Other stuff going on….check out this local artist who decided to carve an art piece into a tree by the side of the road.

My cousin Joy has finally moved here from Las Vegas after 5 years of trying to get her house sold there and retire from the casino world.   On Mother’s Day we celebrated together with lunch at Valle Escondido, with friends Peter and Fran.

I am not artistic, and can’t draw a straight line with a ruler…..but our local Boquete ArtWorks group of talented artists held some classes and one appealed to me…so I signed up.   It teaches something called Tangling….check it out at ZenTangles and Tangle Patterns.   They are organized doodles created in a 3.5″ x 3.5″ square using black ink pen.   You can also color them but I’m not up to that yet.   I was amazed at my first try, and at how much I love doing this.   Here I am at class, and with my first efforts at this…..I LOVE doing this!  It’s a meditation.

My first 2 Zentangles

Every year Dee Harris and Richard Lipner have a bash on the date of Mardi Gras…..and this year the theme was GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR WILD SIDE!   I couldn’t decide whether I was a leopard or a zebra, so I came as both…my wild animal side!   Here are some photos of myself and some friends having a great time.   I’m the one in the big pink wig with face paint of leopard & zebra….

A week later, a Mardi Gras style parade was put on by the ExPats, led by the Smoking Time Jazz Club band from New Orleans.  We followed from the BCP Theater & Events Center, past the central park and proceeding up Main Street to the Panamonte Hote.   Candy and beads (in true Mardi Gras fashion) were tossed to the amazed Panamanians standing on the sides of the street.   The parade culminated at the Panamonte Inn where music, dancing and drinking were enjoyed by all.

That night the 6th Annual 4 day Boquete Jazz & Blues Festival began, where performers from San Francisco, the Netherlands, Switzerland, New Orleans, Panama, and Los Angeles played at various venues around Boquete.

Enjoy the slideshow below of the party, parade and music festival because a picture is worth a thousand words…..

Click to view slideshow.

]]> http://pennyinparadise.com/2012/02/23/carnival-in-boquete/feed/ 0 pennyinparadise http://pennyinparadise.com/2012/02/23/control-that-water/ http://pennyinparadise.com/2012/02/23/control-that-water/#comments Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:45:29 +0000 pennyinparadise http://pennyinparadise.com/?p=1468 ]]> Check on the rainfall where you live and compare it to Boquete, which gets over 200 inches every year….all within about 6 months between May and December.   When I moved into the new condo and put in the beautiful landscaping, I didn’t know that the ground was a clay pack full of rocks and sandy soil.   When the rains started the plants began to die and the back yard became a swimming pool.

Our October rains destroyed the gardens

I asked the developer about gutters and he said “Gutters…they are an American thing.   Here in Panama we don’t bother with gutters”!!!!!!!   Of course not… why would you need gutters when it only rains 300 inches a year???   But he was kind enough to allow me to PAY FOR GUTTERS myself!   So…I had them put 4 stories above me on the roof.

Scaffolding 4 stories high in my yard putting in gutters

Well, the gutters couldn’t cope with the amount of rain we get here so I went to Plan B, and had the garden torn apart and a honeycomb of drainage pipes and catch basins installed.  This meant tearing out the expensive landscaping and, of course, ALL materials, wheelbarrows and workers had to trek through my condo to get to the work, since there is no access to my yard except through my house.

The digging into the clay pack begins

8 catch basins were constructed and connected with irrigation tubes

Curbs were built to raise the flower beds

Raised flower bed with catch basin

My garden backs up onto a very steep canyon.   To avoid erosion of the canyon wall, the drain pipes carrying the water from the catch basins and tubes had to be installed far out, away from the canyon wall…..these guys are like goats…they sure can climb on the steep sides.

Digging to the edge of the canyon

Protecting from erosion…the pipes went way out and down

Here’s how it all looked from up above

From the 4th floor balcony, looking down at the work

Here’s how it looked when finished

Does anyone wonder why I love living in this place???

