We've had a pretty busy social calendar the last few days.  On Wednesday I went to Cynde's house to play Mahjong, which, by the way, is great fun!  Then on Thursday we went to the same house for a potluck.  I was amazed at some of the dishes people brought.  Especially since shopping in town the last two Tuesdays.  I was wrong about them having so much in the stores here.  They have a lot but for everything I have in mind to fix there are always a couple of ingredients that are not available.  So you either substitute or leave something out and the results are pretty iffy, at best. I took my Texas Caviar dip (also known as Saunders Lake dip) and after numerous substitutions it was hardly recognizable as the original.  It was okay, but---.
There is an interesting group of people here.  A Danish man named Stig and his American wife.  Our neighbors, Mary and Carl, are retired college teachers and had been cruising (sailboat travel) for 16 years before settling here 4 years ago.  They are from North Carolina.  Another couple of cruisers who built a house here are from Colorado.  Cynde is from Mt. Shasta area. Her husband passed away about a year and a half ago.  She has a beautiful home here that her husband built and it has every convenience you could want.  The deck hangs over the water and also serves as a boat house.  But she really does not want to stay here alone.  A real problem for retirees who create these dream homes and then one of them passes and the other does not know quite what to do next.
There were several newly retired couples there.  Younger, maybe late 50's and several had retired from careers spent working overseas.  Also a couple visiting here from Boquette (here in the mountains of Panama).  They invited us to visit and we may very well do that on out way to Costa Rica in July.
Yesterday we had Mary and Carl over to dinner and I stressed all day trying to work with a stove I don't like and a minimum of pots and pans as well as having to substitute ingredients once again.  It turned out okay but I have done better.
Tomorrow we are going to Rana Azul (the little pizza bar in the jungle that is only open on Sunday afternoon and is run by an Austrian couple.  I hope this time to be able to visit and not spend my entire afternoon out back in the little house.
Oh yes, and we also met an interesting fellow at the potluck named Ian Usher.  A few years back he ran an ad to sell everything he had in Australia on e-bay.  It was called ALIFE4SALE.  Then his plan was to spend 100 weeks doing 100 things from his wish list of things to do and things to see.  He did that and wrote a book that is doing very well.called A Life Sold.  I am reading it on my kindle now and he actually did not sell the house on e-bay but had enough publicity and movie offers, etc. he was able to do the 100 things in 100 weeks. He has a home here now.
Today we are just staying home and I am trying to cook a few things ahead.  Macaroni salad for one thing.  Of course, not with macaroni but with some other strange looking pasta sort of thing.  No sweet pickles available but I did find sweet relish so will try that.  I will be using real hard boiled eggs!.  
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Indy And Gelli

Well, a bit more about the place and I guess I'll start with the critters.
The first two are the dogs, Gelli (Magellan) and Indy (Independence).  They are quite well behaved and no trouble at all except to check them over for ticks and other jungle things.  Gelli has a patch of ringworm I am treating now and I am trying to get rid of Indy's ear mites. Gelli is the more adventurous of the two and lately has been out finding various ripe things to roll in. She often sports a certain interesting fragrance.
Now to the less domesticated critters.  As soon as it gets dark the frogs come out.  Must be big from the sounds of them.  These frogs say "Whoop!  Whoop!" Later they stop and there are just the regular cheepings and twitterings. There are lots of fireflies!  They are quiet, of cours.  And in the early  morning the howler monkeys start roaring to establish their territories I guess.  Lots of birds here.  We have one particular favorite, a tanager with a red back.  There are several bird books here (for those of you coming later so no need to bring any.) The bugs are pretty much everywhere.  There is a big spider (pet of Jeanne and Steve's who is named "seven legs" for obvious reasons.  She hangs from a rafter out front and I always check to make sure where she is each day!!! Yesterday, I carried a loaf of bread over to the neighbors and almost ran into her sister stretched across the path.  Had to jump back quick and find a big stick to dislodge her.  Will be waving a stick in front of me wherever I go now. For example, I am going to the neighbors today to ride over in her boat to someone's house to play Mahjong! My stick is at the ready!
(More about the extensive social life here later. It's busier than in Live Oak and no one has cars.  All done by boat.)
No mosquitoes to speak of.  I am told that no-see-ums can be a problem but have not run into them yet.  Next to the path to the boat there are some small shiny green frogs that Lester has looked up and identified as poison dart frogs so if you are into kissing frogs these should be avoided.
I am on the look out for bugs in the house as, since it is not finishe, they certainly have plenty of access.  With all the knotholes in the lumber (and my increasingly poor eyesight) it is hard to distinguish between natural wood markings and large insects.  I find that the best clue is to watch for movement.  One bad thing is that there are scorpions here.  Lester saw one crawling on the rafters the other day and the neighbors find them frequently.  That's even scarier than spiders!  More later..  

