Odds & Ends

I was thinking about our mechanic and how different things are done here.

He needed to replace our cam shaft, a major motor part. He found one at a shop close to the frontera to Costa Rico, about a 2 hour drive. So he hops on a bus, $8, and goes and gets the part, which takes him all day.

Why? The cost of driving a car would be 2 or 3 times the cost of the bus just for fuel. And, time is not supreme here.

Now, that would never happen in the USA.

I went to my first acting rehearsal with my partner. I didn't know this woman and I had no idea who or what she is. We are preparing a scene from the Woody Allen movie, Annie Hall.

I already told the teacher that I wasn't memorizing 5 pages of lines because I'm too busy and I hate to memorize. Fortunately, she is on the same page with all this. We were off to a good start.

So we launched into the rehearsal.

Acting is HARD! Not only do you have to create a character but you have to know where to move and stand and what props to use. After 90 minutes, we had it roughed out, with the emphasis on rough.

As I was delivering my lines, I couldn't get Woody Allen out of my head. That wimpy, winy, loser persona. I don't want to be Woody Allen, even in pretend!

We went through the scene about 8 times. You that have acted probably know this. As we repeated each run through, the character starts to seep into you more and more. At the end of the rehearsal, returning to "myself" was disorienting. I didn't even know I had moved off being myself. It just happened with the repetition of the scene.

I didn't think that would happen. I was going to quit the class this week. Maybe I will stick around and see how it turns out. Or, he might kick me out because I won't memorized the lines.

Either way, I'm OK.

It's been a relaxing weekend. The rat race starts again tomorrow. Yella heads to David to see the lawyer. I head out to the house early to get the plumber started on fixing everything. And, if Yella gets any negative information about Union Fenosa from our attorney, I will go to David.

So it's off and running tomorrow.

The Organica Store

It's a lazy Saturday.

We went to our house, after a late start, to pay the workers. Saturday is always payday so they can fiesta on Saturday night...the big, big party night!

The amount to pay them was a little nebulous so I took the young labors and Yella took the tree cutters and we marched off into Espanol land. Believe it or not, we had enough Spanish to verify the proper pay. They did get a good laugh at both of us, listening to our Spanish. Who can blame them. We are really bad at it!

But it feels good to be able to bumble through it and communicate on any level.

On the way, we passed our builder, kept going and waved. On the way back, we passed him again, kept going and waved.

Oh, did this feel good! In the past, I would turn around and chase him down to bitch at him. Now he is trying to find us. Hallelujah, this is fun! We have learned how to use The Great Panamanian Avoidance Dance and turn it on him.

Do I sound too spiteful? Well, it's our turn, isn't it? Still spiteful, you say. I can't help it. I love it! Some of it is the satisfaction of getting the job done on our own. But, I admit it, there is some payback for sure.

In town, we stopped at the Organica store. This is a branch store of a big health and organic store in Panama City. Generally, they have a few things and they will order any thing you want but it takes weeks, sometimes months, to get it or they simply never get it.

So, the selection is marginal but we are grateful to have anything at all.

We have been having trouble sleeping. A lot of this is age. What I would give to sleep like a log through the night again!

But, some of the insomnia is concern and worry based. A friend recommended something he got at Any's Farmacia. He walked in and asked them for something for insomnia and, walla, they gave him this drug. I looked it up and it is an anti-depressant, sometimes used for insomnia. We didn't want to take this.

Another friend recommended a natural remedy called melatonin.

So back to the Organica store. We asked about melatonin and they had it! What a surprise. That got us into the spirit of looking around. I found some gluten free pancake mix which I snapped up.

I used to cook a mean pancake in Colorado using gluten free stuff. This was going to be like going home!

As soon as I got home (11:15) I started to make pancakes. Wow! Were they good! With a huge dose of nostalgia thrown in to boot.

I put honey on the pancakes. I purchased a 24 oz. bottle of organic honey at the super mercado for $5.25. I have no idea what this would cost in the US anymore but it seemed like a good buy.

Later in the afternoon we have a quick rehearsal for some Indigo Girls songs which we will be playing at a party next weekend.

Then, we are going out to eat...just Yella and I. This sure feels like a day off and what a Saturday should be.

Ah, Saturday!

Agua, Sort Of

I am a parts runner. And a ditch digger or anything else that will keep things moving.

