Lost In The Maze....Of Boxes.....

Up before the light of day packing already, since I couldn't seem to sleep.  Clyde slept in a few hours later and is just now waking up to squeeze in between the boxes to get his coffee.  Took three loads of stuff over to the house yesterday.  Nice that it's only a 20-minute drive from the rental house, so things don't have to be packed too securely.  And since we're putting things away as soon as we get them there, most of the unpacking will be done by the time we move the big stuff in tomorrow.

Clyde took some time to set up the closet in the master bedroom, since the rod was bending in the middle with the weight of my clothes.  And then he decided that he'd let me have the whole walk-in closet......for now......and he'd use the one in the guest room. Our plan is to seal off the walk-in closet and have a dehumidifier running full time to pull out the moisture, which will drain outside of the house.  This should help to prevent a build-up of mold on the clothes, since mold is part of everyday life here in the tropics.  There is still room to the side of the closet for another hanging rod for his clothes. Put up a bright new light in the walk-in too but since it has a window we shouldn't need the light too often.

Cleaned the floors with bleach after vacuuming them with a shop vac. A downpour of torrential rains brought severe lightning and thunder that made me jump with every crackle and pop.  The winds picked up and howled through the house bringing in dust and leaves after we were done cleaning.  By the time we got back here I was chilled from the dampness and severe winds, but of course had no other clothes to put on besides the shorts and tank I was wearing.  Since Clyde's clothes are still here I found a long sleeved shirt to wear until the chill was gone.

More of the same today as our plan is to take over all of the little stuff.  Tomorrow we have friends with pick-ups coming over to help us move the big things.  Then we have plenty of time to clean and do a bit of painting on the rental house to make it move-in ready for the next tenants. 

Of course moving into a new place means not being able to find anything for a while, including my darling husband.  The strange setup of this big old house makes it hard to keep track of each other.  But perhaps that's a good thing since we ARE together now ALL the time and we both need a bit of alone time so there are no murders to report, or dead bodies found......along the gringo trail. 

The Price Of Home Ownership.....

How many Panamanians does it take to pump out a septic tank?  Apparently 5-6 since that's how many showed up yesterday at our Chame house.  The sixth guy showed up late and didn't do much except help himself to free fruit from our trees.  We're finding out fast that when you have fruit trees people feel free to take the fruit and even fill bags with your fruit, without asking first. 

Anyway, the five men worked on the problem for close to 4 hours and had to go empty the tank on their truck about six times.  They addressed the slow draining showers in the house with snakes pulling out globs of roots that had invaded the area.  One of the men told Clyde that he's a plumber and seemed to know what he was doing.  Clyde was impressed with their work but not with the quoted price of $500. He talked them down to $380 but should have deducted the price of the fruit they walked away with.  At $1.25 a pound the price of those free mangos can really add up quick. 

Our insurance broker recommended her air conditioner guy from Panama City and when he and Clyde talked he agreed to take on the job.  Novo said he'd be here around 10 or 11 but we never heard from him until noon after we had left the house and were 30-minutes away.  Thankfully he was still in the city so it would take him an hour or more to make it to Capira.

Two men showed up around 1:30 and even after Clyde introduced them to Venus, she insisted on running them off the property.  One of the men was seriously afraid of dogs and would walk by her holding a lawn chair in front of himself, even when we were holding her on a leash.  They say dogs can sense how we feel and she felt his fear as a weakness and decided she could take him. 

They quickly removed the split a/c unit from the wall here and off we went to the Chame house to have them install it there.  The whole job took about two and a half hours and another $250 from our wallet, but it had to be done.  Novo is from Cuba and gave Clyde a Cuban cigar which he plans to save for a friend since he thinks cigars are nasty.

Taking the day off from working on the house today for an afternoon party with expat friends.  Still need to scrub the tile floors in the house before moving in sometime this week.  That gives us plenty of time to clean and paint any parts of the rental house that need it.  Since the walls are all white and get dirty easily it just needs some freshening up and patching nail holes where we had things hung.

