| In The
Hills Above Panama City |
| Cerro Azul |
| by Zvia Leibler-Danon |
| Whether you
are living in Panama or are just in the city for a business trip – you
may feel the need for relief from the hot muggy weather in your free time.
If so, then do what the natives do – head for the hills. To ensure
that the break you take offers a unique and relaxing experience, as well
as cooler weather, head for Cerro Azul.
As you pull
off the “Corredor Sur”- the new highway leading to the airport,
and navigate your way by innumerable buses, trucks and cars of every type,
keep calm. The good part is about to begin.
At the Super
Extra (supermarket) shopping center you turn off the highway and
begin climbing, up, up, up to Cerro Azul. |
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| No matter
how bright and hot the day is in the city or by the ocean, you are bound
to get cooler – and most likely a bit wet – as you drive up the mountain
into one of its perpetual cloud banks. The road is well paved for 3/4's
of the way, and a bit choppy on the last stretch. You pass a mysterious
Chinese gate (wondering why it's there, how old is it and who had lived
there), dairy farms and churches, horse ranches and tiny towns, rolling
green meadows and lush vegetation. You will think you have entered another
country!
When you are
practically at the top you'll come to an area of beautiful large houses,
surrounded by acres of land. The house you want is called Hostal Casa de
Campo Country Inn & Spa, owned and run by the Sanchiz sister and brother
team: Ana Maria and Jorge Sanchiz Moreno.
While Ana Maria
is a native of Panama, her English is perfect – so are her massages and
facials! Ana Maria studied in the US for many years, received her
BA in Communication Studies from University of Windsor, Canada, and
MA in Communication Arts from Loyola Marymount University,
Los Angeles before returning back home. |
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| When I asked
Ana Maria about herself she said “ I consider myself a jack of all trades
and master of none, as I have had to put into practice many of my hobbies
of years past: painting, decoration, cooking, and went on to become
certified as a Cosmetologist and Esthetician.”
Jorge is a
naval engineer and is now involved in the creation of several solid waste
disposal plants in the country.
I must tell
you the truth: I have had many massages and facials throughout the years
but being treated in Casa de Campo was an unforgettable and enjoyable experience.
The state of
mind, the sound of the rain drops and the tranquility that surrounds the
place helps to get into the right mood for relaxation. Moreover, the treatment
itself is so special. |
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Offshore Resources Gallery
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| Ana Maria
uses various aromatherapy oils for massages and special facial masks of
avocado, papaya and many more fruity and vegetable masks which brighten
and lighten up your whole face and body— and she also renews every point
of energy by placing cold energetic stones on your face and body. In close
contact with nature, you can relax, enjoy yourself and soothe your aching
bones and muscles.
When you get
there you may find a group of women engaged in a yoga retreat. Or you may
find you have the place to yourself. Or something in between.
The house is
large and sprawling, and has been in her family for generations, first
as a summer home and then a retirement place for her parents
and now a bed and breakfast place for lovers, honeymooners, housewives,
top executives, and many people from the show business world. As Ana Maria
says, “The house was left abandoned for over 3 years, until we decided
that we had to do something with it...and after discarding the idea of
renting or selling it, we decided to make it into a Bed and Breakfast”.
The house was originally going to be a small 2 bedroom weekend home...but
since her father was a builder, he just added on as Ana Maria suggested
things. |
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| There is a
large living room, several guest rooms, a huge kitchen and dining room,
treatment rooms for an array of massages, facials, anti-stress and anti-age
treatments, mud baths and much more. You can come for the day, have one
or two treatments of your choice, eat a decent lunch, dip in the small
pool or in the Jacuzzi in the garden – if it's not raining - stroll through
the grounds dotted with benches, walking bridges and intimate corners.
There are several
package deals to choose from and the cost depends on the number and kinds
of treatments. You might elect to sleep over in one of the large guestrooms
or in back of the house in the annex. The way the house is decorated
will make you feel as though you have gone back a century in time - even
the staff goes way back - Toribio has been working in the family house
for about 29 years, Fidencio has been a handy man for over |
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Offshore
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| 15 years,
and Marta, the cook came to the door 8 years ago asking for a job the day
before they opened to the public as Hostal Casa de Campo Country Inn &
Spa on January 13, 1996.