The name of the game is : clear all obstacles in front of the workers to keep things moving!

I got a call from our "all around" guy with a request for parts on my way to the house. Now that's the way I like it. A Panamanian that calls me when he needs something.

So I went to Lily's, the store for everything, and got the stuff. As I was pulling up to our house, he calls again for more parts. No problem. I drop off what I have and head back for more.

Anything to keep things moving!

Then I picked up a shovel and poked around to locate the water line to the casita and the water line to the house. They don't mark anything here. Labor is so cheap why not dig around to find things.

Well, I'm the labor now.

So I start looking and found both lines. It was kind of fun, like a game...find the water line.

Back to Lily's for more parts. Then ditch digging. I dug the trench for the water lines so he didn't have to...anything to keep things moving...right?

You got the picture.

At 4:30 we pressured up the system with the water main pressure, about 20 psi, not much pressure but better than a month ago. In the house no leaks, but a couple of leaks in the system we installed outside.

No problem. Back to Lily's for a couple of parts. Tomorrow we will finish the system.

And, we will power up the electric pump and test the system at 45 to 50 psi and see what happens.

We are getting close to the end. Yella and I will buy appliances early next week with delivery, hopefully, by the end of the week.

Maybe--just maybe--we will be in the house by September 15th.

I have to say, it is getting exciting!

Aren't We supposed to be Slowing Down?

Are we busy or what!

Between finishing the house, rehearsing for some more music, my guitar practice every day, acting class with lines to memorize and learning Spanish we are busy...not to mention socializing.

I have noted this before. We go out about 2 to 3 times a week in the evening to socialize.

We didn't go out 2 to 3 times in 6 months back in Colorado. This seems natural here. There are so many available and interesting people to hang out with.

This doesn't include bumping into people during the day. As we go about our day, we see friends around town and stop to visit, sometimes for a couple of hours. Maybe that's why we feel so busy!

So much to update you on....

The house is moving along. The pressure water and filtration system will be completed tomorrow. That is a big step. Next step, fixing the crappy plumbing installed by our illustrious builder.

Speaking of builder, he has been texting us saying he is finished and he wants his last payment. So we have been putting The Great Panamanian Avoidance Dance back on him. After all, he taught us well. It has been fun, fun, fun.

We effectively fired him 3 weeks ago and until today, he had no idea. You see, he hasn't been to our house in 3 weeks, so how would he know we are busy finishing it without him.

We bumped into him late in the afternoon today. This was my trick, track him down driving around town. He turned it against us and caught us unaware! We sat him down to tell him that we were finishing the house without him. We did it with kindness and finesse. I think he was left OK but still chagrin about his lack of performance and completion. Perfect! We want to maintain a friendship with him for the future and we want him to shoulder his responsibility in the matter. I think we got both.

He will go up to the house and see the plumbing mess tomorrow. This is good. He needs to know how his workers messed up. He knows that we have hired another plumber to fix his mess and he is out of the loop.

I feel sorry for him in a way. He is a good guy. He didn't rip us off for 10's of thousands of dollars like so many down here. He is simply a Panamanian builder...this is Panama after all. We are not going to change them nor should we...that is the Ugly American thing. And, it's not personal. Everyone gets the same slow construction with no completion.

Yella and I have been spending a lot of time at our house. This is good. We are "bonding with the house" and "being one with the house." OK, you can stop puking now.

All kidding aside, it feels good to be involved with the completion process. All in all, when we are in the house, it will mean more to us because of the extremely tedious process.

I hope!

I went to David to see union Fenosa about our power or, I should say, lack of power. After about 30 minutes, they said we had a 100 amp service when our plans specified a 60 amp service so they didn't do anything. They just stopped. In order to fix it, I bought a 60 amp breaker and screwed it in...$20 and 5 minutes.

Now, they don't tell you ANYTHING. You have to go dig it out. Another 3 weeks lost time.

We are getting used to it.

Now about our car...

You may remember that the motor is being rebuilt. And rebuilt and rebuilt and rebuilt and rebuilt...

This is the never ending rebuild. Why? A very thorough Panamanian mechanic who works linearly. So we take the block to the David machine shop, wait a few days, get it back, see something else, take it to David, wait a couple of days, do the next step, take it to David and so on.

