NEW YEAR`S EVE & TIME TO GO

Time flies no matter what. I`ve got to start packing now as I have arranged for a taxi to pick me up at the apartment tomorrow AM at 8:30 so I can catch my 11:15 flight to Buenos Aires.

Since my last post, I`ve taken my new friends Manual and Lena to dinner at Bon Profit, a really nice little restaurant on the via Argentina. She had shrimp, Manual had paella which he shared with all of us because there was so much, and I had a nice steak in some kind of semi hot sauce. They had flan for desert, and I took a bite of it.

I mentioned that I could use a massage, and thought nothing more of it. The next day, Lena called and said she had found a place and had made an appointment for me, and would meet at the corner of Via Espana and Argentina and take me there. All of which happened. The location of the massage place was on Brazil, only 15 minute walk. They were going to wait for me, but I assured them I could find my way home. It was a very good massage. They left today with other friends to go to Chitiquire for New Years. It´s close to the border with Costa Rica.

My landlord came by last night to check me out. He had been at his Office party, and thought he had to go back, but someone from his office called and said not to bother as most everyone had gone home. So he called his wife, Yaria, to come and pick him up and we had a glass of wine or two while we waited. I was sad to tell him that I broke two of his wine glasses during my stay, and he said he`d send me an invoice.

Then Yaria arrived. I learned that the are BOTH actuaries, and that he is the Corporate Actuary for his Company. She manages one of it`s branch offices, and does mostly sales and management.

I read a few eight books while I was here, finding them in English at Gran Morrison, a department store, and also at Xecdra Book Store which is only a couple of blocks away. I won´t bore you with the titles. They were mostly escapism material, good to read by the pool.

AS FOR THE YEAR

It sucked! Never again will I go under the knife voluntarily. My memory isn`t good enough to remember much except getting the house leased, spending weeks, if not months getting it ready, and then the operation. And my friend of more than 15 years, Ray Schiff passed on. Max the dog went to a new and I`m sure better home.

Now for the good stuff:
I want to thank my good friends, Charles and Carlen Goehring for visiting me in the hospital, and taking me to their home the first night out of the hospital. Jack Claton left his Denver home before he expected to, came back to Green Valley and cooked and helped me out during the first week. Then Stephanie Johnson, took a week off from her REAL job as a nurse to look after me.

Her mom, Maria Johnson made a trip to help me get the house finally ready for my tenants. I don`t know how I could have done that by myself. She got off of a flight from Hong Kong in Chicago, and transferred to a flight to Tucson and didn´t slow down ever!

And, of course, my sister, Mimi, who showed up in my hospital room with flowers and greetings. There wasn`t a lot she could do at that point, but it`s nice to have an advocate on hand in case you need one.

For tonight, I think I`ll just stay home, and let the amateurs take over. I know there will be lots of fireworks, if I can stay up late enough to see them. The pool deck would be an ideal location, since it wraps around the whole building.

The next time you hear from me will be from Argentina. It may take me a few days to figure out the new computer, so don`t hold your breath.

In the meantime, have a Happy Prosperous, Healthy and Peaceful NEW YEAR!!

JW

BUSY BUSY BUSY

Wow, I only have THREE days left....and so much to do.
1) Three weeks worth of dishes.*
2) Fix my suitcase broken, presumably by Homeland Security**
3) Get transportation to the airport.

I don´t know whether I can handle the stress or not!! But I have an appointment for a massage tomorrow morning. That should help.

* No maid service, no dish washer. Next place has weekly maid service. I use paper plates most of the time, and the only things I`ve "cooked" were microwavable. Otherwise, mostly wine glasses and knives used to put jam on my toast.

** Bought a pair of pliers at Rey`s grocery store to see if I can fix the zipper. I`d better try it soon in case I have to buy a new bag.

XMAS EVE/XMAS DAY

In a word, unremarkable. Which, as some of you may know, is fine with me. The holiday season doesn`t bother or depress me as it has sometimes in the past. It would have been nice to be with family or friends; but I also didn`t have to buy and wrap gifts for people who, for the most part already have everything they want or need. Lest you think I`m the grinch, the gift giving rule for the year was that we only buy gifts for people we are going to be with on Christmas.

One of my greatest fears is running out of sauce before I run out of spaghetti. A close second is running out of beer. If I have it, I may not use it; if I don´t have it, I worry. After I spent a few hours reading by the pool on Xmas eve day, fearing things might close up early, I made a beer run to the Fiesta Liquor store across the street at about 4pm. Not to worry, they said they would be open till midnight.

