I'm a long-time gym rat. I love working out, and I love temperature control when I do it.There is a gym in Coronado, but it is small and feels really crowded, even though there were only a few people in there when we visited. It…Read More

I'm a long-time gym rat. I love working out, and I love temperature control when I do it.

There is a gym in Coronado, but it is small and feels really crowded, even though there were only a few people in there when we visited. It was expensive, considering there aren't any fitness classes or anything, and we would have had to drive from where we live to get there. All in all it didn't seem like a great investment.

If you live in a condo complex, or certain housing developments, you will probably have a small but adequate (and rarely used) gym. I've got friends in various towers, and I've used these gyms on occasion and typically have them all to myself.

I'm determined enough to keep myself in shape without a regular gym, but in the past I have tended to get bored when I don't have a gym with some fitness class options. However, I'm so-far-so-good here in Panama, and this is why:

Beach volleyball! Check out my story about that. We play at least twice a week now, and it's so much fun. I volunteer to chase the ball and really dig into the sand as I come back up the little incline toward the court to get a little extra cardio boost.

Running. Now that we live in a house, we have a nice quiet neighborhood to run it. When we lived at Paraiso (see my review about that), I would run down that road, but it was full of traffic, the smell of burning foliage and garbage, and aggressive dogs. Now I run in peace. I have backed off my running schedule, because if you're not up and out the door by 6:00am it gets hot. Most of my runs occur around 8:00 or 9:00am, and it's plenty warm.

Pool. I'm not a great swimmer, nor am I a big fan of it, but I've started to really like water aerobics. I'm teaching a couple of classes, so I started messing around in the pool to get a better idea of what's hard and what's not, since I had never done water aerobics before. I love it! Even just pool running is a great workout, you can do it even during the hotter parts of the day, and pools are plentiful around here -- most houses and condo complexes have them.

Home workouts. My boyfriend and I both love using a kettlebell (which we found here at the store for about $25 -- good deal!), and as a yoga teacher I do a lot of yoga, anyway. I've actually given more attention to my yoga now that I'm not distracted by the gym, and it's a very good thing. You can find lots of workout equipment and sporting goods around here and in the city -- yoga mats cost as little as $10, and even our local Machetazo sells handweights, punching bags, bicycles, and more.

Classes. As I mentioned, I'm teaching a few, but there are others to be had. There's a woman who's been teaching Beach Fit on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for a couple of years on the beach near the Coronado Bay tower, and there's a yoga teacher who teaches from her home studio, El Litoral. I look forward to checking these out someday soon.

Walks on the beach. Beautiful sounds. Beautiful sights. Extra challenging for your feet and legs, but you don't even notice.Close

Now, I'm not talking here about driving in Panama City. That's an entirely different story, and one which, frankly, I hope never to be able to write because I never want to have that particular experience. This is the low-down on driving elsewhere in the…Read More

Now, I'm not talking here about driving in Panama City. That's an entirely different story, and one which, frankly, I hope never to be able to write because I never want to have that particular experience. This is the low-down on driving elsewhere in the country, which is much more manageable but comes with its own set of things to think about.

First, a car. There are buses, but everything is so spread out when you get outside the city -- you're really going to want a car. If you're staying a long time, you can buy a used car pretty reasonably, but be careful: not all mechanics are created equal, and you're going to want to do some research and follow a trail of ex-pat recommendations to make sure you're not getting a piece of junk.

For short term, renting a car is easy and affordable. I recommend Gold Coast Auto near Coronado -- Rob is a great guy and he takes good care of the cars and his renters.

Gas is expensive, but that's getting to be true everywhere. Pull up to the pump, tell the attendant how much money you want to spend, and he'll fill it to that limit.

When you enter the country as a tourist, you are allowed to stay for six months -- however, you are only allowed to drive for three of those months. If you want to keep up your driving permission after that, you will need to go to Costa Rica for a few days or something.