We will have The Perfect Motor! I think it will be worth it. We are willing to spend a couple of extra weeks without a car to get a great job. It should all cost less that $1200.

Tomorrow...Tom to the house to run parts and anything else, Yella to David to see our attorney.

Life in the fast lane!

Las Olas Resort

Alas, I didn't have our camera for the beach. Without our car, I don't have the things we normally carry, like a camera.

Anyway, we went to the Las Olas Resort and Condos. This is about 75 minutes from Boquete so it is closer than the other beach I blogged about earlier.

Saturday morning, I started early and went to David to pick up our repaired generator. After a two hour trip and $90 dollars, the generator was back at our house. Construction was delayed 3 days by the loss of the generator so I was anxious to get the generator back in service.

We headed out to Las Olas Resort and Condos at 9:30. I am afraid I was behaving badly at this point.

I didn't know where the condos were, the directions were fuzzy, we were sharing a condo with a couple we don't know well and bringing food without any coordination.

I didn't like it.

Then we stopped to get food. Yella went in and I stayed to watch our stuff in the back of our borrowed pickup truck. I waited and waited and waited and waited. After a really long time, Yella emerged.

I was not happy.

Looking back, I just don't like to wander into unknown situations with this little bit of preparation. And that makes me cranky.

I did recover nicely, though.

We had a great time. The condo was ritzy and our friends were easy to be with. That solved a lot of problems.

A little about the beach, La Barqueta. (This beach goes all the way to Costa Rico 30 miles to the west.)

It is dangerous. There are powerful rip tides with several people dying each year. This is terrifying because few people go to this beach. The resort is almost empty. If you can see 20 people on the 30 mile stretch of beach on any given day, that's a lot.

So, the death to people usage is ridiculously high!

We were going to a benefit to raise money for a life guard for the beach.

Let me put this in perspective.

The life guard was living in a closet behind a bar without windows, water much less bathroom, or kitchen. Gringos with houses or condos on the beach were giving him stuff like a gas hot plate so he could cook. Panamanians have a different perspective on what it takes to live.

And, he is an extremely qualified life guard who has already prevented deaths and saved lives.

A little aside about the dead bodies...they wash up on one of our friend's beach, in front of her house. Now that makes for a pleasant morning. I can hear their morning conversations: "Good morning dear. Take a look at the newest body on our beach. Do you or I want to call the police this time. Pass the toast dear." She seemed proud that her beach was the chosen one. Got to love those rip tides!

The benefit was a concert held in an open air restaurant on the beach. It was lovely. A cool ocean breeze, a fantastic jazz band that wasn't to stuck up to break out in some rock and roll and, of course, Yella sang a few songs.

As the night wore on, the drunkenness escalated. One of my friends got in a drunken frenzy about losing his wife. I took pity on him and searched the beach only to find her in our condo getting rip roaring drunk with a few friends.

That didn't go over well with the husband, but he was just as drunk as she was. Do 2 drunks make a right?

We got up this morning and went boogie boarding. Now, that is fun!

What you say, why and the hell were we swimming in water that kills people?

Well, there is a life guard now. And, the beach is safe at low tide. And, we were with surfers and several others on boogie boards.

There were no rip tides.

One last thought...holy shit it's hot on the beach! I am so glad we didn't buy property on the beach! It is too hot!

All the Emotional Spaces of Panama

As I looked over my blogs in August, I was struck by the extreme variation in emotions, over only 2 weeks.

The fun of the beach, the bankrupt desperation and frustration around finishing the house, recovery and taking responsibility for finishing the house, and now, the satisfaction of working with a reputable, jack-of-all-trades to complete the house.

Yella and I both were at the house today. Yella was picking up construction debris and I was running around putting out fires.

At 9:30 the generator quit producing electricity. We tried re-setting the breakers, unplugging things and generally banging on it. No go.

So off to David to the generator repair shop. This is always an adventure because there are no street signs so directions are all "go to this place, left to the church, etc." I found the shop on my second try which is pretty good! I will find out tomorrow how much time the generator will be down. The owner is named Israel and speaks a little English. Man, does that make things easier.

I looked around for a rental shop. After a couple of tries, I located one with an American owner who spoke English. But, they want $25 per day to rent a generator. I think I will wait to see how bad we need it. Hell, I can buy a small generator--enough to run power tools--for $300.

