Yesterday, there was an art exhibition by a Costa Rican artist at the BCP (Boquete Community Playhouse). I really liked her artwork – it was pen & ink with pastels. She had several pictures of iguanas, and one picture of an owl that I found fascinating. The owl’s head was nicely detailed, but the feathers on the rest of his body weren’t feathers at all – they were small images of the insects and vegetation the owl eats. I had to do a double-take, because at first glance, they did look like feathers. Very interesting
They also served lunch there. (The BCP is kind of the nerve center for social activity in Boquete, hosting these types of events, the Tuesday market, informational presentations, plays, etc.). The special of the day was chicken enchilada soup, served with a couple of cheesy jalapeño muffins. Really delicious soup, so thick you could almost eat it with a fork.
Speaking of plays, the final performance of Neil Simon’s “Rumors” was happening at 2 p.m., so after viewing the art and having lunch, I stayed for the play. There’s a small theater at the BCP that holds about 80 people, and this performance was very well attended. For a local cast of characters, the actors did very well, and it was very entertaining. This is the first “community” outing I’ve been to, but I’m sure it won’t be the last!
No, I’m not talking apples here – well, kind of, I guess….
Before…
I bought this big, golden, fully-ripe pineapple from a pickup truck piled high with them. The smell was wonderful! The smaller ones were $1, and this one was $1.25. Almost all of them were as perfectly ripe as this one. You never see completely golden-ripe ones in the US. The guys from the truck twisted off the top, so I could put it in my backpack. It must weigh about two pounds!
There are no sharp knives provided in my apartment. Fortunately, last night I bought one and put it to good use this evening. This pineapple was super sweet and juicy – the only others I’ve had that come close are the ones I had in Ghana, and this was easily twice as big (or more) as the Ghanaian ones.
…and after.
I’m not an expert at carving up a pineapple, but fortunately, I remembered that a lady whose blog I follow (she lives in David) posted a video awhile back, showing how to do it. I followed her directions, and it wasn’t hard at all.
I also bought a couple of large avocados (about the size of a baseball) for $1.50, and an onion. Planning to make guacamole in a few days, when they get ripe.
The power was out when I got up this morning, but it came back on in about half an hour. It happens – this is Panama!
I had a hearty breakfast this morning at Sugar & Spice. They have so many wonderful muffins, cookies, and cakes, but I had their breakfast combo today – scrambled eggs with green peppers, onions and cheese, hashbrowns, two slices of toast, and coffee for $6. The hashbrowns (little flat disks like tater tots) are on the bottom of the bowl, with the eggs on top. So good!
I also invited a couple of guys to sit at the table adjoining mine, since the other tables hadn’t been cleaned yet. They live in David and have a business making security doors and windows. Most of the houses around here have decorative ironwork security bars on the doors and windows. They have a space at the Tuesday market, so I’m sure I’ll see them again.
Three tomatoes, $.70. Two big green peppers, $1. Two ears of corn, $.60.
After breakfast, I went to the fruit & vegetable market downtown. At this market, across the street from the supermarket, fruits and vegetables are MUCH cheaper, and look really fresh. All of the above cost me $2.30.
I had breakfast with Chris this morning – omelette and hash browns (country-style, with cut-up potatoes and small pieces of bacon), along with coffee. Good food and good conversation – a great way to start the day!
After breakfast, Chris dropped me off at the Super Barú grocery store. And walking in at the same time was Frank, one of the guys we had lunch with yesterday! He showed me where some things were in the store and gave me some shopping tips. The store had a deli counter, a fresh meat department, and was laid out pretty much like any other grocery store in the US.
After just having breakfast, I couldn’t decide on what to get that would be easy to cook, so I just ended up with some macaroni, cereal, milk, sugar, and butter. I was going to have some pasta for dinner tonight, but that didn’t work out. The stove is gas, and there were two of the long-nosed lighters in the apartment, to be used to start the burner. However, neither of them worked, so cooking anything was out for tonight. I’ll put that on my to-do list for tomorrow. So I had cereal instead.
