in Panama City when we got caught in the rain).

Playa Venao, I heard it’s the best surfers beach around.

Early on we had been to Playa Escondido and it was quite rough. A couple of days ago we went back and it was absolutely calm.

This sign indicated there is a coral reef quite close to the beach. We went snorkelling. Sure nothing like Roatan last year. Felt really good to be in calm water.

The mask was so tight, I had marks on my face for two days….truth.

After Playa Escondido, on our way home at a fork in the road we turned left, instead of right…doing a bit of exploring. We came to another fantastic beach. There was no signage so no idea what it is called.

There was one other group besides us. Definitely could have gone swimming but we had just finished snorkelling.

The beauty surrounding us is outstanding. I am beyond thankful to have the opportunity, and the health, to be able to enjoy this experience.

There is still so much to do and see.

Cheers

Ruth

2019, Pedasi, Panama Daryl goes fishing

Daryl was up before day light and headed out for a day of fishing with our neighbour and his wife. I have to say nine hours out in the ocean in a small boat without a cover is not my idea of fun so I didn’t go!! But I am loving the pictures… and the fish.

At day light they started from Punta Mala, the water was calm, but I heard it didn’t stay that way all day!

Looks like the vultures and pelicans were waiting for a good catch.

Good bye land.

Something is biting….and it has to be successfully brought in.

Yeah! successfully landed. Although the fish Daryl is holding is not the one being brought in… as Daryl was the official photographer.

Here it is in all its glory.

Chilling and waiting…more like roasting and waiting!!

Time to clean up the mahi mahi and yellow fin tuna, and go home.

Those birds know a good thing when they see it.

By the time Daryl arrived home, I would say there was a little hurting going on. Looks like the sunglasses did their job.

I might not have liked the small boat ocean fishing, but I sure liked the outcome.

My job for the day was to get wasabi and soya sauce and I was successful. We had sashimi for dinner. Unfortunately it was such a great taste sensation, I totally forgot to get a picture.

The next night we had mahi mahi, or dorado, as it is called here. Thankfully our outside stove worked.

With a good glass of wine we were set to go.

Yummmmy

Cheers

Ruth

2019 Flowers around Pedasi

I have about a 7 or 8 minute walk to yoga. The pictures of most of these flowers and shrubs/trees have been taken on this short walk. There are so many shades of green and then the most brilliant splashes of color. Unfortunately I don’t know the plant names, maybe that will be my next project!!

Pretty sure this one is ginger.

I initially thought this lovely white flower was growing out of the newly shorn ‘tree stump fence post’, but there is a plant behind it that has shot up.

This Aloe Vera is sitting on our driveway, Daryl sure used it after getting burnt to a crisp on a fishing trip.

Outside our front door we have this tree with barely any leaves. Then one day it flowered.

This tree is just at the end of our street.

I do believe this hibiscus against the brilliant blue sky is my favourite. We have lots in our yard.

There are so many beautiful flowering plants and fruit trees providing splashes of color throughout the shades of green….loving it. And if you are able to identify, please let me know.

Cheers

Ruth

2019, Food and other interesting little tidbits Pedasi, Panama

We found the cutest little juice bar…. I had my first green drink since arriving in Pedasi. Daryl had a papaya smoothie. And what did we talk about, the absolute best blender for making smoothies is a Vitamix. It did prompt us to go out and buy a blender….although not a Vitamix it works like a charm.

The lady who owns the juice bar is also my yoga instructor. She is the gal who brought changa to yoga for breakfast.

Shopping in Pedasi is not bad, we can get most things we need in one of the four grocery stores in town, or the Friday morning market.

The bacon slices are huge, one slice plenty for breakfast…or dinner….for one.

The fruit and apple cider we can get locally, the hydrophonic lettuce and smoked meat came from the nearest ‘bigger’ town. The lemons are from our back yard. There is also trucks driving around selling their wares, this one has large shrimp, for $3 a pound. We enjoyed them, both grilled and sautéed with garlic and ginger.

Our quest to learn Spanish continues. This year we are taking lessons with just us and the instructor…and then we come home and have to do homework. The top line on the board….how to order at a meat counter.

I know it is a little weird showing cemeteries, but every one we have seen….and there are many…. are beautifully maintained.

I have seen only one lawnmower in the Pedasi area, whipper snippers and machetes seem to be the tools of choice.

When this guy was finished all of the greenery was gone, only the “tree stump fence posts” were left.

The world’s tiniest front end loader…ok, so maybe a slight exaggeration. It was neat watching it drive in front of our place.

Wet mold on a driveway is as slippery as sheet ice… I tried it out, went down hard. Amazing what a pressure hose can do!

We heard the little town of El Paraiso had the best smoked meat… at a fonda, a restaurant selling typical Panamian food. With great difficulty we found it but they were all out of smoked meat. We did get pastelitos de maíz nuevo…yummy deep fried new corn patties.

The friendly little parrot was the only customer in the restaurant.

It sure gets hot around here. With the humidity it feels even hotter. We keep hearing dry season is coming, temperatures will remain high but there will be a nice breeze.

Sure is an interesting little town. When we stopped looking for touristy things, and started to live our day to day life, we found so much to do.

Cheers

Ruth