We have a couple of teenagers with machetes cutting down the weeds so we can see what needs to be cut up and hauled off. These are weeds on steroids, 5 to 7 feet tall. This is all growth this rainy season since May. Amazing! If we had cleaned up the property when we had the chance in April, we wouldn't have to cut the weeds again. For your info, they get $15 a day.

It started to rain at 2:30 and it is still raining at 8:30 pm. Looks like it might go all night. I guess we are in the thick of the wet season.

The Spirit of Helping

Maybe the Panamanian culture rubs off on us.

There is a spirit of helping in Boquete. This propensity to serve is innate to Panamanians. They will drop everything to help you. Sometimes for hours. Whatever it takes. I find this one of the most endearing qualities in Panama.

Some gringos have picked up this marvelous tendency.

Our car is in the shop for 2 weeks. We were using a car left in our care while a couple is back in the US but this car developed a leaky radiator so we had to park it.

No problem. Another friend gave us his truck to use until ours is repaired.

I walked down to Boquete yesterday morning to pick up the truck. Monday was a big day because we were starting the installation of our water system. We had to meet the supplier and the man installing the system.

I stopped by Dorado Park for a quick breakfast on my way to Super Centro Lily. I had coffee and an omelet with cheese and vegetables, all for $2.35. Hard to beat that.

On to the amazing store, Super Centro Lily. Don't let the name "super" fool you. Any store bigger than a phone booth is called "super". (Did I just date myself by saying phone booth?)

However, Lily's is amazing. They have groceries, household goods and construction materials including plumbing, electrical, cement, block and more. All in a fairly small space.

I met our installer and purchased everything...let me say this again...everything (you know by now that finding everything is not possible in Panama) that we needed in the way of fittings for the system.

The day was filled with trips to our house, back to Lily's to get more, to the house and so on...all day.

(An aside...there are 2 things that are expensive in Panama, fuel and plastic. The fuel is obvious but why plastic? I don't know.)

I met the supplier in the afternoon with his truck and our 660 gallon water tank, then we drove to our house.

Now the problem.

How to get a 660 gallon water tank up a slope to it's final location. There were three of us and the tank wasn't that heavy. But it was bulky and all the spaces were restricted with a roof overhang, retaining walls and steep slopes full of brush.

In the US, of course, the truck would have a boom and crane, simply picking the tank up and putting it in place.

We must have looked like the 3 Stooges walking this tank around. We almost lost a guy at one point but he recovered. In the end, we muscled the tank into place.

Oh, I forgot to mention, it was pouring down rain just to make matters interesting.

As we stood talking afterward--a Panamanian, an Italian and me--we did get communication accomplished with much hand waving, a smattering of 3 languages and the camaraderie of a difficult task completed.

These are interesting times, for sure.

Bring on the Agua

In the magic Land of Panama, what works today, may not work tomorrow. What is in the store today, most likely won't be there later.

Believe it or not, we are getting used to it. And it's not too bad, really.

At the house, our water pressure was great during concrete construction last year. Now, it sucks.

I can put my finger over the spigot and stop the water. I have been telling our builder about this for months and months. He keeps telling me how good it is. I tell him again, he tells me again and on and on it goes.

Finally, about 5 weeks ago, I make him turn the water on and see for himself. You wonder why I didn't do this before. Well, he is the master of avoidance and it has taken me months to be at our house when he was there also.

He says, "your water pressure is very bad." I want to slug him. This is what I've been saying for months and months. He ignores this little fact.

For the last 5 weeks, the water company said they will run a new line so we have pressure...and they don't show up week after week.

Finally, this week, I stop by the water company (this is in a family home which is a Panamanian style house with hot and cold running children, the grandparents and others), the wife gets him on the phone and my translator talks to him...direct communication, not through my builder.

This is key...no builder in the middle of communication. It has become apparent that this guy is so far behind the eight ball that most task, issues, communications, etc. don't see the light of day, much less get done.

Back to the water guy...

He says he will fix it this Sunday. Last Wednesday, I am lucky enough to be at our house when he shows up to survey the situation. What luck! We talk with hand gestures and a little Spanish/English. I have a little confidence that it will happen.

So now it is Sunday. And I am going to my house with absolutely no expectation that things will get done. I'm learning--not fast but it's coming.

As I am a mile away from the house, I see the water guy walking down the road, carrying a pick, shovel, pipe and a bag of stuff, with a 5 year old daughter and a 7 year old son. They are headed to my house.

