We're in the midst of the holiday season and the coffee-picking season here in Boquete. As our property is in the midst of coffee fields, we hear throughout the day "chirupping" sounds that baffled us at first until we realized they were sounds of the indigenous Ngobe-Bugle coffee pickers, communicating among themselves from afar. It's not an unpleasant sound, resembling that of confused birds. In any case, the workers are hard at picking, and the fields are buzzing with activity. So is the town. School just let out for three months, vacation conveniently coinciding the coffee picking so that more field hands are available. Everyone is getting into the Christmas spirit: decorations cover even the most humble casas, and the town square is awash with lights. The number of events announced daily via e-mail is staggering.

I haven't written as much about Boquete coffee growing as I should. Many expats who have relocated to the area grow coffee on small fincas (farms) and have their own special coffees and packaging, most of which is sold locally or within the country. Most Panamanian coffee growers of long standing and substantial property holdings sell their coffee all over the world, and Boquete is a prized location for coffee brokers. The Rogers Family Coffee Company (www.rogersfamilyco.com), a major supplier of Starbucks and known for its gourmet coffee, long has had a coffee operation here (where Tony, Dalys' husband, is employed) and recently has built its own beneficio (coffee processing plant) in the nearby Jaramillo community of Boquete. Hacienda Esmeralda, owned by the Peterson family, is the most famous, however. If you have a chance, take a look at their website, www.haciendaesmeralda.com, to read their history and that of the enterprise. In 2010, their special geisha coffee was the top coffee in the world, selling for $170 a pound. The current family matriarch, Susan Peterson, serves on the Foundation Council of Bid 4 Boquete, so I've come to know her and her husband Price well. The stories of their life here for over 30 years, raising three children miles outside the town proper without even a telephone, and having to ride horses into town for necessities, are fascinating.

Having been such early inhabitants, the Petersons also are big property holders in the area. In addition to their coffee and dairy farms, they have property downtown, a piece of which they donated several years ago for the construction of a new Boquete library, along with a sizable monetary gift from the family foundation. The new library, which also has public computers and space for community meetings and art exhibitions, is now a reality.  It's a gorgeous, modern, three-story building with lots of glass. Moreover, it has the distinction of being the only lending library in Panama. Buying books, organizing them, processing library cards, organizing literacy classes, etc. has been a big undertaking, but the expat community, dozens of members of which are regular volunteers, has been of immeasurable help. The library also had a Peace Corps volunteer trained in library science for a time. My good friend Marjorie Sarner, a U.S.-educated Panamanian married to an American, who is member of the Library Board of Directors, reports that getting the library fully functioning has been a mad house, the very concept being so new to Panamanians. She laughingly told me recently that they had to disable the elevators except when transporting books, disabled persons, or equipment because the children want to ride them relentlessly. And when the elevators break or malfunction in any way, getting them serviced (you will not be surprised to hear) is a devil of a task.

Tourism is on the upswing, with the major tourist season beginning in January. There also is a steady stream of new expats. However, many appear to be renting rather than buying, whether for reasons of a trial period (very smart, as some people just can't make it) or limited funds no one knows. Prices definitely are up but still low by U.S. standards, particularly labor. We have a number of new restaurants that are exceptionally good, and the new trade agreement between the U.S. and Panama promises to bring U.S. beef here free of import duties. I believe I've mentioned that Panamanian beef, because it is grass fed and therefore very low in fat, is better for you but tough and tasteless. We do long for a good steak every now and then. Larry also waxes poetic about raw oysters and boiled peanuts occasionally, neither of which is available here.

The tree is up, and I wrapped gifts this morning after polishing off a press release for the big upcoming Bid 4 Boquete extravaganza. Now on to the Christmas day menu. It's a bit more complicated this year. Last year my neighbor/housekeeper Dalys and her family dropped by on Christmas day to spread cheer and were talked into staying for a bite. They clearly enjoyed themselves, so I decided to formally invite them for the midday meal this year. That was when Dalys told me that her son and his wife from Panama City would be visiting, as would be a nephew and his girlfriend from Canada. So our guest list has swelled from three (Doc, Charly, and Ramon) to thirteen, plus two babies and me and Larry. (Dalys and her husband Tony have four children still at home, and one of them, Margarita, has a baby, so it was a long list to begin with.) With only one oven, it'll be a challenge to produce a turkey, a ham, and various vegetable casseroles anticipated by the usuals. I'm hoping the big group will remind me of wonderful Christmases at Richard and Nellie's. Only this time, I will be Nellie.

Holiday greetings to all from me, Larry, Chyna, Finnegan, and Kitty Kitty.♠

From the Cool Mountains of Boquete

I've been reading about the heat wave in the States and being ever so thankful that I'm here rather than there. Thus far, the rainy season has been perfect: beautiful, sunny days in the seventies until late afternoon, and then a good shower to keep the garden in shape. It's been particularly fortuitous for me because Edwin is on a month's vacation, so I have garden duty. We've brought in Gerardo, one of Dalys' sons, to mow once a week, but I've been handling the weeding and pruning. I also took the opportunity to sweep through the orchid casita, repotting or remounting plants and moving some outdoors to trees which finally have grown enough to provide them some shade. The garden is on the cusp of maturity, and I spend a couple of hours each week hosting tours for folks developing their own plots.

