Carnival in Penanome

This time of year is always crazy. It is busy with tourists who wish to escape the colder weather up north, but even more so, locally, with celebrations. This past week has been Carnival.

For those unfamiliar with Carnival, it is the same idea as Mardi Gras in New Orleans and typically starts about five days before Ash Wednesday. People generally take the day off and engage in Carnival festivities, including dancing and going to the parades. We did last year, and this year was no different for us.

This year, instead of dancing along side water trucks (although due to water shortages, this aspect of Carnival was cancelled in many towns), we decided to venture an hour west of us to a town, Penanome, which is known for its parades since it occurs on a river. We went with one of our friends and her son.

Despite numerous inquiries, none of us could get a straight answer as to when this parade was scheduled. Eventually, we just decided to believe the parade started at 11am and hoped it was accurate; it wasn't! 

We got to the parade location. There were few people there, mostly lifeguards setting up barricades along the river.  As 11:00 came by there were no signs that the parade was going to start. Somebody told us that the parade started after all of the Carnival goers were done dancing and that it should start at 3pm. That was four hours away!!

The decision was made to stay, we drove there already. Why not? We spent much of our time listening to music, swimming, and sitting. The time finally came for the parade to start; in Panamanian fashion it started 30 minutes later. 

Robert also tried out Sao; a traditional
Panamanian dish. Pig feet anyone?

Floats powered by men swimming in the river carried the princesses and queen. Each queen or princess on a float had large amounts of costume jewelry and decorate feather pieces. The  reflective lighting provided a perfect showcase for how extravagant these pieces and floats are. 

Getting home was a lot easier than we were expecting since traffic was so light. All of us were thankful not to be on the other side of the highway as a steady flow of cars were heading our way to some of the bigger festivals in Panama. Despite it being a long day in the dry season's heat (technically it is winter here), both Robert and I were happy to have gone. If we ever go again, we'll be sure to arrive a little later in the day.

Our Panamanian Anniversary

It's hard to believe that this week we celebrated a year of living in Panama. A year ago this week we said our final goodbyes to our family and friends in Gilbert. In order to make everyone's life a little happier and less stressful, we rented a vehicle and drove to Las Vegas. I can honestly say that was one of the best things to do since the pills the veterinarian gave us for our little dog did not work very well and enduring two flights would have been madness.

Notice most of the stuff we brought
is for the dogs...

The past year we have grown to know and love Panama. We have done some exploring around the country, although we would love to do more. Our fitness and over all health has improved since our move here. We have learned to surf, and paddle board. I have rekindled my love for yoga. I am still working on being able to touch my toes with straight legs...

After a year hear, we seem to think we have a decent understanding of Panama, although culture shock still hits us in spurts. Here are a few things we often discuss, and get asked:

Do you speak Spanish?/How is your Spanish?

N- I speak a little and am working on becoming more fluent. Robert speaks better than I do.

R- I feel like I can get by with most day to day activities; however, I still have a long way to go.

Miraflores Locks

Are you used to Panamanian food?

R- There isn't a lot of variety to me, but with chicken and rice. How can you go wrong?

N- In some ways. Plantains and yucca are food staples here and I have to admit, I am not a huge fan!

Play Venao

What do you miss most about the US?

R- Some kind of fresh fruit year round. Panama has some pretty delicious fruit during season; but in the off-season, the imports don't always make up for the difference.

N- I miss some of the food, in particular, fresh pumpkin, berries,  and brussels sprouts. Technology helps me not miss family and friends...

Golden Frog Festival in El Valle

Is there anything that you are still not used to about Panama?
R- Any government processes are incredibly slow. Watch Zootopia's DMV to relate.

N- The sense of "mañana" and how if something is said to start at 2:00pm, you can still show up at 4:00 and not be the last person to arrive.

   

The Cathedral in Casco Viejo

What has been the biggest culture shock?
N- Being asked if I have the loose change while checking out.

R-When we first traveled down here, it was a culture shock on how slow and laid back the culture is. This can, however, create a really pleasant experience once you accept it, unless there is something you really need repaired right away.

