The 'beach place' is called Las Sirenas (The Sirens - as in mermaids).
View of the bohio (tiki hut) and gardens that overlook the Pacific Ocean. The bohio was home to coffee in the morning and cocktails in the afternoon.
Front porch of our 2 bedroom/2 bath cabana. Can you guess Frank's favorite spot? (yes, the hammock on the left.)
To get from the cabana to the beach, you had to walk down the hill (relatively steep) and under the canopy of bouganvilla. It is quite warm, ok downright hot, at the beach and there is very little breeze, but it is beautiful! We really enjoyed the morning walks on the beach!
All along the beach, we would see the local fisherman, many times with their nets jam-packed with fish. Lots of pelicans, frigats, and gulls hang around waiting for the boats. It only took a few hours of being at the beach and we are REALLY looking forward to our fishing trip!
This iguana called the crazy ficus tree outside our cabana home. It was a real treat to see him during the day.
Given that we don't have our 'base tan' yet, we opted to wait until later in the day to head to the beach. Surprisingly, the Pacific Ocean was relatively calm and the water wasn't too bad. But, you have to be careful as the 'sneaky waves' can get you!
We were all looking forward to getting to the beach and enjoying lots of delicious seafood... especially the 'shrimp as big as your head'! Keep in mind that there are no Publix grocery stores on every street corner. In fact, we had to do most of our provision shopping while we were in El Valle. They have little kiosks throughout the neighborhoods for staples like milk, a few canned goods, sodas, etc. but these stores are probably 1/8 the size of a 7-11 and more like a concession stand at a football game. One of the locals told us about the 'fish man' and that he would probably have whatever we wanted. So after a few stops to clarify directions, we found Senor Miguel and his fish market....which was more like a garage where the back door opens to the beach, the brother manages the scale, the sister or wife takes the money and Senor Miguel cleans and filets the fish. The fish of the day was 'corvina' which is a big fat sea bass. So, we put our order in for 3 filets.....well, something got lost in translation and we ended up with filets from 3 fish!
Before.
On the grill.
After...with rice, home-made salsa and tomato-cucumber-onion salad....and yummy wine! A very simple and relatively inexpensive but oh so delicious dinner.
Raquel and I cleaning up after dinner. Everything about these cabanas is very practical....tile floors, concrete counters, 'sofas' with removable cushions.
Sunrise from the bohio overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
"The Rock" is also home to a bazillion birds.
The macaw is Panama's national bird and can live well into their 80's. We think this one was the 'grandfather' and was hanging out at a little beach restaurant along with a collection of tropical birds, including toucans, parrots and some younger macaws.
A jovial round of post-Valentine's dinner dominos. :o)
It was an enjoyable, but short stay at the beach. The next part of the adventure includes a 6 hour drive on the Pan American highway to Boquete, in the mountains. Stay tuned...the Crazy Travelers are hitting the road!
Hasta Luego!
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