Ants and Pasta, Welcome Home

Laura and Salma flew to California this morning. Or their plane did, and they just rode.

After seeing them off at the airport I stopped by my friend Tracy's house in La Chorrera. There was a salamander on his kitchen floor and I helped it out into the yard. Two cats lounging about the house on the cool tile floors, and the smell of burning leaves in the air. No sign today of the parrot that calls, "Mama, mama." Tracy is having a running dispute with his Panamanian neighbors. He recently discovered that his property is larger than was previously believed, so he moved the fence accordingly. A large chunk of what was believed to be his neighbor's property is now his. They have responded by loosening the fence posts, breaking into his backyard casita, tossing dogs and chickens over the fence, and on one occasion striking him with a board. The case has gone to the local magistrate and one of the neighbors may face jail time.

I got home just in time to see Henry and Nora Smith pulling up to my gate. They were in town to scope some properties, so I quickly fed the cat and went with them. They brought their granddaughter Ana Sofia with them to meet Salma. Ana Sofia is a happy, friendly little girl, charming in the way that Panamanian children can be.

I guided them to the new place that Silen is building and selling. Silen, who sold me this house, asked me about all my fruit trees. "How's the papaya tree? How's the mango? How's the guanabana?" Etcetera. I told him the bananas, papaya and mangoes are great, but I didn't even know that I had guanabana.

I took Henry and Nora to see the two-story house past Dan & Cherry's that a developer built on spec and is trying to sell. Nora took lots of photos.

Returning home I found Listo watering the yard on his day off. I asked him about the guanabana and he showed me, and he also pointed out a chirimoya tree (another one I didn't know I had).

I opened some windows and the kitchen door and stepped out into the side yard, only to step into a new anthill next to the sidewalk. I didn't even notice it until I got the first bite, and by the time I got my slippers off I had a half dozen bites on my foot. Welcome back to El Valle. In fact the insect population seems to have burgeoned lately, perhaps because of the light rainfall we've had. Termites, spiders, and a mouse-sized cockroach are running rampant in the house. I took off my slipper and aimed it at the cockroach but he escaped beneath the bathroom sink. Such sensitive little monsters.

The sugar-ant super highway has disappeared from the kitchen counter but a few scouts remain.

On the other hand it was nice to look in the fridge and find the delicious macaroni and mushroom dish that Rosa left, along with an olive and feta salad, and the remains of the chocolate cake that Laura made before she left.

The house is large, empty and silent, with a cool night breeze blowing through now that I've opened the windows. Salma's room is dark. There's a scent of jasmine in the air. Li'l Fishy is very glad to have me home and follows me from room to room. I have turned my phone off because I'm not in a talking mood, so if you've tried to call I'm afraid I have not received your messages. I still read my email.

Questions About Life in El Valle

This is in response to the comments on the previous post:

Hello Claudia,

I went over and looked at the house today. I am amazed that it's for rent. Those types of homes are usually owned by rich weekenders and they don't typically rent or sell them. How much are they asking?

So, the street that goes off the main road is at first unpaved, then paved but badly pitted. An ordinary car can manage it, but in general for living in El Valle I recommend an SUV or 4-wheel drive vehicle.

Once you get near the house the road is smooth. The house itself is nestled in the foothills among the trees and birdsong. It's a lovely location. I viewed the house from the street, but from what I can see it looks large, and the yard is huge.

Seeing the inside is important however, because Panamanian homes are often dark inside (to minimize sun exposure and heat), and some people don't like that.

Answers to your other questions:

American TV: You can sign up for Direct TV (cable service) which offers a wide selection of American programming. I don't know how much it costs.

Internet Connection: The most reliable service provider here is Mobilphone. It's wireless. I don't know if they offer 5mps, but another web developer here (Zach) has 1mps and I think he pays $150/month. I have 256K and pay $45 per month. Are you sure you really need such a high speed?

My internet connection is stable, though sometimes slow in the afternoon. The power goes out often here (a few times a week, several hours at a time, usually at night but occasionally during the day) and of course when that happens you won't be able to use your computer unless you have a large battery back-up unit. I do have one and it provides about 5 hours of power.