If you're thinking you'll just take your chances, I'll warn you that they won't get you very far. The police are constantly setting up road blocks. Usually we get checked, but sometimes we get waved through. Sometimes they just look at our license, sometimes when they see it's a foreign license they demand the passport (where they make sure you've been here less than three months). It seems that every time they set one up, they're looking for something different, but don't risk it. During the day it'll be more about license checks, but at night they check for drunk driving, and every driver takes a breathalizer on the way through the checkpoint.

Now, this is Panama, which means you might be able to bribe your way out of whatever trouble you're in. Lower-level police officers don't make a lot of money, so $20 goes a long way in those cases. However, if they're above that, you could lose your license or even the car.

On new year's eve, my boyfriend's dad's friend was in an accident. My boyfriend's dad drove the car all the way to the city to the hospital -- but he was way past his three-month driving limit, and he had not yet gotten his Panamanian license. He was pulled over, and despite the emergency, the cop was ready to take his car away for this infraction. Luckily, the victim's wife jumped in (in fluent Spanish), gave the cop $40, and saved the day.

We've found, in general (despite the Spanish-speaking in the anecdote above), that a good way to avoid this whole mess is to just pretend you don't speak any Spanish (especially easy if you truly don't!). Well, first, keep your paperwork in order, then if they try to tell you you were speeding (when you weren't), just play dumb, and usually they get tired of messing with it.

Another thing to be careful of: if you're the designated driver and you're stopped and asked to blow, they might still try to tell you you're over the limit. Demand to see proof. This happened to my boyfriend, and they refused to show him when he asked and just waved him on.

You don't have to carry your passport with you, but you do need to carry a copy. If you're driving to the west side of the country, there is an official stop at one of the province borders close to David. First, an officer checks the license, and when he sees it's foreign he calls out the immigration official, who asks for the passport. In our case, we had our actual passports with us -- I'm not sure if he would have accepted a copy, so if you're making that trip you might want to carry the real thing. Local police officers (as in during the random road blocks) will accept the copy.

The PanAmerican Highway is in pretty good condition. Other roads, even through Coronado, aren't that great. You'll be faced with lots of potholes, speedbumps, and dirt roads. For this reason, I would highly recommend renting or buying an SUV or pickup rather than a smaller car.

Watch for pedestrians (often carrying bags of groceries and small children) on the side of the roads -- a lot of roads don't have very big shoulders. And watch for other drivers. I can't stress that enough.

Drivers can get crazy everywhere, but we've seen some downright dangerous, senseless driving around here. My boyfriend recently watched in horror as the car behind him passed him and the loaded truck in front of him on a curve up a hill. Luckily, there was no car coming the other way, but this isn't the first time we've seen a stunt like that.

Sometimes you'll see a car backing up (on the shoulder) of the highway. Sometimes a car will make a turn around another car that is waiting to turn. You aren't supposed to U-turn, but sometimes people do -- so when you get to a turn-around point, you'll have some cars trying to follow the turnaround and others trying to U-turn, which makes it especially tricky if you're coming out of the turnaround, thinking it's clear, and the car behind you U-turns instead of following the turnaround. In short, don't assume that anyone is going to follow the rules or even common sense.

Despite all of the headache, driving in Panama is a great option for the freedom it gives you. A 30-minute drive can turn into a couple of hours if you're trying to catch the crowded buses. We still take the bus into the city, usually, since inexpensive taxis can take you anywhere you want to go there, but for around the beach area we love our vehicle.Close

If you live in Panama City, you'll probably choose an apartment. If you live in Boquete, you'll have mostly houses (some within gated communities) to choose from. When you get out in the beach community around Coronado, you might find yourself making the tough decision…Read More

If you live in Panama City, you'll probably choose an apartment. If you live in Boquete, you'll have mostly houses (some within gated communities) to choose from. When you get out in the beach community around Coronado, you might find yourself making the tough decision between buying/renting a house or a condo.

We've lived in a house now for less than a week, and it's been quite an education already. There's plenty to love, but there are a few things to consider.