Happy, happy in Panama

My building is on the left

This is how the building materials came in

There’s a back yard, so we began preparing for the garden with a bamboo privacy fence

A round patio was built in the center, and pathways designed around it

We tore out the old kitchen and chiseled LOTS of concrete

Everything had to be removed, even those concrete toe kicks on the floor

Notice the line showing the low profile of the old cabinets

The solid concrete ceilings required me to run lighting and 220 for air conditioners, and then drop a drywall ceiling 6″ below that

Water filtration was added outside the kitchen, and air conditioner/dehumidifiers in the living room and bedroom

Ceiling drywall continued

Adding a big drain pipe to take water away from my terrace

Hmmm…what to do about those cars right outside the windows?

A space gobbling laundry sink had to come out

Lots of holes in concrete to repair broken pipes and stuff

New kitchen cabinets were being built nearby from teak wood

Master bedroom closets were NOT going to hold all my stuff!

New floor pad for bigger closets, and wires for hanging TV chiseled in the walls

Taller closets take shape, big mirror and TV installed….all in the master bedroom

Painting begins…lovely shades of grey

New kitchen begins to come in

Shoji Screens…solution for those windows looking out at the cars!

The shoji screen wrap all the way around into the foyer

3 sets of sliding glass doors turned out to be inadequate and had to be replaced

Doors in living room, and both bedrooms had to be totally replaced

Due to no gutters 4 stories up, my new garden began to become a lake

And the wind below rain onto my terrace without gutters…and the wind was very strong

A glass wall solved the wind and some water problems on the terrace

At my expense, gutters were installed on the roof 4 floors above me to manage the rain and keep my garden from being destroyed

OOPS….more destruction of walls all along the way to fix leaks and bad stuff

A new glass wall went in behind what will soon be a beautiful metal art fountain

Hole for fountain was wired for electricity

Meanwhile, my neighbors were totally unaffected by the goings on inside

Toilets had to bed raised

Metal cabinets were built to provide storage and hide the water filters on the terrace

THEN….the movers came!   Downsizing is no fun….and, I had to leave some things in the house for my tenant, since we do not close on the sale until January 3rd.   So in the meantime, keeping up the house (and paying for it) is my responsibility.   I’ve got a wonderful woman and her little dog living there and taking care of everything for me……moving was no picnic, but luckily I had the world’s BEST moving company….. Panama International Packers and their wonderful guys.

Everything was packed well and protected

Valentino was so careful with my precious stuff

NOW…..it’s time to see the totally finished product….after 6 months of renovation (yes, of a totally new, never-lived-in-before, condo) and every penny I could get my hands on….it’s finally over.   I’m living here and LOVING it!   It was totally worth it.  Of course, there is no one living on either side of me or above me, so part of what I love (VERY QUIET) could change when neighbors move in.   But for now, everything is perfect!    The drier climate is great for my lungs and I have a chiropractor living right across the street so my back is very happy.

NOW…..enjoy the finished project…it took 5 months to complete!

Entrance from the lobby

Entrance to Living Room

Dining room area with seating for 6

Now THIS is a kitchen I can enjoy

Bedroom is comfy

NOW..lots of closet space

Downsized from 2 guest rooms and an office to 1 guest room that is also the office

Nice guest bathroom facilities

And…finally I’m able to entertain

And the gardens, drainage and gutters are finished and all is right with the world!   OH YEAH!  Did I mention????   I had to tear out the entire garden to install a very serious drainage system under the entire property to carry the water out to the canyon…. check this post for those photos and story.  CONTROL THAT WATER!

My son Paul and his family helped

Waiting for the movers to come, Paul assembles stuff

Here's mom's job during the move

As soon as I got back to Boquete, I had to pack up and get ready for the move down to my new condo.   More to come on another post.

Well, my tenant (a single woman from Iowa) and I reached an agreement to share my house since she has a lease until the end of June and I want to come back into my home.   She immediately took off for a 3 week trip to Mexico to see the Monarch butterfly migration and other wonders.   After coming back for a week, she took off again for 10 weeks in Colombia.   She’s due back tomorrow and will be moving out on June 15.    So…I’ve had my house virtually to myself since I got back.   It was a great solution for both of us.