Nice to take time to relax and smell the humid, tropical air.  The birds are chirping as the sun rises over the mountains for another beautiful day in paradise.....along the gringo trail.

Full Of Poop.....

The ceiling in our new house was literally full of poop, gecko poop that is, or at least it was.  Now we're full of gecko poop, bugs, dirt, fiberglass, and whatever else the previous owners managed to throw up there to hold down the tiles.  Clyde had the messy task of taking down the old tiles to discover the treasures that were buried in the poop, like an old hub cap and wooden planks.  Apparently they put stuff on the tiles to keep them from blowing in the wind, which really wasn't necessary since the old ones were heavy fiberglass.  We were worried that the new styrofoam tiles would blow away when a brisk wind came through the house.  So the solution was to put the old heavier tiles on top of the new lighter ones which seemed like a good idea.  And it also got rid of the old ones at the same time, instead of having me carry them outside to a burn pile. Despite the piles of rubble in the ceiling, we didn't find any money stashed away, which is what I was hoping for.

                                                              

Tiles have been removed and
ready for new ones!

This is the mess that falls
whenever the old celing tiles
have been removed

Old tiles ready to be placed
on top of the new ones

The last tile
has been replaced
(a little over 300 by the way)

Clyde is having trouble getting the toilets and showers to work properly so on Thursday he checked the septic tank only to discover that the sucker was full.  He called a local company that cleans out the tanks and they came yesterday to access the problem, and quote a price.  They told Clyde they would come back early tomorrow and work on the tank.

Clyde had planned on leaving the gate to the property unlocked so they could begin the work before we got there.  We have to wait in the rental house in Capira for an air conditioner guy to come from Panama City, before going to the Chame house. But as we lie in bed last night Clyde realized that he forgot to leave the gate unlocked at the Chame house.  His plan was to get up at 6am and head over there, but before he crawled out of bed  his phone rang.  To our surprise they arrived bright and early at 6am to work on the septic tank.

So Clyde took off and I'm left here to blog and wait for the a/c guy, who said he'd be here between 10-11am after Clyde yelled him.  First he said he'd be here today, but when Clyde called him last night to confirm he said he was busy.  So mild-mannered Clyde let him have it and he agreed to come by today but not as early as we would have liked.  We need the a/c split unit removed from our bedroom here and then put into the Chame house.  Our insurance broker highly recommended this guy who has taken care of her units for years.

Since we replaced all three toilets and sinks inside the house, and even the one outside at the back of the property, we were left with quite a collection.  We left them at the side of the road and after a few days one of our new neighbors caught us driving onto the property and asked about them.  Clyde happily told him that the toilets and sinks were "gratis" which means "free" in Spanish and he could have them if he liked. Victor our new neighbor immediately ran home to get his wheel barrow and took all of the commodes and sinks.  Later on we put out some old ceiling fans, and once again Victor asked if he could have them.  Now he knows whatever is left outside the gate is free for the taking.  But after a while we heard a female yelling, probably his wife complaining about all the junk he was bringing home.

The house in Chame is quiet and as I worked I could hear birds chirping and someone in the distance saying "buenas" and "hola" over and over again.  As we were leaving one night Clyde stopped the car by Victor's house and yelled over to him, asking what type of birds he had.  His reply in Spanish was "loro."  Suddenly the lightbulb in my head turned on.  "Loro" means "parrot" and it was the parrots at the neighbors I'd been hearing repeating words in the quietness of the breeze.  Parrots are wild in Panama and commonly seen around that area.  Once things settle down for us we'll have to snap a few pics of some birds around our property.

Clyde is so thrilled to have put the last ceiling tile up, and rewired the last of the lights and ceiling fans.  And I'm happy to be able to put down the paint brush, clean up the mess and make it look like a house we could live in.  And we did manage to hang up our hammocks, although we didn't spend any time in them.  And you know what they say.....home is where you hang your hammock....and that would be here in Panama along the gringo trail.

What is taking so damn long???

Clyde here.  Sending out a report on the new house.

