CHIRIQUI, PANAMA SEPTEMBER 2009

Well, we’ve moved. No, we haven’t found our dream home- we’re still looking for it. Our realtor friend Eduardo told us about a house for rent in case we knew anyone interested, and we decided to rent it. The house we were in at Los Algarrobos is very nice, but actually too big for us. Half the rooms had no furniture! And due to over construction in the area, the water supply is inadequate so the water went off every day for an unpredictable period of time. We were paying $300 a month rent and the new place is only $170 so that was a clincher. We moved in the last weekend of August.

We are now in a neighborhood called Las Colinas de Santa Cruz (The Hills of Santa Cruz) and our house is atop the hill. We are just a couple miles north of David, closer to town. We have views of the surroundings hills, which is nice, and usually a breeze. This is a working class neighborhood and we’ve met several of our neighbors. There is less traffic and the water never goes off!! The only downside so far is the road to get here… for about 1& 1/2 miles it is horrible. There are actually two ways to get here and they are equally bad with holes and big rocks. Our poor Galloper already has new rattles. But everything is a trade off, right?

It’s interesting how much we’ve been willing to invest in this new place, both financially and emotionally. Somehow the other house always felt very temporary, maybe because it was half empty! Here our little bit of furniture pretty much fills up the place. We agreed to paint the entire interior before even moving in, in exchange for reduced rent (from $180 to $170). Murphy’s Law is alive and well… but it looks great and we are glad we did it. We’ve put up curtains and a new shower water heater. (Note: you cannot realize how much you appreciate a hot water shower, even in the tropics, until you don't have one, trust me!) I’ve planted herbs and native plants. We’re putting up bird feeders outside. It just feels much more like “our place”. The former renters were nice enough to leave behind a ceiling fan in the living room, which is awesome (and the only thing they left behind!!). So this will be our home, along with the resident geckos, for the foreseeable future. Here are some photos…

Las Colinas de Santa Cruz, our new neighborhood Zoom	It's nice to be atop the hill Zoom	Looking in the opposite direction from our house Zoom
Las Colinas is a working class suburb of David Zoom	This is the front of our house Zoom	I've started an herb garden along the side of the house Zoom
This is the back yard Zoom	There are hills all around the neighborhood Zoom	We don't feel crowded here Zoom
Now we're in the living room Zoom	The wooden furniture is hand made Zoom	Our little Buddha shrine Zoom
I had fun choosing fabric and making all the cushions Zoom	We bought the curtains at an Indian import store Zoom	These are from the Indian store, too- I love the needlework! Zoom
Our life-saving ceiling fan!!! Zoom	So, this is the Dining Room....! Zoom	We love the sunburst curtain, actually a bedspread! Zoom
The curtains open on the front of the house Zoom	And here's the kitchen Zoom	We selected the blue paint and Al painted the cabinets Zoom
There's a nifty pass-thru to the dining room Zoom	And lots of light from the east-facing window Zoom	Plenty of room, but not too much to keep clean! Zoom
Al's having his morning coffee Zoom	I have basil, mint, aloe and cilantro growing Zoom	Across the street our neighbor plays with his dog Zoom
I don't know which one is having more fun... Zoom	staying cool with the water hose! Zoom	Gecky says so long til next time (we have lots of resident geckos!)... Zoom