So, as usual I’m looking for something about my house to pound on!!  I have 4 bathrooms in my house, but they all have showers.   I do have the hot tub outside, but in rainy season I’m unable to use it much.   So, I decided to install a bathtub in my guest shower (the only one big enough to accommodate a bathtub) while my roommate has been in Colombia.   Unfortunately, the ONLY white plain bathtub in Panama with left hand controls was accidentally dropped in the warehouse and broke.    The only other one they had was a right hand control, which required the plumber to chip out the floor and run drain and water lines to the other side of the shower stall.   It was quite a process, but he was impeccable and got it done beautifully, with some creative concrete work to fill in the unused space around the tub.

I’ve had some really special time with various groups of women that I know and love here in Boquete, since I returned.   One day, Babbe Earle asked us up to her little hacienda on Jaramillo Mountain with beautiful views down to the Pacific.

Babbe & John Earle's House

We had a potluck lunch

It was a perfect day for art projects (Marni, Carol & Marnie)

Gina & I watched Barbie at the easel

And….there was SHOPPING!   Babbe’s daughter makes fabulous pearl necklaces and earrings….so we all got a strand of what we are calling Sorority Pearls that we wear with jeans and tee shirts.  It’s very elegant

Picking out our favorite pearls....

Lazing the day away in the sun!

On another day, Carol and her husband Peter had a party at their place to celebrate Peter’s birthday, and to say farewell….they return to their beautiful home in Vermont for the summer…..they’ll return to us when it gets cold up there!   Pretty fabulous life they have….and their house is on the mountain, just above Babbe’s….so the views are spectacular.   This day we were mostly in the clouds, so couldn’t see down to the Pacific…but who cares, in a surrounding like this!!

Carol & Peter at his birthday

As you can see, their house is literally up in the trees….

Their bedroom is the highest tower...imagine waking up to the view from up there!

Bocci Fun

Another friend named Carol Putnam has moved back to the US and I will miss her terribly…..we shared a going-away dinner

Carol will definitely be missed

Now it’s time for some words and photos from the garden!

Did you know how Pineapples have babies???

Beautiful hibiscus on my terrace

This one is called Navidad (Christmas)....it has taken me 2 years to get the first bloom off my little cutting

Twins

Coral

Giant Pink & White

Here’s a video clip I shot in the garden this morning….

An American metal artist has arrived in Boquete, and I needed a new gate.  He designed something beautiful, and on the opposite side I saw how very, very secure it was…..so I asked him to continue his work along the top of my rock wall.   This was my only vulnerable spot and now it is totally secure.   He curved short metal pieces and cut the ends sharp….so no one in their right mind would try to crawl over my rock wall now.

From my side, the appearance is very organic..you can barely see the bars

But from the other side....OUCH!

Back to adventures…..so one day a bunch of us women drove the brand new paved shortcut road over to Volcan on the other side of the volcano.  We came around a curve, and some Panamanian workers were there…can you imagine…3 gringo cars screeched to a hault, all these women climbed out and started taking photos….and asking them to take photos for and with us.   Then, we just as abruptly climbed back in our cards and sped off.   I would love to hear the talk around those guys’ dinner tables that night!

Girlfriends On The Go!

Road Guys!

When we got there, we played Mexican Train and then went to dinner at Cerro Brujo, which is a wonderful little jewel of a restaurant in Volcan, whose female owner/chef created a wonderful party for us.

We spent the night at the resort/spa that is immediately next door to my very first property here, in Bambito.   The next day, Denise had a fabulous brunch for us (lobster quiche, champagne, salmon rolls) under the trees.   We felt so blessed to be living in this paradise!

When Denise bought this house it was covered with vines...and had no running water in the kitchen!

Denise, Debbie & Helen

Denise, Carol, me, Helen & Debbie and our Mimosas

The setting for our brunch was heavenly!

Our scrumptous brunch!

Does it seem like all we do is eat down here?

OK….you might be getting bored watching a bunch of women eat and drink all the time….so here’s an adventure when we included some guys.

We're enthralled by the live entertainment.....

The night after I got back, Erin and Dave Ross threw a huge party for our friend Garn’s 90th birthday, complete with live entertainment by the Boquettes (the new Do-Op Girl’s Group singing the Oldies), and others.

