Local residents responded generously to the request for donations for the  flood victims of Chiriqui and Bocas Del Toro.  People brought bags and boxes of filled with food, and necessary items to the Thanksgiving Expat Dinner. Mrs. Gladys Morgan graciously accepted all the donations on Wednesday evening, and Julia at VETS accepted additional donations Wednesday and Thursday.  Caridad Aguilar of International Packers donated a truck which picked up the donations on Friday and will deliver directly to the depot in Chirqui.  The generous donations of food, water, clothing and blankets will go to the flood ravaged communities by late Friday.  Thank you to everyone who donated. 

Donations are still being accepted at Hotel Coronado through weekend. Donations can also be dropped off to the fire department in San Carlos.

Donations of canned foods, dried goods, clothes and blankets, diapers, bottled water, milk powder, cereals and other basic items are needed.

On September 08, Jim DesLondes opened El Sueno Art Gallery in Coronado which features local and international artists exhibiting a variety of art for all to enjoy and collect. They just recently celebrated their Grand Opening and welcome your visit.

  
Jim and his fiancée, Teresa Martinez, realized their potential to create a space for health, wellness, healing and creative art for the community.  A long time dream of Teresa’s has been to create a space for wellness, holistics and healing. She is a teacher and certified practitioner of Soul Focused Healing which focuses on the Energy Body and Chakra System as it applies to physical, emotional, mental and spiritual healing. She has studied and applies many other forms of natural and holistic modalities of wellness for individuals, and our environments. Their goal is to offer classes, workshops, lectures and the space to assist anyone who chooses to adventure and open to a new aspect of wholesome living for your body, mind, heart and spirit.

Dennis and Sheila Parsick (owners and operators of XS Memories sports bar in Santa Clara) were involved in a serious car accident in September.  Sheila underwent several surgeries, spent several days in ICU and more than two months of hospitalization.  To help defray the medical expenses associated with the hospitalization, a bank account has been set up so that the many friends, patrons and generous citizens can contribute. 

Further information is available through email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Thanks to all of you in advance for your donations.

Anne-Marie Bergeron, owner of El Litoral Bed and Breakfast has a passion for yoga, and credits it for her high energy and good health. She lost 57 pounds doing yoga after the birth of her son.  Anne-Marie is a certified Yoga instructor, who taught it to adults and children for 7 years at a large Montreal fitness center. I am very happy to report, that she is now starting Hatha Yoga classes here in Coronado.

Anne-Marie says anyone of any fitness level can join and gain the benefits of yoga. Her instructions adapts the exercises for each person. “Even people with back problems can do yoga, and it is very beneficial for seniors. Yoga will give more energy, more focus, stronger ability to concentrate. It is not a tough exercise, you don’t feel pain when you do yoga. It improves the body’s ability to work and it also helps you sleep better”.

Hatha yoga is called the Way of Living. By learning how to breath through postures, the body’s vitality and functioning increases.

Anne-Marie tells people to begin classes before Christmas so that its easy to pick it up again after the holidays. Most importantly she says, “do it for yourself, not for anyone else”.

1. The Notary Public. If you are in Panama and you need to authenticate any documents, you need to go before a Notary Public.  They will certify that the signatures in a document are authentic, that a document is a faithful copy of its original or that the document was “given” before him as a sworn declaration of intention. You don’t have to make an appointment unless it’s a lengthy procedure like a Will or Testament or give a sworn declaration. There are Notary Publics all around the country and you can use any of them, no mater where you live, where you are or what you wish to do.

Over the last few months, residents and visitors in the Coronado area have know about the opening of new commercial developments in the area. We have been busy speculating and sharing rumors about which stores are coming. Finally we have some confirmation.
This month’s Coroclub magazine, depicted an artist’s rendition of Coronado Mall and The Village, with a list of stores that are confirmed to open.

Whether you are new to Panama or have lived here a few years, life in the Republic always seems to get a little better when you find a personal shopping treasure. I’m talking about things like tasty food treats, lacey bed spreads and that rare piece of handmade jewelry that is a one-of-a-kind prize that can turn your beach t-shirt into a party top.

Thanks to the vision, planning and promotion of Louise Belisle, on behalf of the Coronado Social Association, last Saturday, Coronado saw a Craft and Bake sale where numerous treasures were found. The event, which took place at Hotel Coronado was a perfect opportunity for holiday shoppers to pick up some unique gifts and a wonderful venue for organizations, artisans and businesses to let people know they are around.

I spent the entire day at Craft and Bake Sale on behalf of Playacommunity.Com, and was delighted to find so much talent and so many unique treasures right here in our Pacific Coast neighbourhood. In the interest of sharing these great finds with you, here is..

Playacommunity.Com's Best Picks from the Panama's Pacific Beach Craft and Bake Sale: