December 12th, 2007

Last week, our friends Skip and Linda Shipman came to visit. One of the things I had always wanted to do was find the fish market down on the coast, which someone had mentioned to me in passing but with no directional details. So, S&L and I went on a hunt for the fish market.

By asking directions at almost every intersection, we did find the fish cooperativa which was on the beach, a short walk from the parking area. A she got out of the car, Linda put her watch in the front pocket of her slacks, since the watch was irritating her skin. Unbeknownst to her, she had a hole in that pocket and when she realized it (couldn't have been more than five minutes later), the watch had been found and the finders were gone.

After we bought the fish (robalo, as fresh as you could have it) and shrimp (enormous, 7 to the pound!), we stopped at the police station in Gorgona, where the fish cooperativa is. Between Skip and I, we explained the situation, that there was no point in returning to search the area, and that we only needed a police report for the insurance. After about 15 minutes, the lady cop got in the car with us and directed us to the main police station in Chame (about five minutes eastward). Along the way, she touched Skip's shoulder and said "Tranquila" because our boy was not happy nor patient person.

At Chame, the police lady reported our problem and the record making guy said we had to go to Panama City, where there was an official interpreter. Much smiling and begging later, he had called his superior and received permission for a guy sitting in the office to translate for us. This guy, along with his friend, were in the police station to report a break-in at their hotel, and the theft of several things, including a gun. (This is interesting: the owner of the gun is responsible for whatever happens as a result of using the gun, no matter who uses it. So, it was therefore, vital to him to make an official report that the gun had been stolen, which released him from responsibility for subsequent actions.)

So, perhaps an hour and a half later, with the help of the unofficial translator, the police report was produced. By the way, all the Panamanians were surprised that an insurance company would pay, based on a police report (I will tell you more about insurance in Panama later). We gave the unofficial translater $5 and a five-pack of beer (Skip had one); he was delighted. And, as a postscript, Skip just told us that the insurance company was accepting the police report and would pay up based on that. So, it was worth the wait.

Our Christmas tree arrived yesterday by bus. Rene's son, Nigel, bought trees for her and us, and had them transported up here, on top of one of the commuter buses. What a sight!

And a P.S. to the previous posting: no, the gardner did not show up on the day promised for fixing the road. He showed up on his normal day, and used part of that day to fix the road. Unacceptable. I decided not to confront him, or get angry at him, but rather just to ignore him. He is well aware, as all drunks are, that he has misbehaved. Yesterday, his regular day here, I noticed several new potted plants on the terrace. It is not going to be that easy for me to forgive his bad behavior!

December 6th, 2007

I made a big mistake last week, and am waiting today to see what the consequences are. The lane in front of our house is sandy/muddy and terribly pot-holed, and is becoming increasingly difficult to use because it is so rutted and muddy. Everyone here "fixes" their portion of these secondary roads by putting down loads of big stones and then sand.

I finally asked our gardener to arrange the stones and to dig the french drains, etc. etc. We agreed on a price and he was to start on Saturday and then finish up yesterday. He did start on Saturday, and then Sunday came to the house, asking for the total agreed-upon sum for the job.

I was distracted and not thinking straight, so I gave him all the money. In retrospect, I realize that he wanted the money to take his friends drinking (there was a live band in the beer hall on Saturday night; the band finished about 5 am Sunday but its audience seems to have continued celebrating all day Sunday). Well, needless to say, the gardner didn't arrive yesterday. Today is the normal day for the gardner. I wonder if he will show up, and, if he does, what the story will be. And I wonder what my reaction will be to the lie. This is a very wierd situation, isn't it? His family must hate me for enabling his drunkness.

November happenings

November is a month of national holidays here. We started off with the religious holiday of Lost Souls Day on November 2, followed by Independence Day from Columbia on the 3rd, and Flag Day on the 4th. Then we had the 10th, which is the "First Cry for Freedom from Spain". Finally, we will have the 28th, which is Independence Day from Spain. How about that?

