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Hil

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Blog Entries posted by Hil

  1. Hil
    Great vacation. The best part was visiting three countries in one day. The last snow I was in was 1978. Baga, Northern Spain is a medieval time pueblo, Ax-Les-Thermes (Ax-les-Thermes is a commune in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region of south-western France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Axéens or Axéennes), Andorra, (Andorra is a tiny, independent principality situated between France and Spain in the Pyrenees mountains. It’s known for its ski resorts and a tax-haven status that encourages duty-free shopping.)
    Monserrate Monestary (The history of Montserrat is fascinating and started in 880 when a small group of shepherd children saw a bright light descending from the sky in the Montserrat mountains.)
    Sagrada Familia Basilica (Guadi Architect)---The Basílica Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família is a large unfinished Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. La Sagrada Família will take longer to complete than the Egyptian pyramids, which only took 20 years.







































































  2. Hil
    This is a small restaurant. Very clean! Service is 4.5 on a 1-5 scale. Food is Excellent. The menu is Peruvian prepared seafood and beef. She had the seafood and I had to try the serloin strips.
    "Restaurant DondeEver"
    click on link for directions. it comes up in google maps for live directions when driving. it takes you right to the front door.
    https://goo.gl/maps/34Lnw535QnQ2
     



  3. Hil
    Very nice country club and facilities. Played golf there the second week in June. Jack Nickaulas course. The beaches there are nicer than up toward Las Lajas and Las Olas and the undertow in much less. I visited Playa Blanca and was not impressed. I'll do Bijao next trip. We stayed in Anton Valle up in the mountains. Anton Valle is actually the only city on earth built directly in the caldera of a volcano.
    Cheers
  4. Hil
    VERY NICE STADIUM FOR PANAMA. GREAT BALL GAME. THE STADIUM WAS FULL---APPROX 8,000 IN THE STANDS. THE STADIUM HAS A GREAT BACKUP POWER PLANT. THE LIGHTS NEVER FLICKERED DURING POWER OUTAGE TRANSISTION. THE SOUND SYSTEM HAD TO BE RESET DURING THE CONVOCATION AND BEFORE VARELLA MADE HIS TALK (15 MINUTE OUTAGE OF THE SOUND SYSTEM.) WE WENT BACK THE SUNDAY FOLLOWING THE OPENING NIGHT AND THE STADIUM WAS FULL AGAIN. THE PARKING GARAGE MUST NOT BE COMPLETED YET. IT IS NOT BEING USED AT THIS TIME.







  5. Hil
    Probably the best Mexican food I have eaten in years. Some highlights of the "Restaurant and Gift Shop";
    Good parking
    Safe area
    Doors locked while inside
    Very clean
    Restrooms exceptionally clean
    Simple menu
    Great Service
    Honors Jubilado
    More than adequate portions
    More than reasonably priced
    I got out the door for $16.55
    I had the special (one of everything)$8.50
    She had the burrito $6.75 (brought half home)
    Two very good natural lemonadas $3.00
    7% Tax
    Google maps takes you right to the front door.












  6. Hil
    I visited Florida the third week of September. My sister and I stayed in her beach house for a week. I retired from a college and had to visit my former coworkers. And, all my hunting and fishing buddies were glad to see me. This was a real treat. They had tons of questions about Panama and were shocked (in a positive way) at some of the answers I gave them. 
    Now, I'm greatful to be back in Boquete. The traffic, highway construction, crime, drugs, etc etc has not gotten any better in the USA. I was troubled at first trying to drive 75-80 mph on the TurnPike in Florida. Then it all came back to me----keep up or get your a$$ ran over. lol
    After returning to Boquete I had to make two different trips to Panama  City. I rode the bus down there the first trip (return trip air.) Never again will I do this unless I can NOT afford a plane ticket. The traffic is horrible in Panama City and makes me appreciate Boquete even more. The last trip to Panama City we sat in the air plane at Albrook for two hours waiting for a window of opportunity to fly out for Boquete.  Finally we made it. The pilot offered to offload the plane if we agreed. No one spoke a word and we suffered the two hours!! 
    This is only one of the Sand Sculptures from Schooners Last Local Beach Club, Panama City Beach, Florida. These people are serious artist.
    In the end, Life Is Good.

  7. Hil
    This is a nice little Sunday adventure. Hunderds of varieties of Orchids and Ferns. She wanted to walk the property and we did. It isn't that big of a place and there are rest areas to stop and rest. The air is a little thin up there. I'm guessing close to 7000+ ft elevation----not sure. You will find a small restaurant on the property at the beginning of the tour. We ate at the Fanny's Terrace Bistro on the way up. Really great food there but not a huge selection on the menu. We had the Pasta with chicken and alfredo sauce. Turn right in Volcan towards Cerro Punta and maybe 2 miles on the right to Fanny's.