I stop and give him a ride. But first, we go back a 1/2 mile to his house and pick up his wife and baby to join us.

Off we go...

He starts to work. Lucky I was there. First he needs a couple of elbows and I find them. Then he needs something else and we have it. This goes on a couple of times. And, he gets the water hooked up.

Holy shit!

If you are following the blog, you know how difficult it is to get anything done. And we got it done. Wow! Double wow!

I am struck by the difference with the way things are here.

He walks to work, carrying more than most of us would get in a pickup. He goes with the whole family. Under these conditions, who would actually think anything could get done.

I was so grateful that they went to extraordinary lengths to help us out.

I am left speechless at the things that Panamanians take in stride. It's just another day to them.

Woodstock vs. Panama

Woodstock's 40th anniversary...the press is ringing with the good, bad and indifferent for the impact of this event on our lives.

For me, Woodstock was an expression of the times rather than something that creates the times. This event arose from the 60's rather than shaped the 60's and beyond. No 60's, no Woodstock.

Anyway, a friend sent me an article about Woodstock and this got me thinking. Never a good idea, me thinking.

I didn't go and I am grateful for that. After all, 3 days of thirst, starvation and mind numbing mud is not my cup of tea. The music would have been wonderful but not in that discomfort. The bragging rights to say "I was there" might have yielded enough mileage to justify the problems, but I think not.

I will have to admit that Woodstock may have catapulted Yella, our friend and I onto the road to play music in the 70's.

Or maybe it was simply YOUTH. What a fantastic time of life. We would pick up and head out in any direction in those days. And we did. Carefree, blissfully ignorant of life and infinitely energetic.

Some may think that our relocation to Panama is a second childhood, emulating the spirit of youth and our adventures in the 70's when we were on the road playing music.

Not really.

After all, I created a detailed spreadsheet to justify our move. Where is the spontaneity in that. And every little setback sends us into a tailspin where we consider returning to the US with our tail between our legs. No resilience of youth there.

No this move to Panama is something different. This is the mature version of "Let's get crazy!" Is "mature version" an oxymoron?

We are trying to make the best of the advanced years of our life by stretching the dollar so we can live more comfortably. In paradise, of course. Without the economic necessity of living in a third world nation, I doubt we would have had the courage to make this move.

I must admit, there are many attractive attributes to an adventure like this. I am grateful that the economic push made this possible.

I am sitting at a window, looking out down to the sea, through a symphony of green, leisurely drinking coffee, relaxing before Spanish class...

I wouldn't be doing that in Colorado. I'd be commuting to work, struggling to make it through the recession, wondering why my life lacked inspiration.

A Haircut & More...

The power went out in Boquete today for several hours. I went to the barber shop just on a whim that he might still do a haircut in the dark.

This is an old style, guys barber shop with the pole outside and the old, metal chairs with the ornate iron arm and foot rests. 2 chairs and 1 barber.

He indicates that he will do the haircut without power so I sit down. As he works, the rain starts and I close my eyes and relax...rain, a quite barber and dark.

Very pleasant.

As usual, he cuts my hair too short but I speak little Spanish and he speaks no English so what do I expect anyway.

The progress on our house has taken a turn for the better. This may be because we resolved our own issues on how to proceed.

Yella wanted to draw the line and, if necessary, fire the builder and finish the house ourselves. At first this upset me. I wanted to nurse the builder along and keep the pressure up.

My way wasn't working. So I agreed to Yella's plan. I really, really, really didn't want to do it! I know I'm a little pig headed but I did not know the depth to which I am attached to my way. Rarely do Yella and I share a project so my addiction to my way is not exposed.

It was exposed in the last week. I took quit an ass whipping over this. And, as always, that's a good thing.

As we started to line up people to finish the house, the magic started.

Our builder is finishing the house...with our help!

This came about in an interesting fashion. We went to his house to fire him last Monday but he was sick...very sick, so we postponed it because it would be too cruel to fire a sick guy.

The next day, I went back, picked up the cabinet maker (the builder's truck was broken and he couldn't get workers to the house) and took him to our house to finish the cabinets, which he did. As I returned him, I saw the builder and started to talk to him. This was the first time I had the opportunity to fired him and it worried me.