If you have been following the blog, you know that Terry and I have been working on getting the house "move in ready" now for over a month.  You would think we would be in by now!

But, things are done a little different in Panama!  There are a few things besides the painting and cleaning that I wanted to accomplish before we moved in.

The house is thirty years old and there are some out of date things in the house.  The electrical wiring is as old as the house with not a "safety ground" wire in sight.  Ok that's easy, I will just pull an extra wire in certain plugs and add a safety ground!  Nope, for some reason every conduit is 1/2" and already has four or five wires in it.  So what to do?  I put in plugs for the computer, TV, refrigerator, washer dryer and GFI plugs in the bathrooms.  How do you ask?  Well I mounted the plugs on the outside of the cement wall and used some "On the wall conduit" to hide my wires.  Now I have grounded plugs! 

This house has a hot water heater, but it is only plumbed for the master shower and kitchen.  I like to use a separate bathroom than the boss but I do like my hot water!  So, I mounted one of those "suicide shower heads" so popular in Panama.  What, you ask is this?  Well it is a shower head that you wire into your electricity and the water is warmed in the shower head.  As I started wiring my new shower head I realized OOPS no ground!  No problem, I just piggy backed on to the GFI plug that I put in the bathroom.

I got this picture of a
"Suicide Shower Head" off the net

My wiring job was much better than this one.
I hid my wires and connections in conduit!

Ok, next project...... install all new ceiling tiles in our Panamanian style house.  We have drop ceilings and the tiles have seen their better days!  So, first we painted the rails and then removed all of the ceiling fans and light fixtures.  So, how did they install all these from a drop ceiling?  Wires and chains that's how!  And of course no wire nuts whatsoever, just black electric tape!  So, I acquired  some metal framing (my buds Phil and Sharon donated this) and I did things right.  Can't have a ceiling fan falling down on us!  I had to do this for every light and fan in the house!  We also bought a few new fans and in order to have separate switches for the fan and light, again I had to add exterior boxes.

Here you see the original wiring
and chain holding up this ceiling fan

This is the new method of hanging fans
(Yes, I straightened it out after the picture)

Here is a sample of the switch I had to put
on the outside of the wall.
This is also how I added the

three wire ground plugs



We also decided to put in new toilets and bathroom sinks.  A pain, but not too bad until......................  I got to the little bathroom (maid's bathroom).  It is a very narrow bathroom and had a small toilet in it.  I found a small toilet but try as I might, I could not find one that would fit the hole in the floor (it was too close to the wall!)  No problem, they make an adapter for that.  It is called an "offset toilet flange".  This hand gizmo actually moves your hole for your toilet a few inches.

Offset Toilet Flange
you just take out the old one and put this one in!

Whenever you put in a new toilet flange, you have to bolt it to the floor, or your toilet will be a rocking!  No problem, I am ready for that, I have a special hammer drill that easily drills into concrete and also the proper screws etc.  So, I lined up the flange and started drilling.  And guess what?  I hit a water line!  I have NEVER heard of a water line placed in this matter!   Would you believe that this added about four hours to the placement of the toilet?

Here is the water line that I drilled a

perfect hole in to!  Yes, this is the opening
into the toilet drain pipe.

So, these are just some of the examples why things take longer in Panama! I consider myself a "handy-man" and have never shied away from any household projects.  But, now you can see why everything is taking so much longer here.





Mirror Mirror On The Wall.......

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who has the most colorful mirror of all?  We do of course at "casa de muy colores" in Panamá.  Our house of many colors came with a large, heavy mirror that hung on the living room wall.  The large mirror was framed with hundreds of tiny, mirrored squares and some of the squares were missing their mirrored finish, which is nothing more than mirror paint.  So I thought I'd paint the little squares using all of the colors that we put into the house.  Four hours later I was happy to see that it turned out just as planned.  And the best part is that the mirror was a free hand-me-down, and the paint was all leftover from painting the rooms of the house.

