Hacienda San Isidro and Rum

It doesn't matter where you live, there is always something to explore. That is exactly what we chose to do.  We got a group of friends together and took a three hour drive to Hacienda San Isidro, which is also known as the Abuelo Rum and Seco Herrerano distillery.

What is Seco Herrerano? Like rum, both come from sugar cane. The sugar cane is harvested and processed. The processing basically results in two liquids: sugar cane juice and molasses. The sugar cane juice gets distilled into Seco Herrerano while the molasses gets distilled into rum. Seco Herrano is often used as a replacement for rum or vodka. We did not get to see the Seco Serrerano being distilled, however, we did get to see the process for rum.

On the tour we got to ride a cart being pulled by oxen. The oxen carts were the original way that the sugar can would be transferred from the fields to the first start of the processing plant.

The fermentation process begins once liquid is extracted and separated from the sugar cane.

You can see the molasses in the picture. 

After the rum is distilled it gets put into barrels for aging. This process can take anywhere from 4 to 30 years. Did you know that at the start of the aging process the rum is clear liquid? The rum gets the color from the tannins (coloring) of the barrels barrels. The longer the rum stays in the barrel, the darker the color of the rum.

The tour included several opportunities to try rum and Seco Herrerano. We got to try their version of a Cuba Libre, which was refreshing after touring some very warm buildings. We then got to taste the different aged rum that Abuelo offers. They offer rum that has been aged 4 years, 7 years, 12 years, and 30 years. Anyone want to make bets on which rums everyone liked the best? Hint: it wasn't the 4 year rum. It also turns out that the 12 year rum (my favorite) has won awards for being the best rum for under $100. Cool stuff!

It was a fun tour over all. Not only did we get to learn about distilling rum, we also got to taste it. It was a full day. Anyone visiting and wanting to go on the tour should either be visiting for more than a
a few days and/or be into rum. For those of you who may be intrigued and in the mood to taste some of this awesome rum, it is available in the US. This nifty product finder can help you locate where to purchase either Seco Herrano or Ron Abuelo. Just be sure to specify the brand you're looking for. Cheers!

Yoga and Me

Woo, two blog posts in the same month. This is a record, given my lack of attention to Pamamerican Perspective. It is hard to believe that June is right around the corner. Yoga has been my latest focus and it is awesome!

I am currently on day 8 of a goal I have that involves doing a yoga practice for 30 days. The practice can be 10 minutes or over an hour, as long as it is a practice. Some may call it a challenge, but I don't see it this way. Yoga is very enjoyable for me. I have learned a lot about my self and my body over a short time. I feel like I have become more mindful of my body and of myself. Some of this may be because of me practicing yoga on and off for the last 7 years, but I feel like I have already grown in the last 8 days.

Since we are on the topic of yoga, here are some things I have discovered about the practice throughout my experience. These are questions or comments I often hear from people who are curious about yoga but aren't quite sure where to start.

Flexibility is more than being able to touch your toes or fold into a pretzel. A good teacher will provide other options for poses that may require more flexibility than others. Props including straps and blocks, pillows, and blankets, are also great for helping somebody enjoy the benefits of a pose.

Yoga is about flexibility of the mind too. Over time you will become more physically flexible. You also will also gain more self awareness. I feel that the mental flexibility has taken longer in some respects than some of the physical aspects.

The key is to listen to your body. There is a fine line between exploring your boundaries and hurting yourself. This is where mental and physical flexibility come in. Honor your body and be curious about your body. You may be surprised what you can really do. Like life, we are all in different parts of our practice. Your friend next to you may be able to do a pose you hope to do someday; and it goes both ways. Honor your body and honor your limits.

Some poses are easier than others. Each day varies. No matter how many times you do a pose, even the most basic and easy ones can be challenging on any given day. It happens to all of us. Some poses are easier for some people than others. This may apply regardless of how long you've practiced. Again, the key is to honor your body and to not compare yourself to others. You're a rockstar regardless of your level!

Nobody really cares what you wear to yoga. Yoga clothes and the $78 pair of yoga capris are not going to give you any more yoga-zen powers than the $15 pair of capris you buy at Target. The same applies to pretty much any yoga clothing. What matters is how you feel in them. In general I like to look for clothes that are form fitting, flexible, and not baggy. Clothes that work for you can make a difference on whether you're focusing on your clothing or your pose in yoga. My pants in the picture fit almost all of the criteria. The only downside is that my foot slips on them, taking my focus away from some of my poses (see the balance picture above). They were $3 at a local store down here.

