Islas, Wind, and Water

It’s always a good day when it begins with putting on a bathing suit under my exterior outfit. Yesterday I dressed the same way in preparation of a kayak trip with Nina and her friends Kay and Mary from Alaska. Today, I went with Leslie (who has that great house in the Villa section of Las Olas), her sister Kim and 4 year old son Liam, her sister Dina and 7 year old daughter Becca on a boat trip to Isla Gámez. The protected area (Gulf of Chiriqui National Marine Park) is well-known as the archipelago of the Páridas and includes the islands Parida (the greater of all), Paridita, Santa Catalina, Pulgoso, Gámez, Tintorera, Obispo, Obispone, Los Pargos, Ahogado, Icacos, Corral de Piedra, Bolaños, Berraco, Bolañitos, San José, Linarte, Saíno, Sainitos, Iglesia Mayor, Carey Macho and Carey Hembra. The boat was named Mr. Bean (maybe beans made the Panamanian owner rich?) and captained by Tomito. The weather: perfect; Isla Gámez: a lovely white sand beach; the ocean: full of tropical fish. This was my forth trip to Gámez and first time I had seen so many fish there. I was especially lucky and saw a huge (5’ across) spotted eagle ray (no, I did not take the above picture). I was only a few feet away and thought about Steve Irwin and his deadly encounter with sting rays. Cool fish included: Golden Jack, Panama Graysby, Green Jack, Cortez Rainbow Wrasse, Panamic Sergeant Major, Giant Hawkfish, Panamic NIghtsergeant, Spotted Porcupinefish, and King Angelfish (no, I didn’t take that picture either… let me know if you want to contribute to an underwater camera). We left Gámez at exactly the wrong time. As it turns out, the North Wind is at its fiercest between noon and 4:00 p.m. Of course we had to get back, so we took off. At first it was fun, bouncing in the whitecaps. But as the waves broke over the front deck, we all gladly moved to the back of the boat, huddling together like refugees from a foreign war. We had a reprieve when we stopped at Boca Brava to look for howler monkeys (which we found in trees above the water). Glad to return safely to my truck parked in Pedregal, I’ll think twice about boating in the north wind months of January through March.

Pure, Unadulterated Fun! Or Panama Beach Life

My intent is not to make you envious. I just have to share some of the good times I continue to have in Panama. Last Sunday, Chuck and I drove to Sitio Barriles (archaeological site dating back to 734 B.C.) and Parque Internacional La Amistad (a UNESCO World Heritage Site that lies partly in Costa Rica). The gigantic leaf covering my body was along the trail. Comment inserted after I published this blog entry:  John DeLapp from the US Fish and Wildlife Service verified this plant is in the Haloragaceae family, genus Gunnera.  The common name "Poor man's umbrella" seems utterly appropriate.
Last night was John's 70th birthday party, complete with Mariachi band (that's Chuck, not me with the beer next to the horn player), great Panamanian food, fabulous beach neighbors, and some of the best fireworks I have seen. I left before la fiesta was over so I could get an early start on today. So far, I walked Chester about 2 miles on the road in front of my house (I was early enough to see the lovely lights of Conception and a beautiful sunrise). At 7:30 a.m. Nina and I went on a 30-mile bike ride. Along the way, we had a pineapple smoothie while listening to a hog being slaughtered across the street (you had to be there). I returned at noon, got a quick bite and took Chester for a beach walk at low tide (my favorite time on the beach). I walked about 2 miles but he ran closer to 5 miles chasing birds. While still with Chester, I saw John (it was his party) and Elizabeth body-boarding. I returned Chester to the house, grabbed my board and proceeded to body-board with them for the next hour. I left Chester behind for fear he would drown trying to "guard" me from the surf. I just completed my second shower of the day (plus 1 shower for Chester). Sunset is approaching, so now I "have" to go enjoy that. Yes, it's a tough retirement, but someone has to do it!

Las Brisas Del Mar Condo #101 Fire Sale

As a January 1, 2010 present to everyone reading this blog, you are the first to know that my condo has been reduced from $289,500 to $239,000. For more information, go to:
www.choosechiriqui.com and click at the top on "Playa La Barqueta".

Now is a good time to buy before House Hunters International (hgtv) exposes Playa La Barqueta real estate to the masses!

Once in a Blue Moon on a Panama Beach

I can't imagine seeing another New Year's Eve and night before New Year's Eve that was as beautiful as last night and the night before! Was it the Blue Moon? Since the moon was nearly full December 30, Chuck and I walked on the beach from my house to the condos. Between the warm ocean, full moon, low tide and tropical air it was sensory overload. We dangled our feet in the pool at the condo, chatted and watched bats and toads feeding on insects. On our return we spotted a firefly upside-down on the beach, exposing his blinking abdomen to us. Did he get too much sex or was he simply hit by a wave? After seeing the firefly, I said, "maybe we'll get really lucky and see an Olive Ridley sea turtle". As we got closer to my beach house, we saw 5 young men messing with something and following it to the ocean. My God! An Olive Ridley mama sea turtle returning into the ocean! The 5 Panamanians were harassing the turtle, and I asked them (in my broken Spanish) to leave her alone. They had bags with them (which I assumed were turtle eggs) that contained small crabs. I was later told that crabs sell for $1.50 for a dozen & taste terrible. It was even brighter New Year's Eve. We didn't see another turtle, but we did see another (the same?) firefly blinking on the beach, abdomen exposed to the sky. We walked from my house to Sharon and Ken Sample's beach party, complete with GREAT fireworks.

