Breath Taken Then a Zinger

I’m finally starting to get the rest my fairly aged body has been declaring was needed after the past couple weeks of over indulgence in the fun department. My Favorite Panamanian and I are alone at the condo for the first time since we arrived which has allowed a little more sedate living. I’ve rolled back into my morning workout routine and we once again have practically the entire condo complex to ourselves. I’ve learned that I need to work out each day. I know that sounds pompous but I had some strange nights during our travel here when I didn’t get a chance to work out. My legs cramped up severely each night and the nightly dose of tonic water did nothing to alleviate. The cramps were enough to wake me from a heavy (Atlas assisted) sleep. I blame all the work on the stationary bike over the past few months. As soon as I got to the beach and started working out each morning, the nocturnal cramps disappeared. The legs get a great workout during the boogie boarding. Fun and productive. So that’s all good but life is once again playing its insidious jokes on me that are not always seriously appreciated.

Had my Favorite Panamanian for the Beach Walk This Morning

Over the weekend we noticed the refrigerator, but not the freezer, wasn’t cooling things down much. I, at first, put this down to too many people patronizing the thing and a balky door which doesn’t always close if you don’t pay attention. An increased focus on the door did not achieve any improvement and it was time to call our local repairman. That’s one of the things about living in Panama, it’s all about who you know to get things done. This permeates most levels of the society. It certainly applies to getting repair work done. Luckily, my Favorite Panamanian is gregarious to the point of sainthood and has acquired the needed contacts over the years.

A Great Way to Start the Day

We’ve got an AC/refrigerator repair dude in the nearby small village. We have to go pick him up and bring him back but the convenience is more than worth that effort. We brought him in and he quickly diagnosed the problem as a blown motor. He extracted the part and told us a couple places in David that might have the piece. So off we set for David, dropping the repair guy off at his home along the way. We dropped in on my brother-in-law who knows David really well and he was able to get us to both places. That was the good news. I bet you have already guessed the bad news. Not only did they not have the part, no one in Panama had it. We were told they might be able to get it within three to five weeks but that I would be in line behind a bunch of other people for it. Like I said, bad news.

Our Beach This Morning

I’d already decided if that was the result of our search, we’d bite the bullet and just buy a new refrigerator; hence the zinger in the title of this post. We returned to the place we bought the original, knowing they deliver to Las Lajas, and bought a new one. It’ll be delivered next week. Our first, and most important criteria for the salesman – the new fridge had to have parts readily available in Panama. Our repair guy is back today jury rigging something that will hopefully last until next week. We’ll be living out of a cooler and the freezer, which still works, until then. We’ve also reached a deal with the repair guy which he’ll eventually fix the old one and sell it, splitting the proceeds with us. It wouldn’t be Panama without a bit of an adventure.

Surf is Back up to Las Lajas Standards

It's been kind of a weird start to our visit here. We decided to make the move here for the winter because our New England winter coincides with the Panamanian dry season. After a solid eight months of torrential rains, the spigot is literally turned off and it doesn’t rain again until March. At least that’s the game plan. We’ve had a couple days with some solid rain, tropical levels, which can be awe inspiring. We’ve had some spectacular light shows as these lightning laden storms passed off shore over the Pacific. I’m sure this is somehow connected to global warming but today was as perfect a dry season day as I could have hoped for. I know, into each life, some of that pesky stuff has to fall.

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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 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; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course