Thoughts On Life In Panamá (so far)

We’ve been living in the mountains on Panamá for two and a half months now and we’re still adjusting. I don’t think we expected the emotional changes we would be going through. Missing the old routines, missing the old house, cars, even missing the old jobs. Most of all missing family and friends that we haven’t seen and have limited contact with. It all takes far more getting used to and adjusting than we expected. Every day that goes by it does get a bit easier, but its been difficult. We’ll be back in the states for a visit in a couple of months and we are really looking forward to seeing friends and family.
Panamá, despite all the gringos in our current neck of the woods, is a different country, with a different language, and culture. Just driving a car is challenging because of the way people drive here. Its much more of an “every man for himself” mindset once you get behind the wheel. The food here has different flavors, even the eggs and milk. Not bad at all, but not the same. Most of the usual brands are available in the food stores, but you generally have to hunt for them. The milk is not refrigerated, and neither are the eggs. The milk is triple pasteurized so it keeps for a long time without refrigeration, and the eggs are not washed which apparently makes it far less likely that they will be spoiled by bacteria. (There are a lot of indigenous people living in this area that do not have refrigerators.) We have no inside hot water heater – an outside propane tank provides gas for hot water and cooking. When the tank is empty you take it almost anywhere and trade it in for a full one at a cost of under $6, which is enough for a month plus for just the two of us. Despite our best efforts at learning Spanish we still have a long way to go. Its possible to get by without speaking a lot of Spanish, but its going to be much easier for us once we’re at least functional speaking the language. The government bureaucracy here functions differently. Its not necessarily better or worse, but definitely different. Things take longer and there is far more waiting in government offices (some new buildings, most not so new). Patience is a required skill here. Its normal to wait in line just to get into a bank (usually past an armed security guard). In Panamá “mañana” doesn’t necessarily mean tomorrow but it definitely means “not today”. (“When will the car be fixed? I really need it!” “Don’t worry señor. It will be ready mañana.”) We were living here for a couple of weeks mostly without internet before we figured out that rebooting the router will normally bring it back. The public water system mostly consists of white PVC pipes, some buried, some not. The water runs for a few hours per day with virtually zero water pressure. We have a couple of large tanks that fill up overnight and a pump that pumps the water into the house on demand. The electricity is fairly reliable but it will flicker on and off at least a couple of times a day. Our online life got a lot better once we got a battery back up for the router. We call it the “trifecta”: water, internet, and electricity all working simultaneously.
The more time we have invested in our lives here, the better it seems to get. We have made some very good friends both Panamanian, and not. The country is spectacular and hiking can be really great (and a reminder of how out of shape we are…). There are plenty things to do and friends to hang out with.
We just have to hang in there!

Saludos, Craig