A. Great. Day.

We got our 2022 guest hosting off to a great start yesterday which shouldn’t surprise me since it featured some of the stalwart member of the Panamanian Mafia from our days in Northern Virginia. The Panamanian involved is also a Chiricana (native of the province of Chiriqui) like my Favorite Panamanian and we picked up the friendship like a day hasn’t passed since we were last together. That’s the mark of really good friends and these folks certainly qualify. They were also amongst the few friends able to visit us here last year during our April-long stay.

Our First Guests of 2022!

One of the best parts of that last visit were the huge waves that my counterpart and I challenged with boogie boards. My only complaint about our stay here so far has been the uncharacteristically small waves. I was commenting on this to him as we walked out into the surf. We hadn’t been out there for more than ten minutes before some more representative waves started rolling in and the rides were on. I complimented him on fixing my boogie board issue as his presence seemed to reawaken Las Lajas’ large waves.

Beach Time

At the Show Pony

The ladies were back on shore devouring one of my wife’s pizza dips which hasn’t lost anything off its fastball with the trip south. It didn’t last long after the boogie boarders returned from the surf. After declaring victory over the pizza dip we walked the short distance down the beach to the Show Pony Hotel for a very fun lunch. One of the characteristic expressions of my wife’s province of Chiriquí is “Meto!” which is used for everything and reminds me of the Army’s overuse of the expression, “Hooah!!”. I mention this because I had my first ever “Hamberguesa Meto” at the Show Pony and it was fabulous. The company was even better as we celebrated being together again.

Sunset Prep

And First Friday, Of Course!

They treated us to the lunch in celebration of our pseudo 40^th anniversary and I walked them through the origins of celebrating the first Friday of very week. This translated nicely as we returned to our beach and continued the revelry. A short time later, the Family First Friday Facetime Call started and my frozen family members back in the states were appropriately jealous as the palm trees swayed in the background as we talked. My wife, who as a Panamanian should know better, set up her chair directly below one of the palm trees and its package of coconuts. I mentioned this might not be smart for which I received the usual wifely response of superiority that I dared to question her. The rest of the group moved to the pool while I finished up the call.

Mafia in the Pool

The Near Miss

Shortly after my wife left, a small coconut fell directly in front of her chair and would have nailed her feet if she had been there. I made sure she was aware of this near miss and for just a moment her wifely disdain was shaken. It’s all about life’s small victories. After the pool we set up on the beach for the sunset. While last night’s sundown was probably the least spectacular so far it was certainly the most enjoyable because the group we had assembled to view it. Life is all about time spent with family and friends and these friends are close to meeting both labels.

Beach this Morning

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn