After Action Assessment

Sadly, today marks my last full day at our beach front condo, at least for 2021. I’ve always lectured my kids on being optimistic so this must be what is known as an acid test. It’s bad enough that it’s my last day but a lot of that day will be spent cleaning and preparing the condo for hibernation. One does not simply let a place sit, without preparation, in the tropics. I guess it’s a bit like owning a boat, a lot of preventive maintenance involved. You’ll notice, as I am writing this, that I survived my adventures yesterday taking down the balcony blinds. I only made the mistake of looking down (instant vertigo) twice while I was doing that.

My Daily View from Condo

I’m going to spend some time reviewing the past month which was the longest I’ve ever stayed at the condo and served as a dress rehearsal for the winter long stay that was supposed to start this year but was Covid killed. This was also the first time we stayed here in April which is when the Panamanian wet season starts to kick in, so we were leery if it made sense to plan a stay this late in the season. It turns out April wasn’t so bad, there were some rainy periods but not the day long deluges you get at the height of the season.

Sample of Daily Bug Body Count in Balcony Doorway

There were some differences though. The biggest, or I should say the most noticeable, was the increase in the bug population. Insects are a given in Panama, even during the dry season but I was genuinely shocked by the nightly onslaught. Actually, it was only a few nights and I’m told those nights were a result of colonies of winged termites migrating. This didn’t turn out to be a problem though. We sprayed the doorway and the balcony doors every week and this barrier held out the worst of it. There was a pretty healthy body count on the balcony in the morning but this also attracted the ever present birds to some in and feast which was fun to watch. It did rain a lot but these were usually late afternoon passing showers with only a couple of thunder storms. I actually waited out a couple of the storms down on the beach underneath the bohio reading (wife thought I was crazy).

Waiting out a Rain Storm

Another change for this time of year is the overwhelming presence of land crabs, emerging from the holes all over the place. These little buggers were everywhere, at least until the food chain got energized. They were orange and black and made it into the building on a regular basis; one even rode the elevator up to our third floor. On a nighttime ride back to the condo the road literally looked like it was moving with hundreds of them. Their time seems to have passed though as the local bird population has pretty much eradicated them. They grab the crab, fly up, drop it to kill it, and then feast. One day my Favorite Panamanian drove down the road and felt like she was in a Hitchcock movie as hundreds of birds were sitting on a fence waiting for the crabs to show themselves.

Land Crab

As I said, this was our longest stay here so, as you can tell, I had more time to observe the local wildlife. We apparently had something called a “Mepache” paying nighttime calls to the pools. According to my zoologist brother-in-law, that’s a Panamanian raccoon. We only knew of the visits because he decided to defecate in the pool one night (the Mepache, not my brother in law). That closed the pool for a days and the caretaker set up a sniper nest for couple nights. Staying so long this time I also saw the full cycle of the tides which was fascinating to watch each day as the high tides crept closer and closer, culminating this week by reaching the bohios.

On the Beach This Morning

I was able to work fairly easily form here. It wasn’t a whole lot different than the past few months from the Man Cave, although the view is definitely and infinitely better. It was kind of entertaining to poke fun at my New England co-workers during zoom calls by showing them my beach view while they dealt with some late April snow. This stay offered me the opportunity to establish a good morning workout routine, assisted by the FBR’s early morning wakeup calls. I’m definitely in better shape now than when I arrived, despite an almost legendary level of Atlas beer consumption.

Family Beach Walk

Finally, the visitors; the true highlight of our stay. Although there are still the pandemic restrictions we were able to host my wife’s family and a couple other friends during our stay. It more than validated our plans for upcoming years where I’ve been encouraging friends and family to come visit. I should add a word here on the Panamanian pandemic response. It is obvious they took it a lot more seriously than the US did. Everyone here wears a mask, all the time. Every store you walk into requires a temperature check and use of hand sanitizer with someone posted to make sure you comply. I was totally impressed with the measures involved and a little embarrassed by my country’s performance. So, in the final analysis, our April stay more than validated our retirement plans. The only conflicts were the difference of opinions between my Favorite Panamanian and I about my boogie boarding exploits, but that’s been going on for years. We’re looking forward to 2022 and a now four month stay at the condo.

Best Part About Our Stay - My Roommate

Balcony Spa

Sunset Last Night

Note the High Tide - Beach All but Gone

Beach This Morning

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

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

Clock Ticking

I sit here typing this on my last Thursday on the beach, for 2021 at least. I know there are some of you out there, you know who you are, who immediately say, but we have beaches in the USA! You are right only in the literal sense. Having spent this amount of time at Las Lajas, (a personal record), I know I’ve been permanently ruined for other any other beach. The experience would just come up short. Today is a perfect example. The first half of the day was gray and overcast but it still turned out to be a great morning on the beach. My Favorite Panamanian and a visiting Panagal joined me for some of the best boogie boarding since our arrival (and that is a high standard).

Wife and I Dancing Last Evening

Full Moon is Bringing High Tides

We dodged the Panamanian beach authorities who opined the water was too dangerous for recreation. It wasn’t. The Panagal joined us last evening in time to participate in our nightly sunset ritual beachside. The sunset wasn’t up to Las Lajas’ usual standard but she had brought some vintage 70s and 80’s rock music with her that soon had us dancing on the beach. At one point we couldn’t remember the name of a song and I was forced to contact my ringer in that regard, Keene Friend. Shortly after the question was asked we had our answer, Steppenwolf’s Born to be Wild, which was playing in the background when I called Keene Friend to thank him. Even Siri had been stumped before we reached out to him.