He apologized for the delays with his sickness which I accepted. I said that one of our friends offered to finish the electric (very little left) for free, as a favor to us. He thought that was great.

Now that I was on a roll, I asked him when he was going to finish cutting down the trees and cleaning up. He hemmed and hawed. I said I had 2 guys and a truck for $35 a load who could do it. He said OK and was clearly relieved that this was off his plate.

Alright! Things are starting to go our way.

He is obviously overloaded and open to any help he can get. So we are now helping him by finding people to finish the work with it paid out of his final payment.

I never thought this would work out! It is magical when hard line attitudes and set way are relaxed and given up. I had to give up my way, nursing him along, and Yella had to get into the game and commit to finishing the house herself. This combination resulted in a new, unknown solution that works for us and the builder.

Will wonders never cease!

You can teach an old dog new tricks.

Panamanians Love Toyota

My friends left me their 1976 Toyota Land Cruiser while they are back in the States. This is fortuitous because our car is in the shop and we need a vehicle.

Alright, a loaner car in a time of need.

This isn't just any old Land Cruiser. It has different colors on the doors, quarter panels and body from repeated repairs.

The leaf springs on the front axle are clearly visible. This gives a ride somewhere between brain homogenizing and spine crushing. Lucky, I have false teeth or the fillings would rattle out.

But the most charming item is the key.

It falls out of the key holder on the column. You are supposed to remember to loop a rubber band over the key to hold it in place. Except for engaging the starter, the key is not necessary to run the beast. It will run once started without the key.

So, the key tends to fall out on the floor. No problem you say. Well, the floor has holes in it. There's plenty of road visible between your feet. If the key falls through the holes, goodbye for good on these roads! Then you couldn't start it again. So the key popping out is a constant concern.

The engine is turned off by pulling out a level that shuts off the fuel. This leads to an interesting starting procedure when you forget to push the lever back in.

I drove the Land Cruiser to our wood shop. As soon as the cabinet maker walked out of the building, he started to gush about the Toyota. You got to remember, this is a multi-colored car that looks like crap.

They love'em here.

He thought more about this 1976 car than anything else that has approached his shop. He went on and on again about how his father had one, etc.

Any time I arrive on a job site with a Toyota, no matter how old, they love'em.

Toyota rules in Panama.

By the way, this car runs like a Swiss watch. The owner is a mechanic and keeps it in perfect mechanical condition. Can't say the same about the looks though.

It's War!

We left the house early this morning to meet our iron worker. When we found him, he couldn't work because our builder had taken the keys that were on the kitchen counter for every one's use.

Them was fight'en actions.

This pinhead builder keeps demanding paint to finish painting the house. We told him repeatedly that we want to paint LAST, after everything else is finished. He took the keys in revenge for us not giving him the paint. What a child.

And, he lies.

He said on Thursday, Friday and Saturday that he would have the carpenter finish the cabinets, a hours work at most. This guy lies through his teeth time and time again. On Saturday, at 10:30, he even said he was going to the house with the carpenter to finish. Of course, he didn't.

What the hell are we supposed to do with these people?

I fired off a text message saying that I am very disappointed by the lack of progress and WHERE ARE THE F$$#@@#! KEYS! He fires back a nasty text.

We're not about to take that, so off to his house we go...and he's there. He answers the door looking like warmed over puke. He is sick as a dog but that doesn't stop us.

It's war, damn it!

We get the keys. He then lays another bullshit line on us, like we are going to believe it anymore.

Yella has been pushing to finish the house ourselves and, to my chagrin, I have been resisting, hoping this asshole would come through.

Now, I have to say she was right.

Yella has started to line up people to complete the house. Without him. She's got a good start on it. So far she has a clean up crew scheduled for Thursday and inquiries into other people. I have a plumber starting tomorrow to install the pressure water system.

We also contacted the water department and they say they will re-route the waterline Wednesday so we have good pressure.

Like we believe them after all there bullshit lies. We'll see...not hopeful, that's why we are installing a pressure water system.

Then we attacked the car problem. Yella wanted to just go get the car and screw the mechanic that never works on it. I wanted to talk to him to verify the situation first.

Turns out she was right again. When I talked to him, he said, "come pick the car up, I don't want to work on it." This guy is a real piece of work.

So now we have to get the car, which won't start. So the rat race is on.