Panamanian guitarists serenaded the birthday boy.....

And he got the Presidential treatment, with a Marilyn Monroe (at an older age) ballad of “Happy Birthday….”

Our own Marilyn singing...Happy Birthday to Garn...Roady on keyboards

I forgot how much fun it is to live in Boquete…..there’s something going on all the time.   I really miss this group of ExPat’s when down in Ecuador.   It’s great to have a life in these two very different places….

Live music at Guari, Guari in Palmira on a Sunday afternoon

The Boquettes singin' the Oldies at Guari, Guari in nearby Palmira

Here's the monthly Ladies Who Do Lunch club ...a group I started 3 years ago, and it's still going strong!

View from Rancho de Caldera, a small, beautiful resort near Boquete

Three of my girlfriends celebrated Gemini birthdays and they invited me along for their spend-the-night fun at Rancho de Caldera….

Linda, Mikey, me and Sharon....... (birthday hostess, owner of the resort, Gina was busy at work)

The next day, the rest of our women friends joined for lunch and a dip in the infinity pool

Wonderful women live in Boquete, and look for any reason to come together

Yes, some of us really did get in the pool....out of camera range!

The world famous Boquete Chicas (a group of 45 single women living in Boquete, who get together for fun and to support each other in times of need) got together for the monthly birthday celebration.   This month we went to Volcan (on the other side of Volcan Baru) for lunch and a visit to the VERY interesting Petroglyphs.

Chicas nestled between the giant petroglyph stone, calculated to be almost 3,000 years old, and beautiful Lobster Claw heliconia flowers

Chica Louise Orr isn't really this tiny....it's just a giant plant!

The petroglyph place has more than just rocks with carvings….it has plants of all kinds!

And talk about giant plants.....this is a LEMON!

In 1949 National Geographics visited this site, and discovered things they date back 5,000 years!   The stones below have magnetic energy in them that is registered with a compass…..and there’s a spring that creates a stream that flows AGAINST gravity….up the volcano (instead of down)

These stones are amazing...with carvings that date back 5,000 years

This blind dog's leg was broken, which makes it seem he is begging with palm up. He is one of many Dalmations living at the petroglyph place.

One of the great things in Boquete is the Tuesday Morning Information & Networking Meeting, started several years ago as a simple monthly pot luck in the home of Sylvan and Barbara Cohen.   As the number of ExPats living in and visiting Boquete grew, so did this meeting.   Every week, a speaker is asked to present information of interest to foreign resisdents.    Depending on the topic, the meeting is attended by 40 to 80 people each week.   I was asked to present information and field questions from the group during my stay there….about the differences between Panama and Ecuador, and Boquete and Cuenca, since I now live in both places.   It was well attended.  I got an assist from Cheryl and Richard Johnson, who live in Boquete and visited me in Cuenca last September….they know more about the area around Quito than I do.    Just after this, they returned to Ecuador, and bought a condo in Cotacachi, north of Quito.  They too will live bi-country….spending the rainy season in Boquete down in the drier climes of Ecuador.

Explaining Ecuador to the Tuesday Morning meeting in Boquete

There are a few sure things about Latin America….bars on your windows, dogs on the street and roosters that crow at first light.   You get used to it…..actually, you begin to love it.   But some roosters have a special job…that is cock fighting.  I know, I know….me too, but it’s the culture and I prefer it to bullfighting.   So below is one VERY valuable guy who was transported up to Boquete from somewhere in the country, via the trucking company that does so much for us by getting our stuff where we need it to be.   He has his own, color coordinated, leather bag for traveling to the fights.  I kept looking around the trucking office to see where the crowing was coming from….then I spied the bag with his cock’s comb sticking out the right side.

Look closely at the top right side of this red bag...just above the black plastic. A fighting cock is peeking out on his way to the matches.

One of the changes in Boquete since I left 9 months ago, is the new shop Tucan Tiles…..the woman owner is a fabulous artist from Santa Fe, New Mexico.   She designs the tiles, and hires local women to do the production work.

