Tag Archives: Panama

Four suitcases, two backpacks and some zip lock bags

January 21, 2020 Sheryl 16 Comments

Now that we are settled, we have unpacked and taken stock of what we brought from home.

Normally, when we go anywhere we have an elaborate pack list. I have specialized lists based on the type of trip. I have a bike trip, visit family, cold weather, wine tasting, warm weather, tropical weather, and Air BNB specific pack list.

Below is my most bare-bones packing list.

And here is the list I used to pack for six months in Panama.

Yes, that is correct, there was no pack list. We were so consumed with moving everything into storage, we didn’t think about what to actually pack for this trip.

This may be the reason I brought twenty pairs of socks, but only three shirts.

We spent all our time cramming our stuff into here, no time thinking of what to bring with.

This is the crazed look of someone that has been moving for 16 hours straight.

When our move was complete, and we finally had ten minutes to pack, we tried to shove a bunch of stuff into our suitcases. When they wouldn’t close we realized, “We don’t have enough luggage.”

This is not the best thought at 10:30 p.m. the night before you fly to Panama. Thank God for the late night Target in Kent. I stayed in the car with our stuff while Jeff ran in to buy a suitcase.

Here is the text Jeff sent me from Target. I was supposed to choose from these two.

When I couldn’t choose Jeff may have had a mental breakdown.

If you ever see a grown man sitting on the floor of a Target at 11:00 pm giggling to himself and taking selfies in the luggage department, don’t judge.

We bought the black one, jammed it full and didn’t open it again until a few days ago. Here are some of the things we brought.

Our Stainless Steel French Press seemed important in Seattle. Turns out all rentals have coffee makers. And you don’t really need stainless steel to keep your coffee warm when it’s 102 degrees outside.

These were our kitchen must-haves. While the rentals have knives, none are sharp. We’ve used everything in this photo.

Guess which two items we’ve used the most.

We brought one pan.

At the last second, I packed all the food we didn’t give away or eat. The apartments all seem to have blenders so the protein powder is coming in handy. Not sure if we’ll be making enough Ethiopian food to get through the bag with the berbere spice.

Berbere spice, protein powder, PB Fit, trail mix, gummy vitamins

Our friend Brenda who is traveling with her husband, Scott in Portugal suggested I bring zip-lock bags. They have become my most prized possession.

Passports are important, but zip lock backs are sacred.

Luckily, we didn’t bring a hookah, since the apartment came with one.

Call me old fashioned, but I just don’t think a hookah belongs on top of the refrigerator. A coffee table sure, but in the kitchen?

I also made sure to pack my Cubs hat. Not as important as the zip-lock bags, but still nice to have.

Turns out the hat is 15% wool, so not really great for this weather, but the Cubs are worth a hot head.

Panama

Settling In

January 13, 2020 Sheryl 14 Comments

After weeks and months of planning, packing and moving we finally made it to Panama City.

We arrived three days ago and immediately tried to break into someone’s apartment. Turns out apartment 20B (vein-te bay) and apartment 20C (vein-te say) sound very similar in Spanish.

We are staying in Apartment 20C. Apartment 20B is occupied by a nice gentleman that handled us trying to open his door with our key very well.

The apartment is nice and has great views once you get past the netting. It’s either to keep robbers out, keep us from falling out, or we accidentally rented a jail.

I know it’s unpopular to complain about the heat when it’s winter back home, but it’s hot here. Like really really hot. Hot and humid. Like 90 degrees with a 102-degree heat index.

Jeff is fine in the heat. Me, not so much.

Walking to the giant shopping mall to get SIM cards for our cell phones was hot. But it was nice and air-conditioned inside. We ordered lunch at Fitness Foods. Since it said right on the sign Happy and Healthy we figured we couldn’t go wrong.

But then it came and Jeff almost took a bite of crab thinking it was some kind of exotic Panamanian vegetable. Luckily I stopped him since he’s allergic to crab.

Jeff would have been the opposite of happy and healthy if he had eaten this.

Next stop was the subway station to get our bus/subway passes. It took three people and a security guard to help us use the kiosk, even though it was in English.

The subway and buses are nice, clean, and air-conditioned!

Here is Jeff waiting for a train.

Stylish, normal, standing by the tracks.

Here’s me waiting for the same train.

Refusing to move from the aircon vent on the stairs, smeared makeup, messed up hair, dazed look.

But, luckily it doesn’t take much to revive me. Jeff has been a good sport about posing for photos…up to a point.

Luckily, this one I got on the first try.

Panama

Why Panama

January 3, 2020 Sheryl 4 Comments

As Jeff and I get ready to travel to Panama, the same question keeps coming up. Why Panama? The short answer is, we went there on vacation, loved it and decided it would be a great destination for us.