At this point, I'll stop bitching and continue with the best part of Panama.

People here will help you and go to enormous lengths doing it!

I called our friend Keith the Car Guy. He started to help...and helped for over three hours.

He called a mechanic who met us at the car. He tried to start it, for not. We then towed it to a hill and tried to compression start it. Not go. We found a bigger hill and tried again. Walla, it finally started.

I now had every one's attention on how hard this car is to start. About time!

We went to the mechanic shop and started working. The clutch problem is the slave cylinder so we ran around town and actually found a rebuild kit, on our second try. Keith is tenacious and knows the tiniest shops imaginable.

Now the car is in the shop, with a capable mechanic. We are having him continue with the repairs until the damn thing runs and starts.

About time.

You would think this finding a mechanic thing would be easy but it is not. If Keith didn't speak Spanish fluently, if he didn't know every mechanic in the district, and know those little, out of the way, part closets (store is too big a word for these little shops), we wouldn't have gotten anywhere.

Sometimes it takes an extraordinary effort to do the simplest things. Thank God there are people that will do the extraordinary to help.

It makes a big difference. It is a huge relief to have the car in capable hands.

And it feels good to have progress on the house. When the builder finds out what we are doing, it could get ugly. We'll see.

It Sure Can Get Rough Down Here

First, a note on potholes.

The highway to David...very busy and dangerous...has a couple of stretches with major potholes. As buses or trucks approach the holes, they swerve around them, into on-coming traffic. This conveniently forces you to the edge of the road or worse off the road.

It sure pisses me off when this happens but that's the way it is.

On Friday, they patched the holes. Not with sand or gravel or rocks, but with actual asphalt. You know, the black sticky stuff that holds up over time.

Will wonders never cease!

Now on to the not so fun stuff.

We had a couple of bad days. It is always exacerbated by the construction problems.

It this case, Yella and I are arm wrestling over how to proceed finishing our house which means how do we badger, push, entice, threaten, berate, stomp, sucker punch, beg, cajole or plead with the builder to F#$@!!% finish the damn thing, OK!

We have diametrically opposed approaches.

As the problems arose, we started fighting and the fighting got worse and worse, culminating in a full blown BIG ONE.

At times like this, we wonder if we are going to make it down here.

The stress of living in a strange land is so threatening that it takes normal marriage differences and escalates them into marriage breakers.

We discussed sending Yella home...for good. In other words, throwing in the towel but Yella decided to stay.

We are still a little raw over the whole ordeal. We are speaking and tentatively liking each other but it is touch and go.

As in many fights, some good things come out of it.

This relocating to "paradise" is a tough one, for sure.

Heres the kicker, the clutch in the car went out. Now we have to fix the car. As you may recall, we have a problem starting the damn thing which has never been resolved.

This is the on-going case of the stuck glow plug. It seems there is no mechanic with the right tool to extract the broken glow plug. Except, the gringo mechanic at the mission.

He suckered me into taking the car back to him. He approached me at the music benefit last weekend and told me he would fix it if I leave the car for a day.

Well, you know how this is going. I left it Friday afternoon and he hasn't fixed it.

I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. How could I be so stupid to take it back to him. I am kicking myself in the pants for this. What a screw up.

So we have a car without a clutch and it doesn't start, so why do we need a clutch anyway.

This is an enormous problem. Now I have to go to the mission, try to start the car (unlikely), find a friend with a chain to tow it to a hill, try to compression start it, drive it to David to a high dollar mechanic, get a translator to talk to him, he may or may not be able to fix it. And, we will start the Panamanian, "tell them what they want to hear" bullshit and it will take for ever to get it fixed if it ever gets fixed.

F#$#@!!% I hate this!

This is the part of being in Panama that I could do without.

All the uncertainty, the run around, the never getting anything DONE!

And it is getting expensive in the relationship department.

The Beach on a Rainy Day

We went to the beach with 5 other couples.

Yella invited people that played music in some capacity. Some were bluegrass pickers, some were baroque flutists, some were rockers, some were just getting back into playing whatever. But everyone wanted to play music and sing.

We pulled out the old song books and reached into the cobweb corners of minds and dug out old songs that everyone knows. People really got into it, playing old songs. And we learned a few new ones and that was good too.

