Las Lajas Escape

Wife and I In Las Lajas

My wife ingeniously planned a combined celebration for her birthday yesterday and our 33^rd wedding anniversary which will take place in early March while we’re still apart. She rented a room at the Las Lajas Beach Resort. Las Lajas is my favorite beach in the world with miles of almost deserted beaches, warm Pacific Ocean water, and monster waves for my fledgling body surfing efforts. Who was I to argue with her plan?

On the Road to Las LAjas

We first had to get there as Las Lajas lies sixty miles east along the Pacific coast from David. The drive was interesting for the changes I saw from just one year ago. The Inter-American Highway is the major thoroughfare through Panama but it has always been just a two lane road from David to Santiago, nearly half the length of the country. From Santiago to Panama City it transforms into a four lane super highway that rivals a U.S. interstate. The Panamanians are now extending the four lane version from Santiago to David and the amount of work done in just the last year is impressive. The road had been excavated for the entire sixty miles we drove with road beds already laid on most of it. All of the dozens of streams and rivers had bridges started and the work continued all along the route. The excavators didn’t wait for the electric company to move their telephone poles and just excavated around them which led to some precarious looking poles.

One of Those Stranded Electric Poles

We arrived in Las Lajas just ahead of the annual Carnivale which starts throughout Panama today. It’s almost as if the entire country is taking a deep breath before throwing themselves into serious partying mode. We saw numerous booths set up in the small towns we passed through as the burgeoning population of Panama City heads for what it called “the interior” for Mardi Gras like excesses ahead of Lent.

Our Hotel

View From Our Hotel Room

We pulled into the resort which is just down the road from the place we usually stay. While I love the old place it is entirely more rustic. There was a functioning bar, restaurant, pool, and air conditioning here. It’s a lot more expensive as well but for just the two of us it was perfect. I immediately started texting pictures to my snow bound New England friends – wanting to show them there are some places on earth free of the freeze (and I wanted to rub it in a little).

After the pool and body surfing (where I missed WingMan and daughter partners of last year) my wife and I took a couple mile walk down the beach. Even after that walk we didn’t come close to finding the end of the beach. My wife decided she wanted to collect pink colored shells for some sort of arts and crafts project so the walk back took a lot longer.

Pool Time

Lunch

Our Towels Which My Wife Refused to Let Me Use Because They Were So "Cute"

The Beach Walk

Surrendering

We were back in the open air hotel bar/restaurant for dinner where my wife quickly made friends with the manager of the entire resort. They had some sort of computer problem and their music was wiped out so the place was very quiet, especially for a Panamanian restaurant where music is always present. My wife quickly adjourned to our hotel room and returned with her I-Pad accompanied by boom speaker and balance was returned to the universe.

Hammock Time

Some Look Better Doing It

Dinner was a lot of fun as we finally had a chance to catch up on everything as well as discuss our future plans for Panama and life in general. There’s something almost hypnotic sitting for long periods of time with the background noise of the surf breaking in the near distance. We walked out to the edge of the beach and looked up to the heavens where the stars seemed almost close enough to touch. There’s so much ambient light in modern society that these night sky views are becoming too rare. My wife cranked up the music again and we danced for a while under the stars at the edge of the beach. A great way to end what had been a near perfect day.

Wife at Dinner With Her Music System

View From Our Beach-side Dancing Spot

We were walking back to our room in the semi-lighted walkway when I stopped my wife abruptly. There was a snake sitting (or whatever you call what a snake does) in the middle of the walkway. If this had been the U.S. I would have boldly walked up and shooed the snake away, but Panama is entirely different. They have some of the most dangerous snakes in the world. My wife went into her normal panic mode whenever she sees a snake and wanted to leave the hotel immediately. The snake eventually begrudgingly went on his way while I escorted a shaken wife back to room for snake intrusion prevention measures in the room.

I couldn’t find the keys to our car becoming more and more frustrated. There was definitely a serious flashback to my passport adventures of last week. I was tearing the room apart trying to find the keys while my wife took a more measured approach. She was searching my computer bag and just before I found the keys (hidden in a sunscreen box) she found something else – MY MISSING PASSPORT! It had been in my computer bag all along despite my searching the damned thing at least six times. She discovered a hidden compartment which I had cleverly placed the missing passport in after last using it in January 2014. I immediately threw it against the wall.

Snake Leaving, Head was By Top of Tile Square