Where in the world can you go and your yoga instructor brings freshly made changa for breakfast. It happened in Panama…. Pedasi to be exact.
This was a new taste sensation for me and I loved it. I also got to bring some home so Daryl could have a taste.
The ‘dough’ is made with fresh corn, water and salt. One of the ladies at yoga had an extra bag that she gave me….along with plantain leaves.
The dough was super soft. Initially I tried to roll it out like pie crust. That didn’t work so I put a handful on a plantain leaf and flattened it out.
Then I wrapped it up
And put it in a frying pan
After 7 or 8 minutes I flipped them over.
The first attempt was a little skimpy with the plantain leaves, so I added extra, and back to the frying pan.
Much better.
Almost testing time.
The changa is supposed to be served with Panama cheese…queso panama… but we didn’t have any and it was pouring buckets outside, so we used what we had. Gouda. It was also too late in the day for coffee…so we made do with a different beverage.
Worked for us. The most flavor I could taste was corn…. there was another taste, probably the plantain leaf, but nothing I could identify.
We had heard there is a beautiful beach not far from Pedasi. We drove to the little town of Mirabé and headed down a side road. We took a nicely paved road that ended at the ocean.
We went to Playa El Rincón during the week. We were the only car in the parking lot, and the only people on the beach.
Facing the ocean, to the right was soft, sandy beach as far as the eye could see. To the left it was a little rockier.
And, of course, we provided our own entertainment.
This sign always freaks me out, makes me want to stay out of the ocean.
This little bird…Oyster Catcher…looks like he is surfing:)
In the distance you can see Isla Iguana, where we will go snorkelling, its about a 10 minute boat ride.
Oyster Catcher
Curlew
We walked to ‘the corner’ of the L shape on the beach…la rincón…. absolutely no shiver factor, but quite rocky on the old toes.
Somedays I realize a good camera would be such an asset. However, when you travel with only carry on luggage (love my Away Carry-on with pocket) suitcase, everything has to be small. I might need to get a new phone if this is going to be my primary camera…sure would like a good zoom and a tripod.
This not so little critter….they mostly seem to be around 2 to 3 inches long…. was sitting on the back of a chair when I went outside to wash the table before dinner. And we have a resident cat, we call her Day. Her sister, who visits less frequently, is Night.
They are all different, but seem to have pokey eyes and lots of legs.
This baby was about 3″ long, not sure how Daryl spotted it in the dark.
Praying Mantis
This little lizard (about 9-10 inches long) was running around, then it disappeared down this hole. Shortly afterwards we saw the cat with his paw all the way down the hole….but she came away with nothing….thank goodness.
This little gecko was only about an inch long.
And we have frogs….all sizes and shapes.
There are many butterflies and moths….but they flit around very quickly! This is a Moth Caterpillar being destroyed by the over-sized ants.
This brown moth….maybe a Black Witch Moth….thanks Dave C, was sitting on the wall one night when we were BBQing. Its wing span was about 4 inches.
This butterfly was blue when wings were open, and as below, brown when closed.
And we have so many birds, but way too fast for photographs. A good camera with a zoom would be a big help.
Maybe a yellow Headed Caracara….thanks Dave. It’s a big bird.
This big fella went for a swim in the pool, right besides the ocean.
Can’t really see those two besides the rocks, they have the cutest red beaks.
Scarlet Macaw
There are so many crabs on the beach, again hard to capture as they run into the millions of little holes in the sand.
Those two were “rockin and rollin”, I could not get the 6 second video to upload.
Pretty sure these are Hermit Crabs, they walk side ways and disappear inside their shell if you get too close.
Then we have the big critters
Daryl got to feed the monkey.
This little deer was walking around the beach, not even a wee bit of fear.
The horses were almost in our back yard, only separated by the barb wire fence.
Hard to beleive we have been in Pedesi for a month already. There are not many tourist activities to do, so Daryl and I have started driving down country roads and doing a bit of exploring.
On our first outing we drove to Limon, just a couple of km from Pedasi, and took a side road.
We ended up in Punta Mala. The road ended at the ocean and the views were spectacular.
The humidity was quite obvious as soon as we stepped out of the air conditioned vehicle.
