Back towards Panama City - Cerro Azul

 Having spent three weeks in very tranquilo areas driving back towards Panama City is rude awakening! Starting as far out as Rio Hato the traffic gets heavier, the noise and pollution increases, and the commercializations sprout and spread like a cancer. I saw a highrise - must be next to a beach - that must have had at least 50 floors (similar to the Prudential Tower in Boston). Nothing else reached above the tree line, just this insanity. I can't understand people who like to live in a people coop - Especially, in a place that has such a beautiful landscape and flora! I'd think, I might as well stay in the USA in some highrise condo... But, I guess, different people, different tastes...

I took Rt 4, which turns north-easterly direction about 40 km outside of Panama City, crosses the Canal on another majestic bridge, with excellent views - for the passengers, not the driver! Too heavy a traffic - and then circumvents Panama City. Although traffic is heavy, it is by far not as bad as on the Corredor Sur, which goes straight through the heart of the highrises in the new town center.

Once I leave the Auto Pista, I'm stuck in the typical surface road city traffic; but I don't have far to go unti I reach the turn towards Cerro Azul. Driving up that road I' wondering if I made a mistake to book there! Despite getting up high, it is densely populated city! About 1/2 way to my destination the buildings stop, and there's forest with a few pastures in between. I pass through two villages, which have an awesome tranquilo, peaceful vibe.

My last accommodation is way up on the mountain, amidst the cell towers I had seen already from 50 km away. There is an awesome view of the city at the last intersection, where the common driveway of several properties is meeting the road.

The hosts are a Ukrainian couple, who bought a former country McMansion, which had been abandoned for a while. They are trying to fix the place up, renovate it, and do some organic farming on the property.

Kateryn showed me around: she has a flock of ducks, some chickens, too, even quails! In the green house the tomato plants are big, and so are the cucumbers - after only 2 months they already have some sizable fruits on them! Things grow very easily here: it is a rain forest, so there is plenty of humidity. The Sun passes straight overhead, so there's plenty of direct sunlight as well, even though it is in the forest. She also has some fruit trees planted: avocado, plantain, banana... even maracuja.

They have been working on this for quite a while, I think. But, it is still a huge project! The bungalow that I'm staying in is very nicely done. Basically one big room - about 6 by 7 m - with a small section split off for a bathroom. The bathroom is not like the typical bathrooms here (whatever tiles were available, whatever toilet was available, whatever vanity...), but very tastefully selected tiles, and furniture.

The rest of the property is still a mess! There is a swimming pool, on which Kateryn has started working already - cleaning the walls enclosing the area and the pump house from the moss that developed over the years. But she has still far to go before she can even start working on the pool itself. But, once it is done, it'll be awesome! Similar goes for the landscaping of the rest of the property...

What do I learn from this:

2008 North Jefferson is a small project compared to this one! So, if I were to get something like this it would take a lot of time, and a lot of bought help, to get it enjoyable. I am wondering, though, while you are adding more and more "finished" parts, these parts need to be maintained even while trying to work on the remaining parts. Scary!

Secondly, I notice that everything in the bungalow feels a little damp. The humidity must be close to 100%. Kyle mentioned, that the best way to deal with this is to have air circulating - IOW have fans blowing 24/7. That scares me a little, too.

In the evening I had some mangoes. I rinsed the peeler and put it to try on the counter. When I picked it up in the morning to peel another mango, there were a ton of tiny ants on it. Thus: Bug control is a very difficult issue in an environment like this... I guess, the forest should be left a forest, and not used for housing...

  

Las Palmas, Corazal, Tole

 yesterday I decided to take a day-trip back to the Sona area - to check out Las Palmas and Corazal, maybe Trinidad as well.

On my way fromSanta Catalina to Bugaba Highlands I had passed through this area and was really touched by it. I thought, I need to check it out again...

What I liked about it was that there are a lot of Teak plantations - that means Teak grows well there - and that it was a little higher elevation - so the temperatures are a little lower than on the beach.

The exit off the PanAmerican Highway is abut 120 km east of David, and 70 km west of Santiago. IOW, to get to a major city one has to drive for about an hour on that highway.

The temperature is about 3 to 4 degrees C (6-8 F) lower than in David.