I discovered through Yella's efforts that it is much easier to pull together a party if you have a theme, like music. People got excited about this event. In reality, we played a little music but the main attraction was hanging out with each other and being by and in the ocean. The music really helped get people there. And, it was a good afternoon and late evening activity.

It rained both days.

You say, no good. Not so. It was cool and comfortable where it is normally muggy and hot. It was delightful.

We went swimming in the ocean in the rain. That is quite a treat. It feels very wet. The ocean was warmer that the rain. But both were warm.

And we got lucky. The chemistry between all of us was great. We met 2 couples that may become great friends--heart buddies--like we had in the US. We have missed deep friendships since we left. This was the beginning of some new friends. That was the icing on the cake for the the 2 days on the beach.

The other couples were fun and may become friends too.

There were no Space Suckers, those dreaded of all party poopers, people who are a black hole of fun and camaraderie, ruining a good time. None of them were present.

We got lucky!

It was a great time.

The hotel was running an off season rate of $40 per night per room. With food, room and tip, we spent a total $180 for two for 2 days. Not bad.

I think we will go back. Maybe next week! You can come along. Bring your guitar or tambourine or voice or just your ears. You'll like it.

A quick Panama aside...

As we were within 100 yards of our house, a truck was stuck across the road. It was loaded with gravel.

This road would look like a driveway to you. Narrow for one car only. It is two strips of concrete for the wheels to drive on. Off each side of concrete is a drop of several inches into mud. After all, it is the rainy season.

And it was raining. So, we grabbed the groceries and headed up the hill. Getting around the truck was ankle deep mud making the hike, how do I say it, dicey.

We made several trips back to unload the luggage. Just what you want returning from vacation.

Did they call a wrecker, you ask. No. They got shovels out and started digging, for 4 hours, until they finally freed it up. It was dark and wet by then.

Panama!

Pics & More...

As promised, pictures of the 40's cabaret show.

The second night went even better than Friday. We got a standing ovation with some people on the chairs. Liquor might have been a factor.

This weekend was soooo full of music.

Today we attended and played at a benefit concert to send a few orphanage kids to North Carolina for music training. A trip so far beyond possibility in their lives that it is actually inconceivable for them. You don't often get to contribute a gift of this magnitude. These kids have never been more than 20 miles from home. It was a privilege to be there and donate our performance.

I accompanied a lady for 2 songs. It is good to be considered for my talents alone rather than hanging onto the shirt tales of Yella. Not that I don't appreciate all the doors Yella has opened for me. I do! But still, it is good to stand on my own merit. Alright!

We performed 6 songs with another couple. Knocked it out of the park. The crowd was great.

We played outside, in the moon light, with a light breeze, temperature around 70 degrees, maybe 100 people attending. A perfect, breathtaking night. Many of the performers were formidable and enjoyable.

We raise over $2000 for the kids which was enough to finish financing their trip.

We returned home exhausted but full.

Three nights of music! It was great!

Now on to the beach for 2 days. Las Lajas Beach Resort here we come...

August...Already!

I climbed out of bed and looked at my watch...August!!! Wow! Where does the time go?

We got a call from our builder at 9:45 last night. What?! He never answers his phone much less calls us.

He was looking for our bathroom facets and couldn't find them. He wanted to know if we had purchased and given them to him.

You bet cha! (O0ps, that sounded like Sarah Pallin, not something I want to do) I found the receipt. Will wonders never cease. With all this travel and relocation, many documents are gone. This poor bastard now has to replace $220 worth of facets out of his own pocket. I almost feel sorry for him.

He must be hurting for money because we are making progress on our house. Looks like he will be finished by the end of August.

I traveled to Union Fenosa, the electric company, yesterday with an interpreter. I was submitting my Occupancy Permit. They said our installation was scheduled for July 22 but postponed because, you guessed it, no Occupancy Permit.

GRRRRRR!!!!!

The good news is that the electricity should be installed by the end of August.

We visited our house today after breakfast and the kitchen sink installation was almost complete. Not a perfect job but nothing here is perfect, it is not in the culture. I know this bothers Yella. There isn't anything that can be done about it though.

The water department will install the new water main to our house tomorrow, I hope. They were supposed to do it last week and didn't so there promises are suspect. As are all time commitments in Panama.

Our last 40's cabaret is tonight. I hope it is as much fun as last night. Then, tomorrow is a benefit concert. We will be playing in that one also. Fun, fun fun!