Larry's recovery has been slow, and it's clear that it'll never be complete. We had a setback this week when he began experiencing pain and reverted to using crutches. After five days, the surgical site opened slightly and began oozing a clear fluid tinged with blood. He reverted to soaks in epsom salts, cleaning, and bandaging to forestall infection, but most of the pain went away, along with the crutches. A visit to Dr. Chen downtown confirmed my diagnosis that this is part of the healing process within the foot, that the fluid buildup, most likely lymphatic, needed an escape hatch. After fasting tomorrow, he goes in Monday for a complete blood test to make sure all is okay.

We just went through a three-month period during which everything chose to break at once: the pond pump, the generator, the remote control for the gate, the ice maker, and the under-cabinet lights in the computer room/study. It took an eternity and then some to have everything repaired. Promises made, promises broken. Trip to assess the problem followed by trips to obtain parts. Parts not available, parts ordered, wrong parts received, more promises, more promises broken, etc., etc. Now everything is working, and we're waiting for the next shoe to drop. Interspersed with these aggravations was a multitude of trips, phone calls, and e-mails just to pay property taxes. Panama has many, many charms, but customer service and efficiency are not among them.

In addition to gardening and continuing work with Bid 4 Boquete, I've really been enjoying my book club. Interestingly, although we choose one book a month, everyone seems to branch out and comes to discuss a larger body of work. Tomorrow, for example, we meet to discuss The Paris Wife, a historical fiction piece from the point of view of Hadley Richardson Hemingway, Hem's first wife, about their years in Paris in the twenties. The club members I've spoken with found it unsatisfactory, as did I, and therefore branched out to read a Hadley biography as well as A Moveable Feast and The Sun Also Rises, which flesh out the period. Some have read the entire Hemingway canon in preparation for the meeting. This is the usual pattern, confirming our reputation as the Boquete literari. But now we've branched out into travel. One member who harbors a fascination with Turkey researched and discovered a $1500, 13-day trip to Turkey next March. Another member agreed to go with her, word got around, and now seven of nine book club members are making the trip, along with the daughter of one member. We'll fly out of Newark, spend three days in Istanbul, and then travel by motor coach to Candakkale (near the site of Troy, which we'll visit), Kuddadasi, Pammukkale, Konya, Cappadocia, and Ankara, before returning to Istanbul. Hotels, most meals, entries to archeological sites, and an English-speaking guide are included. Not having traveled this year, it gives me something to look forward to. Larry's daughter, her husband, and one of the three daughters have agreed to come down to keep Larry company and out of trouble while I'm gone.

Finnegan and Kitty Kitty continue to delight, but poor old Chyna is really showing her age. For the most part, she's hung up her guns and doesn't even get excited about the occasional dog that strays onto the property when the gate is open, although the door bell still elicits a half-hearted protest. And when Kitty bites her on the butt, she just gives a desultory back kick. Chyna has to be lifted onto the bed now, and between her flatulence and awful breath is not the most desirable of sleeping companions. But we love her and will stand by her.

It's a particularly tranquil time right now, with Doc and Charly on an extended visit to the States (where they report having spent four days in D.C. with one of their sons without electricity and temps in excess of 100 degrees), Edwin on vacation, and Penny Barrett (the major co-director of B4B) off to her 50th high school reunion in Michigan. It looks like the rain may be coming earlier today, in which case I intend to curl up with another Hemingway book so as to be fully armed for tomorrow's book club meeting.

A long overdue update

We woke up this morning, in the midst of the dry season, to steady rain and a backyard that looks like a lake. So it's a good day to stay indoors and do some catching up, which has been hard lately due to sunny skies and lots of outdoor social activities. We're coming off a weekend of the Boquete Jazz and Blues Festival, preceded on Thursday by a gringo-initiated Mardi Gras parade which left the locals stunned. Bid 4 Boquete, on February 13 and 14, was a huge success (we made over $65,000), but, after months of work, it left me enervated for a couple of weeks. Then, last week, I was down with some sort of gastrointestinal difficulty of the on-the-pot-with-pot-in-hand variety. I'm back, though, and ready to catch up and set things straight.

Actually, most of our time since my last post was devoted to trying to get Larry's foot healed, making it through the multitude of holidays, and planning for B4B. So there was very little of general interest to report with the exception of our acquiring Finnegan, a handsome and well-behaved golden retriever, from Doc and Charly, whose new digs were too small for his largeness of body and temperament. He has brought a degree of happiness and tranquility sorely needed after last year's medical woes. We also were very saddened in December by the death of our good friend Randy Watts (of Randy and Maryellen, with whom we spent a memorable weekend in Bocas shortly after our arrival and about whom I've written often) after a long battle with liver disease.

