Summer 2008
Hot Time, Summer in the Cities
We had a great summer! It was our vacation from our vacation lifestyle. We were home for six weeks in June/July, then back to Panama for mid July/August to do some maintenance and sightseeing, and finally back home again from mid August to late September. It was fantastic, the contrast of it all, the reconnection with family and friends, being able to spread out a little, and of course the amazing array of things that are at your fingertips when in the USA. It sure is an instant gratification culture isn’t it? …and Wal-Mart really does have everything and is ALWAYS open, I would walk to the one near us in LV and just wander and wonder at the incredible range of stuff. Wierd fact, I keep a step counter on and learned that if I walk up and down each isle, it is a MILE inside that store!!! No kidding.
It’s so easy to fly in and out of Las Vegas; we grab a cab and in minutes are sitting in our cute little house. Buying a small house in a gated community with yard care is a wonderful thing…you’d never know we left… and there is practically no maintenance. Now Big Bear on the other hand is almost as much trouble as a boat…thank goodness Heather & Ted are such wonderful tenants and caretakers, they already had the house repainting well in hand. We hit the ground running as always. Ade had to help them de-winterize the yard and the old boats, as they were hosting the BBLYC Waterman’s Party at the cabin that first weekend. It was also Ted’s birthday which made it extra special. Love that party, it’s into the water with crazy races and games and everyone participates. Kei came up with his girlfriend Jenn and they plunged right into the festivities.
We visited both of our Mothers and they are doing well. Helen in Ventura with the girls close by, and my Mom between BB and Dick’s place in Palos Verdes. They are both in wonderful health, and so much fun to be with, we sure know where we got our energy and lucky genes.
Five Big Bear couples that we know of were out cruising from Mexico to Panama and we’d met all but one pair as they were a few weeks ahead of us. So we had a Cruisers Reunion at the cabin when we realized that all of us would be “home” for a week in July. It was a blast. Loren and Patty joined in as they have a 53′ SeaHorse in Thailand, and Loren crewed with us all (DW) thru the Canal in June. As with all boaters, everyone’s course was slightly different, but there were many shared favorite anchorages and towns, people and places. We enjoyed each other’s photos and I quickly determined that my photography needs a lot of work - there were magnificent shots and we all oozed and ached and wished we were back down there to see it anew. We hope to get together each summer and compare notes on what to do and see next.
We played hard and managed to squeeze in BBQ’s, parties, Las Vegas shows, time on the lake, 4th of July activities, long walks and bike rides, and before we knew it, we were back in Panama.
We had to haul WS and get her bottom painted, etc., It was kind of strange coming back to Colon and Shelter Bay, most of the boats and people we knew were gone, but there were a few of the lingerers, as we called them, who were arriving one by one. We saw MV Jenny, Tropical Dance, Wahoo, Yachtsman’s Dream, but never at the same time, everyone was on their own schedule and slipped quietly in and out. We rented a car at the airport in PC and kept it the entire time. Shelter Bay is on a military base (the former USA’s Fort Sherman) and one has to cross over the Gatun locks on a wee little bridge between ships. Sometimes you lucked out and drove right through, but usually it involved a wait of up to an hour. We kept books and puzzles in the car to help us develop grace and patience. I was training for the Big Bear Marathon (well half of one for me), so I’d often gague the time and get out and log a mile or so instead of waiting.
This is also the wet season, or as the Panama Tourist Authority now refers to it as the “Green Season” It is GREEN, we knew we were in the jungle before we left, but it was unbelievable how fast everything grew. When it rains it pours. No, not just pours, it comes down like a waterfall and usually has accompanying thunder and (shutter) lightening. We split the summer hiatus in two parts so we could be available to open her up and find leaks and mold before it took over. There were a few casualties darn it.
We took a little time to do some traditional sightseeing with a group of travel people, an impressive visit out to see the Embera Indians in their riverside village in a dugout canoe. Anne Gordon married an Embera she met while working on a film (she is an animal trainer) and now, in addition to her film work, runs small groups to her husband’s family village. We enjoyed it immensely, it is still very primitive, with traditional dress (or undress actually) arts, food preparation and dancing. We also flew to David, Panama and rented a car and drove up to Boquete as it is such a popular destination for travelers and retirees. It was beautiful, as is the entire highlands region. We stayed at the very un-Panamanian and luxurious riverside Valle Escondido, took long hot showers, played tourist, ate at various (and good) restaurants, took the car rental everywhere and really felt like we got to know the area.
And then, all of a sudden we were back in the USA again, this time mostly for business, meetings in Las Vegas and HQ, quick family reunion with Helen and the girls and families, visits with Casey and Dick and the kids, and, as I mentioned, the first annual Big Bear Marathon…the kids were very involved in it and I walked my first Half-Marathon with dear friends Laura and Patty. It was a blast, but not that easy. I trained as much as is possible between the jungles of Panama and the grueling heat of Las Vegas…Big Bear’s weather for race day was perfect though! Ade, Ken and John rode their bikes in that class the entire 26 miles. We all felt so virtuous.
When we returned to Panama in September it was such fun, we came back with Dot and Ken, Les and Rose were already here and hauled out. We had a “Trawler Trash” class reunion, were issued new uniforms and laid out the plans for semester 08 09.
Unfortunately, leaks continued in our absence and my boxes of collateral materials of our travels, along with my big dictionary, atlas, etc, were moldy and ruined… it was heart breaking. I finally tossed them, thinking that I would just start over with my travel articles.
So it’s onto the much-loved San Blas Islands with the colorfully attired natives, their incredible crafts, especially molas, and their tranquil islands on azure seas.