In case you are wondering about the stuffed karma dolls pictured above, they are called munecas (Spanish for dolls). The tradition (at least in this part of Panama) is to stuff a life size doll and place it in your front yard. The doll represents all the bad things that happened in the previous year. At the stroke of midnight, you burn the doll and send all that bad karma into the ether. Pretty cool traditions. We did something similar but different at the beach party. Sharon had prepared a batch of origami creatures that we wrote 2010 wishes on. We took them (like prayers) and tossed them into the bonfire.

Will I still be here for the next December 31 Blue Moon in 2028? I think so. I'll be 77 years old and still wandering this 16-mile long beach paradise.

Christmas Bird Count Near Cerro Punta... Pure Joy!

I expected a good day of birding when I volunteered to help on the annual Panama Christmas Bird Count, but I didn't expect the day to be this extraordinary! Fifty of us met in the town of Volcan, then split off into smaller groups going to different parts of the Chiriqui Highlands. I lucked out and ended up in a small group (Chuck, Craig, Karen and I) with a professional birding guide named Chaly from Highland Adventures. We saw 54 species (many of them "Life" species for me). My favorite sounding bird was the Prong-Billed Barbet. I didn't realize that I had heard this bird for years on a CD titled "Simbiosis - Piano and Rainforest" by Manuel Obregon. As the Ridgely "Birds of Panama" book says, "Heard considerably more often than it is seen, its very distinctive far-carrying call being one of the characteristic sounds of the humid mountain forest; it is a deep cwa-cwa-cwa-cwa... repeated many times and often given by two or more birds at once, and which Slud describes as having a special character, like an Indian yell in which the palm of the hand is rapidly and repeatedly pressed against and removed from the mouth." Lucky for us, Chaly had a recording of the Prong-Billed Barbet that drew the "real" Barbets in. I happened to be the first to spot them... and I couldn't believe my eyes. Wow!! The most beautiful bird I saw was the Golden Browed Chlorophonia. A male and female were feeding on some in-season seeds. The Respendent Quetzal was not to be found because their favorite fruit (the wild avocado tree) won't be available for another month. I was on this very trail birding with Paul Bakke several months ago. Then, as now, I heard but did not see the Black-faced Solitare (lovely, watery sound) and did see the very cute Yellow-thighed Finch. Today, the weather was perfect and sunny. With Paul, it was foggy, rainy and cold. Please don't believe for a minute that I took any of these pictures. I took only binoculars and no cameras!

Navidad es muy especial en la playa!

Before Christmas is over for another year, I wanted to wish everyone love, peace and happiness. I continue to feel so blessed to live on this very special beach in Panama. I celebrated Christmas with a long morning walk and a longer afternoon walk with Miss Piggy and Chester. I've included a few parting shots from 2009: Dr. Jennifer Daniels and I behind colored posts in Aruba; Pauline holding a passion flower near her beach house on the Caribbean side; a long tailed hermit hummingbird trying to escape through Pauline's kitchen window (he escaped with help from Pauline); a showy pink hibiscus flower near Pauline's; the wonderfully fragrant and beautiful passion flower; me at the Juice Plus+ headquarters in Tennessee; mi casa en la playa; snake grass (where a huge boa was found); my friend Lora (from Hawaii) in my plunge pool. Feliz Navidad!!

The Beach Has Gone To The Dogs!

It all started when I agreed to take care of Jim Hatch’s dog named Miss Piggy. I didn’t mean to, but I fell in love with her. She is a very intelligent wild looking Panamanian dog (see the picture in her doggie bed before she ripped it apart the next night). Maybe it was all of those long beach walks that bound us together. Or was it the time she worked through her total fear of the ocean and plunged in anyway? Now she practically body surfs! When I realized that Jim would return in mid-January, and I would have to move to Colombia to keep Miss Piggy, I decided to start looking at the dog adoption sites. The only dog I was attracted to was Chester, a 2-year old male English Shepherd. Before I could act, he was scooped up by a family from Bocas del Toro. A week later, I found out that Chester’s adoption had fallen through. So, I adopted him! We’ve only been together 1.5 days, but already we have bonded. Of course he probably would have bonded with anyone. As the book says, “As far as your English Shepherd is concerned, you are the center of the universe. A desire to be with you is fundamental to his character.” He and Miss Piggy are getting along fine as the video shows.

On a different subject, Richard and Nina have returned to the beach from Alaska. They were my first visitors last year and bought a condo (on the opposite end from mine) a week after they got here. Richard will be here 2 months and Nina 4 months. So far, we have been having a ball: 60 mile bicycle rides; 11 mile mangrove kayak trips; rumba and bolero dance lessons; salsa dancing; long beach walks. Tomorrow, Chuck Frey from Montana (and former Forest Service colleague from Alaska) arrives. Maybe I’ll have a dance partner for a couple of weeks!

In case you are curious, the bird is a Brown Booby (male Pacific race) that Nina captured (with her camera) when we were biking on the beach. He didn't move and I wonder if he was injured. We also saw a Roseate Spoonbill flying high above the mangrove system. What a beautiful pink bird, especially in flight. Last but not least, above are olive ridley mama turtle tracks I captured this morning in front of my house!