Above are a photo of the turn off from the Pan American Highway, and the last turn from our Gorgona road on to the Calle de Ocean Front.

A few weeks have passed since I last wrote.

The time in Panama passes quickly, though the schedule is less than hectic.

This past week we renewed some old and new acquaintances. We had dinner at Doug and Linda's rental place, while they wait for the closing on their new home in San Carlos.

On Wednesday our new friends Donna and Dave came for a swim. Both are good swimmers, especially Donna, and we had a great time swimmng a mile or so up the beach and returning. We then served them usual brunch of fish, plantains and fruit smoothies.

On Thursday we had dinner with Clifford and Debbie at Cholos, a Mexican restaurant in San Carlos, a fovorite of ours. Afterwards we had coffee and desert at their home in San Carlos. It is a neighborhood that has mostly weekend homes for Panamanians. One is owned by a girlfriend of Noriega. There are quite a few interesting stories about Noriega in this community. It is said to be where he kept a good bit of his arsenal.

Friday was a very nice day. Just the usual, but especially nice. A swim and walk, a brunch, a nap, some errands (shopping for furniture and shelving) and an early dinner at La Corretas, which is associated with the equestrian center in Coronado.

On Saturday we went with Jeanette and Neil to see the Christmas parade and pageant at the Coronado Club. Afterwards we had dinner at the club.

Today we lazed around the complex, going in the pool a few times. We made our version of some Sancocho. Sancocho is the Panamanian national soup, made with chicken, a few vegetables and yucca. It is served with a large piece of chicken, and a side of rice. We made ours with extra vegetables and very little salt. We served a late dinner to Moti and Susan, and had a nice chat about many things, including our efforts to elect a new board for our HOA and set up some new management protocols.

More of First Two Weeks: early Thanksgiving

We dropped by our local bar/restaurant La Ruina. Frank had made an attempt at setting up a market across the street. It rained his first attempt, and he was somewhat discouraged. I have been trying to get him to get a board of advisors to help him find the keys to creating a consistent clientelle. Like most business owners he is looking for the single magic bullet.

Our caretaker Dimas was up in the Mango tree in our parking making a preemptive cut of the brances before the branches and leaves fall on the lot and the cars. No ropes. Just a machete.

Our friends Rob and Donna had purchased some tickets for us to attend the American Society Thanksgiving dinner in PC. Rob and Donna live above the newly completed major street in downtown PC. They are waiting for their condo to be completed so they can move in. It is a year late now!

At the dinner we met several new couples, including another Donna and her partner David, on the left. Jayne, Donna and Rob are on the right. The food was good Thanksgiving fair. We had a very nice evening.

Our Altos lot has some new flowers since last Spring.

First Two Weeks in Paradise

Two weeks ago yesterday we flew into Panama. For a place that lives on Manana time, we have had a very hectic and enjoyable two weeks.

Our mechanc, Alvara, had dropped us at the airport last May and kept our car in our absence. When he dropped us off, the fuel pump had failed just as we arrived a the airport. Before picking us up he repaired that and replaced the worn tie rods. He charged us $.50 per day for storage, which he had not told us about. The total bill was just under $500, which we were glad to pay. We dropped him off at one of our favorite restaurants, Nikkos. We had a quick meal and headed for Gorgona.

In our absence Panama has elected a new president: Maratinelli. He is quite rich and says "you may catch me with my foot in my mouth, but not with my hand in the till." We are looking for changes. We noticed better roads, with reflectes, more traffic cops, missing toll booths.

In our first few days we began our routine of a morning swim and late brunch, paid our manager, put money in the bank, paid our plant lady in Altos, visited our Altos lot....Our Costa Grande casita was rented severa times in our absence. We made some money before paying the mortgage. Our lot in Altos looked good. The plantings of Vetive and Mani kept the hillsides from eroding.

Our first lunch was at Don Chachos. We had the usual: pollo entero, vegetales, and two frosties. After jubilado discount and tip, about $17.

