Wow! Just Wow!

I’m sitting here almost three full days later and am still in recovery mode from what may have been the best party I’ve ever attended. That is an extremely high standard to meet, even if it was just the best party ever in Panama, still, an astronomical elevated measure to attain. My Favorite Panamanian has been in high stress for the better part of the last seven months preparing for a celebration for her 70th birthday. She has never been one to celebrate herself but decided on this one occasion she would. She’s been staying up late nearly every night since we arrived in country feverishly scribbling a virtual book size collection of lists and yelling at me for a variety of offenses (real and imagined). It’s been a high stress environment. All that planning paid off with a remarkable night. I’m going to keep the words to a minimum (you’re welcome) and let pictures with captions do most of the explanation. Before we get into that I need to catch you up on the past few days.

Wife and Her Twin Sister Dancing at the Party

On Wednesday we took our visitors up into the mountains of Panama to show how beautiful Panama and especially the province of Chiriqui is. We were greeted at the overlook above Boquete with a veritable herd of coatimundis haunting the visitors’ center looking for scraps. They’re the Panamanian version of racoons. We had a fun day in and around Boquete with the usual drive through coffee plantations and the traditional stops, including gelatos. We then took the back road from Boquete to Volcan. Calling it a road is a bit of a misnomer; it is more akin to a roller coaster. A fun day to prep for the Thursday huge arrivals of both of my kids and their families.

Boquete Fair Grounds

We Got Credit for a Sunset with this Shot 
As We descended out of the Mountains from Volcan

Lunch in Boquete

Latin Beauty with Czech Infusion at our Lunch Restaurant

Coatimundi

And Some of his Pals

On the Overlook Above Boquete

That Woman!

With Visiting Latina Buddies Including the Maine Musquetera

Gelato Time

Czechs at Waterfall

That Musquetera Again

Wednesday Dinner in David

They were every bit as excited as we were to see them. They’ve already missed two snowstorms while they’ve been here. That includes today’s bomb cyclone that pulverized New England. I’m not going to joke about it because I know there was nothing humorous about it. Great Aunt got over 30 inches of snow and was without power all day until a bit ago. We were commiserating all day as we watched the news reports filter in. It’s been a calm past three winters and it is certainly making up for it with this second major storm of the season. Saying that, I think the crew here is in agreement that their current location is preferable to shoveling snow.

Daughter and Fam Enroute

So was ABFA, BRS and BR3

Wife and Family Waiting the Arrival

Granddaughters Loaded Up in our Car

Very Happy Abuela

Traditional Welcome Dinner at El Fogon

Hitting the Beach Early Friday Morning

In a Twist, We Saw the Las Lajas Sunrise!

Back in the Pacific with their Abuela

Waves Were Bigger than they Remembered

Grandpa and the Shadow Also Joined In

Friday saw the early morning granddaughter assault on sleeping grandparents. The three granddaughters are staying our condo while their parents are renting another one. They were very excited about immediately hitting the beach which happened in short order while their parents slept blissfully in. All three demonstrated real ability in boogie boarding. The Czech Shadow had been almost as excited as they were and quickly appointed herself as their official bodyguard/babysitter. She was a real hero over the next couple days as my wife and I descended into the chaos of final party prep. The granddaughters quickly re-established their credo that grandpa was not allowed to rest in the pool, viciously assaulting him if he looked the least bit peaceful. We ended the day by setting a new record for sunset social hour attendance and then literally taking over the  Sunset Pizza place. The Sunset Pizza crew bent over backwards to handle the huge group we showed up with. 

Pool Time

Grandpa Looked Peaceful

All Three Jumped Me

They Eventually Let me Come up for Air
The Czech Shadow looks a Little Nervous

The Assaulters

I Didn't Get a Single Break

Lunch Time in Our Condo

Friday Sunset

Biggest Group Ever Assembling

The Reward

Happy Campers

Biggest Group Ever!!

Taking Over Sunset Pizza

Late Friday Night Folding of the Napkins Party Prep

The day of the party had weather that had everyone on edge as the idyllic dry season weather we had been experiencing deserted us. It was replaced with a hot, humid, breezeless, rainy season type day with major thunderstorms threatening ominously as the party start time approached. I will never again question my Favorite PAnamaniann’s deep faith and connection with our Maker. She prayed hard all day to spare the party. We became a literal island in the surrounding storms as they all passed serenely by us and not a drop fell. All night long, as the party proceeded, bright flashes of lighting could be seen not too far off shore, but again, nothing touched the party location.