There was one other couple besides us (the gentleman had inadvertently gone for a swim). A fishing boat had just come in with those lovely trout…ok I don’t know what they are, maybe yellow snapper….or yellow jacks…or amber jacks??? But those suckers were big. One of the guys took a lobster out of the white bag, we couldn’t buy as El Capitan was not around to give a price.
The water was very refreshing…even if the beach was a tad rocky.
One might easily be confused and think we were home. Besides grain farming we also passed herds of cows.
The cows sure look different.
The next day we went in the opposite direction to a little town called Pocri. This road started out differently. But, hey, landfill has to go somewhere and the vultures were happy!
We ended up in another beautiful fishing village. Even better there was fish for sale.
They were all cleaned and ready to go.
And so yummy.
We have had torrential rains for the past two days which has curtailed our adventures. Sounds like we are in the transition period between rainy season and summer.
In the summer of 2018 we retired. Our goal was to do a bit of travelling and we have. With absolutely more to come.
We spent the first winter in Roatan. Before we left Calgary at the end of October 2018 I decided to keep a record or our trip…and started a blog.
My attempts at creation have been a labor of love…and frustration. I have to add probably not the greatest quality, but memories for years to come.
So we are now into our second year and I am trying a different blog site…one that I am actually paying money to use.
My hope is this site will be easier to navigate
It is mostly a record of our trips in photos.
Anyone who views this, I sure hope you realize that retirement does not have to be the end of the world. Matter of fact it has been one amazing adventure after another for us.
We went exploring the area around Pedasi, with the goal to end up in Playa Venao, a surf beach 30 km from Pedasi. We ended up driving 160 km through some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable. Lots of rolling hills and a road that went straight up, then straight down.
Yep, you can see the ocean way in the distance
I love the fence posts that are actual growing trees.
Yeah, we are still more than a little crazy!!
It seems like every little town has a square and a church. It was pretty quiet for a Sunday morning.
We took a side road to Isla Caña, hoping we would find a beach. We kind of did…. we found a river and a kind gentleman told us it was a 5 minute boat ride or a 10 minute walk to the beach.
Absolutely no English spoken here.
But an interesting conversation anyway.
The next little side road took us to an incredibly beautiful beach. One family were out enjoying the water.
Be interesting to know what this monument was doing on the beach.
As we were getting close to Playa Venao we could see the sparkling blue ocean in the distance.
It is very common to see a horse….or a cow…tethered to the side of the road.
Although it seems horses are a method of transportation, and not just riding for fun.
Finally arrived at the beach and a cold libation was in order….while we were watching the surfers.
(I
It is hard to take clear pictures when you under a dark roof and bright all around!! Especially when using a phone camera.
And then we went home on a road that has some of the biggest potholes in the history of the world:)
Thankfully the road is being repaired. In the meantime you drive where ever you can to avoid the potholes….on the wrong side, or in the ditch is often the way to go.
Another sweet day in our little bit of paradise.
We did pass a road sign for monkey crossing but missed the picture.
Oh, and I dropped those sunglasses and broke them…on the hunt for another pair. Good thing those only cost $10 when they lasted two weeks.
This little town of Pedasi has around 4000 people. We are fortunate enough to live within walking distance for most of our needs.
This little restaurant is max 5 minutes walk and is owned by a couple that lived in Toronto for many years. Such a small world, one of their daughters is now living in North Battleford, Daryl’s home town.
When you want something good, inexpensive and quick this is the place to go.
They sell sandals too, apparently they are locally made and hand painted. I had to buy them tight and wear to stretch. Amazingly ‘squeaky’, but getting better since wearing in salt water.
After two weeks the sandals are no longer tight and the nail polish is gone!
Recycling is definitely a big thing here. This is outside the school, and below is outside the cultural centre.
Just past Asados, there is a strip mall. It has a clothing store and the car dealership where we rented a car.
Then next to that is a fairly good size grocery store.
The grocery stores here carry absolutely everything, or so it seems.
A sample of meat choices. Have to admit we haven’t tried neither the pigs head nor feet.
The chicken and smoked chops are really good.
There is a market on Friday mornings, but we haven’t been in town on a Friday yet to check it out.
On Independence Day there was a street celebration and parade. Not sure if you can see but there is water from a fire hose being poured over the dancers from above…. keeps you cool!