BIRDS
Since I had no plans I decided to talk a walk up the Via Argentina, where every evening about six pm the parakeets land in the trees on the medium across from Andros Bellos Park and set up quite a racquet. They are very difficult to see, as they are exactly the same color as the leaves.

There were a few places open, so I had a few cocktails on the patio at Manolo`s, watching the people and vehicle traffic. Everybody was rushing around carrying packages, but most were not dressed as if they were going to church.

I selected Restaurant Rincon Habernero, which was open with people inside. I again sat on the patio, and ordered from their menu which appeared to be typical Panamanian with lots of dishes served with plaintains (which I don`t particularly care for)

Not being particularly hungry, I chose an appetizer plate that looked pretty good on the menu. Lots of stuff with pork in it. To my surprise, the platter was all deep fat fried with a lot of pork rinds (except they actually had pork in them) pork sausage and chucks of pork. It was very good, although I didn`t eat many of the pork rinds.

Heading for home, I stopped at a Columbian bar and restaurant called La Tienda Cesar, which I had gone past many times. There, I met an English speaking couple, Manual and Lena, originally of Bogota; recently from Toronto, and vacationing in Panama City to get away from the cold. They explained to me the pie pans coming out of the kitchen which, initially looked like gravy were, in fact, a Xmas eve only dish called Natilla, which gels to the consistancy of flan, and is served in slices, like pie.

Xmas day was likewise uneventful. Read by the pool till it started to rain, then retired to the den of my apartment. This time it was an electrical storm, and you could watch the lightening strike, or seem to strike the tall buildings. Directly to the South of my location, there was a water spout in the Bay of Panama. I´d never see a big one like that before.

This is a lot of verbiage to cover a little activity.....just like my life.Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

I haven`t much news since last Sunday. It`s been a fairly uneventful week so far.

Yesterday was the 17th anniversary of "Operation Just Cause" when the US invaded Panama. Nothing happened.

Today is three months post operation for me, and I walked for about two hours this morning. Now I can go to the pool and read and/or swim. I`m feeling pretty good, especially in the mornings; however, get tired in the afternoons. But, I guess I always did get tired in the afternoons, so nothing new.

Thanks for comments from both of my sisters.

My friend Elaine emailed me from her office in Boulder yesterday to say that it was snowing hard, and she was going home. Take a few snow days, Elaine. You deserve them.

I called Jack and Carol Claton using my new Skype account, and found them on the road to Vail for Xmas with her daughter. They were West of Albuquerque at the time, and I warned them about the snow storm. I got an email later that they are holed up in Las Vegas, NM for last night, and possibly tonight also.

I`ll update this again when something interesting happens, or on xmas day, whichever comes first.

ACCORDING TO PLAN

For a change, all went according to plan. I got up on time, hailed a cab that took me to the Embarcadro, purchased a ticket, boarded the Calypso Queen at 10:30 AM. In an hour, we docked in Tab0ga Island. I guess that`s about six miles per hour. It was a nice ride, with calm seas, and blue skies. Also, they didn`t have any diet cola, so I opted for a beer.

I met four people from Branson, Missouri. Jeannie and her husband Dennis own the local locksmith shop in Branson, and live at Branson Landing. They were traveling, as near as I can determine, with her brother and his friend.

Taboga Island is 1400 acres. I walked, first to the East down the beach with colorful umbrellas and nubile and young bodies, then to the West, almost to the end of town. This is not to say that I walked very far; however, this is the hottest I`ve been. You`ve GOT to have BOTH a breeze and shade on this island, and I was walking in the sun with no breeze.

Finally, I settled on the Vereda Tropical Hotel for lunch, and climbed the 41 steps up the side of a mountain to get to it. One reason I picked it was that I could see people on the balcony overlooking the ocean, and figuered that it would have an ocean view. The other was that it appeared to be one of only three restaurants on the island. It`s kind of nice to have such limited choices. You can pick from probably 251 brands of toilet paper....but here, only three restaurants.

On arriving at the summit, I found that the people I had observed from below were the Missourians from The Calypso Queen. The view included not only the ocean, but the "town" below, Panama City in the distance, and, in between, ships awaiting their turn to transit the canal.

I had lunch, and wondered why I was there. Then, attempting to live in the present, which I seldom do, I realized that the sky was still blue, I was in the shade, and there WAS a breeze, not to mention more cerveza. The waiter was congenial, the food was good, and it was nice to chat with my new acquaintances.

Since I had already done the town, and had not dressed for swimming, I decided to have a few more cervezas, then it was back on the Calypso Queen, and back to Panama City.

It only rained briefly while on the ocean, and I was under cover at the time, so STILL didn`t get wet.

I didn`t see THAT many flowers.