Granddaughters and Shadow on the Shore

Best Buds

Greeters Standing By

My Kids with their Abuela

Adding in the ABFA and Wingman

Visiting Friends

Party Location

Macarena Lessons

Painful

This was More Fun

My wife decided on a Hawaiian theme for the party and had the three granddaughters serving as greeters for arriving guests. The caterer also came with a DJ with an impressive set up, including light shows and fog machines. We were supposed to start at 5pm but the Panamanians lived up to their well-earned reputation for timeliness. That included the guests who were renting condos in our condo complex. We secured the condo social area and my wife’s design concept provided a truly memorable set up with tables on the lawn and the tiled area serving as a dance floor. The granddaughters grew irritated at the hot hostess dresses and demanded a pool break. Their abuela absolutely refused. She knew something no one else (except a certain blog writer) knew. One of the true highlights of the night (and a number of decades) was about to happen and she didn’t want her granddaughters to miss it. She had arranged for a folkloric dance troupe to make a surprise entrance and performance. Both my wife and her mother spent many years as very accomplished members of this type of traditional dance groups and it was so special when they appeared. I looked over at my wife as they were dancing and saw a true light in her eyes, abject happiness along with a flood of memories of her own time. It redeemed all the pain and stress getting ready for this night.

The Group's Entry

The First Dance

Lightning Offshore During the Party

Of Course the Sunset

Wife and Her Twin

Adding Tia Loca and her Brother

A Photo Surfaced of My Mother-in-Law
Dancing in a Group When Very Young

Party Goers Checking out Sunset

Tia Loca's Son, Myself, Bro in Law, Son and Wingman

With Their Mom

Brother's Wife

Cousins 

Wife Couldn't Help But Join in Entry

She Remembered all the Steps

One Very Happy Esposa

The Musical Accompaniment

Spectators Enthralled

Wife Pointing Out Steps to GBR

The party dancing started even before dinner was served, with my 93-year-old mother-in-law leading the charge. My wife taught the granddaughters how to do the macarena (could have lived without that). After dinner the dance floor exploded. I and everyone else in attendance became caught up in it as well. Despite the onerous heat and humidity, we all danced the night away. I was literally soaked but didn’t want to take a break. There was a visible spirit that joined us all in celebration. I tried to dance like I was still in my twenties which explains the ongoing recovery comment earlier. Here you thought it was due to beer consumption. Nope. Just dancing like a madman along with all the other crazies, celebrating my wife and her twin sister.

Dancing the Night Away

Even the Old Guys Joined in

As Did Wife's 93 Year old Mom

By the end of the night, I don’t think I’ve ever been that tired. That is, again, saying something because the Army did its best to test those limits. It was a good fatigue though because we had properly celebrated the woman I’m lucky enough to call “mi esposa”. I was especially proud of all the people who traveled so far to be part of the event. I think they would all agree it was money well spent. The night didn’t end without some drama though. I spied some Panamanian teenagers staying in another condo spying on our still burgeoning coolers and decided I couldn’t leave them, as planned, out overnight. That entailed getting them back up to our third-floor condo.

I Had to Carry Cake in From Condo
So Sweaty I was Afraid I was Going to Drop it

Wife with Visiting Czechs

Halloween Crabs Emerged in Nearby Firepit

A Conga Line Broke Out Several Times

The Fam

All of Us

Two of Three Musqueteras

The real theater involved the departing DJ. After he got all his equipment loaded up, his car wouldn’t start due to a dead battery. Mind you, this was after midnight on a Saturday in a very remote section of beach. He sheepishly came back to the area to find myself and my wife’s family sitting in a circle reliving the day’s adventures. My wife’s uncle, after no one had any jumper cables, came up with an innovative solution. They removed a battery from another car and used some of the DJ’s cabling to get the car started. Necessity really is the mother of invention.

Sunday Back At It

Birthday Party

BRS Piñata Swinging

February Birthdays

Wife Surrounded by Panamanian Family

Sunday became chapter two of the party weekend. There are a number of February birthdays in the family, including the BRS. My wife felt a Sunday barbecue with children invited would be a good way to recognize those birthdays. So, we ramped up for another afternoon of frenetic activity transferring the grill and those protected coolers back to the social area, made more interesting with an elevator that worked occasionally. I said a personal prayer of thanks for a strong son when it came time to lug coolers down three flights of stairs. He and I switched off manning the grill which is always fun in the Panamanian heat but it was easy to do when you consider the recipients of the grill’s production, my wife’s incredible family and all our visiting friends. I’ve done a poor job of describing what is truly one of the most memorable times of my life. I thank all the fantastic friends and family who journeyed here to be with us and to celebrate the remarkable woman I get to live with.

Sunday Sunset

Great Ending to Great Weekend

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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 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; 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; Upstairs Neighbors – American couple and great friends who live in condo above us in Panama; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course