Well, here it is April 2025 and we are back in Panama. What a whirlwind 5 months we had back in Texas. We returned just in time for the holidays. I love hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas and this year, though it was low-key by our usual standards, it was a time for family. Though the oldest and his family were unable to make it, we did spend Thanksgiving with the other kids and grandkids, then quickly prepared for Christmas. I did not put up all the Christmas decor that I usually do but still had the house all festive, kept shopping to a minimum, and spent a lovely Christmas Day with just the kids, their spouses, and the grandkids. Of course we had to throw in our annual escape rooms and birthday celebrations for me (Dec. 19) and Mike (Dec. 4). The first of the year found us getting around to the last of the repairs to the house from the tornado that came through just before leaving for Panama – New roof, tree trimming, exterior painting, as well as some other little projects.
I did some substitute teaching from mid December through March which helped fill my time and also gave me a bit of extra spending money. I enjoyed the kids and socializing with other teachers and administrators. Mike developed his daily routines and started having weekly/bi-weekly lunches or dinners with a few of his retired guy friends. I can truly say that it was a rough few weeks transitioning from feeling like we were on constant vacation in Panama to being at home trying to find out what to do with ourselves, but once we got into some regular routines, we both decided that we really enjoy retirement.
But enough of that, We are loving being back in Panama! I thought I would share how our first week back has gone. It has been so good to see most of our friends we had made. In addition, we are already developing new friendships and making new connections. Here is how our first week went down:
Monday, Taylor took us to the airport in Austin where we caught our direct flight on COPA Airlines. We love flying COPA and have had wonderful experiences with them. The flight from Austin takes just over four hours and we have always had great friendly service. They even serve real food on their flights, not just pretzels or cookies. We arrived in Panama around 7:30 and took an Uber to our hotel. The Uber was under $20. We usually stay at Coral Suites in the El Cangrejo neighborhood of Panama City. It is convenient to most places we have to go, is about two blocks from the Metro, and walkable to our attorney’s office. Plus, the neighborhood has shopping, groceries, restaurants, entertainment, and a beautiful park all within walking distance. The hotel is only about $55 a night and has a full kitchen, comfortable bed, couch and chairs, and a nice pool, small gym, and laundry upstairs. Certainly not a five star hotel, but clean, comfortable, and super friendly and helpful staff. We walked next door and had a late dinner at Food Bazaar. We decided on Pizza and drinks. Our bill was $12.
Tuesday, I had an appointment at Immigration at 9:00 AM to pick up my permanent visa. We took a quick Uber to the immigration office where we met up with Anthony, our attorney’s fixer. I handed over my passport and he took care of everything. He was actually working with six or seven expats that day. He took care of everything. After some time, he came back with our passports and completed paperwork, walked us over to the line where we would wait for our photos and completed IDs. We were in and out in about an hour and a half, permanent visa in hand, took our photo, and took an Uber to our attorney’s office where we dropped of Mike’s completed paperwork for his citizenship and visited with Myra Lamboglia, the owner of the law office and mother to our attorney, Marianna, who was not in the office. We then walked back to the hotel and gathered our things, since we had arranged with a friend from Coronado who has a driving service to pick us up at 1:00. We set off with Tina and arrived at Coronado Bay before 2:30 PM. We had such a great time at Coronado Bay when we were here last year, we decided to return. We got a different apartment just two floors below our former one with the same view. We had seen the apartment the day before we left in November and had arranged for it to be ready for us April 15th. Since we knew the property manager, we did not have to pay a deposit. I let Tammy know when we arrived and she met us in the lobby to escort us up to our beautiful modern apartment that is so open and airy it seems larger than it actually is. While I unpacked, Mike walked to the nearby Mini Market to pick up a few snacks and something we could cook for dinner. We mostly just sat around looking at our beautiful view, listened to the waves crashing in, and appreciated how lucky we are to be able to be living our dream.
Wednesday, we slept in a bit, Mike took his walk on the beach, I made breakfast, then we got ready to go into the shopping centers for groceries and some things we didn’t pack to bring with us. We caught a cab at the corner that took us to the Super 99 shopping center. We walked across the pedestrian bridge over the highway to our favorite fonda, La Napa. We had a great lunch of carne guisada, rice, potato salad, and an empanada for me, and roasted chicken quarter, rice, lentils, and salad for Mike. The meals were $5.25 each and were delicious as always. We then walked down the street to the Village shopping center and Machitazo (Panama version of Super Walmart). We were looking for wash cloths (they evidently don’t use those much in Panama and I forgot to pack any), hangers (our closets did not have quite enough), and looked at bikes and TVs just to see what they had. Since we were already there, we just bought our groceries there then caught a cab back to Coronado Bay. After putting away the groceries, we hit the pool for the afternoon. Mike walked to Picasso to meet friends from our last trip for happy hour while I just stayed in, read a little, and watched my Wednesday TV shows.
Thursday, Mike walked the beach again while I straightened up around the apartment and got familiar with things, we went to the pool for most of the afternoon, then came in to get ready for Picasso. Thursdays are so much fun a Picasso. They have trivia at 5:00 PM, then karaoke at 7:00 and a fun DJ at 9:00. We have never made it to trivia but I do enjoy the karaoke and DJ. As expected, we saw so many of our friends there who welcomed us back. We really feel like we were missed and it was so good catching up with everyone.
Friday, was a totally chill day for us. I did morning water aerobics while Mike did his beach walk. Mike made a run to the Mini Mart, and we got an invite to hang out on the beach at 4:00 PM with a group of expats (mostly Canadians). It was a great time. We got to meet new people, watch the multitude of families taking advantage of the four day weekend, see the sunset, and just relax. As it got dark, one of the couples invited all of us up to their place to continue the party. It was a great day.
Saturday, we were invited to a house party by new friends. We had a great time at Tony and Maria’s house. We had actually seen them just before we left in November and had spoken to them but really had not met them. However, our best friends here had become friends with them so we were included. It was a fun time and some of the people we had met before but hadn’t gotten to know well were there, so we now feel like we have a whole group of new friends. We sang karaoke, danced, socialized, and really felt at home. On our way back home, we stopped off at Picasso when we saw friends there. We ended up having pizza and chatting with friends at the bar. It was so busy. Panamanians really know how to have fun during Holy Week. The somberness of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday had given way to one big party. I have never seen Picasso so busy. They had more staff and patrons than I have ever seen there, and I was thoroughly entertained by watching the waitstaff hopping, and Patrons dancing the night away.
Easter Sunday, was a day of rest for us. I watched some Easter service videos in the morning and we didn’t even make it to the pool at all. I spent the late afternoon and evening editing the first chapters of the book I’m writing (more on that later). Now here it is back to Monday. One week since we left Texas to return to Panama for six months. It’s been a rainy day here. In fact, our early morning water aerobics was interrupted about halfway through because it started misting and sprinkling. It’s been overcast most of the day and we have had some heavy showers at times, but even the rainy days are beautiful here. Until my next post…Chaio!
Leave a Reply