"Espejo de mas colores"
Mirror of many colors

Yesterday Clyde discovered that the pretty green toilet and sink we bought for the tiny bathroom off what used to be called the "maid's room" doesn't fit.  The room is so small that they found a toilet that sat back closer to the wall than normal toilets do.  Clyde said there is something to buy that can offset the toilet, but instead we're going to look for a different type of toilet today.  But turns out that the green set will fit outside in the bathroom there that's located next to the "guard shack" which will now be a tool shed.

Entry Way Done!
new paint and new ceiling!



So today we're off to pick up our car that was having body work done at a place called "Pretty Car" in La Chorrera. After waiting two months for parts that were on order, they managed to fix the car in only three and a half days.  Excited to see how it looks, and hopefully the paint will match since it's the color that 95% of the cars in Panamá are, which is silver.

master bedroom with new paint, ceiling tiles

and a new ceiling fan



Then off to Panama City to find two new toilets and some other stuff for the house.  Although shopping for the house is exciting, I'd much rather it be done already and we were swinging in our hammocks.  Speaking of hammocks, we did manage to take some "hammock time" yesterday here in Capira.  We only worked a half day on the house and then came back here early since Clyde was badly in need of a hair cut.  But instead he opted for a nap in the hammock first, but I did manage to chop his locks later on before he grilled some chicken on the barbie for dinner. 
And for anyone that cares and remembers when we discovered a lump on Venus our new dog, and the vet said it was an allergic reaction to something.  Well happy to report that the lump has been shrinking and is just about gone now by just giving it time.  A bit sleeker in her appearance as she's taken off a few pounds, she's doing well.  She does fine on her daily walks usually, until the other day when a cat went running by and she tried to take off pulling me behind her.  Quickly I had to correct that behavior as the pack leader before I went flying down the road.

Perhaps our mirror of many colors is just a reflection of our new lives here.  Each tiny, colorful square represents a new adventure so full of vibrant color that it screams out to the world... that we're here.  And when those little squares are put together they create something special, a new life just waiting to be discovered... in Panamá....along the colorful gringo trail.

A Hole In The Wall......

Admittedly addicted to HGTV and shows like House Hunters and Property Virgins, I love it when the perspective buyer looks at a house and makes a comment like, "oh we can just take down this wall to open up the space."  We did it in Texas where Clyde just knocked a hole in the living room wall let in more light.  But in the U.S. he was cutting through a layer of drywall, so the process went quick and easy.  Now we're in Panama, the land of cement blocks covered in even more cement on both outside and inside walls.

When we first bought the house in Chame I complained that the living-dining area was too dark since it's in the middle of the house.  It's a long room with a window on the front end only and to get more light it seemed like a good idea, to cut a hole in the wall between the kitchen and dining room.  Next time I suggest any such thing please have someone knock a hole in my head and have me locked up somewhere. 

Clyde made all the plans and had it figured out exactly how he would pull this off.  Although he did make a few comments weeks ago that he hoped the roof didn't cave in when he did this, which made me panic.  But even being panicked about the prospects of a roof falling in, I still wanted what I wanted being the difficult witch that I am.  He discussed it with friends and they gave advice, but no one said it was impossible.

The Cut Was Made, Now The Sledge Hammer

A Little Bigger

So today was the day and he began by measuring and drawing cutting lines on the wall.  He started cutting with a small angle grinder, and the blades ground down to nothing within a few minutes.  Off he went to the hardware store to buy a bigger model, which was really what he wanted in the first place but was being cheap.  Once he cut through on one side of the wall he went to the other side to repeat the same process.  Fourteen blades and many hours later, the cut was made and everything was covered in a layer of gray cement dust.  To keep things cleaner we even bought a roll of plastic sheeting and hung plastic from the ceiling to form a tent around the work area.  It helped to keep most of the dust away from the rest of the house, but it still escaped like a cloud of thick smoke.