The absolute best news of the day is that my iMac didn’t suffer any damage from being flung across the luggage bay in the bus the other night. I hadn’t planned to unpack it until I got to the bigger apartment, but I just had to know how it fared on the trip. Right now, I’m writing this while sitting on the sofa with the keyboard in my lap, and the computer is on the coffee table. The mouse is beside me on the sofa, with a book underneath it serving as a mouse pad. It’s not elegant, but it works!
I arrived in Boquete about 6:15 a.m., much earlier than the noon arrival I initially planned. Yesterday I sent an e-mail to the lady I’m renting my apartment from, letting her know I was taking the bus and would be arriving around 7 a.m., but she probably didn’t read it before I got here. There was no apartment key in the designated hiding place, and I didn’t want to just sit in front of the apartment with my bags for an indeterminate amount of time. So it was time for plan B.
The taxi driver had to leave for another trip to David at 7:30, so he suggested that I leave my luggage in his car until time for him to leave, and in the meantime I could try to contact the property owner. Sounded like a plan, so he dropped me off at a little coffee shop for a bit.
I had no luck contacting her, but remembered that my friend Chris was meeting friends at the library at 8 a.m. before going on a hike. I called her and asked if I could stash my luggage in her car until she got back from her hike, and she agreed. So I called the taxi driver and had him pick me back up and take me to the library to wait for Chris, so he could make his next run to David.
That plan worked like a charm, and even better than I expected. Chris showed up, helped me put my bags in her car, and asked if I had my driver’s license. When I affirmed that I did, she just handed me the keys to her car and said she’d let me know when they got back. Cool, huh?
To kill some time, I stopped at a different coffee shop and had some banana bread and a second cup of coffee, and watched the people go by for awhile. Drove around a bit, then parked across the street from the apartment, hoping someone would drop off the key. After awhile, I did see the owner arrive. She had a basket of linens with her, so I figured she was dropping them off at the apartment and would leave the key at that time. I didn’t make myself known, but after she left I checked again for the key. Nope, still no key.
I waited awhile longer, hoping she would return. By now, it was almost 10 a.m. It was getting warmer outside, and I was beginning to get a little frustrated. I had been (mostly) awake for nearly 36 hours, and my energy was running on empty. So, after texts and e-mails failed to get a response, I called the owner directly. Apparently, the cleaning lady was still finishing up the apartment, and when I went to the front door, she met me there and let me in. So I unloaded my bags from Chris’ car and put a few things away, then collapsed and cooled off for awhile.
I let Chris know I was in the apartment, and soon after that she replied that they were done with their hike, and were going to have lunch in town. She invited me to join them. I hadn’t had much to eat since the night before, so even though I was tired, I gladly agreed.
Her lunch partners were a couple of guys who had been here for a little over a year. We had a nice lunch and got to know each other a bit. I always knew that Chris would be the one to introduce me to her circle of friends, and sure enough, within hours of my arrival, that was indeed the case.
After lunch, Chris took me home and I took a well-deserved nap for a couple of hours. Right now, it’s about 6:30 p.m., and I’m in my living room with the windows open, enjoying the evening air. It’s been raining for about an hour, with occasional grumbles of thunder. Birds were singing right outside the window awhile ago, and the sound of the rain is very soothing. The power has gone off briefly a couple of times, which is very common here, especially during rainstorms.
It’s been a long first day, but everything has worked out well. The downside is that I didn’t make it to the store to buy food, so the only thing I have for an evening snack is a can of Coke and some plantain chips. No worries – I’m going to bed soon, and will deal with shopping tomorrow.
For those of you who wanted to see photos of this apartment, here they are:
Front entrance. There are 4 studio apartments and one 1-bedroom unit in this building. Mine is the 1-bedroom, at the end of the interior hallway.
The kitchen. Behind the curtain are pots & pans, a crock pot, and other goodies.
The living room. There’s a flat-screen TV behind the plant.
Speaking of plays, the final performance of Neil Simon’s “Rumors” was happening at 2 p.m., so after viewing the art and having lunch, I stayed for the play. There’s a small theater at the BCP that holds about 80 people, and this performance was very well attended. For a local cast of characters, the actors did very well, and it was very entertaining. This is the first “community” outing I’ve been to, but I’m sure it won’t be the last!