Electricity has been consistent so far, it frequently goes out for a few minutes. Only once has it gone out for 10 hours straight. But we came prepared. And it really helps to have a gas BBQ. Anyway, we eat all our meals outside; we were really thankful for the Costco lamp that we brought in our carry on luggage.
And then I took some pictures around town.
A church, I also saw a Baptist church, but didn’t get a picture and can’t remember where it was.
The airport, unfortunately, no longer has commercial flights to Panama City. It sure would be handy. Someone told us it was about $500 for a return trip…. not sure if that is per person or for a couple.
Unlike last year when we had to take our garbage a five minute walk to a “casa de basura”….garbage house….here the truck comes by every Tuesday.
Looks like somebody is hand painting garden steps.
What would a public toilet be without it very own chicken!
There is yoga at the cultural centre three times a week….for $10
And for the day you decide town water is a definite no-no, thank goodness there is a pharmacy.
Without seeing a doctor I was able to purchase a weeks supply of Nexium (first time in my life, I might add). Along with probiotics and no more tap water I should be good to go.
We are enjoying having wheels, although our only long trips has been to Panama City twice. There will be more to come for sure.
And it is lovely to have a place to relax after a hard days work:)
Alicia came for a visit, we spent a couple of days in Panama City and did a few touristy things. The walk along the malacon is always fun.
It sure wasn’t a sunny day, but as Daryl says, “no shiver factor”.
This walk is always good….so close to the hotel we stayed in.
And of course we went to Casco Viejo, the old part of the city, as it is wonderful to browse around.
There just happened to be a Picasso display at the Spanish Cultural Centre…quite a treat, sure was not expecting that. Then we did a bit of bargaining in the market….forgot to take a picture.
On the way home we stopped at the fish market.
Food was great.
And you have to keep those chickens under control when they are wandering around the restaurants.
What you can’t see in this picture is Daryl’s prescription Maui Jim sunglasses go flying.
Well a couple of days later they went flying for good as a rogue wave took our belongings. we retrieved everything except two pairs sunglasses and my lovely hat!!
We went to the bio museum, it is really well done. The big white creatures are sloths….guess they have shrunk considerably over the years. And neither Daryl nor I will see those sunglasses ever again!!
Then we went back to Pedasi and visited a few beaches.
This is what you do when you forget your cap.
It was windy, but we did go to one calm beach and thoroughly enjoyed the water.
We got to see a few critters at Playita.
Daryl fed a monkey, the banana brought a whole bunch of monkeys hoping for more food.
There were also several macaws flying around.
Pretty soon it was time to take Alicia back to Panama City.
The cost to park for 20 minutes in the airport parking lot was pretty darn good…. 55 cents.
We had planned to spend a night in Coronado on our way back, but due to torrential rain not being conducive to sight seeing we drove all the way back….well Daryl did all the driving. Yes, the road was totally covered with rushing water.
A late lunch at a fancy restaurant was sweet, by the time we left it was raining again!!
We moved into our house just about a week ago, and it was immaculate! And comfortable. Beautiful both inside and out.
Our backyard living space is used as much as the inside, maybe more. We would probably use it for sleeping if it wasn’t for the bugs.
Our house is literally three minutes walk from the Main Street. Even though we can hear music and traffic, it feels like we are living in the country.
It is a duplex, from the front really doesn’t look like much but oh so sweet. Soon we will have a car to park in the car port.
The back of the house….oh joy, we have a real BBQ. The door to the right is a laundry room/storage shed. My guess why the laundry room is not in the house….sounds like a Mac truck when it is running, ok maybe a sight exaggeration.
The inside meets our needs perfectly too.
The vegetable/fruit truck has come by twice so far. Love going out the front door and getting fresh produce off the back of a truck.
Yeah…we have already done some reorganizing. I am sure there will be more.
But it is the outside bohio…. I would call it a palapa….that is fantistico…. we have already added to and reorganized the furniture. And we haven’t yet tried the stove to see if it works. Soon we will move the BBQ to here…cause it is at least 20 steps away:)
We have a bunch of banana trees in our back yard. Not sure how long they take to ripen, however Daryl googled and it seem they were ready for cutting. There are lots, we sure would like to be able to eat them.
Yep!! same bed. A real sleepy head.
The perfect place for an early morning cup of coffee and a good book.
This post was a bugger to format, hopefully it will get easier.
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