A View From the Kitchen Side

The Final Pounding

Cleaning Up The Rubble

The New Opening Looking Into The Kitchen Where I'm Still Cleaning

And NO We Didn't Paint Stripes On This Wall

Once the cut was made he picked up a sledge hammer and pound his way through six inches of cement.  And if that wasn't bad enough, then we had to shovel the mess off the floor and take it outside.  The hole came out great and once it's trimmed with wood it will be a nice addition to our home.  But once I looked around the house to see the walls and cabinets covered with gray dust, I wanted to cry.  After weeks of painting and cleaning, it was now all covered with a layer of thick, dirty cement dust.  Tired and sore we cleaned up the mess, including the walls and came home to relax.  Since Clyde did most of the hard work he's hurting and tired and hopefully he'll feel better tomorrow.

Clyde suggested we grab the camera out of the car to take pictures of this memorable moment to show the world what these two crazy gringos are up to now.  Tomorrow is another day of more work, but at least the worst is over, the hole is done and the house is turning into our home......along the gringo trail.

If Your Skin Is White......

If your skin is white they assume you must live in Coronado and are a rich foreigner.  Recently after a long day of back-breaking labor on our house, we showered, and changed clothes as usual.  On the way home we stopped to eat at a restaurant called "Delizz."  We'd passed this restaurant hundreds of times since it's directly on the Pan American highway and our friends had mentioned that the food was good.

After we ordered food Clyde took off to find a bathroom and while I was sitting alone the waitress came by to chat. In Spanish she made a statement, something to the effect of  "so you live in Coronado?"  For those reading this unfamiliar with Panamá, Coronado is a ritzy area of gated communities where many expats live.  Surprised by this assumption I answered in Spanish by telling her that we live in Capira but have bought a house in Chame and will be moving soon.  She went on to ask in Spanish, " so you bought a house in Punta Chame," which is also fast becoming an expat haven.  To which I said no and explained that are house is in the town of Chame located in back of the police department and fire station in a Panamanian neighborhood.  Then I went on to tell her that we bought an old house that needs work and we have been doing all of  the work ourselves.  She smiled and nodded in acceptance and when she walked away she passed by Clyde, looked at him and said "tú Panameño!"  He looked at me wondering why the waitress just called him a Panamanian and I had to explain what happened in his absence.

I was surprised at the comment and wonder how many other locals assume the same when they see gringos.  Since my dear, friendly husband likes to talk he usually likes to mention to those we meet along the way where we live.  And then impresses them with him being a retired firefighter and paramedic for 26 years. 

Now let me add that although we don't live in the affluent Coronado community, our house is just a 10 minute drive away.  So we do take advantage of the modern shopping in the area, even though it's a bit more pricey than the stores in La Chorrera where we used to shop. And as for Punta Chame the gym we've been using is located there in an expat resort with a nice swimming pool.  So although we don't live the life of gated community expats, we do slither in at times still wearing our Wal-Mart bargains. 

We enjoyed the restaurant called Delizz, as it's a lovely roadside cafe with scrumptious food.  We ordered "Shrimp Ceviche" as an appetizer and a chicken dish stuffed with spinach, topped with shrimp and a white-wine cream sauce for our main course.  The presentation of the dishes were incredible and the tastes indescribable.  Their prices were on the high side for Panamá (our meal was around $10) but well worth the price.  The place was clean and nicely decorated and the waitress was attentive and friendly.  Delizz will be added to our list of good places to eat in Panamá.

Beautifully Presented
Shrimp Ceviche

Spinach Stuffed Chicken
with Shrimp



As for progress on the house, yesterday we replaced the ceiling tile in the living and dining room areas as well as the master bedroom. It made quite the mess as we tore down 30 year old fiberglass tiles and the dirt and gecko poop fell like rain.  And since Clyde was putting the tiles up, I had the task of taking the old tiles outside to the back of the property to be burned at a later time. The new ceiling looks wonderful and gives the rooms a fresh, clean new look.  He also put up a new ceiling fan in the living room since that room never had one.  Later I added another coat of paint to the side hallway and touched up a few areas too.  Filthy and tired we showered and changed clothes before leaving the house to come back to Capira. 

Into every life some gecko poop and fiberglass must fall, as we continue to fix up and knock down, making a new home out of an old one.......along the gringo trail.