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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| One Very Happy Camper This Morning |
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| 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.
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| 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 3rd 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
