Party at the Beach

Celebrations, Friends, Travel

A few weeks ago, we attended a three-day beach party hosted by the owners of a popular local gringo-centric restaurant and bar, Mike’s Global Grill. Mike and his wife Heidi held this event for the first time last year, and decided to make it an annual event. Tim went to it last year and had a lot of fun then, so he wanted to do it again this year. Sure – I’m always down for a good time!

The purpose of this event was two-fold – a fun getaway for some of his regular customers, and (most importantly) a thank-you for his employees. We pretty much took over the entire place! Mike hired a bus to bring his employees down on the second day of the party to enjoy the resort and have a blow-out buffet dinner. Mike’s a great chef, and he made sure a good time was had by all!

The party was at the Show Pony Beach Resort at Las Lajas beach, which is a little less than two hours from Boquete, on the Pacific side of Panama. Even though Boquete is in the mountains at 3,000+ feet above sea level, it’s only a couple of hours away from either the Pacific Ocean (to the south) or the Caribbean Sea (to the north).

Las Lajas beach is gorgeous!
The pool at the Show Pony, where we spent a good portion of our days – and I got the sunburn to prove it!

The Show Pony is really nice – the guest rooms are actually one-bedroom apartments with large rooms and a full kitchen. Something I didn’t expect to see were the toucans that live on the property. You can go into their cage and feed them fruit, and they will come and sit on your arm or shoulder. Beautiful birds!

The two toucans.
The toucan on Tim’s arm.

I got a massage on our last day there at another resort (Las Lajas Beach Resort) just down the road from the Show Pony. This massage came highly recommended by a friend in Boquete, and I was definitely not disappointed! It’s called a “lomilomi” style massage, which originated in Hawaii. Very relaxing and restorative – just what I needed. And to add to the ambiance, it was performed under an open-air, thatched roof palapa near the beach, so I could hear the waves crashing in the background. Perfect!

At Las Lajas Beach Resort after my massage. I had been here on the relocation tour in February 2018, and was anxious to visit again and enjoy a piña colada on the beach!

On the last night of the party, we had a bonfire on the beach and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. There are a couple of swings right on the beach, and I appropriated one of them for a good long while that evening, swinging as I enjoyed the ocean breeze and the waves.

On the swing at the beach, sunburned and windblown, with my new friend Kathy.
Some of the attendees at the beach bonfire. Mike, our host, is on the right.

I love Boquete, but a change of scenery was much needed. Other than my outing to Boca Chica awhile back, this was the first time I had been to the beach for an extended stay since I arrived in Panama last August. I could watch and listen to the waves for hours – so peaceful, and so near!

7 comments… add one
  • Barbara Goltry Jul 10, 2019 Link Reply

    What a fun and relaxing mini-vacay!
    Love the toucans. Did you have Fruit Loops for breakfast?

    • Myra Jul 10, 2019 Link Reply

      No, but I did mention Fruit Loops at one point! How could I not? LOL!

  • Don Terrell Jul 10, 2019 Link Reply

    Thanks Myra for the post. Better use the sunscreen next time😡😡😡

    • Myra Jul 10, 2019 Link Reply

      Yeah, it was really overcast a lot of the time, and I couldn’t tell where the shadows were, to know if I was in the shade or not. 🙂

  • Janet Justus Jul 11, 2019 Link Reply

    Myra, The beach looked familiar. I remember it well and enjoyed it the first time we went there. You look great! Happy too! Miss you. Janet

  • Shirley Conaway Jul 11, 2019 Link Reply

    Looks like fun! You look great, Myra!

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