Things to bring: for us, nothing but thank you for offering. For yourselves, I wrote a post on this topic some time ago. See it here:

What to Bring When Moving to Panama

Re: Check Out This House in El Valle

I got this comment recently through my contact form. I've abbreviated it slightly. See below for my response:

Hi Laura. My husband and I myself are coming to Panama in mid May and we are right now deciding if we should rent a house down at Playa de Coronado and/or in El Valle. We found a house in El Valle. I would love if you could tell me on which "side" of the road this property is:

Here's a description: (removed to keep competing house-hunters from getting it).

Laura, since you live in El Valle would it be possible for you to find a little bit more information on the house and the location aside from what our realtor explained to us? I really truly appreciate your comments.

P.S. We have no icecream machine... but if everything works out ...well a dinner in our new home is on us :-)

Best wishes
Claudia

******************

Claudia, thanks for your email. Actually I am Wael, Laura's husband, and this is my blog. Laura's blog is www.CasaSalaam.com.

Yes, I know the street you described. It's a nice, quiet street in a good area. Not so close to the center of town but near the Centro Commercial, which is handy since that's the biggest store in town.

I'll go over there tomorrow and take a look at the house. Thanks for the dinner invitation and I look forward to taking you up on it. Please send me another message through the contact form and leave your email address this time.

Begone, Duende! Let my Daughter Be

Has Salma seen a duende? More likely she is just going through a phase. It started about four days ago, at least that's when I noticed it. She was in the bedroom watching an Elmo DVD that we recently got. Normally either Laura or I am in the room with her, but at that moment Laura had gone to the kitchen to get Salma a snack. Elmo is pretty harmless anyway. Suddenly Salma came running out of the room, crying.

Ever since that moment, this is what we're going through:

Salma will not stay in any room alone, even for a moment. If we're playing in the living room and I get up to go to the bathroom or get a glass of water, she will whine or cry and follow me.

Salma refuses to sleep in her crib, until she first cries for an hour or more. I (or Laura) hold her, sing to her, she falls asleep, but as soon as I try to lay her down she clutches my shirt and cries. If I set her down she will scream and cry. The only thing that will work is for me or Laura to sleep in the bed that is next to her crib. Even then she cries and wails before settling down.

Same thing for daytime naps. She will not sleep on her own. She cries and screams as soon as I set her down. Even Ani cannot get her to sleep.

She has also become very insecure. She used to be intrepid, exploring everything, approaching everyone. Now all of a sudden everything frightens her. I picked up the vacuum cleaner the other day - it was off - and Salma ran away just at the sight of it.

As a result Salma is exhausted, so she whines cries all the time and doesn't want to eat. She's a total basket case, and I am becoming one too. It's wearing me out. What on earth is going on?

Meanwhile Rosa is out sick, apparently with an infected molar. Her husband Claudio came by today and I gave him Rosa's pay for the week to pay for her medical care. I mentioned to him what was happening with Salma, and he said very matter of factly, "Maybe she saw a Duende."

Because of a discussion I had with Corrin Skubin last week, I just happen to know what this is. A duende is a mythological figure similar to a fairy or goblin. According to some, it's a goblin or elf that appears in the form of a dwarf and takes small children.

Wikipedia says, "They are believed to be of a small stature wearing big hats whistling a mystical song while walking in the forest. Using their talent they are believed to lure young girls to the forest and causing them to lose their way home. Conversely, in some Latin cultures the Duendes are believed to be the helpers of people who get lost in the forest so they could find their way home.

In Hispanic folklore of the American Southwest, Duendes are known as evil, green-skinned, red-eyed little monsters who live inside the walls of homes, especially in bedroom walls of young children. They attempt to convince children to misbehave, and will eventually try to steal a child's soul."

It's true that I sometimes hear noises coming from inside the air conditioning unit in Salma's room. Laura has mentioned that we might have mice in there.

In all seriousness, though, I hope Salma gets over this problem soon, Insha'Allah.

Cicadas, Peacocks, and Frogs with Bad Timing

We're at the apex of the dry season. The weather is warm bordering on hot, bright and sunny every day. The birds are singing, our resident iguana is growing huge, and Laura and Salma have been making frequent trips to the swimming pool at Aparthotel El Valle, which charges $2 per person for a dip in a pool heated by natural hot springs. Salma wears a flotation device and is gradually becoming more comfortable swimming on her own, with her Mama a feet away watching.