Taken from the deck at neighbors house where we went for dinner last night.

Well, I see that even if I use paragraphing the published blog does not. I need to try to find out why but I'm lucky to just get this published at all. Oh, and by the way, all typos are the fault of Panamanian internet. Likewise any misspelled words and poor grammar. Just wanted to get that straight. Now about the house. It is not quite finished yet. This is due to the owner being ill, of course. But the current house sitters have made many improvements of which the bathroom installed on the main floor and the remodeling of the downstairs outside shower to include privacy walls, etc. are most appreciated. Another improvement is the mesh screen added across the ceiling under the open beams to prevent , or at least cut down on, any insect invasions. That is not to say that all is sealed off as there are a number of open spots but certainly it is an important addition. The steps and the trail up the hill to the house are challenging. I would suggest future visitors start working on their climbing skills. I am particularly lacking in these skills, as many of you know. It is a bit hot and humid, and there are a few bugs. But aside from these minor negative aspects the over all description of Cerro Velero is that it is a magical place. The view, the birds, the jungle sounds are well worth a few sore leg muscles, a little sweat on the brow, and a bug bite or two. Carol and Frank, when you come for a visit you are going to love it here! (Nancy, when your turn comes to house sit you are going to love it here! And by the way, Nancy, I would answer you comment on the blog if I could figure out how. So if you want to comment again and leave an e-mail address I will get back to you.) To finish this I will report briefly on our first day alone here. We took Jeanne and Steve into Bocas on Tuesday so they could fly out on another day to New York. (they will be back to house sit for a couple of the neighbors so we will see them again.) After doing our shopping and lugging everything back to the boat (propane tank, case of beer, bags of groceries) we started back to the house which is approximately 20 miles through a maze of small mangrove islands. And I do mean a maze. It took us forever to find our way home(many wrong turns along the way.) We did, however, get back in time to have the worker still here to help get supplies up the hill. Otherwise we might still be camping down on the dock. So much more to tell you about this place but will save it for next time.

I wrote a blog day before yesterday that disappeared just as I was finishing the last sentence. Just poof! And it was gone. I was`too traumatized to start over until now. Let's hope this time it works. Let me see, where was I when I was so rudely poofed? Oh yes, I was telling about arriving here in Bocas del Toro on Saturday afternoon about 5:00. We took a cab to our hotel, which turned out to be about a block and a half away from the airport. We could have walked there in the time it took to put the bags in the trunk and wait on another passenger. Oh well, gave us a chance to get acquainted with the driver, Marlon (as in Marlon Brando, he informed us.) Later, after getting the suitcases in the room, we walked down the main street. Town is about 5 blocks long and 2 blocks wide. I was` amazed at what all was available in the grocery stores. Anything you might want and many things I'd never seen before but want now! The prices were quite reasonable. Much less than in Belize. Panama must have better trade agreements with other countries than Belize. The wine here is very cheap! They almost pay you to carry it out the door. And it is good! We had dinner on the street and breakfast at the hotel before meeting the current house sitters for the boat ride back to the house. I mention these two meals because one of them resulted in my no longer being able to boast of having an iron stomach while traveling in third world countries. WE made a detour on the way home to stop at a little outdoor cafe/bar in the jungle. It is only open on Sunday afternoons and is the local watering hole/meeting place for expats in the area. It was a good opportunity to meet many of the people who have retired here. Or it would have been a good opportunity except that I spent most of my afternoon in one of the two stalls of the outhouse out back. I think Lester had a good time. (It was a unique Mother's Day for me.) The former house sitters are just great! They are from South Africa. Early 40's in age and very adventurous. Among other things they have spent time managing guesthouses in Scotland and The Corn Islands of Nicaragua. At the same time they have an online business selling apps. (Don't ask me what apps are.) Something to do with computer programing I think. Anyway when they told us that I smiled and nodded my head wisely as if I deal with apps every say! I'm getting worried that this will disappear again so will post and then start over as there is more to tell.

