I decided to move a little early into the larger, two bedroom apartment that I rented, since it was available. I was feeling kind of cramped, and wanted to actually unpack and begin to set up my clay work area, so I can start making things to sell at the Tuesday market.

So today I moved all my things out of the small apartment, with the help of the new friend (Tim) that I met last night. He did the heavy lifting of the boxes I had shipped, which was VERY helpful. In appreciation, I bought his lunch and we had a nice chat.

This apartment is about a mile outside of Boquete proper, just a few minutes by car to downtown. The main road into Boquete is right in front of my apartment, so there is traffic noise when I have the windows open. I heard traffic from I-44 from my house in OKC, so it’s not an issue.

Here are photos of the new place, from their ad:

Living room – the wall art lights up, and I like the funky couch

Kitchen & dining area

Corner bedroom – two sets of windows and a double bed

Second bedroom – guest room!

Bath – I would prefer a shower instead of a tub, but it’ll do

The apartments are above a retail shopping strip. There’s a restaurant, bakery, hardware store, and a well-stocked grocery store right downstairs. Very convenient, if I don’t feel like going into town.

Grocery store – very convenient!

In the photo below, I’ve highlighted my apartment and the entry door. I’m at the end of the hall. There’s a laundry at the top of the stairs for the use of the tenants, at no cost. Another nice perk!

My apartment, directly above the restaurant

I still need to wash the sheets and towels at the other apartment, to leave it like I found it. I haven’t told the landlord there that I’m gone yet, since I have that place rented until September 15. That will be a task for tomorrow.

I’ve set up my computer at the new apartment already, but need to find an 8-foot folding table to use as my clay work area. One step at a time! At least here I feel like I can unpack and stop living out of suitcases, like I did at the little apartment.

Tonight is the first real social evening I’ve had since I arrived in Boquete two weeks ago. There was a dance party at the BCP clubhouse, and they were serving dinner (spicy Thai peanut noodles – yum!) and 2-for-1 beers at happy hour from 5:30 to 6:30.

Party time at the BCP!

Get down with your bad self!

I sat alone at a small table, and an older guy (Bill) came over and asked me if I had anyone to talk to. I said he was welcome to join me, and he did. We chatted a bit, and a friend of his (Tim) joined us shortly thereafter. Bill likes to dance, and he’s definitely on the prowl for a ladyfriend. I told him I’d keep my eyes open for him, letting him know I wasn’t interested for myself. The conversation kind of petered out after that. 🙂

But I liked his friend Tim. He and I left the dance party and went to Mike’s Global Grill, where it was much quieter. They usually have live music, but not tonight, so it was almost empty. Tim and I chatted a bit, and then Brent walked in. I had met Brent last week when he, his wife, and their friend invited me in for a beer at the apartment across the hall.

All three of them were at Mike’s, and Brent joined us for a bit. That was nice, because I had tried to reach him this week and was unable to because their internet was out for several days due to a tree falling down during a storm and taking out some power lines.

So, all in all, it was a great evening. A new friend, reconnecting with another new friend, good food, and just a fun evening. I’m not overly sociable, but this is a very social town, and tonight was a good balance to the alone time that I need in order to recharge.

I was sitting quietly in my apartment watching TV and minding my own business this afternoon, when the sofa started vibrating. What was that? Then a couple of seconds later, the house started shaking and the dishes on the kitchen shelf rattled a bit. Earthquake!

Afternoon quake

This was one of those longer-lasting, rolling type quakes rather than the ones that just hit with a quick jolt and then are done. This one probably lasted 8-10 seconds, and it reminded me of the one we had in Oklahoma a few years ago that did some damage to people’s homes north of OKC. I don’t remember the magnitude of that one, but this was a 5.3. No damage, but big enough to get my attention.

I’ve felt a couple of other quakes since I’ve been in Panama. From what I’ve read, the tectonic plates in this area are “slippery” – they slide over each other smoothly and produce frequent smaller earthquakes, rather than build up a lot of pressure that releases suddenly, resulting in a damaging big quake. So Panama has numerous earthquakes, but the experts don’t think there will be a “big one” here.

We have small earthquakes in Oklahoma, and so far, Panama feels kind of like home in that sense!

The nice couple I bought my car from picked me up this morning, and we drove to David to change the registration of the car into my name at the Panamanian equivalent of the DMV. After filling out forms, going to one window to do one thing and another window to do something else, then upstairs to do another thing, the car was officially mine!

They were closing for lunch before we finished the last bit of paperwork, so we all went out to lunch until they reopened at 1 p.m. to finish up. We ate at a little cafeteria they had eaten at before, and the food was very good. I had rice with chicken, a grilled chicken breast quarter, and some veggies. Since they had driven quite a bit (twice) in order to sell this car to me, I gladly paid for their lunch.

Since I took their car from them about a month before they were moving back to the US, they were going to ride the bus back to Volcán, where they live. So the husband drove to the bus station, since I didn’t want to drive on the busy streets of David unless I had to. Then they got out and I jumped into the driver’s seat to head back toward Boquete.

There’s an app called Waze that’s very helpful in getting around when you don’t really know where you’re going. I had it on my phone, but had never used it. It’s a GPS-based turn-by-turn navigation app with voice instructions that’s apparently widely used here. I understand it functions in the US too, but had never heard of it until I came here last February.

Using Waze,I had no trouble finding my way out of David and onto the highway leading to Boquete. It was a pleasant drive, and I was careful to stay under the speed limit. I had no intention of getting a ticket on my first day of driving this car!

On the way home, I stopped at the insurance company that’s just outside of Boquete. Everyone recommends this particular agent, and it took very little time to get my insurance written up. I think that’s the last bit of “official” business I need to take care of for awhile.

I almost forgot – the quirkiest thing about this car is the location of the gear shift. It’s not in the console, and not on the steering column. It’s on the dashboard! To take it out of park, you push the handle to the left, then down into gear. And the emergency brake is below it, also on the side of the center section of the dash. What were the designers thinking??? Oh, well – quirky is cute, and gives the car a little extra personality!

The PRNDL on the dashboard.