The first weekend was a major celebration. In Panama City, all major buildings were draped with huge flags, and red, white and blue bunting. Small flags were being sold everywhere. The entire country had marching band parades. Here in El Valle, our parade consisted of about ten different bands from the local schools as well as one independent band. Some of the bands included baton twillers, some included cute girls marching in complicated patterns, and others included girls dressed in polleros, the beautiful national costume. Our parade lasted almost two hours, ending at the reviewing stand near the mercado. Music continued for most of the day. And no wonder, these kids practice the entire year for these parades! (All of us can hear the practicing, at almost any hour of the day and night.)

The school kids come from very poor families. It is amazing to know that the families have to buy the uniforms, the instruments, and costumes. Imagine this on family incomes of about $300 a month.

I watched the parade while sitting at the Gourmet Coffee shop (only open on holidays and weekends). The shop has seats outside, so I enjoyed my coffee outside while watching the parade. How about that for comfort!

October 30, 2007

We went to Panama City on the bus on Sunday, primarily to get set for the chemo on Monday. However, we had some fun along the way. We saw the movie, "Michael Clayton"; our first movie in a cinema in Panama! So, because we are "juliblados" (i.e., old geeks), our tickets were half-priced: $2.00 each. Hard to beat! With our coke, water and popcorn, the whole experience was less than $10! The cinema house was a standard multi-plex item in the mall, with clean, comfortable seats and a huge screen (it was hard to get far enough away from it so we didn't get dizzy). Good film, too.

Later that evening we went over to the casino nearest our hotel (Veneto Casino). We had a snacky dinner while we watched the Red Sox womp up on the Rockies on the big screen in the sports bar area. We thought one of our table neighbors was a real Rockie fan until we realized that he was betting every couple of innings. He didn't do too well that night.

The casino was completely decorated for Halloween, although this is not a holiday celebrated here in Panama. The decorations were great: lots of balloons, huge spiders and webs everywhere and pumpkins all over. Great atmosphere!

While Tommy was having chemo, I went from store to store, getting stuff we can't get up here: decent light bulbs (note: one only buys name brand light bulbs here; the others are made in China and either don't work immediately, quit after 10 minutes, and/or twist off from the metal bottom when one tries to unscrew it...on this we happen to agree with Lou Dobbs!); shelf standards (had to visit two different stores to get 12 brackets to match!); English muffins; you get the idea. We were both exhausted, for different reasons.

Tommy wanted to sleep in this morning, so I took an earlier bus home. When I got off at our street, I was carrying my purse, two curtain rods, and two heavy, large bags. Three kids, who were walking home from school, stopped me and took my packages to help me home. Even though we went past their house, they insisted on walking me all the way home. Ah me, what a great feeling!

Saturday, October 20, 2007

We had another parade today even though it was pouring rain. We knew that there was an upcoming parade because all week long we have been hearing drum practice every night. This parade was "hosted" by one of the local schools, but there were floats from many other provinces (Bocas del Toro, Darien, Panama, etc.). Today's parade was a bit more low key than the one about a month ago, which had many more floats and all the floats were pulled by oxen. The general idea was the same.

The queen of the parade was the daughter of Dario, one of the fellows building the workshop. As I was riding my bike home this morning, I met Dario. When I asked him, "No work today?", he told me about the parade, about his daughter being the queen, and that he was looking for his boss to get an advance so that he could buy candy for the queen to throw during the parade. Of course I gave him a couple of bucks.

The parade started at the other end of town at 10ish. At 11:30 Tommy and I left our house and drove three blocks to a restaurant on the main street (on the parade route). This restaurant also has two bar seats outside in the front, and we were early enough to grab those. So, we had front row seating, con bar service, for the parade.