We always meet interesting people who rent the other casitas in our complex. Here are Mike and Angie from DC. We had some good talks, and took them to Don Chacho's!

Ty's Choice: fishing above the crocs!

Ty chose to go fishing with us, and include his brothers and father. Ty is very inclusive and a great older brother.

The fishing place was outside of town. It was an old road tressle that has been replaced by a concrete bridge. The fishermen love this location, but it will probably be destroyed because it will be very expensive to maintain it in a safe conditon.

Jayne and I held our collective breath as the granchildren came perilously close to the edge. Below was a fast moving river. If one fell in I would have been right behind them, but the current would have carried us a half mile downstream, and there would have been no good place to get out. The problem would be the crocs!

Ty seemed to have a good time sharing his special day with everyone. He is very special, and is very good to his brothers.

Grandparents' Day with Maverick

The next day we made a few phone calls and found a lady named Bunny who took in stray Wallabies and hand raised them. People would bring them to her, often having found the still warm body of a dead Mother on the road. A tiny Joey would sometimes be found in the pouch. She has she can successully raise them if they have a weight of 180 grams or more. She has special formula for the Wallabies.

Bunny has a few hundred acres next to 3000 hectares (approx 2.5 acres per hectare) of park land. When the Wallabies are ready to go they just leave. Some return months or years later to say Hi. Her local phone is 4069-6012 if you are in Cooktown. She is on Cameron Reek Rd, out past the airport. Tell her we said Hello, and give her some money for her good, selfless work.

First, we picked up Mavie at his school. Her, Nama is helping him find his back pack at the outdoor storage area.

Mavie helped open the gate to Bunny's land. Note the No Dogs sign. Dogs are not generally welcome in most stores, and they would be dangerous for the baby Wallabies.

Here are three Wallabies resting in the pouches of baby's clothing on hangers. They are born very tiny, the size of your little finger, and grow to independence in their mother's pouch, suckling her milk.

Maverick was in heaven. He asked to come back the next day. He is great with animals, and would love to have a dog or some other pet. His brothers' allergies limit that possibility. Even a python has to receive mice for food. We have talked about a lzard as a pet.

Bunny is retired with great grandchildren, She has given her life to saving these Wallabies. She is an intersting lady, and has been featured on Japanese TV.

Here I am with a baby Wallaby.

It was great day.

Our day with Grandson Mason

We are back in Seattle now, coping with the darkness and the relative cold.

The flight back and the jet lag adjustment was much tougher than going to Australia. I am seriously considering limiting all future flights to 7 hours, and doing at least mult-day stopovers. Getting an around the world ticket, broken into 5 or more segments of less than 7 hours each has great appeal.

As our time in Cooktown was winding down, we offered each of the grandchildren a day that they could do whatever they wanted to with us. Mason chose golfing. Maverick chose seeing baby Wallabies. Ty chose fishing with everyone.

First, we went to downtown Cooktown and had a lunch on the wharf.

There are crocs everywhere, real and fake.

The road signs for watch out for kangaroos and the smaller wallabies, are frequently upgraded with items such as a back pack, hat and skate board. Nicely done, don't you think.

Mason is a natural athlete. He could dribble a basketball before age one. He caught on to golf quickly, and his score was better than his grandparents.

The fairways are narrow, and you don't want to search too long for your ball in the rough because of the possibility of snakes.

Golfing was one of our economic bargains. A round cost $15 for 9 holes, and $15 for the cart.

Masons favorite part was driving the cart.

Cemetery Visit

One of the things we enjoy doing when we travel is to visit the local cemetery. We do not have gruesome preoccupation with death, nor are we fixated on religious beliefs. We view the cemetery as an expression of culture. They very greatly from country to country.

The Cooktown cemetery dates back to around 1800. It is segregated by religion and ethnicity: Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Chinese. About three thousand bodies are there, but only a few hundred markers.

There is one Jewish marker, though Jews have been prominent, including being mayor of Cooktown.