A house is generally bigger than a condo, and there are still some great deals to be had when it comes to buying houses -- especially if you're willing to do a little work on the place. There is space for a dog or other animals (we have friends with chickens in their yard!), and usually there are already fruit trees growing on site -- or at least space to plant your own. The thought of picking my own mangos, grapefruit, and papaya is a very tempting reason to have a house and yard.

Of course, you then have to take care of that yard. It's been a long time since I've lived in a house, and I was shocked at how long it took me yesterday to water all the plants! Plus, we have the pool to take care of (though you can hire someone to do that for you twice a week for about $50 a month).

During the dry season, both houses and condos get dusty fast. In the house, there's a lot more floor to sweep and mop. Of course, you can also hire a maid for about $25-35 per cleaning, but we prefer to do things ourselves.

There are also more safety issues with a house. Panama in general is a very safe place to be, but like anywhere in the world you want to take precautions. We have bars on our windows -- most houses do -- and we take care to lock everything up. We also have a security system and we keep lights on in the yard all night.

Condos are naturally safer. Not only do you usually have security guards on site, there is usually only one entrance point into your unit (unless someone wants to scale the walls), and it's very difficult if not impossible to manage to get a peek inside to see if it's even worth breaking into. In addition, many condos have key cards or access codes to get through the lobby doors or up the elevator.

You also have a lot of amenities in condos, depending on the building: pools, gyms, spas, and more. Of course, you have a monthly fee associated with those things, but some of the buildings are quite affordable. If you're going to spend money on a gym membership each month, anyway, it's nice to have one right downstairs.

You do give up some privacy in a condo -- depending on the building, many balconies provide views into other units or balconies. You might have the share the pool with a lot of people. At the house, I've been running around the yard doing errands in my bathing suit all morning, and I don't worry about closing the blinds if I'm walking around clothes-free after a shower or something. We do have neighbors, but they're usually only around on the weekends, so I'll take a little more care then. With our own pool, we can enjoy a (plastic) glass of wine in there if we want to, without having the concierge tell us to take it back to the table.

It comes down to your personal preference and particular needs. If you plan on buying eventually, I would recommend spending some time in both a house and a condo before you make your decision. Close

The Coronado beach area is THE place to be during Semana Santa, as 2/3 of Panama City (that's a million people) proves when they drive out here to spend their four-day weekend.We went into Coronado early on Thursday morning and were surprised that the traffic…Read More

The Coronado beach area is THE place to be during Semana Santa, as 2/3 of Panama City (that's a million people) proves when they drive out here to spend their four-day weekend.

We went into Coronado early on Thursday morning and were surprised that the traffic hadn't built up yet. We later heard that there was an accident on the bridge coming out of the city, and they had to close the bridge, slowing everything up. My boyfriend had the misfortune of taking someone to the airport later that day, and the usual three-hour round trip turned into almost eight hours, even though the bridge had cleared by the time he went through.

We laid low on Good Friday, and our long-time Panamanian resident friends shared with us some of the unique Panamanian customs and beliefs.

First of all, no alcohol may be sold -- or, apparently, consumed -- on Good Friday. The no-selling part is an actual law, infraction of which is rewarded with a $3000 fine; the no-consuming part is, I believe, a rule that is self-enforced by the good Catholics. Also, no music may be played. Our friend who owns a restaurant hosted a comedian on Good Friday last year, to avoid playing music, and she still received hate mail from residents who were upset at the frivolity.

Despite the huge influx of people who wanted, I presumed, to spend their weekend at the beach, the beaches were empty. We were told that this is because of the belief that if you go swimming on Good Friday, you turn into a fish.

The last and most eye-opening custom we learned about was this: if someone gives you the evil eye on Good Friday, the next day you are supposed to go to their house with a blanket to seek forgiveness. The offended person pees on your blanket, and you wrap yourself in the blanket to clear the slate.

I don't mean to share false information, so I verified these stories with a couple of people before writing about them. I still find them hard to believe, but friends of ours who have been here a long time say that they are very real.