First I took the exit towards Trinidad. Which is a little farmers village about 3 km off the highway. The road continues for probably another 40 - 50 km into the mountains. The area is very beautiful! Very rural, too! There is nothing but land, sky, some cows here and there, very few homes outside of the villages, and the village itself just a handful of buildings.

If one were to try to live in this area, a big fridge and freezer would be necessary, since you're not going to get groceries more often than once every two weeks or so. Fruits and vegetables are available. But anything else would need to be gotten from Santiago, Sona, or - as I found out later - Tole. And, it would be a very lonesome place! The stars would be amazing to see during the summer (which is December to April). I think it would be virtually impossible that foreigners would want to stay in a hostel or AirBnB there. Aside of the peacefulness and view there's nothing of interest there for tourists. Maybe horseback riding... 

After about 8 km driving on that road I turned around, went back on the PanAmerican and continued on the Rt 28, which connects that highway with Sona.

Right after leaving the highway there is a beautiful rugged area, owned and operated by Finca Ponderosa, and a little later Finca Los Patrones. Both seem to be into cows, most likely meat, rather than milk. Some of the area seems a bit too rugged for cows - so the finca might be open to selling a few hectares, if one would approach them. One could plant trees there, and vegetables and fruits. Since it's close to the PanAmerican highway maybe a restaurant offering "international and local dishes for local prices", and provide other services (playground, dogpark?), might actually work. Nothing to make a killing, but a little pocket change to subsidize the funds available (and something to do for me and/or anybody else staying there). Hostel, here too, makes not much sense, I guess.

10 km off the highway is Las Palmas. I would guess there are about 500 inhabitants, maybe a bit more, plus all the folks form the fincas in the surrounding area. There are the essential stores - super-market, bank, feed- and farm equipment store, and such. Quite a few of the streets are asphalted, some are gravel roads. It, too, looks like a peaceful, quiet place.

Corazal is 10 km further down the road towards Sona. It is a smaller village than Las Palmas, but also looks quite nice.

Darn! Would I be able to live happily in such a small community? Would I be able to live happily on a finca by myself outside of such a small town?

I am still going through a million of things I might want to do: a Hostel or an AirBnB? a tree farm? a small property to simply live, play with my wood working machines, write... ? Start a multi cabanas location for people who want to live in a "spiritual family" with me? A coffee house or restaurant? A vivero (nursery) for endangered local trees?

There are a million options, a thousand directions I could go! When breaking down your camp in one place and move to a different country to start a totally new chapter in your life, anything is possible - but not everything!

My mind is going a 100 miles per hour, exploring all kind of thoughts and ideas...

On the way back, I decided to exit the highway one more time - this time to check out Tole. I thought is is a little village of mostly indigenous people. What a big surprise was waiting for me! 

Tole must be about as large as Mauterndorf (the 2nd or 3rd largest town in my home district), maybe about 2,000 inhabitants. It seems to be the gateway to the mountainous are to the north towards the cordillera central. It's a hustling bustling town! 

There are a few properties for sale - I think I'm going to ask Iris to call the one or other number to inquire about the asking price, and whether they would consider renting out the house as well and for what amount...

On the way back home I'm thinking, that maybe I should initially just rent homes for maybe 3 to 6 months at a time. That way, I could experience many different locations, types of areas, and styles of buildings...

Next Move - Dolega

 The third of five stays of this trip has come to an end. I have to leave this paradisical place and ead back to the hustle and bustle of city/village life.

On the way from the Bugaba Highlands to Dolega I am passing through David again, the second largest city in Panama - with the second largest traffic jam in Panama, too! But, I have time, so I don't worry.

The time I do have to spend between checkout from Kyle's place and checkin at Cynthia's I thought would be well used by checking out some of the car dealers. 

I've seen some Priuses driving around - in Panama City, in El Valle, and also in David. So I'm hopeful I might be able to buy a Prius when I'll move here. Well, that hope was crushed as soon as I spoke to the dealer. The only hybrids they do have are the Rav4 (for close to 44,000$) and the Corolla (for close to 25,000$)! That is not really what I had in mind!

The Nissan dealer doesn't have a Leaf - my favorite car at this moment. They tell me, that the Leaf is only available in the Estados Unidos and Europe, but not in Central America. 

Hunday has no hybrids at all either - their Kona costs 22,500$. It's somewhat of a cross over between station wagon and SUV. 

Honda has Insights - but the price for those is 39,000$.

