Rainy Season
The rainy
season is back, but not yet in full swing. Give it a couple more weeks
and it will show the newcomers what it's like here in rainy season. In
the meantime, a few tips.
* Check
your car tires and windshield wipers. If either are worn, replace them.
Do not skimp on windshield wipers; buy the best you can find. The cheap
ones may come apart when you need them most. The most dangerous time
for drivers is at the beginning of rainy season, when many drivers have
to learn all over again how to drive on slippery roads, so drive
carefully and very defensively.
* Buy an umbrella and get used to carrying it with you unless, of course, you enjoy getting soaked.
* Lay in a
supply of candles or some sort of auxilary lighting. The electricity
WILL go off when the rain starts in earnest. Ours has already gone off
three times this month. Price Smart has a very nice flourescent lamp
powered by 4 D cells for $19.95.
If this is
your first rainy season in Panama, be prepared for a lot of high
humidity, no breezes, and general all-round discomfort for a few months
until you get used to it. That is, unless you are like me. I'm still
not used to it after 32 years. It's still preferable to the summer
season in East Texas, though.
Altos de Cerro Azul Revisited
Nora and I
spent most of Sunday riding around Altos de Cerro Azul photographing a
dozen or so new listings. If you are looking for a place in the
highlands, within less than an hour of Panama City, take a look at what
we have to offer on the website.
We live
close to Tocumen Airport, so our travel time of 33 minutes to the gate
at Melo's Altos de Cerro Azul development will be closer to 45 minutes
from the entrance to the Corridor Sur in PC, but that is a vast
improvement over the one hour plus that it took before the four lane
highway was completed. Melo is improving the roads inside the
development, but for now, there is lots of loose gravel, so if you go
there, be especially careful.
The
temperature at 2500 feet plus altitude was very comfortble with 71
degrees F at 2900 feet. With the cloud base at about 2000 feet we spent
some time inside the clouds.
We arrived
at Smitty and Rochelle's house at 10:00 am and they showed us a
wonderful Easter Sunday gift from nature. You can see the cross growing
on top of a pine tree on the 'Pictures' page of the website.
Movie Review
Nora and I
watched 'The Notebook' last night and neither of us had a dry eye when
it was over. It's a wonderful love story with a semi-tragic ending. I
don't want to say too much about the plot for fear of giving away the
story. You can read more about the movie at
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332280/. I give it three thumbs up. It's
available from Blockbuster in Panama City.
Updates to Website
I've added
several videos, a couple of entertaining stories about Panama and its
folk legends, tips on buying a used car, and several recipes to the
'Living in Panama' section. Check it out. http://www.panamaretire.net
PS - Reader contributions are welcome. Send them to living@panamaretire.net
Service
and Assistance for People Who Want to Live in Panama