All the floats were pickup trucks decorated with flowers, palm fronds, and posters. The kids were in the truck beds, waving, dancing, and throwing candy. All were costumed: boys in dressy white shirts and dark trousers, and the girls in the beautiful native lacy dressy with elaborate hair ornaments. Most of the floats had some sort of cover to keep the kids dry. We saw one dad walking alongside the truck, holding an umbrella over his kid in the truck.

Each float was followed by its own marching band and dancing supporters. The bands all have drums and a horn section (some more than others), and assorted other instruments (one had an accordian). One of the bands took shelter on the terrace of our restaurant; this was great because the muscians continued to play while they were at the restaurant. Hard not to have happy feet while listening to these bands.

The parade route went past us, and a half block later, turned around and returned to the center of town. We watched both passes; probably took an hour or so. Everyone was soaked but had great big smiles.

So, now it's Saturday night and we are watching University of Michigan football on TV (you can take the boy out of Michigan but you can't take the Michigan out of the boy....), and we don't hear any drum practice. First time in weeks!

October 18th, 2007: Health Update

Six weeks after we got here, Tommy was diagnosed with cancer of the esophogus which had spread to his bones. Chemo started immediately, with all the joys that come with chemo: hair loss, nausea, extreme tiredness, etc. However, after three sessions of chemo, spread over nine weeks, a CT scan showed that the tumor (originally 10 cm) had been reduced by 95%! Isn't that grand news!

Chemo has re-started with three more sessions, which will take us to early December, when there will be all sorts of scans to see what is going on in the esophogus and the bones.

The chemo is taking place in Panama City, at the Punta Pacifica Hospital which is brand new and affiliated with Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Md., USA. We originally went to this hospital for another problem, and when the doctors were trying to discover the source of that other problem, they came across the cancer.

We feel the hospital is terrific, the doctors are really on the ball, and the nursing staff attentive and kind. The admin staff, while polite and very nice, are sometimes not as efficient as one would like. However, the Punta Pacifica has a wonderful lady named Dee, whose function is to help patients and families with any admin and/or translation difficulties. This is truly a plus!

Because the doctors know that we live in El Valle and therefore cannot easily run back and forth to the hospital, all the diagnostic tests were performed on an in-patient basis over a period of three days. Because of our terrific BUPA insurance, Tommy had a private room with a couch, which could be converted into a bed for me when I desired (no charge, either). I did that once but didn't eat the offerred hospital food, opting instead to walk across the street to the shopping mall and get a sushi take-away.

The chemo sessions are on every third Monday, so we take the bus on Sunday and treat ourselves to a nice dinner with wine because wine is prohibited for a week after chemo. We like to stay in the El Cangrejo district and have a terrific little hotel ($35 a night, thank you very much). We are learning all the great restaurants in El Cangrejo, as well as the casino Veneto.
We stay Sunday and Monday (because the chemo ends too late on Monday to catch the bus), and return home on Tuesday mid-day.

We are greeted by TwoBaby, screaming his head off. Gladys, the maid, comes in every day when we are gone but it just isn't the same apparently. Nice to be missed!

There are always two ways...., October 6, 2007

When we entered Panama, we were given 90 day visas, as was the van. For one reason or another (including sloth), we let the van visa elapse without renewing it.

After a short time here, we quickly decided that our beloved van was inappropriate in Panama; apart from the main roads, the roads are too pot-holed and narrow, as are driveways, for the "monster" as our friend Rene calls the van.

We toyed with the idea of sending the van back to the States, to sell it there. We knew that the more we drove the van, the more we were tempting the god of fines. Finally, we decided not to hassle with selling the van in the States, which meant that we finally had to deal with registering the van in Panama so that we could sell it here.

After several weeks of unanswered e-mails, miscommunications, and frustrating phone calls, we were directed to Julia. Barbara visited Julia last week, and gave her all the van documents, including the out-0f-date visa.