Life was disturbed for everyone at the end of January, however, when the indigenous Ngobe-Bugle (NB) went head to head with the government over mining concessions in the NB comarca, semi-sovereign native land of the tribe located largely in our province, Chiriqui. The government had breached a former agreement with the tribe and given copper mining rights to a Canadian company, provoking the NB to protest in the only effective way they know: blocking the Interamerican highway with debris at various points throughout the country. The initial blockade lasted about two weeks, cutting off  travel and commerce throughout Panama. After two or three days, there was no gasoline or propane to be had in Chiriqui, no meat and vegetables entering Panama City from our region, and a scarcity of supplies everywhere. We had full tanks of gas in both vehicles and a large propane tank, so were able to last it out, but some folks were actually reduced to walking for days. The initial blockade eventually ended and negotiations were entered into with a Catholic bishop serving as mediator, but they broke down from time to time and new blockades on new roads appeared. A police station was burned to the ground in San Felix on the western edge of Chiriqui, arrests were made, one NB was killed, and no one had any clear idea of what was going on or what would happen next. A blockade was set up outside our neighboring town of Volcan, local thugs joined the action, the police station there was burned and banks were sacked. Although there were no threats against expats in particular or the Panamanian people in general, the disagreement being between the Indians and the government, this made us all a little tense. So far, however, there have been only a couple of half-hearted road blockages north of Boquete on the road to David, lasting a few hours. Negotiations have begun anew at the City of Knowledge in Panama City with a U.N. mediator having replaced the bishop. The government folded on the issue of mining in the comarca, and now the dialogue has turned to hydroelectric projects in and affecting the region. If the negotiations are going badly, the NB throw up a blockade somewhere. So we never know from day to day if and when we might again be cut off from the country and world at large. Travel of any kind is made exceedingly difficult and risky. Lots of folks were stuck somewhere between Panama City and David for days during the height of the crisis.

But if one has to be isolated, this isn't the worst place to be. Chiriqui is the largest agricultural region of Panama, so chances are that we won't starve. For the most part, life has gone on as usual here. (Cliff Thaell, the former Leon County Commissioner, and his family were here for a few months during the worst time, and he reported having been in communication with Lucy Morgan of the St. Pete Times, who, aware of the situation in Panama, had inquired about my wellbeing. Cliff told her he assumed I was fine as he had just observed me enjoying a beer with friends in an open-air cafe downtown.)

We did make it into David last Thursday to check in with Dr. Pretto about Larry's foot, the wound on which still has not completely closed. He declared the foot substantially healed and unlikely to be at risk for reinfection. Larry is walking without aid of any sort and, finally having become free of ongoing pain and therefore being able to maintain a normal sleep schedule, is in good spirits. He still soaks the foot daily and has been diligent about keeping it clean, but I think we're finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and are reasonably sure that it isn't a train.

I stay busy with B4B, my book club, gardening, and running around with friends. I attended the first-of-the-year meeting of the Amigos of Animales de Boquete last week and realized, about half way through, how it typified life in Boquete. Ruby McKenzie, the founder and longtime president, was relinquishing her post to two new co-presidents and made outgoing remarks summarizing the organization's many successes. She spoke of the thousands of animals neutered, the receipt of a grant from the SPCA International, the receipt of thousands of dollars from B4B, the receipt of an anonymous $10,000 donation, the efforts to acquire property and build a proper clinic. The meeting was held in a small dwelling in a downtown residential area owned by Amigos de Boquete, an organization which provides lunch to Boquete school children, funded by local resident Phil McGuigan's family foundation and law firm back in Chicago. (Phil's wife, Alicia, is one of the incoming Animales' co-presidents.) The back of the building actually contains a residential area populated by a Panamanian family, while the barred but otherwise open-aired front is the Amigos de Boquete office, storage, and meeting area, which also contains three computers to be utilized by local children. All three computers were occupied while set-up was going on, but the users eventually moved aside. During the meeting, however, children came and went, neighborhood dogs dropped in for affection from their Animales stewards, and an occasional chicken strolled through until chased out by the dogs. No one missed a word or even stumbled over one. Serious business, life and death matters and high financial stakes, was reported and debated amidst the ongoing neighborhood life, all participants serenely oblivious to distraction. And when refreshments were served, everyone--children, dogs, chickens--participated en masse. Charming. None of the stuffy, closed-door meetings I grew up on.

So, with the exception of the ongoing NB crisis, we're at ease and easing into the best time of the year, perhaps even a little early if today's rain is any indication. We managed to live through, once again, the two Independence Day holidays (from Spain and from Colombia), Mother's Day (a MAJOR Panamanian holiday), Christmas, the Flower and Coffee Fair, Bid 4 Boquete, Carnival (when the entire country shuts down for a week), the Jazz and Blues Festival, and dozens of lesser fetes. With the rain still pouring down, I'm going to go read a book.