Hurry Up & Wait

Things down here go at their own pace.  

I have been trying to get an Internet provider to survey our property for an installation since Sunday.  He finally showed up today, at the last minute.   My second appointment didn't show up at all.

And that's the way it goes.  Here are some more quirky aspects to Panama that make me chuckle.

They are "fixing" the potholes in the black top, asphalt road in front of the fair grounds for the festival.  The holes are filled with sand...that's it...no asphalt patch, just sand.  Of course, the sand is pushed out of the potholes in a matter of hours.  You might say, why bother.  I can't answer that but it made me laugh.

The curtains in my room are floor to ceiling panels of material.  They are bunched in the middle to open the curtains.  The way the curtains are pulled together in the middle is by bundling the middle with wire and plastic bag ties...like the ones you get to close plastic bread sacks.  I can see using a rope or string or ribbon but bag ties?  Only in Panama!

My days have been somewhat busy but the nights are lonely with Yella still in Colorado.  I typically eat dinner alone, then return to my room to read and sleep.  Meeting people this trip has been more difficult, probably because Yella is more social than I am.

This evening, I was walking past the festival grounds and saw an friend from a past trip.  She invited me over to meet her friends and join them.   A little bit of friendship and camaraderie goes a lone way to dispelling loneliness!   They went out of their way to include me in their group.  I am very appreciative.

One last thing.  Keith helps people buy used cars here.  Buying a used car is tricky in Panama because they rarely maintain anything.  Typically, they sell the car when it runs out of oil, having never changed it.  So, you can imagine the challenge.  Keith has been here a while and knows cars so he locates, checks out and licenses cars for us green gringos.  

I have him looking for a Toyota, 4x4 truck because our road is a mess...a huge mess and I won't fix it because my neighbors (except Bill) won't chip in to help pay for it.  So, I will buy whatever it takes to get up the road...tank, bulldozer, off road vehicle...whatever.

Keith located a Hilux in Panama City so I am taking him to the airport tomorrow at the totally uncivil time of 6 am.  With any luck, he will return on Saturday with a truck for us.  This is one of the big milestones in the acclimation process.

Now, if I can only get the house finished in 2 weeks...

Ahhmm...maybe I should read the first line I wrote for this blog entry