Yoga is for almost everyone. I am a believer in this and will be until I am proven otherwise. The practice can occur just about anywhere. Even airports are incorporating yoga rooms! If going up and down on the floor is not a great way to honor your body then try it in a chair. I practiced chair yoga with my mom in December. We both enjoyed our 20 minute session. Youtube is a great source for yoga classes, including chair yoga.

Our smaller dog guiding me into Lizard pose. 

This is me on my soap box today about yoga. As you can tell, I really enjoy yoga. Panama has provided us with so many opportunities, including the chance to rekindle with things we've enjoyed including yoga and hiking. I think Robert and I have changed a lot in the last two years since we moved here. We've become better people as a result. And that's what's going on this week!

A Recap of Us the Last Month

I've broken my promise of blogging regularly. I have not had a lot of motivation, since I think our lives are kind of boring. Not saying our lives aren't great, but are they really worth writing about? Here is what we've been up to since our last blog post in February.

After our trip to Bogota, we took a quick trip to Arizona. For those of you counting, we traveled internationally 3 times within a 7 week period. Arizona was fun, because I got a chance to see some old friends, including one I haven't seen in over 20 years. It was great catching up!

We've both been busy with work. I am writing blogs for a local company here. It is great, because it gives me a chance to do things I wouldn't normally think of doing. One example of this is visiting a bed and breakfast that rescues sloths. Sloths are not very well liked in Panama, and some think they are connected with the supernatural. As a result, sloths are often mistreated and killed. This bed and breakfast will try to rehabilitate the sloths and return them to the wild. There are two that wouldn't make it in the wild, and these are the ones we got to feed. Aren't they cute?

We've been on a frozen smoothie kick. It just seems so much easier drinking a breakfast than cooking something. Cereal usually does a poor job holding me over until lunch, so this is a great option for both of us. Our freezer is full of frozen frozen fruit including bananas, mangoes, pineapple, spinach, kale, and berries. We have a small freezer, 70% of which is devoted to smoothies. Add a little protein powder with chia seeds or walnuts. Yum!

Robert and I went for a hike with a group earlier this week. The hike was a moderate hike, but it was a lot of fun. Rainy season has officially started, and we beat the rain by about 15 minutes. Thank goodness because hiking downhill doesn't sound super appealing with monsoon like rains.

We've had high surf advisories lately, too. These are usually a surfer's delight, since surf advisories usually equal big waves and strong ones. We went out for the first time in over a year yesterday. It was a blast in spite of us both being a little rusty.

Other than that, there is nothing new going on. We plan on going for another hike with a friend this week. We are staying busy and loving life in Panama. I really will try to make an effort to post something every two weeks. I know I said that before, but I really will try to put forth an effort.

A Trip to Bogota, Colombia

We took a trip earlier this month to Bogota, Colombia and it was amazing! We had a lot we wanted to try to do, and we did just about everything on our list. We also did a lot of walking in the process.

The first night we got to the hotel I was tired. The flight from Panama to Bogota was only about an hour; however, I was still getting over my last leg of my ear infection. Doing nothing proved to be useful though since our first full day of Bogota was the start of something awesome!

We took a tour of the graffiti in La Calendaria district of Bogota. During our tour, we learned about the significance of the graffiti in Bogota and why some shop owners pay for artists to paint on the outside of their buildings. In essence, a nice mural is likely to add more value to a building. It also prevents the building from being tagged with something less appealing. The tour taught us about art culture and politics also, since the graffiti is more than just scribbles and profanity.

After the tour Robert and I went to a gold museum. The museum was nice, but not especially anything we cared about. Learning about the history of gold in Colombia was interesting, but not a highlight of our trip. You can't win them all. 

The next day we took a private cooking class and learned how to make a Colombian dish. Robert and I made slightly different variations because of me being a vegetarian, but the result was still a lot of awesomeness. Some of the things we made we were familiar with thanks to Panama. Familiar foods included arepas (a corn tortilla thicker than a Mexican tortilla. Can be filled or used like toast or a tostada shell) and patacones (plantains that are deep friend into medallions).

Others though were a fun treat including making a dish with tomatoes and onions called hogao. Another dish we made is called guiso. Basically it is hogao with cheese. However, according to our instructor, there is no such thing as hogao con queso (cheese) . One thing that surprised me was what Colombians put in guacamole. Growing up my mom basically put jalapeños in with mashed avocado. In Colombia they put a sliced boiled egg. Spiciness is added depending on the person, but food in Bogota is generally not spicy. We also tried lulo juice. Lulo is a Colombian fruit that looks like a tomato in ways, but is orange and slightly hairy on the outside. After cutting and peeling the lulo, water and sugar were added to make a refreshing drink.