Kyle told me his Suzuki swift was 13,000$. So that might be an option, too.

I am NOT eager to spend 30-40K on a car!!!

Not sure if I want to buy a used car, though - going by the road conditions, and the lack of transparency about how well (or poorly) the owner had the car maintained, and took care of it.

Sigh!

The next day, I happen to find myself behind a Prius. Not having anything urgent to do anyhow, I decide to "put a tail on the car". He finally stops at a gas station. So I park and walk over to chat with him a little. He doesn't speak english, and with my less than rudimentary spanish I was tryingt o ask him how he's getting his car maintained. He ended up giving me the tel and WhatsApp number of his mechanic. I'm not sure, but I think he said he himself is the mechanic. But, my spanish listening skills are not good enough to be certain... We'll see. What that means, though, is, that if I really want to, I could ship my Prius here and have Mario do the service on it. Another option...

Well, a wrinkle in the plot: how to get a car, what car to get, how to finance it...

After checking a used car dealer out, too, I make it to Cynthia's Case de Dolega, in the center of Dolega - a village right on the main street leading to Boquete. Since Cynthia's house is several blocks away from the main-street, I do not hear car noise in the night. Instead, I hear the crickets, tree frogs, and the little river that runs by the back yard, and birds, and wind in the trees, and rain on the roof... A great soundscape for restful nights!

Cynthia and her husband set up this house to have 5 units, that they rent out mostly long-term. Often people who are in the process of moving here, but whose home is still in the process of being built. Or who haven't decided where exactly to settle.

Well, that's also an idea to keep in mind: create a peaceful, convenient place for people in transition... 

Bugaba Highlands

Time passes so quickly! It's time to move to the third of five locations - Bugaba Highland.

The two german girls are leaving Santa Catalina the same day as me, heading in the same direction. I offered to take them with me all the way to David, and they gladly accepted.

We left around 10:30, and arrived in David by about 14:30. It's a long drive, through an amazingly beautiful landscape. I think I'll write a separate post about that...

David is Panama's second largest city. And a city it s! So much traffic, and noise, and pollution - well, not really in international relations, but for Panama, especially after having been in Santa Catalina it is almost overwhelming.

I drop Melanie and Karina off at the bus stop, then head towards La Conception. 

"Coincidentally" my path passes by La Casa Mexicana. Trying to embrace what the Universe sends my way, I stop there for lunner (dinch?) - the Especiale de Casa Mexicana is delicious! And for 9$ quite affordable.

Leaving David - or at least trying to do so - on the Panamerican Highway heading west is not an easy task. It seems everybody and their grandmother is heading the same direction! Stop and go and stop and go until past 10km outside of town! Here, drivers are getting impatient and a little pushy, too - just like in Panama City, and all other large cities.

But, I am not in a hurry, so I just go with the flow and eventually it clears up a little. Around La Concepcion traffic gets a little heavy again, but it's still smooth sailing all the way to where I have to turn onto a tiny side-road that leads through El Santo, Santa Rosa, und Camaron up, up, up, up the mountain. Even though it started to rain right after I reached the side-road, I still can see how beautiful the whole area is. And the temperature drops the higher I get, until it is a very comfortable 23C (73F).  It's almost 20km from the PanAmerican Highway where Kyle has his lovely homestead on Highland road.

The place is like Paradise! 

Kyle is a very interesting man. We sit together chatting about everything from hosting on AirBnB, to moving to Panama to all the great projects he already accomplished in his new home and the ones he still has planned, to life in general...

Bodhi Santa Catalina

 What a nice place! 

The Hostel is basically a two bedroom house, with large kitchen/living room and front porch as common areas. The bedrooms have been stuffed with bunk-beds - but that's ok with me. I don't need a whole room for myself, and whether there is one or 4 more people in my room makes no difference to me.

In the yard there are 7 cabanas. I think, their business model is to offer budget accommodations, and increase the overall income by having more people paying a little less, than having few people paying a lot.

The house is interesting, to me:

It seems, money was no topic for the person who had it built! The ceiling of the bedrooms is made of teak wood - both the beams as well as the flooring of the space above the rooms. So are the windows and doors. Absolutely beautiful! Common room, front porch, and bathroom is tiled with natural stone - slate, it seems. The kitchen island also clad in natural stone, the countertop marble.