The cicadas have started up and you can hear them all day long. A cicada's call starts out with a sputter like an engine trying to start, then winds up into a long, loud air-raid siren. If you didn't know what it was you'd think it was a machine of some kind.

Summer is mosquito season and the geckos are going to town. They're all over the house, laughing at us with their distinctive call. We've hung a mosquito net over Salma's bed and we make sure to draw it closed every night. I sleep in long sleeved pajamas as protection, with the ceiling fan running on low. No need for AC up here in El Valle, except on the hottest afternoons.

The peacocks at Los Aramos seem to have spring fever. We hear their calls at all hours of the day and night.

We had a few brief rainstorms last week and it seems to have fooled the frogs. Many came out of hibernation and can be seen hopping all around the neighborhood by the hundreds. Unfortunately for them the early rain was a nasty April fool's joke, not to be repeated. The ditches and streams are dry and I'm afraid this crop of frogs will die out. Laura already removed one from our driveway, picked to the bones by black ants.

The termites have shown a few signs of an impending population explosion. We'll see.

Laura is now teaching English two days a week at the public school. It's turning out to be quite an experience for her. You can read about it on her blog, http://www.CasaSalaam.com

Good News: the Golden Frog is Not Extinct in the Wild

From the English-language section of Prensa.com:

Panamá, Friday April 10 2008

Golden frog may escape extinction

"We could be witnessing the greatest extinction since the dinosaurs," explained Jeff Corwin, host of the popular television show "Animal Planet." Corwin was in Panama to film the first leg of a research project that will take him South America, Africa and Australia as well.

Corwin is investigating the massive and somewhat sudden extinction of amphibians around the world, specifically frogs, toads, newts and salamanders. Panama has not been spared the disappearance of these sensitive and wonderful creatures. The golden frog, the country's most well known amphibian, recognized worldwide for its extraordinary beauty, is on the verge of disappearing.

The species has suffered from deforestation and urbanization, but the principal cause of its demise is an aquatic fungus that adheres to its skin, asphyxiating and dehydrating the tiny creature.

The odds of anyone finding the endemic species where Corwin and his knowledgeable guide and colleague, Edgardo Griffith, director of the Centro de Conservación de Anfibios El Níspero, went looking for them, were miniscule. The frog was believed to be extinct in the area.

"A few years ago I was doing a show in the extraordinary region of Darién," Corwin said, "and we discovered some spectacular species of frogs. Three years later, when I went back to the region to document them, we travelled all over the area and weren't able to find any."

Yet to their astonishment, in the town of Copé in the province of Coclé, they found 15 adolescent frogs accompanied by an adult.

The golden frog will be featured in Corwin's forthcoming documentary, "The Vanishing Frog."

I had heard that these Animal Planet fellows were here in town. A few young American expats here (children of the Blume family) went with them on their expedition to the Darién, and returned vowing never to do it again.

That's great news about the the symbol of El Vallé - the golden frog. I have noticed a dramatic reduction in the number and variety of frogs here in El Vallé, and I understand that many species in the wild have disappeared altogether. Hang in there, rana dorada! Fight the fungus that be!

P.S. Prensa.com's English-language supplement can be found here:

http://prensa.com/hoy/herald.shtml

*

Another Business Idea for Entrepreneurs in Panama

I've updated my popular post on Business Ideas for Entrepreneurs in Panama (popular in terms of the number of people who have viewed it, though no one has commented yet - grr!).

There are now 28 business ideas, after I added the following to the list:

Same-Day and Next-Day Courier Service - It's true that Panamanians like to take their time with things. What's the hurry? But the number of North American & European expat communities along the Panama-Penonomé corridor is growing, and these folks might appreciate a reliable same-day or overnight courier service that could do any of the following:

• Pick up mail or packages in Panama city and deliver them to coastside communities.
• Deliver documents to lawyers or banks in the city.
• Buy requested items (or even do a full-fledged shopping trip) in Panama city and deliver.

With the rising price of gasoline, a day trip into the city to do any of these things is cost prohibitive. For me, living in El Valle de Antón, a round trip to the city in my 2003 Nissan Sentra costs $30 in gas. That's outrageous. The alternative is a long, tiring trip on the bus.