The Biomuseum

What do you love most about Panama?
N- What's not to love? I like how different it is from the US and so I am growing as a person. I like the food quality from Panama; the eggs are fresh, and the pineapple is life-changing (once you have one here, one from the States is unacceptable). I also like the change of pace. Dining out doesn't feel rushed like it does in the States.


R- To me, Panama is a country of nearly endless possibilities. If there is something you are passionate about, you can probably make it happen.

                                  

                            Hiking Ancon Hill

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone"-unknown. And so it has, and life is beautiful and scary. Here is to year two in Panama!

A Trip to a Coffee Plantation

Yesterday was filled with caffeine and hiking. We had the opportunity to go to a coffee plantation three hours away. While I can count the number of times on one hand I have seen Robert drink coffee, we thought that this could be an interesting and educational experience. So, off we went.

A three hour drive sounds like a drive sounds like a long drive to go on a coffee plantation tour (and it is), but most coffee grown in Panama is from an area called Boquete up by Costa Rica, which is over 5.5 hours away. We took a drive which required us to drive in 4 wheel drive for over an hour on a dirt road in order to get to the plantation. 

The steep hills were a foreshadow of what we would be hiking. The drive was beautiful and in some respects, reminded me of some of the drives we took with Robert's Jeep in Arizona. 

The group we went with took a total of three cars. When we arrived we were greeted with panoramic views of a very rural community. 

The building on the left is the school,
which was less than a 5 minute walk for us

See the house on the left?

We were also introduced to some of the machines and the process in coffee production. This is what happens after the coffee bean is harvested:

The coffee is stripped and cleaned

The beans go through a canal to help determine the grade of the bean. The ones that stay closest to the entrance of the canal are considered to be the highest grade. 

The beans are then dried

 Then the beans are roasted...

 and finally packaged.

After learning about the production of coffee, it was time to visit the plants. The hike was a grueling 45 minute walk almost entirely up hill, with the exception of a few "flatter" spots for respite. Along the way we saw some coffee plants and got to see an example of how they flower. Did you know that coffee plants are shrubs? Prior to the tour, neither did we!

This was a great way to see the flowers,
although the plant itself is overgrown. 

We eventually got to the closest coffee plot (there were others, but that would have added another hour of walking). It was full of foliage. They had three different types of coffee plants in this particular area, including plants that make some of the best types of coffee, Geisha. 

The buds near the leaf will eventually become a bean!

According to our guide, it takes 5 years for a plant to grow from a seedling to a producing plant. In general, coffee workers are paid around $2/hour to pick and carry bags, usually weighing 100 pounds, back to the processing plant. Our guide/partial owner stated that their company has a mule carry the bags and pay their workers a little more than the going rate. 

After the walk back it was time to learn how to "cup coffee" or "cupping", which is another term for coffee tasting. Before we started the process we got to watch the beans get roasted in a homemade roaster. The owner stated they have three roasters, one was a homemade, another is a popcorn machine, and the other is used for larger production when he is not cupping. The process of roasting coffee beans is interestingly enough, very similar to popcorn; you roast it until the beans start to pop. 

Beans that need to be roasted

Roasting the beans with a homemade contraption

Cooling the roasted beans

After the beans were ground we got to start the cupping process. 

First you smell the different types of coffees. You notice whether one may smell like citrus, chocolate, roses, or wine. 

The second step is called "breaking the crust". Coffee grounds are put into cups with hot water. The coffee forms a crust. You take a spoon and break the crust and smell the coffee. You do this with each cup of coffee, even though there are generally two cups for each variety of coffee.

Then comes the tasting part. You take your spoon, put some coffee into and slurp it up, let it sit on your tongue and then spit it out. The owner let us pick the majority favorite and we got to enjoy a nice cup of coffee. Robert and I are normally not coffee drinkers but we both needed this after our poor choice of packing cookies as "our lunch" (we did not realize we would need more than a snack). Alas, it was time to go back down the hill. 

Our guide and his partner

The day ended with us getting Chinese takeout and watching a movie. Robert and I had a great day and learned a lot more about coffee than we thought we would. One thing is for sure, we both gained a whole new appreciation for coffee.