There are 5 pillars supporting the roof over the front porch, and another 5 for the back porch. All 10 of them seem to be of Cadre de Tigre - a tree that is endangered and no longer permitted to be cut. Yet, here there are 10 that were cut down...

Initially, I thought, maybe the person ended up not liking the location after all, and sold the place for that reason. But, now I think it is not the location, but some aspects of the architecture. The windows are very beautiful, however way to small. The frames are of massive teak. One of the sashes is sliding. The rooms are very dark, since there's not much glass area. Also, there's hardly any draft developing with the tiny space that is actually able to be opened.

Also, the house is on the Calle Principal, which is good for a hotel, restaurant, or other business but not for a private home. The yard is rather small - even without the cabanas it would not really be enough for garden, fruit trees, and such.

So, I guess, the person dumped this place and built something else somewhere else. I hope for them, that they learned their lesson and asked for much bigger opening in the walls for windows and doors...

I am glad to have been allowed to learn that lesson, too, without having had to pay for it! :)

Change of Location - Santa Catalina - Surfer's Paradise

 Originally, I had booked Bodhi in El Valle for until Sunday. However, I had to extend another night, because in Veraguas, the district in which my next place is located, has a Sunday curfew - nobody is allowed outside their house -except for emergencies.

Also originally, I had booked an AirBnB in Chiriqui. But, the host let me know just two days ago that I can't come "due to something outside of her control". She hasn't been on WhatsApp for close to 3 weeks, so I guess it must have been something rather serious. Glad to hear from her, though, as that might indicate that she's either better or on the way to being better.

Bodhi has another hostel in Santa Catalina, and they had a vacancy. So Monday, I hit the road to relocate there. 

The road from El Valle to Penonome leads across a few passes, and through lovely landscape. At the very beginning, just 5 or 6 km outside of town you reach the top of the main pass - that leads across the ridge that is formed by the crater walls - you can see in the distance a field of windmills. What an awesome sight!!! 

Turns out, this field is just beyond Penonome and the Panamerican Highway leads right through it. There must be 50 or 60 windmills, as much as I saw. So awesome, that a developing country like Panama is also investing in renewable energy!  

In Santiago - the capital of Veraguas - route 5 forks off south of the Panamerican Highway. This is a lovely country road, along which there are several timber plantations. You can see Teak trees everywhere, lining the road, in the fields, in peoples yards... I really would like to plant a few of them as well, once I have a land in this beautiful country.

The temperature in El Valle was around 23C (73F), by the time I reach Penonome it had risen to about 27/28 C (81-83F). So it is still cool enough to be able to regulate the temperature by just opening the windows.

Just before reaching Sona there's a sign, lamenting the fact that the folks from Sona have been waiting for 70 years for a "carreterra". There are problems everywhere in the world, even in a beautiful place like this. Well, obviously, otherwise, everybody and their grandmother would want to live here! :)

From Sona, the road to Santa Catalina is forking off Route 5. This road is even more "country-road" than route 5. With that comes the issue of potholes - in places so many and so deep, that even at walking speed the car's bottom might scrape the road.

Thankfully, I haven't encountered any rain so far. And the remaining 65 km are dry as well... I reach the hostel around 16:30 - almost 6 hour drive, with only one stop to fill up the car. There's no gas-station in Santa Catalina, neither an ATM, nor is there good cell-phone reception, and electricity might go out, too... As my mom says: it's the ass of the world.

But, what a beautiful ass it is! Maybe it is not the ass after all, but the place next to it! ;)

A Hostel - What a great place

 Originally, I was a little leery of staying in a hostel. I need a lot of sleep; undisturbed sleep. Sleeping in a room with many other people has the potential of somebody snoring all night, various people coming and going all night long... But, I still booked it - wanted to experience how it really is, not just let y imagination go wild.

So far, it has been a great experience!

Sleeping is quite possible, not too much noise - although, last night somebody came home at 2am and made a lot of noise trying to find their bed, and this morning somebody had their alarm set for 5am, let it ring forever, put it on snooze twice and ring again and again for a long time... Strange, how some people are so self-absorbed, that they do not realize that this is an inappropriate behavior for a 27 bed dormitory!

The great thing about the hostel, though, is that there is a constant flow of young people. Mostly very open-minded - travelling on a budget widens your horizon, opens your mind, helps you grow spiritually.

