TRANSITIONING TO ANOTHER PANAMANIAN TOWN

The first thought I had when Ray told me that there wasn't any electricity at the time (six am) was that the fan had quit blowing along with the breezes of El Valle.  How long would the power be out?  It will get warm, but we will be out of here soon.  The hair dryer won't work, and more importantly, no hot water?  But the very next thought was how will Luis fix my pancakes for me!  Breakfast is doomed.  So I decided to just fall back asleep and think later.  And the power came back on.  Pancakes!  It was very quiet at breakfast.  Before dining, I walked around taking lots and lots of pictures, naturally.  Then we sat down to eat fruit, pancakes, delicous bread and have coffee with orange juice.  Yummy as usual.  Filling and getting us ready for the day.  We saw only the server of breakfast.  Again, so quiet since everyone else had checked out already.

Ray and I drove over the Los Pozos Terminales (we should have walked, but we didn't realize that until we got there), or the thermal springs.  Entrance fee was $2.25/person, and once in, we were given instructions.  We were in our bathing suits but chose to just put mud on our faces.  We will go back, so we say, and soak in the mud bath, but for now our faces would do!  There is mud for sensitive and not sensitive skin.  Once we slathered our faces, we spoke in the echo wall (crazy!) and took some time out in the hammock where, yes, a bird did do his business above me and I had bird poo on my nose.  Oh well...fortunately not my mouth!  We let the mud dry for quite a while, relaxed, walked the grounds and rinsed our faces off in the sink.  So silky smooth.  This area really does look like it would have healing powers.  Two ladies soaked in the bath and another couple put mud on their baby's face along with their faces.  Everything so peaceful.

This was packing out day, so we went back to the hotel and said "Ciao" to Luis.  We talked about the oxcart he had in his home (since we have one at our lake house that my dad brought back from Costa Rica) and off we went--to put some air in the tire again and get gas.  I went into the Central Market at the entrance of El Valle town, and what a market!  Huge, clean, and it has everything!  Dress shirts, Butler Gum oral hygiene supplies, pots, food, drink, way better than the Chino we had been in (blech)--we always discover things on the last day unless I have found it in tripadvisor!  The El Rey that they are building will be a true grocery store, but this is a gem of a store, too.  We then met up with Rachel at El Valle Real Estate (the office is in what used to be her in-laws Hotel Greco).  She was full of information, has built and sold many homes, rented out many homes, was confident about our plans even though El Valle is tough to find rentals (we shared our ideas with her, and she through other ideas out at us which we really liked and appreciated), and she made us feel comfortable and relaxed about our big transition.  We will keep in touch with her, and she will keep us abreast of all the new things happening in the El Valle realty market.

We left with El Valle relaxed and our spirits high (that mud I tell you!).  We had decided the day before that we would do a "drive by" of the brand new JW Marriott since we Marriott members.  We know this hotel is super expensive, but we wanted to see how it shaped up on the beach.  We did get through the gate (it is 6km down the road off the PanAm. Hwy) by telling them we were having lunch and wanting to meet with the manager, but when we pulled up, we couldn't find anything but valet parking.  Off we went.  No need to stop.  It is gorgeous!

Check in at Manglar Lodge in El Palmar wasn't until three pm, and it was only one pm, but Ivan let us check in early.  He knows Rachel, and Rachel asked us to tell him hello.  So we threw her name around and got into our room.  He ran up the steps to start the A/C for us, and on his tablet, he showed us the beach area.  He discussed low tide (which was happening), where we could walk and if we swam, where we could swim.  What a room!  It was chilly due to not being used to air conditioning!  And a king size bed without netting!  Screens on windows.  A balcony.  A lovely room.  We picked up a water and a smoothie (Ivan made it for me in the restaurant) and walked the beach.  One of our favorite beaches.  Yes, if Pedasi were nearby, than those beaches would be tops.  But I enjoyed the expansive beach with low tide, watching the girls learn how to surf, and seeing Coronado in the distance.  More pictures, more talks with Ray about Panama and time for a shower!

Once cleaned up, we tried to eat at Cholo's but again, it wasn't open.  We went to Lunarossa in Coronado.  It is pricey (like an Italian restaurant in the States or even like going to an Outback Steakhouse for steak in the States)--$10-18 or more for dinner.  Ray tried the steak with red wine sauce, and he had an amazing steak (for being in Panama!).  The first great beef he has had here.  I tried Corvina for the first time.  Delicious.  We were pigs, and we also ate Tres Leches (the whip cream wasn't soft enough) and cheescake.  I wish we had had the idea to run back to Carlito's in San Carlos for thousand sheets cake, but we came up with that thought after eating our desserts.  All in all, an excellent dinner, great service, we chatted with a few expats, and decided bed time at nine pm was going to happen!  We had tv, but we were too tired to pay attention.  (That one hour I gained is still having me be sleepy in Panama).

Thursday we were spending the day with Clyde and Terry.  They were going to show us anything they could or wanted to, and we were looking forward to what we would see with them and what they would tell us about their experiences in these places.  I had no idea how lovely a day it would be, and all that I would see!  FANTASTIC DAY!  But right now, I am in Metromall Courtyard Marriott on Friday waiting for Andre to pick us up for our tour of the city.  So Ciao for now!