Reality Begins

We made it here to the apartment in one peace.  I’m not saying  not with out a little bit of a hassle of course.  We e-mailed back and forth to Ricardo, our landlord who promised us a smooth transition into our new apartment at 2 in the morning when we got into Panama.   The people who were supposed to do their job of getting the key to the right person (the night watch reception at the hostel) and have that ready for our arrival didn’t quite do their job so Justin and I, at 2am in Casco Viejo stood outside the hostel arguing with the reception girl who had no clue about anything.  She seemed to be in a dream state and Justin and I were slightly freaked out not knowing what to do at that time of night  in the middle of Casco.  Finally I asked to at least let us in the lobby of the hostel so we can wait until the morning when the right person with the key was to arrive.  There’s a bit more to that story but to shorten things up we ended up in apartment number 20, the apartment we requested by the next day. 

    It’s 6 stories up, we’re on the top floor in the biggest unit in the building.  We were told that it was only a one bedroom but to our surprise it’s a two bedroom, great size kitchen with a bar counter, and huge balcony over looking the streets of Casco.  We are extremely pleased and for $400 a month we feel that we pretty much have one of the best deals in all of Panama City.  With that said, it’s not perfect but for our budget, we don’t think that we could afford anything better! 

    Since we’ve moved in it’s been non-stop settling in, getting the apartment a little more organized, working on the website, getting used to our new video camera, and of course, networking with our new Panama friends.  So far we’ve got a really cool friend base..  Let the shout outs begin!

1. Blayne- Super Gourmet owner who is down to hang, party, shop, cook, whatever!  He’s got an awesome pup named Vegas who we get to play with as well as an insanely large group of friends who he loves to introduce us to.

2. Kent- Our realtor friend who seems to be everywhere and know everyone.  He’s loads of fun, very knowledgeable, and loves Panama!

3. Dave- Luna’s Castle Owner.  He was our first boss here in Panama.  He was over in Bocas del Toro when we were there promoting for his hostel/bar Mondo Taitu.  Now he’s based in Casco a few blocks from us at his other hostel called Luna’s Castle. He is now the proud owner of the next hottest bar in Panama called Relic.  He’s a super chill guy with an awesome outlook on life. 

4. Ozzy- I befriended her a few months ago.  She met my brother Adrian last year when he was traveling throughout Panama.  She’s a Panamanian chick that gives me some laid back girl time but she can also party with the boys! 

 

We’ve also met some people the last time and this week that we’ve been hanging out with a few times.  Maybe they will make my next shout out list.  People here are helpful, fun, extroverted, and have a great outlook on life.  I’m excited for more networking as we progress in our Panama Lens business.

   Things have been going well getting started and we are about ready to produce our first video.  We start this week!  : )

 

Wish us luck! 

  Love,

  Mara