Julia sent her "boy" to Aduana (must be the immigration office in Panama City?), and several hours later called with the news that the fine (for letting the visa elapse) was $500. Thankfully, we didn't rush to agree to pay this, because Julia went on to say, "As you know, in Panama there are always two ways of doing things. In this case, the immigration lady has offered to place the appropriate monthly stamps on the van visa. She can do this for $25 a month." Since we were four months out-of-date, our bill was $100. Love it.

Contrary to many of the North Americans, we are not offended by "the other way" of doing things in this part of the world. Hey, if it gets the job done and doesn't hurt anyone, what's the big deal? Besides, it is usually cheaper and quicker!

A word about buses, October 5th, 2007

I think we mentioned that we have been taking the bus to and from Panama City to El Valle. We just walk out to the main street (2 blocks) and flag down a bus which says "Panama City". Or, we can walk into town (5 blocks) and wait at the bus stop, which is covered and has benches.

Last week we were returning to Panama City with our friend Gill (and her very large, heavy suitcase) so that we could play in PC for a day before she had to catch her flight home to Portugal. Since it was raining, Tommy drove Gill, me and the suitcase into town to the covered bus stop. He returned the van back home, fiddled a bit as only Tommy can, and then started walking back towards town to catch the bus.

In the mean time, Gill and I had caught a bus, and I explained that "mi esposo" was walking towards the bus, and that we wanted him to get on the bus. Luckily, for the fiddle factor, our bus meandered all around town and finally headed out. As we were passing our lane, I spotted Tommy a half block down, which somehow I conveyed to the bus driver. The bus turned around and went to pick up Tommy! Lovely.

Earlier this week, we were in PC but had so many appointments, that we were later than normal getting to the bus station. We ended up on a bus which left at 6pm, which meant that a half hour later it was dark outside (and inside, of course), and everything was a bit slower because it was "rush hour" and raining. About halfway home, we noticed that all the street lights were out, and that the only lights near houses and stores were car lights which were pointed at the buildings. Also about this time, our full bus started picking up additional passengers so that the aisle was completely jammed with standers and several guys were hanging out the doorway. Imagine the joy of having a backpack in your face, as well as the delightful smells of so many crammed, wet bodies. We were ever so glad to enter El Valle, where there was light and fresh air!

These buses seat 25 to 30 people, and are relatively new. The latin music plays constantly and loudly; Gill tried to drown out the music with her IPOD but was only marginally successful. The bus driver normally has a helper, who stations himself near the doorway. He flags down passengers, helps people on and off, and takes the money. He also is the guy who has to hang out the doorway when the bus is jammed.

The journey takes between 2 and 3 hours, depending on the bus driver's mood more than anything, it seems. In PC, the final stop is the Albrook Mall, from which a $2 cab ride will get you into the middle of town. All this fun and convenience for only $3.50, each way. Can you beat it?

September 14th, 2007

The shed was finished this week, except for some final painting. The local tradition, when the roof goes on a building, is for the owner to provide the workers with beer and mondongo (tripe). After advice from our friends here, we decided to forego the mondongo and give the workers beer and money ($5 each). The workers didn't seem to miss the mondongo at all.

While in Panama City earlier this week, we found more wonderful grocery stores. I say tell everyone:I haven't done any site seeing in Panama City but I know every grocery store in the city. These last two were J ewish delis (have found three so far), with a great vegetable selection. Also, from our hotel in Panama City, I can walk to New York Bagels and treat ourselves to great lox and bagels, along with buying bagels to bring home.

The ship with our household goods had to divert itself to other ports in order to avoid the hurricanes in the Atlantic. Instead of the promised 3 September arrival, the ship is now schedule for 17 September. Unfortunately for the import agents, they forgot to inform us of the missed arrival date so we had a one-sided, unhappy conversation with them. We are now getting regular status reports. Once the ship docks, it will be another week before we get our stuff, due to customs procedures. We are now expecting our stuff to be delivered to our house around the 24th of September, just when we have visitors. Naturally.

