I haven't posted in a while. I seem to be too busy with retirement in Panama! We really don't know where the time goes.

I went to St. Petersburg Fl. for a masters swim meet about 10 days ago. My biggest accomplishment was buying a size 32 racing suit. My times, especially in the shorter events, were not that good. The longer events were about what I did a few years ago, so I can't complain there. I have changed my workout routine to include more weights and the use of hand paddles several days each week. This should increase my strength. I'm still swimming between one and two miles each morning in the ocean, a five minute walk from here.

The swimming pool sign represents one of the contentious issues at our homeowner's association in Gorgona. We had adopted rules that limit loud music, but many Panamanians want to come to the bea

Thai food, carnivorous plants and Los Quetzales

On the way to the mountain village of Guadalupe we found one of the few Thai restaurants in Panama. The owner is from Hollywood, appears to be tatooed from head collarbone to ankle, and has some very nice curry. He also has imported some very interesting carnivorous plants, which is he proud to show. World of carnivorous plants.

We stayed in the Los Quetzales lodge. It had a mountain ski resort feel, with a game room, reading room and library. The food was locally grown and organic, and was quite good.

This is a simple plate of vegetables which were outstanding. Much of Panama's vegetables are grown in this region of Chirqui, which borders Costa Rica. Each region is very distinct from its neighbors in terms of geography and plant life.

Our room was upstairs. Small but nice.

We stayed a second night, but could only get part of a cabin with no electricity. It doesn't get that cold, but since we were surrounded by forest, it gets dark early. We actually made a fire.

Birding is very big in Panama. We met many birders and even went on a bird walk. We haven't been birders, but the diversity and beauty is inspiring.

We were at 2000 meters, or about 7,000 feet, up from the 2,000 foot level for Boquete. The elevation change affected Jayne, and she spent time playing with the many humming birds, while I went on a guided bird walk. We had children in our group, so I think Jayne saw more birds than I did.

Boquete building, flowers and tiles.

An interesting building in Boquete. Many buildings are done in wood in this area, while almost none even have wood as part of the building in our beach area.

There are interesting flowers everywhere in Panama.

We bought a few of these tiles to place around the bathroom mirror.

This frog will go in the bottom of our pool.

Also, this turtle.

The artist is from New Mexico and is training some local girls to paint and glaze the tiles.

Trip to Caldera, Boquete, Volcan, Guadalupe, Los Ollas

This past week was Carnival, similar to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. There are parades and queens, and water sprays, and drinking and noise. We have experienced it before in Gorgona.

Thousands of people inundate our little community from Panama City. There are 5 or 6 cars in every yard, and Diablo Roja busses parked everywhere. The people come to party, and are loud about it. Not my kind of festivities.

We had an enquiry from a family in North Dakota who wanted to experience Panama Carnival by renting our casita. We agreed, and rented our home for three nights at a good rate. If I had been renting to unknown Panamaniana I would have had to worry about the 25 friends they would bring with them to spend the weekend. I didn't worry about North Dakotans.

We headed west toward Boquete, Volcan, Guadalupe, and then Las Ollas, none of which celebrate Carnival with much vigor. It was a quiet, relaxing trip. We had only a taste of Carnival on the road home on the day after the official holiday. The traffic was heavy and many gas stations were out of gas.

We got out of town at the crack of noon for our 5 hour drive to Caldera, a small town near Boquete. It is in the mountains, but not at as high an altitude as Boquete, so it receives much less rain. Our cabin was very nice and situated a few dozen yards from a mountain river.

There was a very nice swimming hole, of about 50 meters. The water is just rain runoff, so not the snow melt one would experience in many parts of the states. The high altitudes can be cold, but there is no snow in Panama.

Volcan Baru is near Volvan, abut an hour from Boquete. It is the highest point in Panama, at about 11,000 feet, compared with Mt. Rainier at 14,000 feet.

We had left on Friday. On Saturday morning we drove about 20 minutes to Boquette, where we linked up with Donna and Dave and their friend Bryan for breakfast. Donna and Dave bought a lot in the Boquette are a few years ago, but have since purchased some apartments in Panama City and are selling their lot. They love Boquette, but have chosen life in a larger city.

Boquette from the tourist center outside of town.

Our cabin in Caldera. Caldera also has a four star eco lodge, and a very large housing development.

