My
Favorite Panamanian and I are dealing with the aftermath of having all the close
family here for eight delight filled days. Saturday and Sunday were very tough.
Both of us were tired, not surprising given the level of activity for those
eight days, well above our normal level. That being said, so much fun. There is
also a smidgen of depression connected with the departure and that can sap
energy. We finally got our car washed which was literally caked with dust from
multiple transitions of our legendary approach road. I’m not sure the kids
realized what color the car was. The wash restored a bit of dignity there and
it wasn’t so embarrassing driving around, although we’ve got a new layer of
dust starting.
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| Sunset with Friends |
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| Car Before |
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| And After |
The
biggest assist we received to deal with our very empty condo was the presence
of the Panamanian couple of the Seis Amigos. They went to First Friday pizza
with us where they got to meet the fam. We returned to Las Lajas on Saturday and
basically went to ground. We emerged in time for the sunset ceremony where our friends
joined us. They had a surprise in store as a new set of lights strung between the
palm trees along the beach were unveiled. It made a huge difference. Once it
was fully dark, you could see the stars gleaming on the outside but there was a
very nice lighted area to enjoy the company. We were treated to another passage
of the ISS as well. The sunset ceremony lasted until 10 PM. What can I tell you,
tropical beach, under the lights, with good friends and they had a first-floor condo
which made beer re-supply easy. Sunday morning the friends joined me for an extended
boogie board session as the waves finally returned in force. I was exhausted at
the end of it but it was a rare sharing of the waves with the friends before
they left to return to their Panama City home in the afternoon.
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| The New Lights |
For
the Sunday night sunset, the condo caretaker was walking by my Favorite
Panamanian and I when he pointed out some strange markings in the sand. They were
left from baby sea turtles that had hatched somewhere nearby and marked their progress
towards the sea. If I’ve learned one thing about the Las Lajas beach, it is
that there is an abundance of predators. A couple of the trails led to a dead
end which I took to mean one of the omnipresent birds had swooped in for a turtle
delicacy. Still, pretty cool. Finally, I know I included way too many (or not enough)
photos in my last post. Fortunately, the ABFA shared some more, nearly 200. I’ve
only included a few here but it is testament, once again, of divinity of
spending time with family, especially in a tropical paradise.
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| Turtle Tracks and Sunsets |
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| ABFA and Fam |
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| Cousins |
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| BR3 Trying to Pull Me into Pool |
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| Panama City Meetup with Cousin |
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| Late Night FBR Return |
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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 3rd 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; Seis Amigos
- two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger
sister; Wingman
– my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s
mom, of course
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