On Easter Sunday, we drove to Chica for Easter Brunch. It was morning, but traffic was already backed up on the way back into Panama City. It took us awhile, but we arrived at La Joya de Chica and had a wonderful time. We left at about 4:00pm, and when we got back to the highway we discovered that they had taken all four lanes -- two of which are traditionally for traffic going toward the city, two of which are for traffic going away from the city -- and opened them up only for traffic toward the city. The car in front of us had been waiting at the turn for an hour for the police to change the direction of traffic back to normal. Thankfully, they opened one lane for Coronado-bound traffic just five minutes after we pulled up.

Next year, we're going to rent an apartment in the city for Easter Weekend.Close

From the Pan American Highway, if you go up the mountain near Coronado at the Las Lajas turn and drive for 20-30 minutes, you'll come across a beautiful little lake near the town of La Laguna. Entry costs a dollar (I couldn't figure out if…Read More

From the Pan American Highway, if you go up the mountain near Coronado at the Las Lajas turn and drive for 20-30 minutes, you'll come across a beautiful little lake near the town of La Laguna. Entry costs a dollar (I couldn't figure out if that was for parking or for us). You can walk around the lake and picnic on the banks, and depending on when you're up there you'll see some people swimming, too. I'm not much for lake swimming, but I enjoy the setting. There are also bathrooms on site.

We walked back out the entrance and down the road a few steps until we came across a path leading up the mountain. We started hiking.

It was a pretty easy hike, even though I was in sandals. There were a couple of areas that felt a bit slippery, but for the most part I felt perfectly safe. There aren't a lot of clearings from which to take in the views, but there are plenty of cool plants, butterflies, dragonflies, and way too many varieties of ants to keep you interested as you go.

We walked until we came to a fence, and decided we'd better not cross it -- it's probably someone's private property. We walked part way back out until we came to an alternate route, which we took. It led up the mountain another way, but we had an appointment to make so we backtracked and headed all the way back down.

It's beautiful up here, and a great place for a hike that's not too strenuous. Take water and snacks, because there aren't very many options for purchasing food and drinks along the road up there.Close

A dedicated -- and growing -- group of volleyball lovers gather on the beach in Gorgona once a week to play this fantastic game. I started playing volleyball when I was about 13 years old, and I've loved it every since. When we lived in…Read More

A dedicated -- and growing -- group of volleyball lovers gather on the beach in Gorgona once a week to play this fantastic game. I started playing volleyball when I was about 13 years old, and I've loved it every since. When we lived in Buenos Aires, I was really disappointed that the game didn't seem to be of any interest to anyone -- we never saw a net anywhere. It's great to be playing again.

The net is located in front of the Bahia resort in Gorgona. The sand on the court is a bit littered with plants and occasion actual litter, so most of us wear shoes or sand socks -- also because the sand gets painfully hot. The first time I played, I played barefoot; I was nervous about it because of the pokey bits of plants sticking up out of the sand, but I quickly realized that the true danger was how hot the sand was! The bottoms of my feet were still sore the next day.

We've been meeting on Sunday mornings around 9:00am, though we do sometimes change the date and time due to other events or commitments. We play for about two hours, which is right about when we're not only tired but also really, really hot. I made the mistake the first week of not wearing sunscreen, and the burn on my low back didn't turn brown for a week. We bring plenty of water and a jug or two of margaritas, and I wear sunglasses and a hat.

Between matches, we usually take an ocean break -- except right now (late March, early April) because the jellyfish are out in full force. After the game, we retire to someone's pool to finish off our lovely Panamanian weekend.Close

Paraiso hosts a weekly farmer's market every Friday from 9:00am-12:00pm. Though it's not quite as big or well-attended as its monthly Coronado counterpart, it's every bit as lovable. Pineapples (for $1), papaya, broccoli, and passion fruit are on sale every week. Fresh juices -- pineapple,…Read More

Paraiso hosts a weekly farmer's market every Friday from 9:00am-12:00pm. Though it's not quite as big or well-attended as its monthly Coronado counterpart, it's every bit as lovable.