Local woman helps produce the tiles at Tucan Tiles

And here’s my very own tile…oh, it’s of roosters!!!   No, not because of the cock fights here….because my maiden name “Hahn” means “Rooster” in German.   I have wooden roosters topping my kitchen cabinets in Boquete, so it seemed appropriate to get a Rooster tile from Tucan tiles…I love it.

Beautiful Rooster Tile in my kitchen

So…I know you’re asking yourself….what about Zap the Dog?    Well, yes…in addition to bringing her toys back from the US (she just LOVES fibre-fill), I visited with her several times at the home of her new parents, Donna and Ken O’Brien.  I am so lucky to have found this loving home for her…..and she’s growing up to be a lazy old dog.   She’s 3 1/2 years now but I still remember that day 3 years ago when I found her starving at the Zapadora open house…and took her home, just long enough to get her healthy, spaed and find her a new home….well, you know the rest.   She was my constant companion until I moved to Ecuador, where my condo doesn’t allow dogs.  Here she is….I know she looks like an ordinary dog…you’d never know she was so extraordinary just by looking at her.

I still love this dog!!!!

During my visit, I took her to the beach for a 2 day romp….unfortunately, she was attacked by another dog and while attempting to extricate her by pulling on her tail, I dislocated 3 ribs….ouch!    (Yes, that is the attack dog in the shadow).

Lorraine and me from her patio overlooking the Pacific...and Zap, of course

I must say that one of the highlights of my visit back to Boquete was getting to play the amazing new course, Cielo Paraiso (Heavenly Paradise)….which is definitely is!   LONG holes, up to 500 yards, offer amazing views of both the Pacific Ocean and the beautiful rainforest mountains.  I cannot wait to return and play there again.

Finally!!!! A REAL golf course in Boquete. Here with my friend Michael Mullin who lives here with his beautiful wife Debbie. Yes, that is the Pacific Ocean in the background.

One last thing….remember last November, the 40 year flood that practically swept Boquete away?   To refresh your memory, here’s a hotel that was just completed 6 months earlier.   Below that is the repair job being done on it as I departed Boquete…..

The waves were crashing above the first floor windows and water was over the road

The road, rough as it is, is open now and reconstruction has begun!

Yes….those are the very tiny footers you see exposed at the bottom of the photo…..the entire building is sitting on a little dirt and rock in the center of the structure.    They are now pouring HUGE footers inside the empty space.

So….that’s my report on my trip back to Boquete….GOD, I love that place.    I returned to Cuenca on June 29th, and am glad to be back in my cozy condo….of course, I found lots of projects to increase the beauty of my condo (cabinets, tile work and lighting),  and spent the first 2 weeks working on it….now it is finally finished!   Stay tuned for my next report from Cuenca.

My son Paul was the first person to visit me in Boquete....here we are at the Bistro, with murals of coffee and orange pickers that were painted in the 50's

My Canadian friend Annette Preston bought a house at the beach near Las Tablas

Some of my very best friends at a luncheon (L to R..Georgiann, Olga, Helen, me and KitzieAn auction in the gardens of the Panamonte Inn for a local charity

My jewelry exhibit at the Art Expo

A bunch of us at the Bistro doing our thing!

Don & Nancy Huff (and me) in Bocas Del Toro

A breakfast with friends in Portobello

The airport runway on Contadora island

Life in the 3rd World sure is wonderful....on Contadora Island

Exile home of the Shah of Iran, on Contadora

One day I heard a noise in the road outside my house....looked out and here is what I saw

Waterfront in Bocas del Toro

Allison & Scott (left) with me, Teri & Don Murray in PC at dinner. Go to www.earthrace.com to see what Allison & Scott did on their vacation....she's a 500 ton ship's captain...he's a Marine Engineer.

Women gather for Elizabeth's birthday at her coffee plantation

Parade in Boquete

Friend Wanda Stoll visited me in Boquete...AND applied for her permanent residency. Wanda and I worked at Eastern Airlines in the 70's.

