Bajo Boquete - Oct. 18, 2022 - The Move
Have I got a Panamanian move checklist for you! One hundred thirty-seven items and counting. Things we checked for, some things we should have checked for, commodities we purchased in a massive Saturday shopping trip, items we have yet to buy, stuff we are still discovering, and services to be set up. Ta-da! We are moved!
As a long-time project manager, I had a pretty strong start-up list. We checked many things before we signed the rental contract last Tuesday. We verified there is a clothes washer, but no dryer. No hot water heater, but individual heaters in each showerhead (which also means no hot water at the sinks). A new refrigerator, small enough that we will not lose anything in the back. Silverware and dishes, but not new sets with 8 of everything, so be aware before arranging dinner parties. Spatulas, but add measuring cups and spoons to the "buy" list. Check off garbage containers for the bathrooms and yard, but add one for under the sink and small ones for the bedrooms. We had a basic shopping list of 82 items post-check-list in proper project manager style. I am glad we did a checklist; Maury said we came shopping better armed than most of her clients; you just don't realize how many essential things you move from one house to the next in the course of casual moves across town or from state to nearby state, but that you do not move from the USA or Canada to Panama, a bunch of countries away. Maury says the first two weeks in a new home are the most difficult because you keep stumbling upon must-have items and have to keep dashing out to get them - let's hope to keep the dashing about to a minimum during the rainy and holiday season!
On Saturday, Maury picked us up at 9:30, and we drove to David, where the Big Stores are, to do Big Shopping.
We started at PriceSmart, the Central and South American version of Costco - so similar that I felt like I knew where everything was; garbage bags on Aisle 8! First, we bought a family membership for the coming year for $37.50 and received a $7.50 gift card in return. Then, off we went with our cart and our list. It is a good thing we had Maury with us, as some items I would have been inclined to purchase at PriceSmart, she said, rightly, would be less expensive at Panofoto or the DoIt (Do-It) Center, so we didn't get as many items at PriceSmart as we might have. We did get essential bulk stuff, like toilet paper, paper towels, garbage bags in three sizes, GOOD towels, bathmats, pillows, and sheets (my idea of quality linens is not so easily fulfilled in Panama), Lysol, vinegar, Windex, zip lock bags, Miguel's favorite breakfast cereal, and other critical move-in items one does not pack across continents. Miguel lusted after the 60-inch and larger TVs, so we priced those and a couple other things like a countertop convection oven and a backup generator. PriceSmart generally has reasonable pricing in Panama unless you insist on USA brands; as an example, the large size of Lubriderm lotion - the size you only buy at Costco - is $44 because it is an imported USA brand.
That shopping extravaganza took us to 12:30, where we stopped for lunch. Miguel explained to Maury that if he didn't stop for lunch, he would be cranky, which would not bode well for the afternoon. Maury felt that Italian carbohydrates would be the perfect solution, so we stopped at an Italian restaurant for white-sauce lasagna, which was maravilloso!
Then, we marched off to Panofoto, which is an electronics superstore. There, we picked up a Black & Decker pressure cooker (which does the same tricks as the InstaPot) for $100, a B&D toaster for $37, a B&D iron (blue), a hair drier (azul-ish), and a couple other things - but we got out for $237 with our electronics covered, primarily Black and Decker, and mostly blue. Miguel priced more oversized TVs. A major win of a stop for Miguel - he got nearly everything Black and Decker, his brand of choice today, everything possible in blue, and lots more price checks on big TVs.
Next door to Panofoto is the DoIt Center store - Panama's version of Home Depot, including the color scheme, but well-staffed, like a Lowes. We overfilled our cart, and two of us had full arms carrying stuff to the check-out stand. An ironing board, little mesh strainers for the kitchen sinks, silicone stoppers for the outdoor sinks, stands for toilet paper and paper towels, clothes hangers, lighters for the gas stove, brooms and dustbins (upstairs and down) mop heads, toilet brushes, laundry basket, clothes pins and holder, door stops, card table for a desk, flashlights and batteries, a water dispense for upstairs, and on and on.
We stopped our Saturday Shopping Day at 4:30, having spent just under $1000 for essentials - a great deal. Our list was not entirely marked off, but darn close! Maury's SUV (pronounced soov) was filled up. All three of us were tired.
We drove to Boquete and unloaded the SUV into our new house - piles, piles everywhere! Awaiting tomorrow's move.
CELEBRATION! We drove uptown to an ice cream store and just radiated success while we gobbled creamy goodness in exotic flavors of pitaya (dragonfruit), maracuya (passionfruit), and fresh-roasted coffee (like roasted next door at the coffee store). Everyone noticed the three of us glowing - I just know it!
And then Maury dropped us off at our beautiful hotel room to pack. Luckily, I had started packing clothes I knew wouldn't be worn on Friday night. For our final night in the honeymoon suite, I did laundry while a band played sing-along music from the '70s through the '90s in the downstairs restaurant directly beneath our windows. I folded, packed, sang, and danced through the evening.
And we slept well.
Sunday, we awoke early and went down to breakfast - our final breakfast at the hotel. Our breakfast servers, Luz and Elena, made the most of one last honeymoon morning - the best of giggle-able moments and stories, the finest omelets and fruits. The ladies put out a wide variety of fruit in a banquet to entice dining birds for my viewing pleasure. I taught Luz, Elena, and Melva, the desk receptionist, the Seattle Seafair Princess infinity wave as we departed the breakfast area.
In an unspoken collaboration that surprised us both, Miguel undertook packing the upstairs and I took the downstairs; we consolidated, packed, and straightened our spaces. The last of the papaya was displayed on the balconies for our bird friends. Full suitcases were lined up to go down three flights of stairs awaiting Maury's pick-up at 11:30. Groceries were packed in my best box-person style into re-usable shopping bags (no plastic bags without good purpose in Panama) and moved down to the drive-through for pick-up. Farewells in the lobby were delightful - it seemed like a parade of suitcases, bags, and friends.
Maury arrived right on time, and within a few minutes, we had her SUV (soov) filled up again - two days in a row! The drive was short - even with the Sunday traffic of families out to celebrate a day of rest. We crossed town in seven minutes, arrived at the house, unloaded, and hauled 4 of the suitcases upstairs - clothes upstairs, but not the special brown suitcase with Miguel's house Birkenstocks and the electronics cords and devices - the electronics case to be the first opened, of course!
Maury hugged us and left to enjoy a Sunday afternoon with her daughter, who was in Boquete for the weekend from Architecture school in Panama City. And we set about unpacking and finding places for our clothes, toiletries, and our Saturday shopping.
Success! Before we fell asleep on Sunday night, everything in our new home had a place where we could find it again in the morning. No piles. No messes. A few decisions for later, and a few more items to buy, but looking around, a definite feeling that we have settled into our new home.
Home!
And on Monday morning, who should wake me up with the 6:17 sunrise, but a kiskadee on the Julietta balcony of our bedroom! Miguel thinks she followed me from the hotel, knowing I will share my papaya for breakfast.
Thank you for joining us in this move!
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MaryBea y Miguel
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