A courier service, on the other hand, could use fuel-efficient mopeds and small vehicles to keep costs low. After all, Chinese restaurants and pizza parlors in Panama already use mopeds for home delivery, as in the photo above. Why not do the same for documents and packages, like the Thai fellow in the photo at the top?

In addition, courier services combine several deliveries going in the same direction into one run, for the sake of both time and cost efficiency.

Salma in a Guaymi Dress and Playing in the Water

As usual, click on the photo for a much larger version. This photo below is Salma in a Guaymi dress. The Guaymi, also know as the Ngobe-Bugle, are the predominant Indian tribe of this area.


What is this thing you keep pointing at me, Mom?:



We fill this yellow tub with water and let it sit out in the sun so the water gets warm. By afternoon the yard is shaded but the water is just right. Salma loves playing in the water. Of course someone is always watching her:



She enjoys filling a glass and pouring it out onto the grass, or onto herself.



Some of Mama's creative photography:

Entrepreneurial Spirit--Panamanian Style

Someone named Bull posted this great story on the Panama Forum, and I thought I'd share it with my readers (the photo is not the fellow in the story, just a random Panamanian farmer whose photo I found on the web). Read all the way to the end. You'll be glad you did:

His name was Joseul and the clothes he wore would've been rejected by the raggediest scarecrow on the poorest piece of hardscrabble farm land in Lower Alabama but I needed a gardener not a GQ wannabe so we cut a deal sans contract for him to mow my lawn in Albrook Air Force Station family housing for seven bucks a week.

A nosy neighbor told us she'd seen his lineup photo in a book the Sky Cops showed around the housing area and she suspected him of stealing a pair of shoes from her clothes dryer. I told her if they were the shoes I always saw him wearing she needed to go to confession as soon as possible since I was convinced she'd reached a point people smarter than me called a nadir. I added for good measure that I thought Joseul's surname was probably Nadir.

He was so rail thin if he turned sideways I couldn't see his shadow. He lived
in an area called Hollywood situated between the vegetable market where Gaillard Highway almost becomes Fourth of July Avenue and a PCC housing area up on the hill behind it. The best thing you could say about Hollywood was it was waterfront property. Course you wouldn't drink or cook with that agua (browner for more reasons than mud) and if you were a reasonable person driving by it you'd pinch your nostrils together if your windows were down in which case you'd be considered less than reasonable.

Joseul wasn't a standup comic but he uttered one of the best one liners I've ever heard. After a particularly strong thunderstorm he said, "My house blew away but I found it."

During the five years he worked for us and other families on Albrook he endured
the violent and tragic death of his wife, run down by a Diablo Rojo, leaving him to
raise their three young children. To supplement his gardening income he fought boxing
matches he almost always lost and on more than one occasion he was mugged by maleantes who knew he was a gardener paid in cash. Yet every time I saw him he was smiling.

If I asked him "Como esta?" he always replied, "Muy bien, gracias!" This all occurred
from July 1984 to July 1989 when I returned to Phoenix and my old job at Luke AFB. We returned to Panama for a second tour in April 1993 and things had changed considerably.

Our family unit was the wife and me. I thought it was the ultimate vacation until my wife pointed out that one of the establishments we hadn't found yet was a laundromat. We lived in the El Panama Hotel for two months while looking for permanent housing downtown.

Every Friday morning I tossed our dirty laundry into the car trunk and on my lunch hour would scoot from Howard AFB over to Albrook where I used the washer/dryer behind the Bachelor Officers Quarters.

One day I'm driving up to that location when I spot none other than Joseul, standing in someone's yard, overseeing his 16-year old son mow the lawn. I pulled to the curb and got out and it was as Yogi Berra famously said deja vu all over again for both of us. The next time I saw him was two or three years later as I walked to my car in the Howard parking lot and here comes Joseul, resplendent in dress slacks, long sleeved white guayabera, looking dapper and contented as all getout.

We chatted awhile and he told me he had his own landscaping business and he was
certainly the picture of success. We exchanged a firm handshake and fuerte abrazo and as I walked on to my car I could feel a bit more spring in my old feet.

