Altos Visit

Thursday morning we drove up to Altos del Maria to visit with our ardchitect Cesar Ituralde. Next trip I'll take a picture of Cesar's house. We love his work, and think building what he designed for our Altos lot would be great fun. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be in the cards. We love living near the beach, though we enjoy Altos and its cooler weather, whenever we visit. Perhaps if something we own actually sells, we will think about building the house. Above is Jayne on a boulder located more or less where our open air living room would be.

Today we had lunch with our bird watching neighbors Larry and Maryanne. See photo above. We at at a very fancy restaurant in the Vista Mar resort, a twenty minute drive down Highway 1. Each couple had 4 appetizers. We were very full, and the food was excellent. The bill for Jayne and me was less than $30 with tip. We are thinking of going back for the boulliabaise, which costs $10.50 per person for a minimum of 4 people, and requires a days notice. They have several types, including Kosher and vegetarian!

Our AC man came by to touch up his work and ask about payment. We expect our managment company to pick up part of the payment. They did not solve the problem very expeditiously, creating more problems.

I've received some information regarding water polo in Panama. I had emailed the Mikasa company, which is a well known manufacturer of water polo balls.

Tomorrow our elder daughter, Stacia, her husband Lonnie, and their two children, Clay and Lilly arrive for a three week stay. I will pick them up at the airport at 8:00 PM. I know the road well enough to drive them back to Gorgona in the dark.

Before going to the airport I am going to search for a used car with Alvaro, a mechanic recommended to us by an Australian couple who live here half the year. Alvaro keeps their car when they are gone, and services it while they are here.

A fun couple was here for two days this week. Pat and Gary are from Florida and are exploring Panama. The unit they stayed in had been oversold. They were expecting a private beach, wi-fi, and a concierge! We are a 5 minute walk from the beach, and we can see the water from our front porch. We have DSL, but their unit does not, and there is no concierge, unless it is us! When there car wouldn't start, we invited them for breakfast. They took us to dinner the next night at the Bay View, one of our favorite local eateries. We hope they will be back soon. Their stories of their world travels, including Turkey, were fascinating.

We have learned that our friends Camille and Stan from St. Louis will be coming for a vist at the end of January. We have only seen them once in the past 25 years. We have some catching up to do, and are excited about sharing Panama with them.