Today’s workout encompassed baking! Muscle toning and aerobic stirring for creaming butter and sugar for my chocolate chip cookies....the old fashioned way. No mixer or beater here so wooden spoon did the trick! (It’s a lot tougher than it used to be)! 

Then on to explore a new to me and fascinating fruit. Using saran wrap on the counter, oil on the knife and rubber gloves....(it’s quite sticky) I separated it into the edible parts. Since this one was ripe, I only used the fruit pods and seeds. If unripe, the stringy part is used as a meat substitute, and resembles pulled pork when prepared as a meat sub. Popped out the seeds and separated the orange sections from the stringy part for a unique and tasty tropical fruit treat! I roasted some of the seeds and boiled some. They are said to be similar to chestnuts. 

Tomorrow we are heading out to the Azuero Peninsula to visit our property and friends there. Then on to the western mountains around Boquete....noted for flower festival and coffee farms......think I will stock up on coffee while I am there! Stay tuned for the next adventure on this trip and an update on Los Islotes lot. Adios!

It’s the end of 2018, and as yet we have not built on the Azuero coast of Panama. We are however, spending our first winter in Panama....in the mountains north of Coronado. It is lush and wonderfully breezy, sunny and the perfect temperature! No heat or a/c needed!

This is the start of our second week and we have ventured out for shopping and exploring the beaches  as well as the mountain trails around us. For the most part, Jim works on his Spanish, reads and takes hikes while I do some experimenting with cooking of local dishes, some spinning, knitting and reading. It is a pretty relaxed  lifestyle here as we explore our retirement options.

It will seem different not to be in the states for Christmas, but with our kids spread across the continent and taking trips of their own, or visiting in-laws, it was doubtful we would actually be able to spend the holidays with them if we were home. I do miss family chritmases, but those days are cherished memories now that everyone is grown and making their own holiday memories. I must remeber that Christmas is truly a time of God’s great gift to us all and that’s what brings me peace, joy amd hope.

My mornings are usually spent having coffee on the back terrace as the sun comes over the mountains, and the early breeze rustles the trees and bushes around me, giving way to dappled sunlight as morning breaks through the dawn.

I often see the beautiful and rare blue morpho butterfly in my backyard here, but have never been able to capture the beauty with my camera......until today! While walking the trail by Rio Maria, I took some time to sit on a bench by one of the many little rushing waterfalls in this river. While there, the blue morph fluttered by. I whipped out the phone camera and as usual it was gently making it’s way up along the river.....gone again. Only a few minutes later I saw it land nearby on a little rock and was able to get several minutes of video of it opening and closing it’s magnificent wings. When you read a out this rare butterfly you will understand why it is so illusive for a camera. It can have a wing soan up to 8 inches.....this one was at least 4 inches. The underside of it’s wings is brown with an “eye” marking on it so it quickly blends in with the surroundings. Only as it opens the wings do you see the deep, irridescent blue! So as it flutters through the air, you seeit, then you don’t! I was so elated that it gave me a magnificent show, strutting around on the rock and opening and closing it’s wings for several minutes! I need to go do some video editing so that I can get some pictures posted here in the next day or so. It has made my day!