Power Shopping in Volcan

On Saturday, we headed to Volcan with our friends for a day of shopping and sightseeing.  Volcan is on the other side of Volcan Baru and is about a 45 min. super gorgeous drive.  The town is a bit more spread out than Boquete in my mind and made for a very fun day.  First stop was Nita's Flea Market, a little roadside shop with wonderful collections of this and that.  Beanie Babies come here to die.  There was a snowman collection to rival my own and a gazillion other little finds.  However, by far the best was a wonderful pair of PINK rubber boots which I had to have.  There's part of our property that I've yet to explore due to fear of snakes (none of which I've ever seen here, but fear them none the less)  I am fearless in my pink boots and can't stop admiring them.  The boots, not the snakes.
We found the local Todo Dollar, much better than ours, and made a quick pass picking up odds and ends for the casita.  Then off to the St. Benito Catholic Highschool thrift store where you can pick up all kinds of food, clothing and other goodies.  They have quite a collection from LandsEnd and other US stores of discontinued or out of season items,  and I found some acrylic paints for my painting class as well a top for cooler days.  Every now and then, I put on a long sleeve shirt, but not too often.  One of the perks here.
Took a break for lunch at Mana, a lovely restaurant for sloppy jorge's (hor-hays).  You may know them better as Sloppy Joes.  Powering up, we continued our shopping tour to Berard's, a rather upscale grocery store, and a fabulous bakery for macaroons and chocolate muffins.
Heading out of town, we passed through ex-presidente Manuel Noriega's private hidden airstrip for running drugs (no longer in use as far as I know) and headed out to the Jansen coffee estate, a stunningly beautiful ranch where we were chased by cattle being rounded up by the local caballeros.  Of course, I had to jump out of Jim's truck for a photo, but quickly hopped back in as they started gaining on us.  On up to the top of the hill for coffee and views.  Made a quick pass though the events room to check out the art and found a poster for yoga on March 2nd.  This was a new one for me.  Chocoyoga.  Why did I never think of that?  If only I could go, but alas, I am sharing a table at the Chiriqui Flea market that day to sell off some things and will have to miss it.  I will be there in solidarity with all the other yoginis blissing out on chocolate.
Noticing the sun was slowly passing down over the mountain, we made one last detour to the truck stop for empanadas de pollo and spent some time out on the scenic patio overlooking the jungle.  I didn't have my binoculars with me (remember, this was a shopping trip) so couldn't identify all the birds circling.  They were awesome. Big brown and white somethings....most likely hawks of some type.  Panama really is a birder's heaven.  So as the last bit of sun colored the sky orange, we headed home to Boquete.  A little note here.  The roads are beautiful, but full of curves and hairpin turns.  They are utilized heavily by people walking day and night.  Believe it or not, many people don't own cars and actually walk to their destinations, which is why they are in great shape and we, not so much.  We drove very carefully so as not to hit anyone and only had to swerve a few times in order to miss a few runaway cows in the middle of the road.  An owl did flap in front of the windshield VERY CLOSE, but no one was hurt and we made it home tired but happy from our Volcan adventure.
Sunday was another work day here, but we did manage to get over to visit with some folks from Deer Park, see a little of the Daytona 500 (Dennis, not me)  and catch up on the news of the area.  They are here for a few weeks before heading back to Spokane, where they are preparing a final move back here for next year. They have quite a menagerie, dogs, llamas, chickens and more, so had to make it a quick trip.   Dennis had been emailing with them for the past few months, and we finally were able to hook up and meet.  Super nice couple, (Marge and Fred)  and  we all hit it off and chatted the night away.  They came back to our place for a bit of wine and watching the sunset before heading back to their little treehouse at Hostel del Refugo, one of my fav hostels in Boquete.
Update on the house.  Mortar is done.  Dennis is done with ladders for a while. Time to celebrate.  But wait, there's more to do.  Alas, celebrating will have to wait. We are going to have a big fiesta.  You are all invited.   "FRIENDS COME AND GO, LIKE THE WAVES OF THE OCEAN, BUT THE TRUE ONES STAY, LIKE AN OCTOPUS ON YOUR FACE." Robert Wiloborg

So this is why we haven't had water for 2 days

This is what you do with an ugly cement wall

Pond view at Nita's.  Just missed a bird taking off with a fish.

Front of Nita's Flea Market.  Lily, their pet monkey is sleeping.

Stuff everywhere

Young boy at St. Benito's

Noriega's private airstrip for running drugs in Panama

Let's meet here for coffee

Objects are closer than they appear

Hanging flowers in the gazebo

view of the finca Jansen

one of the paintings in the events room

My dream yoga class

Enjoying the views and the birds

Quitting time

Asking the worker for directions to the lake for fishing and kayaking next time

Mama's got new boots

Marge and Fred Epley, from Deer Park, Washington

Living in Blow-quete

So much for gentle breezes.  Here the trade winds are howling through the neighborhood with a high degree of ferocity. These winds mean business.   It does keep things cool, but there are no good hair days when it's this strong.  It dies down periodically during the day, and then starts up again in the evenings.  Not too bad really, but enough to blow my patio chair across the yard and take the top off the barbie (with coals inside)  a bit dangerous to my way of thinking.
Root canal is over and done with. Yay!  Happy to say that Dr. Myrna did a great job.  It was a little more problematic than originally thought and took a while longer, but no extra charges.  The best part of the process (if there can be a best part of a root canal) is that Dr. Myrna sang during the whole procedure.  She has a lovely, peaceful voice and I was totally relaxed and mesmerized by her singing.  I highly recommend all dentists sing to their patients and bypass the canned music.
Our friends from Bocas arrived last week with another friend of theirs in tow and we had a blast before, during, and after the Boquete Jazz and Blues Festival.  Dennis's friend missed his plane in San Jose, Costa Rica and never made it.  He missed a great time, but apparently a girlfriend in Costa Rica helped to soothe his disappointment.  Next time, Tony.