After our class we ventured back over to the La Calendaria district for some shopping. We met an artist whose work we saw on the tour. Robert bought one of his paintings. The guy seemed nice, despite there being a slight communication barrier.

We then found our way to Mount Monseratti. The entrance was about a mile uphill from where we were, but a lot of people seemed to be taking the walk. From the entrance you can go to the top one of two ways: cable car or on a train. We chose to take the train up and the cable car down. This was a beautiful way of gaining appreciating of how big Bogota is (population estimates at roughly 9.9 million). The views were spectacular.

Our next adventure occurred the next day where we decided to take it a little easy. We walked to Parque Simon Bolivar. The park is bigger than Central Park in New York City. We went on a weekend and both of us were glad we did. There was a lot going on from people playing soccer, to a rugby match in sand and a cross country meet. The park even has an amusement park which includes a ferris wheel sponsored by Samsung.

After walking through that park, we found another one across the road. Robert and I spent time watching speed skaters of all ages and abilities, people playing street hokey, and others playing sand volleyball. It was something else and made me forget about being in a giant city. We then explored in a mall and saw the movie La La Land. The movie was in English. The lobby of the theater was different since there was the typical concession stand, along with a coffee shop, a candy kiosk, and a sushi bar. La La Land is a really good movie, making it a great way to end the day.

Our last day was more of a trip. We went to the Nemocon Salt Mines. It took roughly 2 hours via public transportation and bus to get to the town with the mines. Once we got there we ate a hearty breakfast and found our way to the mines. The salt mine is a cave and is not currently being mined. The optical illusions were beautiful.

This was also a filming location for the movie The 33 which is about the 33 miners who were buried alive in Chile (and also another good movie). We were able to see a replica of the room the miners were trapped. On our way back, we got lunch. Lunch consisted of beans/lentils with a ripe plantain, rice, eggs/beef, a potato, salad, and guava juice. Our bill was roughly $3 US Dollars.

The trip to Bogota went by fast but it was fun to be able to see and experience all we did. Not only did we get a chance to make some really delicious food, we also got see a lot of interesting things in addition to learning about some of Colombia's history.

A Review of January

My intention for 2017 was to try to blog about something every two weeks. Honestly, it has been my intention. Although considering my last post was on New Years Eve, I might need to try a little harder next month. What's been going on with us?

Well, obviously not enough to feel like I should blog about it...or maybe we've just been so busy I kind of forgot. We've both been busy with work. I am still doing social media marketing for a local company and really enjoy it. Along with posting things on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites, I also blog for the company and try to get other local companies involved. Robert is also helping out in small bits with the company I work for...doing back page "behind the scenes" things for the website. He is also staying busy with some of his other projects.

I have also been dealing with a pesky ear infection that won't go away. My doctor gave me some serious antibiotics this past week and it seemed to do help do the trick. Funny enough, some of the medicine I got was from a Pharmacy that couldn't quite get my name right.

Our building has also been without gas for about 3 weeks now. That means no cooking, no drying clothes, and no warm showers. Everyone seems to be getting used to the clothes and the cold showers. But eating out gets old. We have a crock pot but in a 85 degree weather (or  about 26° C) who really wants a hot thing running for 4-8 hours in their house? We bought a hot plate, but the thing isn't level and is kind of unstable to cook on, although it can be better than nothing. We've opted to eat salads and a lot of pizza. Don't judge. 

On the plus side of all of this, lack of heat in a warm climate is definitely a first world problem. Hanging clothes out on our little clothes rack on the balcony is nice and all but our jeans and thicker clothes typically dry within half the day.

So that is our month in a nutshell. February will be busier but I will try to be more active with the posts. I am also working on a post about what our grocery stores look like. A friend of mine seems intrigued, so by popular demand, that will be an upcoming post. What are you curious about? Let me know and I will try to blog about it!

Christmas Travels

This year we spent Christmas in the United States. We visited family in Oregon and Arizona. It was a quick 10 day trip, but it was one of the most memorable/special Christmases that we've had in a while.

Our trip to Oregon was cold. Luckily, it was only in the 30s and 40s and not in the teens like it had been the week prior to us visiting and the days following our visit. Robert and I had to find any warm clothes that we brought down during our move. You don't need jackets, hats, and scarves in 85 degree weather. We made it work though, and most of our plans involved staying inside anyway, which helped.

The first thing we did after landing in Oregon was going to Claim Jumper. It has always been one of my favorite places to eat. Good food, HUGE portions (even by US standards), reasonable prices, and over all a nice atmosphere. Is it just us, or are there places that you have to eat at when going back to where you grew up?