Speaking of visitors: Nigel and Gill from Portugal and Donald and Sarah from the US are arriving in Panama City on Saturday the 22nd. We plan to go meet them, spend a couple of days there, and then come up here for a couple of days. Tommy's birthday is on 25 September. One of the best restaurants in Panama in here in El Valle, so we will be going there for the birthday dinner. For all our foodie friends: "best" in Panama is probably at "B" elsewhere. Still good, though.

The little local library is so neat, and is funded by contributions from the wealthy Panamaians who have weekend houses here. The library has a small, but certainly adequate, English language section. On Saturday mornings, several volunteers teach English classes to the school age kids. I went a couple of weeks ago, to show one class the magic of Google Earth, which fascinated everyone in the library. A big favorite was Disneyland.

The library also shows movies, via DVDs. On Friday nights, the movies are in English with Spanish subtitles; the reverse happens on Saturday nights. We like this little event! Some weeks the movies are good and some weeks they are bad. Some weeks we get surprised, like last week when the advertised movie, "The Holiday", was replaced with some awful Jackie Chan crapola. One of our friends walked out as soon as we confirmed the replacement; he gets the smart guy award.

I think I mentioned that I was teaching myself to make paper, using our household's recycled paper. My efforts were okay but not great. Luckily, one of our new friends here is a papermaker, using plant material. She had me over for a papermaking session; what fun and I learned alot. And what a mess we made.

The weekends here are lots of fun, with more stores open and with lots more energy in the town. The market, which is famous throughout Panama, has much nicer produce on the weekend, and there are more artists/craftspeople selling their stuff. The pottery pot man is also here on the weekends, and we have lots of his pots and saucers. There are several pottery places along the road up to El Valle; one of them has large pots similar to the ones Cynthia gave us for our Portuguese house. We had to leave those big pots in Portugal, and will replace them with ones from one of those pottery stands.

There was a big drama here two weeks ago: a fairly influential couple from the US was vacationing up here, staying at one of the fancy hotels. The guy of the couple decided to go walking on one of the mountains; when he didn't return within the expected time, his wife notified the hotel owners who started mobilizing search teams, some volunteer and some paid. This poor guy was found two days later (!) by the local Indians, who made a basic stretcher to lift him out and carry him down the mountain to the waiting ambulance. Apparently this couple has enough influence to get Jimmy Carter called President Torrijos (of Panama) to ask him to ask the US to send helicopters (the US stated policy is to not send helicopters unless requested by the host nation...except when it suits them otherwise). Panama didn't request US help, but it didn't matter because the mountain is so steep and jungley that there is no place for a helicopter to land (the Panamanian rescue service did send a helicopter but it couldn't land). Anyway, the guy had at least one fractured leg (some stories say two legs and an arm were broken), was taken to a hospital in Panama City, and is okay now.

I just went outside to close the gate and the frogs are talking! El Valle is home to the golden frog, in case you didn't know. I don't know if the ones I hear are the famous golden guys, but they sure are making noise!

Talk to you later!

August 22, 2007: Donald's 60th Birthday!

Today is Donald's 60th birthday, which he is celebrating in Florence with Sarah and two other friends. May the celebrations be long and lusty!

Hurricane Dean hit Mexico, Belize and Guatemala yesterday. The news is full of Mexico's damage, but we can find little about Belize and Guatemala except that Ambergris and Caulker Cayes were evacuated, as was Belize City. Corozal apparently took a direct hit; we remember it as the first place we camped in Belize. It was extremely low lying and right on the water. It was so incredibly poor and ramshackle when we were there; just can't imagine it now and how the people are coping.

Well, it has been a while since we talked. We have the workers here again, building our "shed" so that we can store a lot of our stuff when it arrives, which is currently projected for sometime in September. We decided to build the shed first, since it will take about five months to build Tommy's workshop (which we will get started as soon as the shed is finished). Today the shed reached a height higher than the mason's arms, so he made his version of a scaffold: a rickedy board, perched over two cinder blocks, piled on top of two oil drums. Well, it seems to do the trick!