We enjoyed the little crazy gringo parade and flash mob dance down in the town plaza.  Kids from the weeklong art/music school also showed up and it was a festive time.  In the evenings, there were jam sessions around town and we went to a few, but there were so many events going on, we decided to pick and choose.  Glad we picked going to hear Rev. Billy Wirtz, an amazing piano player, social commentator/comedienne along the lines of a mix between Stephen Colbert and Jerry Lee Lewis.  We had a blast.
Char and Pedr brought a slide show of their 45 day walk along the Camino in November and we celebrated with a Spanish night of wine, tapas, and paella.  Victor regaled us with clarinet and guitar and a bit of Icelandic humor.
2 more days of non-stop fun with great weather, great music, and great friends.  We said our goodbyes over some huevos rancheros at Olga's and dropped them off at the bus station in David. Not missing a beat, we returned to house chores. Mortar is almost done and Dennis is moving on to a carport/fiesta area.  I snuck away for a painting class with some local Panamanian women who welcomed me with hugs and smiles, sharing their supplies until I can get some of my own.  I have just enough Spanish to get by and 3 of the ladies had about the same English.  The group meets above the fire station in a little open air room, next to the firemen's (bombas) sleeping quarters.  Could have gotten very exciting if there was a fire.  Hilda (pronounced Eelda) mi professora, gave me the homework of perfecting my leaf technique.  I love my new friends. Maria, Angelique, Chollie, Jane, Gladys, and Marcela.  There were a few others, but those are the names I can pronounce and spell.
I see there is another festival heading to town this week, but we'll miss out on this one.  We have another spay/neuter clinic this Sunday and a trip to Volcan, a nearby town, on Saturday.  And the beat goes on.
 I saw this quote and had to share.  They must be talking about my house. "LOVE GROWS BEST IN LITTLE HOUSES, WITH FEWER WALLS TO SEPARATE WHERE YOU EAT AND SLEEP SO CLOSE TOGETHER THAT YOU CAN'T HELP BUT COMMUNICATE. AND IF WE HAD MORE ROOM BETWEEN US, THINK OF ALL WE'D MISS.  LOVE GROWS BEST IN LITTLE HOUSES."  First Baptist Church Woodstock Women's Ministry

My no frills dentist office

Pilar, assistant, receptionist, official greeter

breakfast view from Conway's cafe,  of David, Panama

surf's up

King and Queen of BJBF parade

You figure it out

Rodgrigo and one of his babies

Looking for quetzales at Tree Top

jewelry folks set up outside Baru hotspsot

how cool is this?

Lorena and Isabella

Audrey (runaway grandma) with her fan

Stephanie takes a break from volunteering

pretty hibiscus

dancing with the stars

this lady has moves

so does this little girl

Crafts, Cattle, and Cowpokes

Sitting here listening to the sound of mortar being slapped on all around the house.  Dennis is continuing to toil away, but seems to be in overdrive this week as we are expecting houseguests for the upcoming jazz festival.  Somehow, we are squeezing our friends in with friends Char and Pedr from Bocas in the back casita (almost done) along with their friend, while Tony, Dennis' high school buddy will be camping out on an inflatable mattress in our other empty bedroom.  We are looking forward to a fun weekend and all the music venues that will be playing around town in addition to the jazz festival line-up. Great music and great food.  Life is good.
While driving last week, I couldn't help but notice all the animals being transported around town.  This little quiet town really bustles with life.  That's one of the things I so love about this place.  There is some little pocket of interesting humanity to see everywhere you look.  Boquete is a very lively and colorful place.
I am really enjoying all the art related classes I've been taking and while I struggled with the beading class, I did make some new friends and learned that beading is not a piece of cake. More an exercise in patience and good eyesight.   I am still working on my project, but am sharing a picture of the beautiful necklace that Pia made as mine is yet unfinished.  I am finding that the zentangle class I took awhile back has worked its magic on me and whenever I find some time, I gravitate towards projects that incorporate a bit of what I learned in that class.  I have been meeting with a small group of ladies to draw and think this is more where my heart is leading me. 'THE TRUTH IS YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TOMORROW.  LIFE IS A CRAZY RIDE, AND NOTHING IS GUARANTEED."  Eminem

Local Do-It Center, our lifesaver

Great yummy
Chinese Restaurant

Moooooving along

Saddled up and ready to ride

entering David

Young visitors arrive 

Busy corner in Boquete

One of several pharmacies in town.  No prescriptions needed except for pain meds and antiobiotics.

Pia models her new necklace

Beading class

New door by Kelvin

Oh boy!  Going for a truck ride

Finished piece - 'Mi Cocina'