A tradition at PDX

The next day Robert and my dad attempted to go golfing, although that was short lived due to the frost on the course. Meanwhile, my mom and I got our hair done. I crossed off a bucket list item by chopping off over 8 inches of hair and donating it. My cause was for free wigs for women with cancer. 

Robert found out the hair salon was close to an Arby's. He requested it for lunch. He had a cheddar roast beef sandwich while I snacked on Jalapeño poppers with bronco sauce. Lunch was not healthy, but awesomely indulgent. 

The next day we were off to Roseburg. We saw one of my best friends and also got pie from Kruse Farms. If you are ever in the area, I recommend stopping by for pie. You won't regret it. 

We celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve with my brother at my parents' house. Gifts from Oregon included suitcase/carry on friendly items including gift cards, books, and clothes. Our Christmas day was very uneventful, but still very nice and relaxing. 

Our second Christmas was spent in Arizona. We landed and requested In N Out for lunch. Robert got his cheese burger and fries while I tried out a grilled cheese and got my fries and shake I used to get prior to being a vegetarian. A grilled cheese has all the fixings of a cheese burger, minus the patty. It is nothing but pure happiness. Yum!

We got to Robert's parent's house, wrapped our presents that we shipped to their house and had our second Christmas. Robert's sister had a son a few days before we arrived. I have the special privilege of being asked to be his god mother! Robert is his older sister's god father. The trip to Arizona was quick and we left 2.5 days later. 

In addition to In N Out, our other big indulgence was going to get Mexican food in Chandler. Si Señor has the best New Mexican style food I've tried outside of New Mexico. It is also our favorite Mexican restaurant. Everything there is super tasty, but their chili relleños are the best. We get the spicy option which topped with spicy Hatch Chilies. Jealous yet? You should be.

A red-eye flight home and we are back just in time for New Years in Panama. We picked the dogs up from the dog kennel and took a much needed nap. It was fantastic to sleep on our own bed next to the dogs. They were missed. 

Our plans for tonight are pretty relaxed. We are going to the roof of our building to watch the fireworks. People go crazy with them, and some are rumored to spend $15-20 thousand just for tonight. It should be a great show with no traveling. 

Have a safe and happy New Year. May 2017 bring health, happiness, knowledge, and peace. 

New Outings

*I thought I posted this earlier in December (around 10 December). Ooops! Here is the version I was going to post. Enjoy! *


Things from Otto now seem like a distant, hazy memory. Winter (aka dry season) is slowly settling in and the rain is becoming a weekly occurrence rather than a daily occurrence. This week three things happened: We went to The City to see a play, we tried a new fruit, and I got a job.

Last week we saw a play in Panama City. The  play, "Stopping Christmas," is about a psychiatrist's attempt to stop Christmas. His goal is to write a book about how Christmas is so commercialized and the fact that it seems to come earlier each year, encouraging people to stop Christmas all together.

Carolers during intermission  

The first half of the play was decent, but neither Robert or I felt we would recommend the play. Despite this, we still enjoyed having an excuse to get out for the house. After dinner we went to a sushi restaurant and had a nice dinner.  

Have you ever heard of a tomate de arbol, (a tree tomato), or a tarmarillo?   Neither had I until my Spanish teacher talked about some of his favorite fruits. Tarmarillos are called tomate de arbol in Latin America s due to the fact that they grow on a shrub and resemble a roma tomato. In most English speaking regions they are called tarmarillos.

Photo taken by Leonardo E

Not being one to shy down from trying new foods, especially fruits, I was eager to try this one. I read online that the flavor is often compared to a tomato, a kiwi, a passion fruit, or a guava. How can something be compared to fruits that seem so different?

Not being a fan of tomatoes, I was really apprehensive to try it. In general, I do not eat tomatoes unless they are sun dried or in salsa; the texture and taste of a tomato are very unappealing. Trying the fruit did not help my perception that cutting one open some what resembles a tomato.

Robert and I tried the tomate de arbol. He immediately put it down and said the fruit was not for him. According to him, all he tasted was a more acidic version of a tomato.

I am still not sure what to think of this fruit. While I see how the texture can resemble a tomato based off the wateryness (is that a word?), I felt like the taste was a mix between a passion fruit and a kiwi. The fruit is sour and acidic like a passion fruit, or a sour lemon, and the sweetness of a kiwi. I didn't like it, but I didn't dislike it.

I also got a job working a few hours a week doing social media marketing for a local company here. I will be writing blogs and posting ongoing news about the company on various social media outlets. While it does not take up many hours of the week, it is exciting in the fact that I get to write more.

December may be a little slow for blog writing due to the holidays. As most people know, the holidays are a busy time of year. I will try to do at least one more post over the next two weeks before it gets too crazy.