Okay, back up on the net after a
couple days of travel, parties, and frustration. The travel down to Panama from
Boston was as flawless as I’ve ever encountered. Copa was back on its game and
we spent less than five minutes in the ticket line and even less in the security
line. I thought at the time I was being set up for future pain (unfortunately I
was proved correct).
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| The First Atlas Heads Downrange |
We actually arrived in Panama ahead of
schedule and the welcoming party from my wife’s family was predictably late. We
took the opportunity to sample the first Atlas beer of the trip. After some electronic
gymnastics to establish contact with our ride, link up was effected and the
decibel level increased dramatically as my wife and the PanaGals commenced
operations. Even late on a Sunday afternoon the traffic in Panama City was
terrible.
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| Wife Dispensing Goodies in Our Hotel Room |
My wife’s uncle had recommended a hotel
in the El Dorado section of Panama City since that was close to the
concentration of my wife’s family. The hotel offered great views of the city
and was conveniently close to restaurants and night life. Our room was huge and
provided the opportunity for my wife to dispense all the gifts she’d brought
with her. A convocation of available family members was assembled in a nearby restaurant
and we talked, laughed, and ate for the better part of three hours there. While
my wife’s uncle and I made a gallant effort at reducing the excess amount of
Atlas around, the PanaGals availed themselves of sangria which has a long history
of producing interesting results in their possession. It was a very fun family night.
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| View from our Hotel |
My wife’s uncle picked us up early
yesterday morning to commence the reason we needed to spend a day in Panama City
for this visit, getting a document stamped. Our lawyer sent us to a location in
Casco Viejo which was on the far side of Panamá City, luckily my wife’s tio
knew all the back roads to avoid the worst of Panama City’s legendary traffic
snarls. It was also extremely nostalgic since we passed by a number of places
associated with my tour there in the early 1980s when I met my wife. We arrived
at the correct office after exploring the labyrinthine streets of Casco Viejo,
only to learn the office we needed had moved. It was now located in El Dorado,
a short walk from the hotel we had left 45 minutes before! The return trip was
not as nostalgic.
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| The PanaGals With Sangria - Always Dangerous |
After getting more stamps and a fun lunch
with my wife’s uncle at his favorite restaurant on Tumbo Muerto (name of the
street) we had him drop us off at the airport early, thinking we would be
saving him from the worst of afternoon rush hour traffic. That was not to be as
Panama City traffic has descended to a daylong rush hour with associated grid
lock. Somehow my wife’s uncle got us through it all and we arrived at the airport
three hours before our flight to David. We filled some time with desserts and
milk shakes while tapping into the Wi-Fi.
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| Scenes from the Dinner |
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| PanaGals |
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| Defending Gringodom |
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| Cousins |
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| Wife's Sister |
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| The Gang |
Everything seemed to go fine with the
flight to David, Copa again seemed more than on its game. We loaded on time and
were descending into David when the captain informed us the David airport had
closed due to thunder storms and we were returning to Panama City. Forty-five
minutes later we were back in the domestic flight lounge (Spartan would be a
generous description) which would be our prison cell for the next four hours.
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| Our Savior During the Wait |
It wouldn’t have been as bad (even
with the crying babies) if the Copa personnel kept us informed about what was
going on. They seemed to spend most of their time on their cell phones but only
made three announcements over the four hours we were trapped there. Luckily my
wife was able to call up some videos starring our granddaughter which helped
pass the time and calm a rapidly angering gringo. We finally got loaded up
again shortly before 11pm and were on the ground in David at 1130. We could see
the storm that caused the airport closing as we flew in and it was impressive.
When we got on the ground we learned it was almost biblical in dimension and
this from people who are used to torrential rains. We hoped to grab a taxi
since the rental car place was certainly closed and we hadn’t been able to
communicate with my wife’s family during our time in solitary. It was therefore
with huge relief when we exited the terminal to find my brother in law and his
wife waiting for us. Dinner at midnight never tasted so good as my wife’s mother
warmed up the meal she had waiting for us along with a couple really cold
Atlas. A semi–long day, with a couple of unneeded round trips, one on the
ground and another in the air, but at least we’re finally here.
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| Breakfast Today with my Father in Law trying to Covert him From Yankees |
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