Of course, Wanda went tree trekking

This is what tree trekking looks like from afar

We have 40 Chicas (single women) in Boquete...we have a monthly birthday lunch or dinner

Dancing is one of our favorite passtimes....I am taking tango lessons

My parents came to visit in May of 2007

It was great showing them around Boquete

Cousin Joy brought her daughter Tracy down for a little vacation.   I gave a party to introduce Tracy to the best of the best of Boquete

Joy, Penny & Tracy

Girlfriends enjoying a special overnight at the beautiful Rancho de Caldera, just over the mountain from Boquete

Linda, Mikey and Me, with Linda's friend in front

Zap and I went to the beach to visit Lee and Lorraine Handler at their new house right on the Pacific

Zap, Penny & Lorraine....Life is good!

Girl’s birthday luncheon at Rancho de Caldera….complete with infinity pool

Retired Life is SOOOO strenuous...and what DO we do all day??

We’ve got a new Do-Op girl’s group in Boquete…..they are called the Boquettes and WOW are they popular!

Boquettes sing the Oldies at Guari, Guari on a Sunday afternoon

The black line just left of the epicenter is the border between Costa Rica and Panama

David is Panama’s third largest city and is just 23 kilometers from this border.   Boquete is 20 miles up in the mountains above David….so this was REALLY close.   That blanket of clouds you see over Panama brought the next natural disaster just a few days later….

A 48 hour downpour of monumental proportions came down right in the area of Boquete where I live.   It is said to be the worst flood in 40 years in this area.    I haven’t seen my house, but neighbors report it looks okay.   My tenant is not in town, so I’m hoping for the best when she returns.   I may need to fly back to Boquete to check on it soon.    Here are some photos courtesy of www.boqueteweather.com and other sources that are posted on the internet.

River behind the place across the street from my house

Normally, at this time of year (dry season) this river above is hardly a trickle.  Below is an aerial view showing how the river split into two parts.

Aerial view of the river

Many roads washed out, like this one

This hotel is brand new and is now ruined....water above first floor

Those who have visited in the last 2 years will recall this new hotel (above) took 2 years to build and was just opened in May of 2008.    There was a front lawn, then the road, and then a big parcel of undeveloped land before the banks of the river.   The waves crested over the bottom floor….the entire building has been ruined.  (see last photo below of clean up of this road).

This road into town completely washed away

Our brand new bridge was totally covered destroyed

Some of you have visited and remember the old bridge…..some visited while the bridge was closed for new construction….some have enjoyed the brand new bridge that opened in early 2008.   Well, here it is (or not) completely being destroyed by the force of the flood (above).    Below is the bridge after the water went down.

Once the water receeded it left the bridge collapsed

Tragedy upon tragedy…..then, when they immediately began to clear things with big yellow machines, one of them working on the bridge above had it’s own problems (see 2 photos below)

Machine clearing bridge rubble tipped over

Luckily it had a friend nearby who helped bring it back standing

Palo Alto Restaurant down the road from my house

View of nearby land that became river

The trout farm in nearby Bambito was totally ruined.   All the trout were killed.    An annoucement was made that they were giving away free fish and both people and animals came from all around to take their fill.   Now the trout farm will have to begin anew.

People taking trout from the farm

Trout didn't survive the floods

You may recall that I owned one last piece of property on the other side of the Volcano, in Bambito.   It was on the river!!! The good news is that I sold this to the neighbor on September 1, ask I left Panama to come to Ecuador.    I don’t know the status of that property, but below is the road leading to it.

Road leading to the property I just sold that was on the river

Unfortunately, many animals were left homeless like this little dog below…..but some horses, dogs and pigs who were tied up did not escape and were drowned in the floods.    As true Boquetenos, the ExPats have pitched in with food, clothing, furnishings, etc. in relief for humans.   And Fundacion de los Animales de Boquete has begun a fundraising to collect money for food for those unfortunate animals who are now homeless.   That’s the best thing about Boquete…..the immediate response of the ExPat community to help their new country.

Our animal friends are also affected by the flood

The US Military was called in to assist in disaster relief…….they came with helicopters and medical personnel from a ship in the east Pacific.   It’s this kind of military action that makes us proud to be Americans.

US military help with bringing dehydrated baby to the hospital

Although most things in Latin America move slowly, the post flood cleanup and repairs began immediately and are progressing quickly.   This is the same road (below) to my house as shown above as repairs began.

The post flood road repair work started immediately