There is a Chinese marker, but almost all the Chinese dead have been returned to China. The Chinese were numerous during the 1870's when there was a gold rush.

The Catholic Church was always a presence in the town.

Aboriginal Tour

After our near disastrous Outback experience, we decided to try the local aboriginal tour with Willie at Guurbbi Tours. Do a search for Guurbbi tours and you will be directed to www.pigswillfly.com.au

The car, by the way, was repaired by attaching a clip that had come loose. It had not been attached properly when it was installed during some repair work.

We met our guide about 45 minutes North of Cooktown, just past where we had turned when we had our disaster. Easy driving!

We spent our two plus hours walking among some interesting lava formations, and visiting three caves that had drawing on their walls. Willie said he had grown up just among these formations. He as very erudite, and had visited the world, exploring the stories of creation and life. This, plus a little politics, is what we discussed during our time together.

One of the great things he showed us was how to get a lizard to drink water from a leaf we give him. This will impress the grandkids!

Our Last Few Days in Cooktown

It is now Thursday evening. On Saturday we catch a plane to Cairns, where we spend two nights and fly our for the States on Monday.

Our time in Cooktown has revolved around soaking in the essence of Norther Queensland and having family time with our daughter Sarah and her family. We have had some great moments with the grandkids.

Today we took Mason out of school early. We explored downtown Cooktown a bit, had a soda, and then headed out to the golf course.

The golfing was a real hit. Neither Jayne nor I have ever taken up the game, but Jayne did take a PE course in college! Mason actually scored better than we did for the four holes we played. Mason is a natural athlete and is good at any sport he tries.

An even bigger hit, was us letting him drive the golf cart. Both our daughters have fond memories of my parents taking them golfing and letting them drive the golf cart at their retirement home in Cherokee Village, AR. One of the favorite stories is when Sarah took off in the golf cart while my Mother was still standing, and Mom fell out! I don't think we heard that story until years after it happened.

We had a great day with Mason!

Exploring Brisbane

We spent the week exploring Brisbane, a city which we found very enjoyable.

Our home was in the Paddington neighborhood. On the edge of it was the city stadium. We weren't there on a Saturday night, when the playoffs for the Rugby League championship, was being held.

The first thing one learns about Australia is that, besides that it is surrounded by water, as Paul Hogan told us, it is very expensive. Everything is expensive. We can't compare it with Panama. We can barely compare it with Seattle.

Even after factoring in that tips are not necessary for meals, and that the sales tax is already included in the price, and that now $.90 buys $1 Australian, a simple meal costs about twice or more what we are used to paying.

The same applies to clothing and shoes.

Tourist attractions are routinely $40 or more for a one hour exposure. Somethings are worth it, since they are not available anywhere else. I would include our Great Barrier Reef snorkeling experience in that category. It was about $170 for an adult, a little less for a child. In Panama we are used to that buying a snorkeling tour for four.

The only bargain we have found so far is the public swim pool in Cooktown ($1.80 for Seniors) and the one day bus pass to get around Brisbane. The bus pass included two zones, which got us from our neighborhood to downtown, and the Metro Cat which goes up and down the Brisbane river.

We explored in both directions from downtown. One took us to the U. of Queensland, where we spent and enjoyablle afternoon. It is a beautiful campus.

Riding the cat the other direction, we ended up in Bulimba. We explored the neighborhood, a gluten free hamburger joint, a nice movie theatre, and some delightful shops. We bought a gift for our hosts and an anniversary present for Sarah and Paul at Thousand Island Dressing, which imorted crafts from islands near to Australia.

Directly across the river from downtown is the South Bank area, where the 1988 World Expo was held. There was nothing surrounding the area back then. Now it is a delightful strolling area along the beach, surrounded by a private University, an opera/symphony house, and multiple museums.

There was a dispaly of American Impressionist Painters that all the Brisbanites were quite proud of, and urged us to see. We had just been to DC, and preferred to see indiginous art and local artists in the GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art). The displays, other than the American dispaly, were free. We thorougly enjoyed them.