On the first full day I already had two of my "special conversations". 

I am adding this idea to the list of potential undertakings I could do when coming here!

Bodhi Hostel is basically one big room with triple bunk beds. There are outlets on three levels on the wall, so each bed has an outlet. Each bed, aside of a mattress with a tight mattress-cover is equipped with a fan and a night lamp, both attached to the rail on top, which holds the curtains. When in your bed, you pull the curtains close and are in your own little room. Perfect!

There are also several lockers, which can be used by guests - although, they have to provide their own locks. I guess, the hostel might have locks to borrow, but I didn't ask.

Then, there's a large kitchen. Large enough, that three parties can prepare lunch at the same time. It has a 6 burner gas stove, two huge refrigerators, a coffee thermos, an electric water kettle, a double-sink with counter space left and right for drying and also prepping. there is no dishwashing machine! And a sign is reminding people to wash their dishes since their mother doesn't work here...

In the backyard there's a large table with benches under a roof - which is important since the rainy season is 9 months, and it can rain at any time. (Even though it rained only twice in the four days I'm here already!)

the rest of the back yard is split into a simple field. that is used as parking lot. and a garden with lots of seating space - also under roofs. Outlets are available at each of the seating ares - makes it easy to use computer, or charge your phone...

The main building also has a few private rooms - for people who want more privacy than a mixed dormitory offers.

There are a few bicycles, which can be rented. a washing machine which can be used by guest as well, and a dryer (I guess for the sheets). What I am missing is a clothes line that's also under a roof.

The furnitings are all very rustic. Much is built from palettes, some of 2x4s and regular wood boards. The roofs are galvanized - typical for the region. The rain produces a drumming concert, that is very nice to listen to...

The whole property is enclosed by a 7 foot tall wire mesh fence, topped with 3 strands of barbwire. The gates are steel rosters, also typical for the region.

The eating area's roof does not reach all the way to the main-building everywhere, but leaves a little gap - enough to let light and air in for plants to grow along the side of the building. That makes the wall look very beautiful, rather than just simple concrete (which usually turns an unsightly black relatively soon).

There are plants everywhere, in pots of all kinds of original uses - real flowerpots, pain-buckets, water bottles,... What I am missig are plants that produce edibles, like herbs, peppers, tomatoes, carrots,... I guess, vegetables and fruits are so inexpensive and readily available at the market, which is just 100 meters up the street, that the additional work necessary to maintain crops is just not warranted...

 

El Valle de Anton

 First day in Panama! Yeay!

Bodhi Hostel is also renting out bicycles. I took one for a spin this morning - checking out the town.

Boy-oh-boy! That is a lovely place!!!

There is traffic on the main road, but still very little. Easy to cross, not too much noise, nor pollution. They extended the sidewalk and built a bike-path along the main-road. And, once you veer off that road, and turn into a side-road, no traffic at all anymore. Just peacefulness, birds, wind in the trees! Paradisical! 

Lots of people are riding the bicycle here. I also saw an expat riding an electric golf-cart or atv kind of vehicle. Great idea, I thought! Electricity is rather inexpensive, and the thing makes no noise, burns no fossil fuel, and creates no pollution...

The temperature is very comfortable! In the night it was cool enough to want to cover a little with a sheet. During the day, in the sun, it gets warm enough to want to take my shirt off to fill-up a little on vitamin D. Although we're in the rainy season right now, there hasn't been any rain - yet. We'll see how it continues...

I found a panaderia that has good bread (white, of course, that's all that's usually available in the country) and nice sweet bakery stuff, too. There are several mini-supermercados, and a Rey, as well, where you can get most of the typical foods I usually get.

I also noticed several hotels and guest-houses all over the town, and restaurants. Haven't tried any, because I want to try to cook myself mostly for my food...

I had packed the kelomat pressure cooker and the rice cooker, plus a couple of sets of indian food spices. Got some vegetables today - there's a lovely market just down the street from the hostel, where I found all kinds of fruits and vegetables - and cooked my first meal in Panama. By far not as nice as in a restaurant, of course, but good enough to not feel I'm missing out on anything. Well, I have enough food for the next several days, I guess!

The hostel also has a little coffeehouse attached. They have delicious ice-cream, and a good selection of teas. It's the first and only place in Panama where I found Tulsi tea!

