I came back to Panama last week and was so glad it was a smooth trip! Connections worked; people helped me with my bags! It was a delight! But trouble came!
Monday, December 1
The alarm was supposed to go off at 5:30 AM, but I woke up at 4:30 AM after a restless night. I worried about all the moving parts of this big travel day. And what a New Mexico morning—snow on the ground!
The trip went smoothly. I had wondered how I was going to get the two large suitcases and my two carry-on bags up to the check-in counter. Because we were so early and there weren’t a lot of people out yet, Sheri, my faithful friend, helped me by moving two bags and I did two.
On the first leg of my travels, my travel agent booked me Premium Economy which helped save some money. I tried to sleep but had trouble. I got to Houston, Texas about 11:15 AM, giving me sufficient time to make it to my next gate and have time for lunch.
“Water or Champagne!“
The crazy part: I forgot they provided lunch on the flight from Houston to Panama City, so I had double lunch. So, on the second leg, I sat in Business Class. The stewardess welcomed us with “Water or champagne!” Quickly, I remembered the first flight I took in the 70s to San Diego, California on a “Champagne Flight!” This flight felt luxurious! I enjoyed the extra space.
I arrived in Panama City, Panama at 7:30 PM. First, I went through Immigration where they stamped my passport. When I got to my baggage, immediately I got a porter to help me with my luggage. My porter’s name, Campo de Campos, delighted me and I enjoyed his friendliness. For some reason, it took longer than usual to get my bags! Then Campo directed me over to Customs where they scanned all my bags—no problem at all.
When we walked out in the terminal, our trusty Uber driver, Joel, saw me quickly and waved. I had texted him earlier to let him know I had a pink hat on and to ask if he’d be at door #17 like usual. He was!
Back to Panama City!
So Joel and I had a delightful trip to my hotel, visiting in Spanish mostly; however, I tried to help him with his English. As we traveled through Panama City near the beach, I enjoyed the colorful Christmas decorations. By the time I got settled in my room, it was late and I was exhausted.
As, I looked at the shower, I yearned for one last great hot shower. I’m not sure if I have told you about the shower situation in our house. The hot water in our showers was heated by propane which made it hard to keep the water at an acceptable level. First, it came out scalding hot, then it took maneuvering to get it to a temperature I could stand. Then I had to repeat this process over and over again because the temperature didn’t stay warm.
Oh, how I wanted that last shower, but I fell into bed exhausted instead, knowing I had to get up early the next morning.
Tuesday, December 2
My alarm woke me from death-like sleep and rang early, early, early at 4:30 AM because Joel was picking me up at 5:15 AM to return to the airport for my flight to David!
Once again, I enjoyed our travel time to catch up on his life and to practice Spanish and help him with his English. When we got to the airport, Campo, my porter from the night before, came to help me once again. And once again, he directed me where I needed to go!
Because I got there so early, I had time to grab a delicious croissant breakfast before boarding the plan. When I arrived at the airport in David, I had to deal with the two big suitcases and my two carry-ons myself without Lin’s help which was interesting.
My honey waited right by the door I went through—it was so good to see him after my five-weeks absence. On the trip home, we stopped at a coffee shop and relaxed and reconnected.
When we got home, he surprised me with a major fix on the hot water situation. While I was gone, our landlord, with Lin’s suggestion, installed an electric hot water heater so now I have hot water on demand! OMG! What an amazing surprise!
My Happiness Abruptly Ended
But my happy time ended quickly. We planned for me to bring back a legal amount of cash to pay rental costs here. Somehow, I lost a third of a considerable amount of the cash, so I spent the rest of that day calling our bank, the car rental and my girlfriend I stayed with, trying to find the missing money. Thinking I would find it in one of the suitcases, I repeatedly went through stuff, but I didn’t find it.
I had a full day the day I dealt with the money: breakfast with a cousin, lunch with my friend I was staying with, a dentist appointment to replace a crown I lost, and a mammogram appointment. I ended the day with my writing group. Then I left the next morning to catch the Amtrak train to go to Raton to meet my brother.
The Focus for the Rest of This Week
I spent the rest of the week trying to figure it out, but I have no memory of what I did with the cash which is not like me. Lin and I brainstormed all kinds of possibilities. I made several more phone calls to try to find a clue. At several points, we disconnected and focused on other things hoping something would come up. We asked for St. Anthony’s help, the patron saint of lost things, but nothing worked!
Saturday, December 6 and Sunday, December 7
Yesterday, I ordered calendars I created for my whole family on Snapfish. I worked hard all week to finish this gift I have been doing for over twenty-five years. Being in Panama complicated this year’s gifts, but I realized that creating it on Snapfish was the answer because they would mail the calendar to the different family members. I love doing this because I use pictures I’ve taken during the last year.
Christmas Began For Us in Boquete
We began our Christmas season here with a wonderful Children’s Concert Project. First, a children’s choir from Santiago, Panama entertained us. Then a wonderful baritone sang “Oh, Holy Night” in English and Spanish. Then two men playing cellos shared two holiday songs. Next, our local Boquete children’s choir sang. The show ended with both children’s choirs singing together. They were so good, the crowd didn’t want the show to end.
Later last night, we supported one of our landlords at his citywide basketball league with his game starting at 11:30 PM. We had a late dinner with our friends, Lorrie and Kenny Cote who moved here from New Mexico also. Lorrie created shirts that match the team’s shirts for our landlord’s team and we wore them last night and cheered our team on to a victory.
Lin and I wore the shirts the first time midweek at a game that started at 10:00 PM—the team members loved them. They have several teams playing in their gym, so they have games running all evening the nights they play. That’s the reason for the late games.
Today, I did one last look in all of my suitcases, hoping somehow, we missed the money. I also went through the trash because I brought back mail from New Mexico and Lin went through it and threw away the junk—no luck!
Finally,
Back home, I’m trying to get rested up, but these late-night basketball games make it hard. After being in the dry southwest, I’m getting used to rain and life here in Boquete. My heart aches for the lost money, but if someone found it, hopefully they needed it and used it wisely. But my God knows!
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