Cavalry Stopped by Last Evening

We ‘re starting to pack up things. Okay, that’s mostly my wife but we all know how dedicated a packer she is. I’ve been charged with some of the bigger projects like climbing a ladder and taking down the balcony sun shades. That always makes me a bit nervous since I end up leaning out over the three-story fall. If this is my last ever post on Frail Deeds, you’ll know what happened (talk about tempting fate!). I’m gong to take some time in tomorrow’s post to reflect on the past month and our stay later in the year than planned. That damned clock is still ticking though, by this time next week I’ll typing from the Man Cave, my heretofore pandemic dungeon.

So So Sunset Yesterday

Beach This Morning

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

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

 

Decompression Begins

I have begun the process of mentally retreating from the paradise setting my mind has been on since our arrival in Panama. That involves treasuring every moment I have left here on the beach. Our redeployment begins on Saturday morning when we leave the condo to spend a couple days with my mother-in-law before our Monday departure for the States. We were talking with the FBR this morning when my Favorite Panamanian told her how sad we were to leave Panama. In a true “out of the mouths of babes” moment, she blithely responded, “Well, you get to see me!”. Spirits were immediately lifted on all sides.

The Monday Crowd on the Beach

We spent yesterday back in David most of the day taking care of a banking issues, getting new plates for our car, and taking a couple deserving ladies out for lunch. Before that though, on Monday, we hosted my wife’s aunt and her husband for a day on the beach. As with most seniors they’ve been virtual prisoners in their house for the past year. Life seemed almost ordinary as we hosted them. I also learned her aunt’s husband was an accomplished beer drinker. He’s the first Panamanian I’ve met that could keep up. That meant my wife had to drive us all back at the end of the day but that goes down as a small price to pay (at least in my book, not so much in hers).

Wife with her Aunt and Aunt's husband in Condo Pool

We were hoping for pizza upon our Monday night return to David but we learned upon arrival that Pizza Hut had closed it doors, another pandemic victim. We continued down the road to my favorite Panamanian steakhouse, Gallardo’s, and had a fantastic meal there. I had a real feeling of returning to civilization after all the time spent on the beach. Yesterday morning, after spending the night at my mother-in-law’s house, we were amongst the first customers at the bank where we had to update our phones to validate transactions. When we upgraded our phones last year, we were missing certain codes needed for the transactions. That turned out to be fairly easy and we then stopped by a lab where we confirmed we’d be able to get our pre-flight Covid tests there on Saturday.

The Sidewalk Conference in Boquete

I wanted to appropriately thank my wife’s twin sister and her friend for their yeoman work in getting the condo ready for our return. We were taking them out to lunch in recognition of their efforts. That increased to include my mother-in-law and niece since my wife reasoned that we couldn’t leave them behind. We chose the mountain town of Boquete, one of our favorite spots in Panama as the location. After the usual ear popping drive into the mountains, we arrived to find the usually bustling town very subdued.

Boquete Lunch with Tall Drinks

The line of restaurants we hoped to choose from were all closed, some permanently. The pandemic, the gift that just keeps giving. The discovered closures left the ladies conferring on the sidewalk about next steps. I wandered up hill a bit and noticed another restaurant that was obviously open which ended the debate. We finally got that pizza we missed out the night before while the ladies all had some very tall, exotic fruit shakes. After lunch, I thought we be free to return to the beach but the ladies started walking down hill in search of a bakery. Along the way we stopped off for some gelatos. I was walking back and relocating the car each time so my mother-in-law wouldn’t have a long walk. This happened three times before I was able to herd the cats back into the car.

Unusually Quiet Streets of Boquete

On the way down from the mountains we stopped off to pick up the license plate as well as yet another chair my Favorite Panamanian had purchased over the past couple weeks that had arrived. In the very late afternoon, we were finally back on the road to Las Lajas. We arrived back in time for Facetime calls with both the FBR and the New Hampshire bunch as well as another terrific sunset. BR3 showed some real athletic promise, no surprise given her parents. She was enthusiastically kicking a ball around. She then crawled over to the BRS’ play kitchen which quickly drew her sister in to supervise.

BR3 On FaceTime

Big Sister Supervising

My Favorite Panamanian and I set up on the beach to watch yet another fantastic sunset. This one was enhanced by the presence of two dogs which accompanied their owner down the beach for a sunset walk while they chased the ever present crabs. The dogs, not the owner. The condo caretaker told my wife that Panama was in effect closing all swimming on the beaches due to dangerously high surf and riptides. My wife happily passed this news on to me as we have a running debate about someone my age venturing into the waves as I do. They actually patrol the beach so my boogie boarding career might be over for 2021. I shall return!

Monday Morning on Beach - These Pelicans Cruise the Surf Each Morning

Horse and Rider Also Showed Up Monday Morning

Monday Sunset was Epic

Tuesday's Wasn't So Bad Either

The Crab Chasing Dogs

Hundreds of these Small crabs Inhabit Holes on Beach 

This Morning on Beach

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

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