Bull

El Valle Hotel Restaurant Reviews

Although I've lived in El Valle de Antón, Panama, for almost two years now, I've never dined at some of the hotel restaurants here. After all, when was the last time you dined at your local Hilton Hotel?

I've eaten at Los Capitanes several times (mostly to my regret) because the Valleros ex-pat group holds functions there and I've had friends and family staying there.

I've had the well-regarded breakfast at the Anton Valley Hotel and it was quite good.

I often eat at El Rancho (formerly called Niña Delia), which is technically a hotel since it has several inexpensive rooms for rent, but is much better known as a restaurant.

But I've never been to the restaurants at La Casa de Lourdes, Rincon Valley Hotel, the Park Eden Hotel, or any of the various cabañas around town such as Cabañas Las Mozas.

Eventually I'll get around going to those, just so I can blog about them, but in the meantime I spotted these informal reviews on the "Restaurants in Panama" Yahoo discussion forum:


Dining at La Case de Lourdes

"bwh12b" posted this review of La Case de Lourdes, which is the highest-end hotel and restaurant in El Valle:

This past weekend I went to El Valle de Anton to try La Casa de Lourdes, which I'd only read about. Wow. La Casa de Lourdes is the restaurant for the hotel/spa Los Mandarinos (http://losmandarinos.com/), and it may be the prettiest place, architecturally speaking, that I've seen in all of Panama. I didn't stay at Los Mandarinos, because this was a last-minute trip and they were full -- so I can't comment on the rooms. (I stayed at Los Capitanes, which is a reliable alternative nearby.) But I did have dinner there. The food was superb, and reasonably priced; entrees range from $8-18. (I had the pork chop, 1.5" thick, with fig compote glaze; I think that was $13.) The owner/hostess, Lourdes, is charming and attentive to all. And the setting, well... even if they only served sancocho, it would be worth a visit. :-)

Clearly a very positive review. However, I must point out the experience of my friends Christina and Rudy, who went there for Chris' birthday. The meals, they said, were good, but when they received the check and presented their pensionado cards (a retirement visa that guarantees the bearer a special discount), Lourdes became angry and hostile and created a scene, accusing the "gringos" of taking advantage of Panamanians. This spoiled the whole experience for them, naturally.

"Vicki" also had a positive experience at La Casa de Lourdes, saying,

"We'll second this recommendation! We were there last year, our meals,
the setting and the service were fantastic."

"thebeachisgud" confirmed it with this comment:

LOVE this place. If you are staying overnight, request room 4A or 4B
(in the old part, on the top floor where you have a view and breeze,
and close to the spa).

The menu changes with the season. We're looking forward to the return
of the "winter" menu with the "to-die-for" cassoulet + warm mango
crumble (available in mango season). That being said, we were there
over Carnival and our selections off the special Carnival menu
(gourmet riffs on Panamanian classics) and the summer menu were
memorable and luscious, as always.

Dining at the Hotel Rincon Vallero

About the Hotel Rincon Vallero, Vicki wrote:

"We stayed at Hotel Rincon Vallero, which was lovely and the food was excellent in their restaurant. We had the Suite with a bedroom, living room and a fabulous bathroom...the shower is a waterfall. My mom in law was with us and this worked out well for us. She was ready to sleep on the fold out sofa bed but no.....they brought a real mattress to put on top of the lousy mattress for her comfort. Mind you, we didn't ask for it they just showed up with it right after check-in. We would go back there again."

Ok, so that wasn't specifically a restaurant review, though she did say the food was excellent. Anyone else dined at Rincon Valley? Care to share your experience?

Dining at the Crater Valley Resort

I myself have dined at the Crater Valle Resort, along with Laura and her mother Linda. We went over there on a weekday evening just to check it out. There were no other diners there and the hotel staff seemed surprised by our appearance, but they seated us and took our orders. We found the outdoor patio and pool, although quite lovely and scenic, to be too exposed to the wind and rain, so we asked to be moved to an indoor dining room and were accomodated.

I ordered the corvina. It turned out to be not quite fresh, though it was topped with a tropical fruit compote that was delicious. In general I would describe the restaurant as creative but disused. The food was decent, not outstanding. Prices were in the $10 to $15 range, too high for El Valle or for what was served.