It definitely is a place where life could be easy, peaceful, and simple. I still have to check how expensive real-estate - both buying and renting - is around here. Aside of this, I need to also figure out how I would make "my difference" before I can really add this town into the list of potential retirement places...

Getting started

 First stop is at the sim-card booth. Like last time, there was a very friendly Señorita to help me find the best suitable offer. For the 30 days, the Digicel 4 week unlimited for 50$ seemed to make the most sense. She switched the sim card out quickly, and updated the network settings, and in 3 minutes I was connected again! Didn't even need to restart the phone!

Now off to the car-rental.

That's a bit more difficult. I had booked the car a month ago via booking, but I didn't receive an email with the reservation details. They did charge me the 130$, though! So, I stopped at every booth and asked if they had my reservation. Strangely enough, none of them had it. Darn! So I have to dispute that charge again! I hope they don't have to block my credit-card and send a new one! Would leave me without my main card...

Got a car at Budget. The rental itself is very inexpensive, but the legally required insurance is heavy! 30 days 800$! That's almost 30$/day!!! But, what can I do? Chiriqui is 400 km, can't walk that far!

By now, it's already 16:40. I wanted to stop by an Indian store to get some basmati rice, salt and pepper - so I can cook my meals. That store is closing at 5-something. The traffic is not bad at all going into town, and I arrive at the store shortly after 5. Oh my! They have all the stuff that I usually get at the Indian store - even prepared meals! And, these meals are storable at regular temperatures, don't need refrigeration! Yeay!

Now, find my way back to the Corredor Sur, and off I go to El Valle de Anton!

I find the Corredor Sur quite easily, but once on it, the signage is very confusing and totally useless for a non-local! I end up in the wrong lane and find myself on some side road. To get back onto the Panamerican Highway is a nightmare! 1/2 km took 50 minutes!!!! 

By now, it is 18:30 and the sun is about to set, and I still have almost 100 miles to go... 

Traffic is extremely heavy. Even though the closed the inbound lanes and use them for outbound traffic as well, we're moving at only about 20 to 30 mph, constantly speeding up, than slowing down to almost walking speed, then speed up again... stressful! I so do not want to be in or near a city!!! Once we meet the Rt 4,  about 30 miles west of the city, traffic is moving better, and 10 miles later, it's at the speed-limit of 50 mph.

Since it is pitch dark by now, I'm just trying to get ahead. It's close to 8pm, which is what I told the hostel would be my arrival time.

It dawned on my - thanks to my stomach reminding me - that I hadn't eaten anything since Miami 9 hours before. So I stopped at Carlitos Empanadas and Pizzas in Sajalices. The curried chicken empanadas were delicious! Especially with their homemade spicy sauces! The green one is called something like chimi churra and is not all too hot. The red-braun one, though, is rather hot - but still edible for me.

AT 20:20 I head out for my last leg for the day. The hostel is easy to find, and I get there at about 21:30. To my great surprise and amusement, it is run by a german family, who migrated to Panama about 15 years ago.

But, for today I had enough, and am just looking forward to pillow to rest my head...

BTW, I was really lucky! No rain all day! would have mad driving so much more strenuous and dangerous, too...

Arriving in June 2021 - Covid Pandemic still in full bloom

 Panamanian arrival procedures require a negative COVID test, no older than 48 hours. A bit difficult to get when travelling the day after Memorial Day. 

But, they are well prepared for people arriving without a valid test. 

First stop - even before immigration - is a check-point to show your COVID test. They do not accept vaccination records, so they send me to the covid-test processing area they have set up. 

25 people are already there in front of me in the line. But the line moves rather quickly. 

First, stop at cashier and pay 50$%. 

Second stop at testing booth: a swap stuck up your nose, both sides, and done! 

The waiting for the test results at Gate 120 took the longest - obviously. Every 5 - 10 minutes a guys shows up with test results in his hands. He calls out the names, you provide your passport number, and get your test result. 

With that, I can now head back to the covid-test checkpoint, from which it continues to Immigration, - where the lines by now are very short, as the buk of passengers on the flight have all ready been processed.  Finally pick up the bag, which is waiting there patiently among a handful other bags next to the bag-belt. No lines at customs either! A quick scan of all bags, and done! 

the whole thing took about an hour and a half.

Bien Venido a Panama!