Generational Day

The Streets of Portrerillos

Yesterday was a free day as we waited for Panamanian lawyers to get their act together. We took advantage of that freedom by taking my wife’s parents back to the area they grew up in. It’s a small town called Portrerillos, set a little bit off the beaten track in the shadow of Central America’s largest mountain, the Volcano Baru. The climate is very temperate as opposed to the coastal plain with almost no humidity. The mountains of Panama are also the only place you’ll see Panamanian houses constructed of wood as the temperatures keep the wood eating insects of lower elevations at bay.

In The Back Yard Near the Smoke House

It was so fun to watch how animated they both became when we pulled into town, especially my father in law who is usually fairly taciturn. He started excitingly pointed out where he played basketball nearly eighty years ago and where he used to hang out with friends. He proudly pointed out an aging building where he first asked my wife’s mother to dance. My wife sagely pointed out that this is what I’m going to be like (some say I’m already worse) whenever I visit my hometown of Keene.

Where my Father in Law First Danced with my Mother in Law

My Wife Inspected the Gardens, Of Course

We stopped at a series of relatives and old friends to give them the opportunity to visit. The first cousin we stopped at had an interesting back yard full of orange and banana trees. She was drying some orange peels and said this was the best thing to start a fire with, which they do regularly to smoke meat. Speaking of meat I wandered back to a cement pen and met the family pig. He was sleeping until I approached. I’m thinking he sensed how much bacon I eat. He gave me a start when he abruptly woke up and signaled his indignation of my intrusion.

The Resentful Porker

I also met another old friend from my days as an infantry lieutenant in the jungles of Panama – the ever present ants. We had a saying back then, that every living thing in Panama bites, even the trees (see black palm). I remember sacking out one night in the jungle dead tired from a long movement (night and jungle move before night vision devices improved meant serious pain) and awoke to find I’d laid down in a path cut by army ants.  I awoke because they got tired of climbing over my legs and started biting to remove the obstacle. Yesterday I found another of their trails around the perimeter of the cousin’s house. I scrupulously stayed away, not a memory I treasure.

My Old Friends the Army Ants of Panama

The coolest stop of the day was as we were slowly making our ways along the narrow “roads” when my father in law ordered a stop. He’d spied a childhood friend sitting out on his front porch and proceeded to join him for an hour long visit. It was refreshing to see a friendship of more than eighty years renewed and it was obvious they both felt the recharging effect of old friends. They were joined by another older couple, including a woman of 92 who still works daily in her own extensive vegetable garden. We were not allowed to leave any of our stops without a gift of fruit or vegetable.

My Father in Law and His Childhood Friend

This must be the healthiest place in Panama because nearly everyone I met was in their late eighties or early nineties. They were mourning my mother in law’s godmother who recently passed away in Portrerillos at the age of 104. Not to be out done our last stop was at my father in law’s godmother who’s well into her nineties but still spry.

Me With Some of our Haul for the Day

On our way back to David we stopped at a roadside café for a late lunch and discovered it was operated by yet another cousin which led to another round of reunioning talk. My wife had her father remove some strange fruit from a tree in the courtyard which she then unsuccessfully tried to get me to eat. We were back by early afternoon and my father in law was still on his emotional high from revisiting his youthful haunts.

In the late afternoon we had a great reunion of our own on the front porch when my favorite amongst my wife’s many cousins stopped by for a visit. She is the owner of a signature laugh that should be registered as a national treasure. Her husband joined us shortly with two of their grandchildren which meant we had four generations of the family gathered. This meant almost non-stop talk and laughter. The cousin revealed she’s headed to Los Angeles this summer as a coach for the Panamanian Special Olympics team.

Dinner at El Fogon

The night ended at El Fogon, a neighborhood steak house, that has become a favorite destination during my trips to David. We were joined by my wife’s sister and brother along with his wife. It was a fitting end to a day spent with my wife’s glorious family which more than redeemed the main reason I want to spend at least half of my retired life in Panama. While the climate is great the company of my wife’s family is the real treasure.