1. A short story: “I used to love to just pick those and eat them right from the tree”, our friend Miselle says as we are driving by a tree with beautiful orange fruit with a slight protrusion hanging from them.
"What is that fruit?”, Mom and I ask practically in unison.
"Cashew fruit”.
“Turn around. Go back. You are kidding…that fruit is what cashew comes from? Who knew?”.
Standing under the cashew tree, I suppose us three are making quite a spectacle of ourselves along the side of a country road somewhere 90 miles west of Panama City.. We are on our way to El Valle and a botanical garden called El Nispero but who can resist the lure of the cashew tree? I love cashews but I never knew that it is the seed of a larger fruit that is brilliantly orange when ripe…and looks a bit like a sweet bell pepper….and the fruit is edible too. Such is the joy of travel….the finds along the way and the education to be had long before one reaches their destination.
Free for the picking. After establishing that the tree is growing wild, we fill up a bag with the fruit and continue on our way.
El Nispero is lovely. From our valley vantage point, we can see mountains rising in the distance and there are old stone walls dotting the landscape. The scenery is lovely and there is a zoo on the grounds as well.
2. Panama seems to have two seasons…wet and dry but the heat is guaranteed all year-round. There is not enough Moroccan argan oil or hair serums to keep my usually straight hair from frizzing.
3. There is no shortage of flora….hibiscus and bougainvillea and orchids and fruit trees and….hydrangea and I am sure I am forgetting some of the other gorgeous flowers that are to be found.
4. If the Department of Public Works decides to repave a road, there will be no forewarning…even if one drove on said road about an hour prior….
“Looks like they are laying down new asphalt on the road,” which is fine I think to myself except some sort of notice would have been nice so we could have planned our departure accordingly. Never mind the fact that I have had my fill of cashew fruit, am hungry for other food and have to use bathroom facilities. We wait patiently and I am grateful to my Mom who always has some sort of snack treat stashed away in her purse for moments when the hungry beast in me needs to be tamed. We wait about 30 minutes, the road is paved with some sort of quick-drying tar and we are on our way.
5. If a restaurant has a colorful macaw painted on its façade, the food should be good. At least that was our experience at a roadside eatery in El Valle. The fish was fresh, simply prepared with oil and lemon and herbs; the rice and beans were perfect and the plantain were terrific. I think one would be hard-pressed to find bad food in Panama…every place we dined was yummy.
6. Panama is home to some of the most crystal clear waters I have ever seen. We took a boat to Islas Zapatillas….en route we stopped and looked over the side of the boat. We were surrounded by seemingly hundreds of starfish. The waters were so clear we could take photos of the starfish without the need for an underwater camera. Just gorgeous…and it was beautiful to see the dolphin playing in their home waters . Also, this I know to be true. No matter how many times I try to get pictures of the dolphin swimming , I will always hit the shutter button a second too late. So I have a lot of photos of where the dolphins…were. J Snorkeling in these waters adjacent to the coral reefs revealed more fish of colors ranging from brilliant blues and yellows to smoky greys.
7. Even though the Frank Gehry-designed Bio-Diversity Museum is not open yet, its panoply of primary colors on its exterior and dramatic architectural angles are fun to see and that is only the outside of the building. The trees close by turn out to be almond trees…once again proving one will never go hungry in Panama.
8. I am not one to be found in a supermarket here at home but I like supermarkets in Panama because I can find things like Aqua de Pipa which is coconut water placed from coconuts directly into plastic bottles right there in front of you. Now that is fresh. They also sell Oreo cookie wafer cookies which I have yet to find here in the U.S. Add the excellent coconut cookies and marmalade made from the guava fruit and I am one happy supermarket shopper, indeed.
9. The Panama Canal is truly a daunting engineering marvel. Mom and I traversed it years ago via a cruise ship. Standing next to the Miraflores Locks…well, it looks like a metal gate…and yes, there is lots of water but damn (get it? Dam?), that’s a whole lot of water pressure being controlled and manipulated. It looks so simple but the history behind the construction of the Canal is humbling.
10. I know that I still get sick riding in a bus. I get even sicker in the back of a bus. The chances for feeling truly ill rise exponentially when the bus ride is 6 ½ hours, overnight, in a double-decker bus, sitting on the upper level in the second to last row which happens to be located over the lavatory in said bus. The ride from Panama City to David in Chiriqui Provence reminded me why I love to fly. Know that we flew back for the return trip to Panama City. I will pick a 40-minute flight over a bus ride anyday. I do not like buses. This is my truth. But sometimes, we must endure certain discomforts because there is a higher power at work….
11. Do not doubt the Divine Power and being in the right place at the right time. It may just save a life. After the no-sleep, bus ride of horror, we found ourselves around 8a.m. at a coffee café in the town of….I will have to fill this in later as I am blanking out on the name of the town. Noted for its coffee plantations, cooler temperatures, lush mountains, forests, waterfalls…it was definitely on our list of must-see places (which is why I find it so funny that I can not remember the name). Caffeine was a must and this café with its lovely spot overlooking a river seemed like the perfect place to wait until the tourism office opened at 9a.m. Seated next to a large picture window, sipping on a coffee, watching birds and butterflies whiz by, I am startled out of my zombie-like, no sleep state when I hear, “Thunk”. A small, yellow bird collided with the window rendering himself almost unconscious. Miselle ran outside, took that bird in her hands and between her and Mom who gave it drops of water to drink, stroking his feathers to calm him, they nursed that bird back from beyond. He ultimately flew away but then he returned just as quickly and landed right in the middle of my Mom’s blouse on her tummy…and stayed with her as if to say, “Oops, I did not mean to fly away without saying thank you”. If we had not endured the bus ride from Hell who is to say what that bird’s fate would have been. Yes, I loved being there to help the bird but next time, we fly…like the bird.