The river near our Caldera cabin. The owner of the cabins told me he bought 100 acres here in 1994 for $40,000.

The Caldera river.

Altos Construction Progress

This is the view across the valley to Picachu.

Here is Jayne standing on the deck in front of the doors to our bedroom, There will be three sliding doors that will open a 9 foot expanse, plus windows on each side, and above. The area next to the blue tarped shed will have a wall, and the head of our bed will be there. To the right on the photo, and behind Jayne are two closets. I am taking the photo from the wall behind the kitchen and in front of the bath room.

The view from here, looks across a creek and up the valley. We see clouds moving from that direction, but they seem to disperse when they reach our lot.

This is the view from the bottom of our lot. The bedroom is to the left. The living room is the right. They are almost mirror images of each other. The living room closet is in the far right corner, next to the entry. Both rooms have doors that lead to the bath, and there is a door from the living room to the galley kitchen, which is in the middle of the house, with an open deck in front, and the bath behind.

If you can see a tab sticking out from the center of the deck, that is a place for the BBQ. We mostly cook outside.

Here Jayne is standing in the terazza in front of our galley kitchen. The view is to Mount Picachu directly across the valley.

The foundation was meant to be much less massive, but the Panamanian builder we started with last year did not believe in cantalevering. We were only able to do the BBQ deck.

We are almost set to pour the concrete pool floor on Monday. The pool seemed to be getting smaller and smaller as we watched the steel and forms being put in, so we opted out of the extra area that an infinity edge would have required. The view from the right is over our house to Picachu.

There will be a small sitting area added on the the far end of the pool, among the rocks. There will be one light on the left wall. We are planning on using a copper ionization treatment process to avoid the use of chlorine. It is cheaper and better. Nasa used it for treating water for the astronauts.

I don't know where the time goes! The standing joke among retired expats here is that none of us know how we ever had time to work.

It has been over a month since I posted.

Our life has been more or less the usual. The significant happenings have been board activity with our small condo association, a trip to the other end of Panama, and checking on the construction of our new home and pool in Altos.

Panamanian Martyr's Day

This weekend was a holiday that commemorates the death of some 20 Panamanian students who tried to storm a US military position in the Canal Zone. They sought to place a Panamanian flag next to an American flag, something that was guaranteed by treaty. Their deaths is generally thought to be the beginning of the movement toward the Carter - Trujillos treaty which returned the canal to Panama.

It is meant to be a somber holiday, but it is really just an excuse for loud music and much drinking. The Panamanians we meet and speak with, deplore this behavior, but it is very common. The beach was crowded, and we had loud music in our complex until 4:00 AM. We will complain to the owner of the offending unit. He was not here, himself.

Today we sought to avoid the crowds and noise and went up to Altos.

We sat on our lot for a while, talking about our building plans. We need to emphasize the view, the light and the air, and minimize the problems caused by the small size of our house.

We stopped to visit Damani and Ife Soralpina. We might rent their apartment in February/March when our exchange couple from Goteborg are here. We would then be close to our construction in Altos. Damani and Ife are a great couple, a few years older than we are. We share our support for Obama and health care reform. We even have a friend in common from Howard university.

We visited with Audra and Jose, our next door neighbors in Altos.. We brought them some fish from our local fish coop.

We also brought some fish for Inez and Gil and took it up to them at their rental house. They showed us the plans that they will execute on a nearby lot. Construction should start in a few weeks. We helped them find the lot last year.

The four of us then stopped in to see Richard and Bella from Iowa. They have been working on their view home nonstop since we met them, and it reflects their efforts. Richard is a retired farmer and professor and Bella has an artistic flair.

Inez and Gil and Jayne and I then went to dinner at a local Chinese restaurant, where we witnessed some of the previously mentioned loud and drunken behavior. One of the crowd called out "China" to our waitress, not a favorable expression. She was very irritated. Her family has probably been in Panama since the French tried to build the canal.

Friends in December

Before our family arrived, we had Cliff and Debbie over for brunch.

Here we are exploring our Gorgona beach.

We checked out a condo unit that a friend of their's is buying. It is just up the beach from our place.

Cliff and Debbie on our rustic furniture.

Shopping for gifts in Portabelo.

Lilly and Jayne picking a wave.