Pineapples (for $1), papaya, broccoli, and passion fruit are on sale every week. Fresh juices -- pineapple, melon, and passion fruit -- are also on offer. We got two juices, a pineapple, and a head of broccoli for $4.50 last week. Brian, who is the chef at Paraiso, well known for his cheesecake, also sells slices of bundt cake.

There is usually one artist, and Melody of Melody's Garden -- the natural skin care products -- is also on site with her goods. You can find honey and homemade jams as well as homemade sausage. Our favorite is the spicy garlic pork sausage, though I heard a rumor that the man who makes it is headed back to his native country for a few months. The good news is that his sausage will still be available via some of his friends.

A newer vendor offers bread and muffins, which we have yet to try -- but the muffins are big and look delicious!

Rose, the owner of Paraiso, usually has live music during the market, which makes sitting down to breakfast at the restaurant an extra-special delight.Close

Panama is full of stray dogs, all of whom seem to be related, based on appearances. Part of the problem is due, of course, to uncontrolled breeding.Spay Panama is dedicated to solving that problem and improving the lives of the existing dogs. Every month, they…Read More

Panama is full of stray dogs, all of whom seem to be related, based on appearances. Part of the problem is due, of course, to uncontrolled breeding.

Spay Panama is dedicated to solving that problem and improving the lives of the existing dogs. Every month, they set up a reduced-price clinic near Coronado for lower-income families as well as people who bring in stray dogs they've befriended.

For $25 per dog (or $12 per cat), the animal is spayed or neutered and receives vaccinations, ear cleaning, and de-ticking and de-fleaing treatments.

We have volunteered at this clinic twice, and intend to keep doing so!

It starts at 8:00am with dogs lining up to get weighed and labeled with the owner's name. Vets have already set up eight surgery stations, and as they are ready the animals are called forth to be put under and shaved in the pre-op area. The "taxis" -- volunteers whose purpose is to carry the sleeping animals to the operating table -- are called to transport the dogs and cats. The vets perform the procedure, then the taxis are called again to take the animals to the post-op care area.

In post-op, they are rubbed down with an anti-tick and anti-flea solution, they receive vaccinations, and their ears are cleaned. I have worked twice in this area, mostly cleaning ears. We also watch over them as they start to wake up and pay attention to anything out of the ordinary -- occasionally a dog has a reaction to the anesthesia, and we've had a couple of times when the dogs had to be taken back to the vet for emergency care.

Vet techs were doing the shaving and vaccinating, but it has been decided that from now on only the vets will come to the scene to do the operations -- all the other jobs will have to be performed by volunteers! Therefore, training sessions have been set up in the city for any volunteers who would like to learn the arts of vaccinating, shaving, and more.

Around 11:00am, the first shift ends and new volunteers take over until about 2:00pm. Then the vets pack everything up until next time! The first time we saw more than 100 animals; the second time it was about 70.

If you're in Panama and would like to help out with your time or a donation, please contact me and I will get you connected to the right people!Close

Restaurante Nueva Gorgona is located on the right side of the road right after you turn off the Pan American Highway into Gorgona. By the looks of it -- a plain white store front with "Restaurante Nueva Gorgona" painted near the top in a similar…Read More

Restaurante Nueva Gorgona is located on the right side of the road right after you turn off the Pan American Highway into Gorgona. By the looks of it -- a plain white store front with "Restaurante Nueva Gorgona" painted near the top in a similar fashion as the local "mini supers" (small supermarkets that contain a lot of shelf-stable food and not a lot of nutritious food) -- you might not stop in, but you should.

Despite it's neat but generally unimpressive exterior, the inside is very clean, simply but tastefully decorated, and staffed by some of the nicest people you'll meet in Panama. The Chinese food menu is extensive, as you would expect from a Chinese restaurant, and low-priced. I ordered four veggie egg rolls for $3.75 -- and they were huge! They were each cut in half for a total of eight pieces, and I could only eat about five pieces, though I wanted to eat more.

