Paradising Again

After several very hectic days, I find myself typing this while looking out on my favorite paradise in the world, Playa Las Lajas, Panama. The rainy season has decided to hang around longer than is socially acceptable but even that can’t dent the satisfaction of being back on the beach. Hectic doesn’t begin to describe the lead up to our trip south. Our luggage weighing device failed at the crucial moment. I had to run out to secure batteries for another one Great Aunt had gifted us to save the day. My Favorite Panamanian has a well-developed sense of cleanliness, despite her forty + year association with this conformed slob. That meant we spent a long day on Friday putting the final touches on closing the house up for the house sitter to look after for the next few months. I felt it was a major indignity to my sensibilities to spend the First Friday of the Week devoted to cleaning. I only get 49% of the vote though. Happy wife does equal happy life.

Dinner at El Fogon, Photo by Everardo

We finished up around midnight and I collapsed into bed, since we had a 2:30am wakeup to catch the airport van. I was dozing off when I noticed my wife kept coming out of the closet to check out a different outfit in the big mirror. It seems, with all the cleaning, she hadn’t properly decided on what she was going to wear for the trip. The lady is nothing if not focused. The flights went well, I’m becoming a big fan of the new international terminal at Logan. We had a bit of a surprise in Panama City as we walked towards where we thought the domestic flight terminal was. A guy came charging out of a door to inform us they had moved it into the main terminal.

Christmas Lights in Central David

We found that and were quickly onto the short flight to David, where my wife’s family formed an awesome welcoming party, including her 92-year-old mom. After lugging all the suitcases into my mother-in-law’s home, we adjourned to my favorite restaurant in David, El Fogon. I was greeted like a returning hero by my friend/waiter Everardo who soon provided the first Atlas of the trip. The post-arrival dinner has turned into a tradition, and I look forward to it, despite being so tired. Tia Loca, my wife’s twin sister, her mom, her brother, and his new partner formed a very fun group. Tia Loca and her brother spent the whole time sniping at each other, which is another family tradition. I felt a real sense of family which is what life can be all about. After dinner, Tia Loca drove us around central David to see the central square’s Christmas decorations. I wish the granddaughters had been with us to see the spectacular light display.

We hit the sack as soon as we returned home which is the earliest I’ve been to bed on a Saturday night in recorded history. We ended up sleeping for more than ten hours, which was so needed. When we eventually did get up, we faced the task of obtaining supplies and moving our act to the beach. As always, my wife’s family was instrumental in making that happen. Tia Loca was dispatched to buy vegetables (my input was not requested). My wife and I set out for the grocery stores. We hit up the big box store for a large load, getting into the car amid all the rain was fun. We then stopped by our favorite supermarket to complete the task. My mother-in-law had a fantastic lunch waiting for us when we returned. My brother-in-law had once again volunteered to transport our luggage which would not have fit in our car, overladen with a lot of groceries.

We arrived in Las Lajas and, blessedly, the elevator was working (unlike last year). My wife’s sisters and her mom came with us and were a big help, along with her brother and his partner, on getting everything up into the condo’s fridge. Once that was accomplished it was generally agreed that food was in order. We decided to head back into the village and hit Sunset Pizza, our go to Friday night haunt. The owner was very happy to see us return, although greeted us with the sad news that one of her small dogs, that the granddaughters fell in love with, had passed away. In additional stray pet news, the famous cat Chow Mein had been adopted by locals, after giving birth to a litter of four. While the rest of her family returned to their homes, my wife and I went back to the condo for another really long, and great, night of sleep.

Favorite Pizza Place Last Night

Today was spent putting everything away and unpacking all the household goods that had been wrapped up to sustain them over the eight months in tropical heat. That always leads to some surprises but my last-minute idea to apply a healthy dose of insecticide on both doorways kept the critter count very low. The sun was back out for most of the day as I labored to put together a new grill we bought for the balcony. I think I spent more time unpacking the damned thing than actually assembling it. Our work in the condo kept me off the beach for most of the day but I wasn’t going to miss our first sunset. I dove into the pool and then, armed with a couple Atlases, took up my post on the beach. Unfortunately, those clouds that have haunted us since arrival, obscured the sunset but it was still fun being back in our assigned positions at sunset. Two more of the Seis Amigos arrive this week which will make those sunsets sojourns even better. In today’s, Only in Panama, moment, I went to a shower in the common area and when I turned on the lights, I was greeted by a large flying creature. It ducked into one of the stalls and I thought it was just a big bug (which Panama has more than their fair share of). As I was leaving a few minutes later, I glanced into the stall and saw that it was a bat, and it was hanging from the overhead lamp. Kind of cool. Even cooler: my wife’s family returns tomorrow to celebrate the New Year!

One Very Happy Camper This Morning

Grill Assembly Operations

The A-Z watch will go on hiatus until my April return home, no room in the luggage for a couple hundred or so movies. There are better things to do here.

Cloudy Sunset

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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 her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); 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; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course