Settling In - El Valle de Anton

We have arrived in El Valle de Anton, our new home base for the next six months! After a half-hearted attempt to find a used car to buy in Panama City was aborted (Tom and I have decided to try to *gasp* live without a car!), we did as the locals do and took the bus. The public transportation system in Panama is excellent and far-reaching, and many locals and expats get along just fine without owning cars.

The Albrook transportation center, conveniently located near the Albrook Mall, is on the west end of Panama City (in the old Canal Zone). If you arrive at the terminal by taxi and laden with 4 suitcases, two backpacks and 2 laptop bags (as we did), a porter will load up your gear and bring it right to the ticket counter and then to your bus. Once you buy your ticket and board the bus, you will soon be traveling over the Puente de las Americas and onto the Pan-American Highway within minutes. There is a bus to El Valle every 30 minutes, and frequent buses to many other destinations, so you won't be waiting long in the terminal. If you do become peckish during your wait, there are restaurants and shops (tons of mobile phone shops...we are not quite sure why they need so many); we decided to try Nikos Cafe, which is basically what Southerners call a "meat and three". You can also buy dishes and desserts a la carte, and the food is hearty and inexpensive. We both had the meat and 3 veggies (pure de papas = yum!) and the tab was about $11.00.

Important Note: Make sure you have a nickel to get through the turnstyle to board the bus. Also, if you need to use the restrooms at the terminal, you will need a quarter to insert into the turnstyle. Tom calls it the "pay to pee swindle."

The buses in Panama range from the smallish passenger van type (which we rode in), to Diablos Rojos (intricately painted old school buses that primarily navigate the urban areas), to "luxury" buses (the air conditioning is the open window and the toilet is, well, rough), to genuine luxury buses with real toilets and a/c. ALL Panamanian buses feature loud music, so bring your mp3 player or ear plugs if this doesn't suit you! I happen to think it adds greatly to the experience, and you might agree. (Tom said "bollocks" and listened to the Sex Pistols.)

Also present on every bus is the driver's assistant (sometimes there is more than one). The assistant collects the money and tickets, opens and closes the door and helps with packages and luggage. It is very interesting to see the assistants round up prospective passengers at the many bus stops along the Pan-American Highway. I observed that many of the passengers don't line up for the bus immediately when it arrives; rather, they wait for the assistant to come out and announce the bus' destination.

After a pleasant ride of about 2 hours, the bus ascended the mountains surrounding El Valle, and then descended into the extinct volcano crater where the town is situated. Our stop was the "end of the line," near the mercado. Once our luggage was unloaded, we waited outside the very busy Yin market for our new landlady to pick us up and bring us to our new home. We quickly learned that our new home is very centrally located just down the dirt road next to the Yin Market, and across from the big Mercado. Our cottage is part of a small compound, which includes the owner's home, gardens and a lovely bridge across a stream which leads to the stable. The owner is a cat lover, and she has set up the stable as a shelter for "feral" cats.

During our first few days in town, we have been very busy shopping for food at the various markets (which all seem to be Chinese owned), poking around the big Mercado (one of the most famous markets in Latin America), meeting people and assaying various restaurants. Shopping for food around here is an experience - you might have to go to 3 places to find most of what you need! We have been told that the best shopping for "stuff that expats like" is in Coronado, so we will be sure to check out the situation there. You might buy something in the store here, as I did, thinking it is something entirely different. I grabbed what appeared to be a stack of pineapple slices, and opened it later to make a fruit salad. I found out that I had purchased masa,
which is dough that is used to make tortillas and tamales. Guess I will be learning how to make tortillas - but not tamales, as Tom hates them!

A great discovery we made right away is that Ty's Sports Grille is located close to our house. We met Ty and Michelle, the Canadian owners, and had a delicious lunch. My beloved husband does not need to go without his sacred baby-back ribs! Just when I was wondering, "When am I going to see a monkey around here?", in walks Michelle with her pet Capuchin, Mona. So, great food, nice people, close to home, and a monkey...yes, we will be regulars here..!

The entrance to Casa Verde

Here I am, relaxing in the yard - Aaaahhhhh!

Our street...it doesn't have a name, so just turn at the Yin Market and keep going until you see Casa Verde.

The end of our street, where it meets Avenida Principal. You can see the mercado on the left, and La India Dormida straight ahead. There is a legend that goes with that name (of course), which we will blog about soon.

What we see when we walk to El Valle Gourmet Coffee Shop.

Michelle and Mona.

My monkey, Tom with Mona.

Pekin Plaza, which has shops, restaurants and a hotel. It kind of makes you wonder if you somehow got on the wrong bus and ended up in China!

The Mercado

Kuna Yala lady working on a mola (MO-lah) at the mercado.