     






  8. Hil
    Not a bad vacation. A little warm but the carribean breezes makes it ok. San Felipe Castle was the most interesting site there. The walled city is unique and has good shopping and restaurants. Snorkeling trip was a bust. High winds, huge waves and strong undercurrents had the bottom and coral reefs less visibile. Don't know the next vacation spot YET!


























  9. Hil
    I've been here a few times. If i'm over in Volcan I drop in on the animals in the rehabilitation center. She told me she has dropped off the coyote in the jungles many miles east towards Panama City and it always come back. This beats setting around worrying about who is wrong and who is wright and who has been in Panama the longest!!!!






  10. Hil
    Very beautiful caterpillar. Very dangerous and bad sting. I found it on a putting green while golfing. We relocated it off of the putting green and hope it survives. I took the picture yesterday and had enough time today to research it and found the name and info.

  11. Hil
    Panama never ceases to amaze me. I mostly focus on how the country has treated me and how I can reciprocate instead of focusing on how I can change the country and the expat population. Panama has been good to me and I will continue being good to it. I am not new to countries outside of the USA so I haven't had culture shock since I was in combat in Vietnam. I've visited 13 countries and enjoyed everyone of them. Panama was first on my list to retire to because of the location, culture, weather and food. If a person came to Panama and is disappointed well that is not a bad thing. They tend to move on without disparaging people and the country. I don't compete with other people on "how long" I've lived here in conversation and knowledge. It's a great place to be yourself and enjoy the people and the culture. I usaully don't ask questions about what to do or how to do it in Panama because that would take the fun out of the journey. If I have a serious issue with NOT knowing what to do I usually ask a local or an expat that has been here a long time. Again, I do NOT soley rely on expats for information or advice. I am in "their" country and should seek their advice most of the time. I speak enough spanish now to have good Panamanian friends and it works well in the stores, etc. I tell myself all of the time-----This beats Vietnam or the Pine Box or being here in Dec. 1989.
     
    The Comarca---Tole, Panama

  12. Hil
    Never have I seen anything like this. 
    Thankfully, animal activist from all over the USA came in to resuce these beautiful dogs. 
    Hopefully this will not happen in Boquete.
    The concerned animal groups here in Boquete do a great job. 
    click on the link below;
    http://www.waltonsun.com/news/20170628/72-great-pyrenees-dogs-rescued-in-vernon-hoarding-case-photos
  13. Hil
    We traveled to Volcan for Mexican food again yesterday and had another real treat. We had seen two or three of the water buffalo in the orange groves on the short cut to Volcan before. But today we watched a heard of about 200 grazing and cleaning the underbrush from the orange trees. Nice drive, nice scenery and good food. Beats sitting  around the house comtemplating life.
     
     






  14. Hil
    We stopped in this church yesterday on the way to Penonome. Religious or not it is truely amazing. It's the first pueblo the spaniards established according to the locals. In 1520 they landed there. You can't see the Pacific from town but it is very close. Most of the church and most things inside are original. The stone wagon wheels are the best things displayed to me. In three years the church will be 500 years old! There is a huge original bronze statue there also. We got there at noon, walked in and they were baptizing kids. We stayed for the service. I'm not catholic but enjoyed the service. My girlfriend is catholic and she was amazed also. She had never seen this church and she is a Bouquetena. I did a blog on this before and it is worth mentioning again. If you're bored----take a ride to Nata. Nata is located between Santiago and Penonome----about 180 miles from Boquete more or less.







  15. Hil
    I really enjoy the local artist around Chiriqui. Most of them have never been to an art school. The little Panamanian restaurants have some great work. This one is past Dolega in the direction of David.
  16. Hil
    The lady of the house had a doctors appointment in David yesterday so after the pain and misery of waiting two hours for the doctor we visited the Fair in David yesterday afternoon. We went around 4pm and it was great. Very few people at that time and we seen some interesting culture and animals. For Panama, this is a good fair.









  17. Hil
    Chiriqui Baseball team is using the Dolega field. I've been to a couple of the the games. They won last night beating Los Santos 3-1.
    Maybe the new stadium in David will be finished for next year. It's looking good too.
    Schedule and standings;
    http://www.rpctv.com/beisbolnacional/calendario.html
  18. Hil
    Very nice trip. Reasonably priced. $35
    Small break at the top of the hills before returning. Approx 3 hours round trip. That's enough time on a horse at my age. Bring your own water and snacks. "Franklin's Horse Rentals". Good guide with good English.
























  19. Hil
    We visited Sitio Barriles last Sunday. I have been reading about this site for a couple of years. This is a small site with probably the oldest known people occupying Central America before Baru's Eruption----Possibly Chinese and Africans (Pre-Colombia). The Link below gives a lot of details of the site. The tour guide doesn't go into details about the dates of the site. She did general explanations and dates. We had the Spanish tour guide and enjoyed the tour. There is an English guide but we don't know the days for this. The site is small and the original huge artifacts are in a museum in Panama City. The tour guide did say the area is full of artifacts from the same time period on private property but they refuse to allow excavation. The Link below has a good detailed discription of Sitio Barriles.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barri
    les



























































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