Thursday, May 10. Today we went on a tour with the daughter of the owner at our guesthouse, Villa Michelle. Her name is Michelle (Imagne that!) Ayway it was a really good day. We went to the Panama Canal and watched a ship come through the Miraflores Locks. It is a pretty tight fit. Only 24 inches on each side of the ship. The ship is pulled through by motorized vehicles on tracks running along each side of the canal. According to the info. they bring in between 7 and 9 million dollars per day. The larger ships may pay between 350 to 400 thousand dollars to travel through the canal. Then Michelle took us to the Causeway in front of the city for some spectacular views of the city. It is amazing how many high rise skyscrapers there are here. Donald Trump just recently built one and it is shaped like a big D. Then there is one that looks like a giant screw. Many modern and imaginative designs as so many of the buildings are new. And then we went to the old city (actually the second city as the first was destroyed). We walked through it. It reminded me of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico. Then a lunch at a Panamanian restaurant. Back to the gusthouse where I had a very pleasant nap on the porch by the pool during the afternoon thunderstorm. A couple of interesting things. Seniors here (even if you are not Panamanian) get into most everything at half price. Also there is a 25% discount on meals at restaurants. The second thing is about the maid here at the guesthouse. Ivonne (the owner) introduced us to her daughter the first day and then later I asked who the other girl with the long blonde hair was. "That's not a girl."she said. "That is Rolando and he is my maid." Well. let me tell you, after watching Rolando for the past couple of days I have decided that I would like to bring him home with me. He is just great, cleaning, cooking. And he does it all so gracefully and with such style. The last time I posted here it all ended up in one big blob even though there were paragraphs. Lets see what happens this time. Also, I could not get the pictures posted. May figure that out later.

Panama Adventure begins

Here we are in Panama City at our guesthouse, Villa Michelle which has turned out to a real gem! The owner is so helpful and the house and pool just perfect for us After the horrible travel we experienced it was wonderful to arrive here last night and find the place so pleasant and relaxing. (A nice glass of wine beside the pool helped lighten our moods as well.) We started off in Sacramento with no crew to fly the airplane to Houston. Don't know how that happened but we had to wait for a crew to be flown in and did not leave Sac until about 4:30 a.m. Of course, that got us in to Houston far too late to catch our morning flight to Panama City so we were rescheduled for the 3:12 p.m. flight and had 5 hours to twiddle our thumbs there. When we arrived in Panama shortly after 7:00 we found that Lester's suitcase did not arrive with us. He was not alone in this problem so we had a long wait in line for our turn to report our missing luggage. When we finally left the terminal it was difficult to find a taxi driver who was familiar with Villa Michelle. But finally we did and so you can see how nice it was to arrive here and feel so welcome. Apparently most tourists stay at one of the many big high rise hotels but you all know that is not my style.(The good news is that United Airlines just called. Lester's suitcase is here and will be delivered soon.) He's not going to have to share my wardrobe after all! I'm going to try to post a picture of the pool area here at our guesthouse. Sometimes That works for me and sometimes it does not. We'll see.

See photo of Cerro Velero, our home for the next two months beginning May 13. We will be leaving here on May 8, planning to spend a few days in and around Panama City playing tourist before reporting for duty. More later!