It makes you
feel special to still find a small and significant place such as Casa de
Campo in the midst of the cloudy rain forest of Cerro Azul. That is where
my yoga teacher, Marcela Garber, decided to take her group on a simple
yoga retreat-a remote place but not too remote from the city, a place where
a bunch of people can get together and talk about their inner feelings.
This weekend retreat was called “How do we deal with our fears,”
and included theory and practice sessions.
Cerro Azul
was just the place for such a retreat—the cool breezy air helped us get
in the mood for the 7 o’clock meditation sessions on Casa de Campo’s porch.
For our theory sessions we sat on the balcony of our spacious rooms viewing
the amazing vegetation and talking about the different fears we deal with
or just live with for years on end, and learning about the various
tools we can use to relieve these conscious and subconscious fears. I don’t
think it would be that effective if we were all sweating on some porch
in muggy Panama City. It just wouldn’t be the same, I guess. Talking about
our intimate feelings is never easy, even more so with strangers, thus,
the key to success is where you do it and how you organize such a retreat.
Casa de Campo
was a good pick, since it is not far from the City, has 8 comfortable rooms
with private bathrooms with hot water, and 3 rustic cabins with private
Jacuzzis. Our group shared rooms, and had a prepared agenda of what we
would cover each day - from the 7 o’clock meditations on an empty stomach(!!!)
until our evening ginger tea. In between we had yoga classes with
several specific exercises designed to relieve our fears (which
we were suppose to continue doing for a period of 40 days), conversations
about unrealistic and realistic fears and how to deal with them, discussions
on how unrealistic fears and stress impact our lives and impede us from
living the way we want to, and much more. All our meals were served in
the dining room - a fixed menu of basic and tasty food. The dining room
is itself very special, with heavily carved doors over a century old; Chinese
dolls line the shelves. You will be served lovely herbal tea to sip near
the small pool, on the terrace or inside, depending on the weather.
I asked Ana
Maria to tell me an interesting story about Cerro Azul: “Cerro Azul
is a center of energy...in certain areas the compass goes crazy and you
can’t tell North from South or East from West. I have had visits from people
who say that this is what makes it interesting for many mystic and energetic
retreats and also for the probability of being visited by aliens”.
Ana Maria also
mentions that self help programs and professional enrichment programs by
companies arrange motivational retreats for their workers or clients from
time to time in Casa de Campo; private companies sometimes hold meeting
there; and massage techniques are taught there by international professors
such as Josep Viñals from Spain in Geopuncture and Chromotherapy
and such massage techniques as Lymphatic Drainage, Californian Aromatherapy
by Jose Miguel Riviere from Colombia.
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I guess it’s
not only a spot for yogis but an inspiration spot for both health and ecological
tourists/visitors.
Further up,
in Altos de Cerro Azul, is a popular and newer housing area with a recreation
area. Here also you will find Cerro Jefe Forest Reserve and the Chagres
National Park, all important for Panama's ecology as well as for guaranteeing
the water supply for the Panama Canal.
I asked Ana
Maria why the place is called Cerro Azul - Blue Hill... “basically
because on hazy days the hills look bluish green, as they are covered by
the clouds. We are located in Las Nubes, which means The Clouds,
due to the fact that we are in a small valley, where clouds get caught
in the rainy season, when they hang low in the afternoons. In the
rainy months from April to November, after 3 p.m., the clouds actually
invade the homes, filling them with moisture.”
To see more
about the Casa de Campo Click
Here
The following
is a list of articles written by Zvia for the magazine:
 A
Paradise On Water ~ Talking
With Expats In Bocas Del Toro
El
Valle ~ A
Cool Weekend Escape
Amazing
Short Hops From Panama City ~ Rest
And Relax Near The City
Re-Entering
Panama ~ Returning
From A Busy Country
Coffee,
Flowers, Nature and More ~ In
The Mountains Of Chiriqui, Panama
Water:
A Resource For Life - The
International Water Festival In Panama
To contact
Zvia Click Here |
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