Panama 2015 Week 6

Hi - what a memorable Super Bowl, even for non-devoted fans like us the game was terrific even down to the last few minutes. We enjoyed ourselves poolside with plenty of good food and snacks and lots of comradory.

On Tuesday we rented a car for the day, Bill skillfully transporting us up the mountain 750 meters which offered us some amazing views of the area. 

We then ventured out onto the main (and only) highway, heading west along the coast. The Pan-American is a 4 lane divided highway, no stop signs or traffic lights, almost non-existing on/off ramps and u-turns are illegal. So we did the safest thing, drove as far as we wanted go, took 1 dangerous left hand turn in front of oncoming traffic 🙀 and then on the way home, we stayed in the right lane and made several right hand turns to investigate other beaches and developments. 

The PanAmerican is 48,000km, worlds largest motorable road, connecting all the Americas.

We stopped for lunch at Playa Blanca at a famous Canadian beach bar called "Woody's", which was recently purchased by 2 couples from Pickering. They even serve "poutine"! 

After our adventure Bill and I cooled off at the pool watching the gardener on a ladder lop coconuts from the palms with a machete. The danger being that with these strong wind gusts (they were reported to have been clocked at 164 km/hr) if a loose nut fell from the tree and landed on your head.....well, you can imagine! Ouch! The gardener took 2 coconuts and chopped off the top so we could drink the fresh water right from the coconut. A little warm, but refreshing and full of electrolytes! How good is that?!

It is the season for watermelons, cantaloupe, oranges, papaya and the sweetest pineapple. We enjoy purchasing these right off the truck or at a roadside stand. We can't wait until the mangoes and avocados are in season.

"Panama" literally translates to "bounty of fish". In the town of Coronado, the local fishermen were selling Red Snapper and Spiny Lobsters (clawless). They scaled and cleaned the fish for you at the back of the truck, ready to be cooked for tonight's dinner.

A couple of the best fishermen, brown pelicans and a happy tourist.

Buenos noches, a view west from our balcony on the 16th floor