12. Boquete…the name of the town I could not remember mere moments ago is Boquete.
13. Iguanas are as prolific in Panama as pigeons are in New York City. I like the iguanas better.
14. Casco Viejo is to Panama City what Viejo San Juan is to Puerto Rico and the old portion of Cartagena is to Colombia. The architecture is Spanish colonial at its best and once the area’s renovation is complete it is going to be spectacular. I loved our walk around as the sun was setting, through the cobblestone streets with Miselle, my Mom and Miselle’s aunts. The pace was slow, the evening was cooling down, the sunset cast a lovely hue on the old buildings and quasi-hidden courtyards to be found when one peeked into a doorway. It was lovely with trailing bougainvillea cascading over some of the walls …I only wish I had another opportunity to revisit Casco Viejo before we left…and there was a straw hat with an orange ribbon that perhaps I should have bought but…maybe next time.
15. A stay in the Presidential Suite of any given hotel is not a bad thing at all. In Bocas del Toro, we ran into a little problem with our original accommodations…something having to do with it being 95 degrees in the shade amongst the archipelago of islands that comprise Bocas del Toro (located near the Costa Rica/Panama border)and the air conditioning not working. The fact that we were promised a room with 2 beds..not one bed and a scratchy fold-out couch…and the 3rd floor walk-up with no elevator is simply not what vacation dreams are made of. Granted, we were visiting during Semana Santa when most hotels are fully booked and it did not help that Benicio del Toro was filming a movie nearby and evidently the film crew inhabited half of Bocas. Accepting our fate and hoping for a resolution, when in doubt, go eat. Whilst we were having lunch seaside at the Reef restaurant, I excused myself to go to the bathroom. Where I really went was to the lovely hotel across the street from the restaurant. “Are there any rooms available?” As luck would have it, there was a cancellation…and the Presidential Suite with its penthouse location, wrap around terrace replete with hammock and telescope, full kitchen and dining area, sliding floor to ceiling glass doors, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths and I am sure I am forgetting something abundance of amenities was vacation-perfect. “I would like to book that right now”. When I came back from going to the Ladies room, I told Mom there was a change in plans. Sometimes the good life is what happens when we are busy heading to the Ladies Room J
16. I love to shop. There are no shortage of souvenirs to be acquired. It could be coffee beans from one of the fincas like Finca Lerida in Boquete which not only is a coffee plantation but has a lovely restaurant where watching the birdies frolic is the lunchtime entertainment. The gardens are beautiful as well. The tribes people of Panama make beautiful molas, handcrafted tapestries depicting all kinds of scenes from nature. Silver jewelry options are prolific as are ceramics and tiles and such. We stopped at a store in Boquete that specializes in strawberry everything. We now have lots of strawberry jam, strawberry soap and a strawberry candle. And yes, we also had strawberry ice cream.
17. There should be a law against the buffet at the Riu Hotel in Panama City. I say that because it is a crime how much good food is at a diner’s fingertips..or fork…as the case may be…but no one can eat all that food. I am not usually a “buffet” person but the quality and taste and the presentation of the food was outstanding. Upon our arrival in Panama City, we had lunch with Miselle and her aunts. I loved the company, loved the food but truly I think I was full for 3 days afterwards.
18. I do not like all-inclusive resorts. I did not think I would but until I actually stayed at one, I could not be absolutely sure. If you have a family, perhaps it makes sense…or if you are the type that does not mind sharing resort facilities with 1,200 other people then by all means, book a reservation at the Resort Decameron in Farallon about a 90 minute drive outside of Panama City. The grounds did house a fair number of those iguanas I mentioned earlier and they were pretty cool to watch.
19. Driving back from Farallon to Panama City, the road is lined with ceramic/terra cotta handicraft shops. I am fairly sure that we stopped at everyone along the way and I would like to thank Miselle right here and now for having the patience to stop at each store. J I was searching for a ceramic sculpture of a man sleeping a la taking a siesta style…with his knees up to his chest and his head resting on his knees…but he had to be wearing a white shirt and black pants and a white hat. Do not ask. That is what I wanted. I did find said sleeping man sculpture but I would have had to buy the woman that came along with her as the vendor would not break up the set. So of course, what did I come home with in my carry-on? A gorgeous 18 inches high and a million inches wide terra cotta woman in a multi-colored dress with a textured hat and a green woven basket on her back, resting siesta style….and please, the fact that she weighs about 30 pounds? Daunting as carry-on, to be sure, but not impossible…and she now rests very proudly in my living room.
20. Needing to ensure that the sleeping ceramic lady would get home safely, we need packaging material. So what was the biggest take-away lesson from our trip to Panama?
“Plastica de burbujas”
I now know how to say Bubble Wrap in Spanish.
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