FAILED ATTEMPT

The electricity went off this morning with the coffee carafe only half full. The building has it`s own generator, as do all of the new buildings; however, little did I know that the building`s electric is only for the building. That is, the elevators and lock on the main door work, as do common area lights, but your apartment is toast. (I had already had my toast, too). I talked to the security guy on the way out, he he said lights were off in the whole area.

So, what to do? I thought it would be a good opportunity to go to Taboga Island since on my first attempt I was completely in the wrong area of town for the dock. I first went to the ATM and replenished my funds, then hailed a cab. The first one either didn`t understand or didn`t know where I wanted to go. The second one took me out the causeway, which is a really pretty area with views over the water back to the city. He took me to the ticket office, only to find that the last boat left at 8:30AM. It was 10AM by the time we got there. This time I got a schedule, and think I´ll go on Sunday at 10:30AM, and return on the 3PM. Maybe the third time will be a charm.

I asked my driver, Roberto, to take me to the Parque Natural Metropolitano, also known as "The Lungs of Panama City". The park is 655 acreas of wilderness within the city limits. We stopped at the visitor center. Unfortunately, the park is set up mostly for hikers and bikers, so we just drove through it. Then I decided to go to Allbrook Mall, where Roberto dropped me.

Although I had nothing to buy, the Mall itself is worth seeing. It is huge with most of the stores that you would find in an international mall. I walked the whole mall and had lunch at the food court, then, hailed another cab for home.

I have yet to get wet in the rain, which now seems to occur daily. I had no more than gotten in the cab, and it started to pour, and continued until within two blocks of my apartment. Once again, my luck is holding. Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket!

PHONE/PARADE

I wish to take a day trip to Taboga Island, a little island 11 miles off the Pacific coast of Panama, and known as the Island of Flowers. So, instead of PHONING them up for their schedule, as my PHONE ran out of time, I decided to walk down to Balboa, which runs along the ocean, and check out Pier 18 for myself, and then come back another day to take the trip.

Enroute to the seashore I came across huge crowds of Panamians, and soon discovered that I had run into the preparations for the Children`s Chrismas Parade. It was a giant affair with many horses and firemen and other such. I had struck out at 1:45pm, and reached Balboa Avenue at 2:30. Failing to find Pier 18, and tiring in the heat, I flagged a cab and headed for home. The cab couldn`t get through on a direct route due to the parade, and it took him a half hour to cover the ground I had walked in 45 minutes. The charge? $1.20.

Later that Sunday evening, after the end of the parade fireworks, as I walked out to dinner along the Via Argentina, the parade had just finished, and people were disbanding everywhere to go home and resume their week in the morning.

More about phones: My gracious landlord set me up with a Skype account, which uses VOIP "Voice over internet protocal". I finally got around to using it over the weekend, and the voice quality is excellent. The cost, which you charge to your credit card, on line, to the US is about $.03 per minute. I`ve talked for 33 minutes, and have been charged $1.02. YOU do the math.

Further, with regard to phones, my friend Jack used the free number I gave you earlier, and called me the day I arrived. It also worked well and he hasn´t told me that he´s been charged for it. There is a lot of static on the line, and I haven`t been able to make out going calls on it lately.

Just finished reading The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury. If you like all of Dan Brown`s works about secret and religious organizations, you will like this book. It is a good read and entertaining; however, the end was not very strong.

COMMENTS/WEATHER AND MORE

Thank you all for your comments. I wasn´t aware I had any until my brother, the Doctor turned meat counter clerk, alerted me to the fact that he had left one.

A word about the weather: Nice! I´ve been here a week now, and it has rained only two days....one day it rained twice; however, I´ve not been caught out in it, and it usually doesn´t last too long. The temperature in the daytime generally reaches 85, but there´s usually a nice breeze, which makes it seem cooler. At night, the temperature goes down to about 75, so it´s very pleasant after dark. The sun sets at 5:20, and it´s dark by a little after six. Considering that I rarely venture out after dark at home; it´s nice to take a stroll down the Via Espana or the Via Argentina, and stop for libations or dinner.

Speaking of dinner, I had KFC a couple of nights ago. Since this is one of TJ´s favorites, I had to rag him about it, especially since he has to drive 90 miles roundtrip in the snow to get it. I had to walk less than five minutes. I´ll try not to make a habit of that. There is a restaurant closer than KFC called the Naked Chicken. Their chicken is at least as good, and there´s no skin on it...hence the naked part.

The Chargers-Broncos game is about to start, so I´ll post more later.

MOTHER´S DAY

Today is December 7, which makes tomorrow Mother´s Day (only in Panama.) I´m told all the stores will be open as usual, so husbands and children can buy their gifts. Other than that, though, it´s a three day weekend, and many will head to the mountains and beaches.

