Hello friends! It has been a really long time since I have written as there isn't a lot to say these days. We are still enjoying our new life here in Panama. It is hard to believe that we have lived here for seven months now. In some ways it feels like we arrived yesterday - when we try to speak Spanish, but in others it feels like forever - since we have seen our loved ones. I am homesick for my kids and friends, but other than that we love it here. I know some of you are wondering what we do all day. Well Peg likes to joke that it takes all day to live here in Panama - sweeping, shopping, cooking etc.
We have been fighting a war on ticks which has become a full time job for two. We sweep the floors, pick them off the dogs, pick them off the furniture, pick them off the dogs, bathe the dogs, pick them off the dogs. They were covered! In the ears, between the toes, on their tails. It is crazy. We finally bought some really strong poison to spray the yard. After two sprayings and two doses of Advantix I think we finally have it under control.
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| Peg's professional poison control |
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| Tick before attachment to dog |
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| Tick after filled with blood - GROSS |
We are still waiting on our house plans. They have been submitted to a structural engineer who requested an extensive soil report done on our lot. Between the structural engineer, soil engineer, a local civil engineer, architect and builder we have been going around and around to determine what tests are really necessary. We think it has been sorted out now and we just have to wait for the tests to be performed. This is the first of many Panamanian delays so we are trying to take it in stride. We should still be on track to break ground in January as planned. We love our little rental house here in Santa Fe, but after more than two years we are ready to be in a home of our own.
We have taken a couple of day trips to see some sights, but it is not the best time of year for them as the rainy season is in full swing. It rains pretty much every day usually starting around 2 pm, but sometimes all day. We enjoy the rain and we had been in a drought so it is much needed as well. One day we drove through Calobre and up to the Yeguada National Forest the home to a caldera lake. We were looking for some hot springs, but never found those. The drive was beautiful and we made several wrong turns. We vowed to go back when the rains let up.
Another day we drove to Caloveborita which is the farthest point north you can drive to with a road to drive on that is. There is a hiking trail from there to get to the Caribbean side but it is a 50 mile walk and takes most folks 6 days to walk it. You travel through jungle and as the story goes you usually run out of your own food and end up begging for banana's and fish from the indigenous Indians. Of course we would make the journey if all our camping gear were not in our storage shed in Austin....Yeah...NO, JK. :)
We were sort of invited to a fellow ex-pats house for his birthday on Halloween. I say sort of because the friend that invited us didn't know the guy either. Since we are one of the few ex-pats that own a car, we piled seven us into the cab of the truck and headed out a crazy windy, steep and slippery dirt road in the rain. Jeff built a house completely off the grid and uses solar mostly with a generator back up. He has planted 4000 coffee bushes. They pick, dry and roast the beans and then sell their own coffee as a hobby. We met a whole new group of expats at his party. It was really fun and great to meet kindred spirits.
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| Their garden and palapalala |
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| New friends Stephanie, Sinnett and Orca |
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| Our oldest friend in Santa Fe Leo from Oregon |
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| Friends Scott and Marie Munger from California |
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| Rainy shot of the coffee plants |
We haven't actually been out to Los Islotes in quite a while, but will be heading there next week for a tour group. Looking forward to seeing the place again.
November and December are big holiday months here in Panama. It starts out with Independence Day which is a five day celebration of their independence from Columbia. There are parades and parties for days. We have been listening to the drums practice for a month. The kids are really cute.
Thanks again to our dear friend Greg for taking the reins, selling our previous home Suni and the BAT (big ass truck) It was a happy- sad day. We have a lot of great memories from our RV trip across the states and she was a good home. Now we move on unencumbered except for that pesky storage unit!
Love to all. Would love to hear from each and every one of you.
