Pungent Breezes

I find it hard to credit that February has just about fled and my tropical sojourn is officially 2/3 complete. It heartens me to see that Worcester is finally receiving some snow today. It seemed somehow untoward that my beloved New England has been bereft of the white stuff this winter. Of course, it is all too easy for me sitting on the beach to bemoan the lack of snow. Yesterday we escaped from the aforementioned beach to do some exploring. When we turn off the InterAmerican Highway towards Las Lajas there is a fairly large town on the other side of the highway that we had never visited.

Yesterday's Sunset

Yesterday was the day to visit the town, San Felix. It wasn’t very impressive but a nice, typical Panamanian town with lots of taxis, buses, and Indios in colorful dresses. I wanted to continue the reconnaissance by following the main road out of town as it headed into the central mountain range. We met a bunch of buses coming down from the mountains that had destination signs saying they came from Oma. Neither I nor my Favorite Panamanian had ever heard of that town but that became my objective, as long as the road held out. We ran into a couple places where the road had washed out and been hastily repaired. At anther place the road had been partially washed out and this was marked with a bunch of tree stumps stacked around the hole. After fifteen minutes the road had shrunken to the point I was concerned about meeting one of the those fast moving buses on a curve coming down the hill from Oma.

View From Front Door Back Home

My View at the Same Time

Today's Sunset

We declared victory and turned around to head back to Las Lajas. I checked the maps today and there is no Oma, so all those buses remain a mystery. We had a bit of excitement on the beach today when a large dead fish (I think a tuna) washed ashore (okay, Las Lajas isn’t the most exciting place). We only noticed because the ubiquitous buzzards were gathered at the surf line. This explained the sour fish smell that the usually beneficial off shore breezes had been wafting our way. This did nothing to diminish the beauty of the daily sunset ceremony which were joined for by our upstairs neighbors for. Tomorrow we’re returning to David to take our drivers’ tests and hopefully get our Panamanian drivers’ licenses.

Dead Tuna

Buzzards Return After We Walk Away

Jupiter and Venus Last Night

Tonight Getting Closer to Alignment

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                     

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during him her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; 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; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course