To continue my journey, on Sunday morning, 12-03, I got on the elevator to go down to walk around and find some breakfast. When the elevator stopped, there was a nice young couple on it, who knew I was new here, as I was fumbling around looking for the "Lobby" button. He inquired, in perfect English, of course, if I was going to breakfast and if so, where. I replied yes, and I didn´t know. He then invited me to go with them in his car, and he would show me a couple of good places. I picked one in El Cangrego, and he let me out there, and I had a good breakfast!!

I later learned from my landlord, Eric, that Jaime is the President of the homeowners association.

So, I was off to a good start.

I´m sorry to report that I forgot the power cord and supply for my computer. Therefore, I am saving it for emergencies. This means that I can´t upload any of the pictures that I´ve taken.

Jack offered to mail it to me, but I thought I could buy one locally cheaper. I found that it would cost $135.00 to buy one....so I checked on DSL and FEDEX as that´s about the only way to get anything here. They wanted $215.00!! So, I guess I´ll just do without for now. Luckily, I am supplied a pc both here in in BA.

Let me hear from you if you´re reading these, as most of my email list is also in my powerless computer.

MEMORY TEST

This will be a challenge for my poor memory! I arrived, as scheduled, at 8:15pm local time, and even though the airline made me check my bag, I made it through immigration and customs in record time. I think I was the first one to complete everything.

True to his promise, my landlord was waiting, in his Audi baseball cap, with a sign that had my name on it.

His name is Eric Rodriguez, and I would guess his age as early 30`s. He owns the apartment and is an actuary for an insurance company. He is also Treasurer of the homeowner´s association. We went from the airport to the apartment in his (needless to say) Audi, where he introduced me to the security guard and the apartment where he had left me a nice bottle of Carmenere from Chile.

I ask him to point me toward the grocery store, as the airlines hadn`t fed me all day. I left Jack`s house at 6:AM, so I was a little hungry. He then drove me to the grocery store, and went in with me and found the few things that I needed for that night and the next morning. For dinner, I had cheese and crackers and the wine. To be continued.

BON VOYAGE

 As promised below, my sister hosted a Bon Voyage luncheon for me at Manual's in Green Valley on November 29th.  See the attached picture,  Jack and Carol Claton, Jack and Eileen Mundy, Charles and Mimi Trangsrud, and, of course, yours truly.  Conspicious in their absence were Charles and Carlen Goehring.

MAX, THE DOG

 Mr friends Kathy and Wade wanted to know what happened to Max since I had the quad bypass, and I'm now leaving the country for four months.

Max, my 80 lb Bernese Mountain Dog, was so big and ready to play, that I couldn't handle him after my surgery.  Before going to the hospital, I had checked him in with my groomer in Green Valley, who takes him home with her.  When I found that I was going to be in for six days instead of one, I called her, and she extended his stay until I got out.

I had rescued Max from a rescue league about a year ago.  One of the conditions is that if you can't keep him for any reason, you have to return him to them.  So I called them, and they were very nice about it.  My friend Jack picked him up from the groomer, and took him straight to the rescue league, so I didn't even see him after dropping him off at the groomer.

I checked later, and Maureen at the Rescue League said that they had placed him almost immediately with a new home, and that he now has a doggy friend, and an acre of running room.
So, at least, I don't have to worry about Max, nor feel guilty about abandoning him.

Horrible Picture

 Wow.  Those self pictures suck!!  I'll post one taken some three months and 22lbs later, but I have to master the camera first.  Speaking of pictures, my lovely younger sister, Mimi, is hosting a bon voyage luncheon for me this Wednesday at Manual's Mexican Restaurant in Green Valley.  If I get some good pictures, I'll put some here.

THANKSGIVING

 I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving, as did I; spent with friends Jack and Carol Claton who prepared the turkey and hosted the event. Also there were Charles & Carlen Goehring.  Notably missing was friend TJ, who has moved to the wilds of Nebraska.

It's a beautiful Sunday morning in Green Valley; and while I have about a hundred things yet to do to get ready for my trip,  wanted to get this started BEFORE I leave.

The reason for the urgency (if anything I ever do is urgent)  is that I will be leaving on a four month trip beginning December 2, 2006, and ending on or about April 1, 2007.

I hope to keep this as a journal of my travels, and, with luck, post some pictures.

Let me hear from you as to whether you like what you see or not, so I'll know if I have an audience, or whether I'm tilting at windmills (read pissing in the wind).

We'll let the fun begin a week from today, at which time, I should be in place in Panama City.