CHRISTMAS IN PANAMA

Christmas Movie Question:  

How is your wife? I have been extra good this year, so I have a long list of presents that I want.    Please note the size and color of each item and send AS MANY as possible!" This is a line from which holiday classic?

Geoffrey Tamarin Monkeys

I am a major romantic at heart, so I have to set the stage describing where I am now writing this blog. You know that the U.S.took over the building of the Panama Canal during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt.  It was finished in 1914 and the first U.S. steamer made it's way from the Atlantic to the Pacific via the canal on August 15th of that year.  The U.S.  managed the canal until the end of the 20th century, 1999 to be exact. At that time,  it was handed back to the Panamanian people.  

The B&B we are staying is remodeled military housing from the 1940's/50's era - La Estancia in Cerro Ancon.  The housing looks like something out of Casa Blanca and this must have been a pretty sweet posting back then.  Mind you, there was no air conditioning, so it was hot, but according to what I've read there was a lot of golf, BBQ's and socializing among the Americans - good schools too.  Not so romantic for the Panamanians who were not living in the same style, but need to add that it was for many reasons - not just the U.S. presence.  

Today, it is very hot and steamy in Panama City and pouring tropical buckets full of rain.  Right off our balcony are Geoffrey Tamarin monkeys gorging themselves on bananas - the pouring rain did not deter them in the least.  Two of them are pictured above.  Colorful birds of every variety as well.  Not a bird watcher, so have nothing intelligent to say beyond that.  

Central Park, Boquete Panama

We arrived in Panama on September 18th and will be flying home for Christmas day after tomorrow on December 19th.  The first 3 months flew by.  Just a few weeks after arriving, we arrived in Boquete in Chiriqui Province with absolutely no idea that we would want to make that our home.  We have been there ever since.  As we were driving to Panama City today, I was considering how I feel about Panama now after our first three months.

• Love the community of Boquete.  It is really a community with lots of shops, grocery stores, restaurants, churches, clubs and activities.  It is one of the most picturesque places I have ever lived.  It is unspoiled, safe and sweet.
• The local people are kind and welcoming. I have learned a lot of Spanish and have Panamanian neighbors who spend time talking with me and laughing together as I try to speak Spanish and they try to speak English.  Learning new things every day and it is so much fun. 
• Admire the Panamanians.  They live life at a much slower pace, which can drive you NUTS if you let it, but if you have the expectation that it is going to take a while, you can enjoy it.  EVENTUALLY, it all gets done and I definitely get the impression that no one worries about their job after office hours are over!!!
• My stress level has gone down significantly.  Mind you, we still have a lot to figure out, but I really believe that we can make a living here and strive to enjoy the process along the way. 
• Miss my kids and grandchildren a lot.  Skype is a great technology, but does not replace in-person hugs or conversations.  Seeing them 3 or 4 times a year is a must.   
• CONCLUSION:  I really, really like it here.  Would not be willing to commit to anything forever, but for now, I am extremely content with our decision to make Panama our new home.  

ANSWER:  Charlie Brown's sister, Sally, said this in Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

FOOD PRODUCTION HYDROPONICS IN PANAMA

See the bananas growing from the flower?

DECIDE TO BE INDEPENDENT

• Think and plan ahead
• Get your assets liquid
• Live well, but simply
• Read, research and be well-informed
• Consciously enjoy life and those around you - LAUGH!
• THINK AND PLAN! AHEAD

Spent the afternoon today with an entrepreneur - creative, very intelligent, informed and fiercely independent!  Our visit lasted almost 3 hours and most of the time, we just listened.  The reason for our visit was to tour his hydroponics farm - they grow several different kinds of lettuce, tomatoes, herbs, but the majority of the time we discussed how important it is to be personally responsible and prepared to take care of yourself and your family.  If there was a major emergency in your world, how would you have clean water, food to eat and how would you respond to medical needs.  If the government is shut down for a while and the grocery store shelves go bare - what to do?  No doom and gloom here, but a major reality check.  Survival course sort of.

LETTUCE HAVE SALAD!

It is a closed water system, so very water-efficient.  They use all natural methods to fend off critters that like to eat produce. Primarily they use other plants and neem oil.  Sunflowers, for instance, are a natural deterrent for white flies.  He also gave us quite a lecture on GMO's - genetically modified foods and the hazards he thinks they pose to human health.  I'll have to look into that one.


NEEM OIL:  

The Girls

Neem oil is a vegetable oil pressed from the fruits and seeds of the neem.  It's an evergreen tree which is grown in the tropics, including Panama, but hails originally from the Indian subcontinent.  Although in researching, found that it has many uses and can be taken orally by humans, supposed to have an extremely nasty taste!

USES;

Neem oil has many different uses and benefits...

• A natural insect repellent
• A safe pesticide
• A fertilizer
• A skin care ingredient
• A contraceptive
• A medicine with hundreds of different uses...

Farmers here are still allowed to use insecticides that were banned long ago in the U.S. so I have been on the hunt for veggies grown without said chemicals.  

Our host also grows his own bananas, oranges and has a chicken coop full of beautiful, noisy layers.  

Hydroponic Lettuce

BANANAS:  FOOD AND FODDER:  Though the banana plant very much resembles a palm tree, it's actually considered a perennial herb. Who knew?  

• It dies back after each fruiting and produces new growth for the next generation of fruit. The old foliage is removed and makes excellent fodder :  for chickens - they love it!  
• The fruit grows all over Boquete - a little smaller than the bananas you'll see at the market in the U.S. and SOOOOOO sweet.  
• No wonder, when they're ripe they contain 66% Sucrose, 14% Fructose and 20% Glucose - yup, almost all sugar.  
• They are harvested while they're still green because apparently, the ripening process doesn't begin in earnest till they're harvested. 

STEVIA:  EVEN THE LEAVES TASTE SWEET

Speaking of sweets - the Stevia Plant

This was the first time, I'd tasted Stevia.  I've seen it in the grocery store - think it comes as a liquid, but the leaves straight from the plant taste very sweet.  Not a chemical, can use just like sugar.  I'll have to try this one.  Again, sugar is something I'd really like to have be a minor part of my diet.  Coffee and red wine - GOOD FOR YOU!  Fat (excluding olive oil of course) and Sugar - BAD FOR YOU.

CHICKENS:  At the end of our time together, our host gave us a tour of his beautiful chickens.  They are very fond of banana leaves and him!  They are all layers and usually are good producers for several years before they take a long ride to become something else.....

I can attest that while they are at his farm, they have a healthy, free and happy life.

TOOKIE:  Our host has a pet toucan that he raised from a chick.  Favorite past time was flying within inches of my ears.  So fun to see him close up.  Crazy creature and so colorful.  

"Tookie"