My boyfriend ordered a small mixed (with veggie, chicken, beef, and shrimp) fried rice, and it was big. The picture attached here is what he spooned onto his own plate -- the serving dish still held that much, too! It was a little dry, but the flavor was good. We were both completely full and it only cost us about $7.00.

A few days later, we ordered chow mein to go. It was big enough for two meals.

Since many of the restaurants in Gorgona, like Loco's Backyard Grill, are only open a few days a week, Restaurante Nueva Gorgona gives us a delicious option on the other days. This is also a place where you're more likely to run into hungry locals than fellow ex-pats.Close

Volcán Barú is the highest mountain in Panama, so naturally we wanted to be at the top. When I told the girl at the hostel desk if we could get directions to the volcano, she seemed surprised that we were going hiking during the day.…Read More

Volcán Barú is the highest mountain in Panama, so naturally we wanted to be at the top. When I told the girl at the hostel desk if we could get directions to the volcano, she seemed surprised that we were going hiking during the day. Many people join guided hikes that start in the middle of the night so they can watch the sunrise from the top.

We left early, because we had read that it is a long climb, and we were hoping to get to the top before the clouds obscured the view too much, and so we wouldn't get caught in rain or darkness on the way down.

You can take a bus to the trailhead, but we had our car so we drove the 10 kilometers or so to the volcano. We parked on a side road with a bunch of other cars where the pavement ends and the steep graveled incline begins.

That initial climb to the ranger station was a doozy. It's quite steep, and already my boyfriend was saying that if the whole hike was like that, it wasn't going to be much fun.

We signed in with the ranger and paid $5 each before getting on our way. The next many steps (I'm terrible at guessing distances) were just as steep as the first part, and my boyfriend's knee started to hurt (he has a history of some trouble with that joint). Not a good start, but the good news is that it does level out a bit -- the whole climb isn't as brutal as that first kilometer.

As we climbed, we were passed by several four-wheel-drive vehicles full of passengers and luggage. Cheaters!

We passed a sign that said we had gone three kilometers and had 10.5 to go to the top. This news was somewhat devastating, because it felt like we had been hiking for quite a while. Update on the knee: starting to really hurt.

Onward and upward. A couple of the Cheaters we had passed while they were sitting and snacking after their long, hard Jeep ride hiked right past us -- but sweating all the way.

We passed the seven kilometer marker, but my boyfriend's knee was not holding up well. It was looking like we would have to turn around. After another kilometer or so, we did.

Which is, of course, incredibly disappointing. We went so far, but not quite far enough to be rewarded with those rich views from the highest point in Panama. At the same time, my legs were pretty tired, and we still had those eight kilometers to backtrack on -- anyone who hikes knows that the downhill can be worse than the uphill, especially those steep parts on tired legs.

On the way down, we passed several people stopping for breaks, and several people plowing ahead full force. We got out our spare plastic bags and filled them with the garbage we found along the trail -- it only took about two kilometers to completely fill both bags.

Our more-than-half mountain round trip took five hours, and we weren't exactly poking along. The full trip would have certainly taken all day. We were glad to have lots of water, apples, and granola bars, even though the backpack was heavy (you just have to eat faster!). We also each packed long pants and a sweatshirt; the wind up there gets pretty chilly. And especially if you're a girl, don't forget the toilet paper!

We're not novice hikers, and we're also both in pretty good shape. If it weren't for the knee, we would have gone all the way -- but it wouldn't have been easy. It was a challenging climb. It's now two days later and my calves are screaming sore.

If the top is more important to you than the trip up, go ahead and take a ride up as far as you can. If you love to hike but don't think you can do it for an entire day, there are lots of other, less challenging hiking opportunities around Boquete. If you're ready for the challenge, get up early and go. Even if you don't make it all the way, you'll appreciate the clearings in the trees that overlook a cloudy valley and the effort that gets you as far as you feel like going.

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