Return from the Aromas Campground to a Doggie/Cat hospital at Latitude 08

After spending three weeks in California doing the annual tax stuff that needs to be done for being an American citizen (the only country in the world which taxes its’ citizens who do not even live there) and working a little for the Authority I have shed my long pants and shirts and returned to Panama. It was the first time I have spent three weeks in the little trailer we have on the Aromas property and it worked really well. I think the secret is the two sheds we have deemed “the closet” and “the garage”. That way we don’t have to stuff all our stuff into the trailer itself. Anyway, I packed the Worlds Largest Suitcase and one of its smaller brothers and returned home just below weight limit with lots of goodies.

Immediately after getting home I was swept up in the preparations for a spay/neuter clinic in our little town. You need to know that there are a lot of unwanted dogs who roam the towns of Panama and the local solution has historically been to put out poison bait and give them a slow painful death. In the past ten years several expat organizations have put together platoons of volunteer vets and technicians who swoop into an area and do marathon spay and neuter clinics which allows the dogs live but just takes the thrill out of their reproductive lives. So was the San Carlos clinic. Last Sunday I was the taxi for locals with no transportation to or from the clinic and the trapper of vagrant cats. Linda was the recovery room caregiver for dog’s ears. In one night and one day we sterilized 168 dog and cats and lost only one….the mother cat that lived next door to us and had produced at least 15 kittens in past six months. See the website at spaypanama.org and look for San Carlos. It was a well coordinated effort and most everyone had a good time, except the dogs and cats who were a little sore for a few days.

Anyway, things are back to the Panama norm of always 81 F, always changes in plans and almost always smiling’.

I did not make this move alone

You know, to this point I have done all the writing and that is not fair since Linda has been my partner in all this stuff. She recently sent some friends in Aromas a summary of her impressions of our few months in Panama.

Here it is:

" I'm sharing some of my thoughts about Stephen's and my new home here in San Carlos Panama. San Carlos is located on the Pacific side of the country about an hour's drive W from Panama City. For the past 3 months we've been creating our new home, friends and affiliates. All the while doing it in a foreign (to us) language and culture. We're studying Spanish and trying to learn the local culture so as not to offend and to understand. We've met tons of expats from the US and Canada. Most have good stories - some may even be true.

Many expats live in gated communities with only the local contacts being their housekeepers and gardeners. A lot of them are comfortable with that sort of lifestyle from past government careers, exclusive lifestyles and outlooks. S and I were looking to become a part of a local community. Naturally we're looked upon as outsiders but not unkindly. S began teaching at an International School 2 days a week. I'm involved with an animal group entitled, Spay Panama. I'm helping to coordinate a spay/neuter clinic in San Carlos later this month.

I'm finding that change is a little more taxing than I had anticipated. Perhaps it's my age, perhaps my sense of adventure isn't as piqued as it once was... Accomplishing tasks takes far longer than anyone could ever imagine. Sourcing items is far different than in first world nations. A new realization for me is that in the US we have always taken for granted that we can purchase any item we need - and if it's out of stock, we simply order it or go to a different store. Not so here. If you see something you need - or will ever need - purchase everything that is on the store shelf because you may never see it again. Especially in grocery stores. I now have 8- 2 lb bags of brown rice in my refrigerator!

All in all, S and I are still excited and looking forward to exploring our new country. There are only 3 million people here with beautiful beaches, mountains, rivers and forests. To date we've only experienced a tiny portion of what Panama has to offer.

Below are some of my current findings:

Some good news
the US dollar is the local currency
Official retired status gives b/w 10-20% discount on food, drugs, movies, flights, etc.
warm weather
warm water (no wet suits required)
good health care and insurance available at affordable prices
affordable housing
house keepers available for $10 per day
daily laborers charge approx $12 daily
dog leashes never required
dogs can run freely on all beaches
Panama City is cosmopolitan and has nearly everything you could want; however, finding it is challenging
Panama City residents are typically well educated, well traveled and speak at least 2 languages
buses are plentiful, inexpensive and run regularly
household/hardware items are plentiful and inexpensive
And some not so good news:
the US dollar is the local currency
constant warm weather breeds many pesky bugs such as ticks like you can't imagine
most all of the beaches have lava rock beneath the water. Surfing is not for sissies.
house keepers and laborers have very different standards than North Americans
most dogs and cats are not spayed/neutered
Panama City is in such a growth spurt that it's difficult to recognize from month to month and makes driving quite sporting. It currently has more skyscrapers than many US cities.
buses play local music at deafening levels along with air conditioning temps requiring sweaters and scarves
Household/hardware items are mostly cheesy products made specifically for developing nations. By North American standards, most items are worthless.
Locals outside of Panama City are literate but not educated. The educational system here is rote memorization. Students are not taught to think or problem solve. Employees rigidly adhere to rules and are unable to work outside of them. For instance, if an item does not have a UPC code on it, a cashier will not sell it - at any price. Even grocery clerks will not sell the last bag of coffee or only head of lettuce to a customer if the code is missing. No amount of reasoning will change the clerk's mind - even if you can speak enough Spanish&^%$#@!
There are more items in the good news list, so we still are positive about our move. It's only been 3 months and the house is nearly the way we want it. Oh and we have increased our family with a new stay kitten and street dog named Negrita. Two cats and two dogs seem to be a nice balance - for now.

Miss you all and especially discussing books - any books!!!
Linda"

A trip to the end of the road

Hi there,

Sorry I have not posted anything for a while but life just gets busy when you are retired.

I am now sitting a crowded garage office we still have in Aromas. It is cold and raining out and I have been here for over a week working on two sets of income taxes and also at the Authority (for a few bucks). I called my son Tyler on this birthday on the 2nd and did not reach him. That always leaves a vacant feeling....oh well.

The campsite of a trailer and two sheds we made on the property works well but it seems I am always schlepping something up or down the hill to the office. In real camping I would be schlepping firewood and water but here it is laptops, briefcases and water.

Of course people here ask me how I like living in Panama, what is it like and lots of other questions. And sitting in this garage it seems like a long ways away right now and except for my images of Linda and our house and dogs it is a little fuzzy. Guess that’s because I am cold and lonely here. I really look forward to the daily Skype calls with Linda. Now we can fight long distance and actually see each other! But that is who we are.

I am almost to the end of the income tax stuff for both us and mom. Of course that just means I am done and give it to the respective “bookies” to gin up the results. Then a week of working and packing and back to Latitude 8 on March 15th, The Ides of March. This working takes a lot of time.

But that is not where I started on this episode so here is the fun stuff.

A few weeks ago Linda and I took a very short road trip with surf friend Obie and her two kids to a surf spot about 160 miles from home. The destination was Quanico, a crescent bay on a road not shown on any maps. The road ends at the beach were there is a single restaurant and two rooms for rent. And the only communication is the pay phone at the restaurant. But the rooms have satellite TV and AC.

Linda and Obie surfed their hearts out (witness the pic) and the kids played. Down the beach about ½ mile is a compound built by two young Brits, Russell and Laura. It is truly a work of art with wonderful craftsmanship and a warm feeling. The two pics are of the main house and the outdoor shower.