We've had a much better August this year than last. So far the rainy season has been as advertised: mostly late afternoon and/or evening showers, beautiful days. No major headaches this month, which means we have steered clear of bureaucracy, by and large. And I've found a new haircutter, Renny, a member of the garden club who has a small and select clientele she administers to in her home. I discovered that she possesses this talent only last Sunday, when she and her husband, Austin, visited us for a few hours, but I'm convinced that I'm going to be looking better. She owned a salon back in Houston, where Austin was a superintendent at the Houston Port Authority. Because she has spoken Spanish for 28 years and also has a degree in Education, the government of Panama has hired her to teach English at the university in David several days a week, and she and Austin both are fine gardeners and great cooks They're keeping busy in retirement, and I'm glad she agreed to work me into her schedule.
On the subject of personal appearance, I continue to have to buy new clothes, as I'm now down to a size 6. I'm healthy, though, so I suppose it's because of better food and eating habits.
And on the subject of language instruction, I'm going back to school later this month. Habla Ya, the local Spanish language school, is offering a 2 for 1 deal for residents of Boquete through December, so Ramon and I have paired up to take advantage of the deal. We begin on September 28, when Doc and Charly return from a trip to NYC to visit their daughters (Ramon is in charge of the fur-faced fiends while they're gone), and will be attending class three days a week, two hours a day, for two months for $250 each. My Spanish is better than pretty good, but I'd really like to become almost fluent.
We're finally getting out of house more as most of the major work is done around here. Larry plays golf twice a week, once with Doc and Charly at Valle Escondido, and once at Cielo Paraiso, the very fancy development south of town. Because we're friends with the developers, Raideep and Colleen Lal, they waived the $25,000 initiation fee (!) and give him a reduced rate of $60 for play on their PGA certified course. He's in a foursome with Raideep, the golf pro Liz, and the chef-to-be (when they get the hotel and restaurant up and running) George, a Greek who owns two restaurants back in their hometown of Toronto. He (Larry) has bought all new golf togs so he'll fit in and has worn out the grass in the backyard practicing. His handicap is improving and he's happy as a you-know-what.
We had dinner at George's house last Friday night, and what a treat! In addition to fabulous appetizers, he served a standing rib roast, the first exceptional beef we've had since coming here. The owner of Super Baru, the finest grocery store in David, is owned by Spiro, also (as you might have guessed) Greek, whom George befriended so as to have access to comestibles (food) not generally available. We hope to benefit, too, by the association. We were joined at the dinner party by Raideep and Colleen, Colleen's uncle "Tio," and the foremost orthopedic surgeon in Panama, Yacko Barrios, and his wife. It was a lively evening as George, Raideep, and Yacko are characters of the first order. I worried a bit about the amount of alcohol consumed by Yacko as he was scheduled to operate on my friend Jane's knee early Monday morning, but both Raideep and George testified to his competence by demonstrating a shoulder and a foot, respectively, set aright recently by Yacko's skills.
The following morning I traveled to Potrerillos to visit Bill Streit and Donna O'Toole, who bought and have restored the house and gardens of Noriega's so-called "summer palace." I received the full tour, including the former helicopter landing pad, guard towers, outdoor party area complete with kitchen and dance floor, and a beneath-the-staircase locked compartment within which was a safe within a safe. They've managed to get through the locked door and the first safe, but have been stymied by the second safe. They confided that they've given up the effort for the time being for fear of what they might find. They've had plenty of other things to do like modernizing the house and rebuilding the large garden area, which is lovely. I forgot to take my camera, but they're hosting the garden club next month so I may get some pictures yet.
On Wednesday I took friends Sandy and Gaby to Volcan and Cerro Punta, primarily to point out the location of the many nurseries over there. It was my second trip in two weeks, as Jane, Steve, and I went to a special heliconia sale at the home of Carla Black, a legendary heliconia grower, a couple of Saturdays back. I came away with some fine specimens.
Juanita Bonita now is fully integrated into the family. She's determined to be the queen of the house and, at less than two pounds, terrorizes the dogs. When she's not playing with her own tail, she's leaping out from behind furniture to attack a wagging dog tail. I bought her some cat toys which we keep in a bowl on a console behind the sofa. When she takes a notion to play with them rather than tails, she jumps on the table and methodically throws each one on the floor. She then zips all over the house, batting and biting them. Her quickness fascinates and confuses Chyna and Trudy. We've all finally become accustomed to catching, out of the corners of our eyes, a flash of white now and then. We give the dogs raw bones every afternoon. She refuses to be ignored or to be placated with something lesser, so she now receives a bone, too, which she guards with her life. She's a joy, but we throw her out into her own cushy bed when we go to bed because she habitually wakes up at odd hours and makes all sorts of mischief.
We've gotten two huge bunches of bananas off our trees, and the strawberry guavas produce at a rate that neither we nor the birds can keep up with. My lemon trees have yet to produce, however, although the herb garden is thriving. Everything else is flowers, flowers, flowers. The photo attached is of an orchid called the Espiritu Santo, the Holy Ghost Orchid, Panama's national flower.
No comments:
Post a Comment