Our visa applications have been filed! It took over three months to collect all the papers and have them authenticated in their countries of issue. Christopher handled the US papers, and easily handled the undocumented (on the internet and telephone records) move of the Panamanian Consulate from San Francisco to San Diego. Getting documents from Portugal started with Hans and Justina obtaining the required reports, and then our lawyer in Lisbon taking those reports from office to office. This took over a month (!), and cost you don't want to know how much money. He also had to deal with offices which had moved, telephones which were disconnected (with no forwarding numbers), broken copy machines which caused days of delays, bureaucrats who didn't know what was required....unbelievable! At this moment, we are not sure which is the worst bureaucracy: the US, Portuguese or Panamanian! And then, naturally, we had a week of absolute hell when we discovered that the Lisbon lawyer had sent our papers through Portuguese "fast" mail, rather than by FedEx or DHL, as we had requested. The reason we requested the use of these courier services is that Panama has no postal delivery by the postal system: everything goes to a general delivery post office (such as in El Valle), or to a post office box. And the "system" is said to be completely unreliable and corrupt. However, our lawyer in Panama City put his staff to work to find our package and, after a week of searching, the package was located. Champagne time!

Well, we'll come back in a few days. Right now, we want to get snacks ready for folks who are coming over for a drink. Take care!

El Valle, Panama, May 23rd, 2007

Wow! So, we were heading down the mountain on Friday, May 11th and our lawyer called to say that the house contract was ready to sign, whenever we were. Well why not on Saturday, we all agreed. So we did, and wow! was it easy! That afternoon, Tommy and I taxied around Panama City, buying a washer, dryer, a new stove and an exercise machine. The new stove is a luxury, for sure! And, per Cynthia, the exercise machine a necessity.

The following day, Sunday, we headed back up the mountain and met the sellers of the house, who handed over the keys and we moved in. Incredible! The house is about six months old, and still has a few things unfinished or needing fixing/improvements. It has four bedrooms and three baths, plus a maid's room and bath (!), which is now the exercise area. It is a great house, which makes up for the smallish lot. The house came fully furnished, with mostly new stuff, including linens for the beds, as well as a TV and DVD player which doubles as our stereo system. We'll give back much of the stuff when ours arrives but for now, we couldn't be more comfortable. And, we should say, the sellers have gone out of their way to make sure that we had enough of the right stuff. They will eventually be our neighbors because they are building a replacement house on the lot behind us.

We have had electricians, plumbers, builders, etc. here for the last week. It is amazing how little you can get done, when you have all these guys around (Skip says that it is like herding cats). Last week they kept all their promised appointments; this week, no one has showed up ... including the national telephone company. Fortunately, we were well trained in Portugal so this kind of stuff doesn't bother us as much as other "estranjeiros", who freak out if someone is 10 minutes late.

The garden is small but beautifully planted. We are adding plants to screen ourselves from the neighbors (way, way too close) as well as to give ourselves some privacy. There are also quite a few herbs (lots of basil, parsley, and rosemary) but eventually I want to expand this part of the garden. There is no coentros (cilantro) or lemon grass anywhere I can find so we are going to have to grow it.

By the way, "we" don't add the plants...for the first time in our lives, we have a gardner who comes 10 days a month to maintain the garden and cut the grass. We also have a maid (another first) who comes once a week, today being her first day. We are going to have to start making messes because she finished all her work (including windows) within six hours.

It is hot and humid here, and the rainy season has just started. And boy! Does it rain! This little internet place has a tin roof, and the noise of the rain on the roof makes it impossible to have a conversation here. At the moment, this is part of the charm as your man Tommy loves to say.

TwoBaby is thrilled to finally have a place of his own! As he did in Portugal, he talks to everyone who comes in the house. He and I were up early this morning, to watch the sun come up. We also watched a frog, hopping around the front terrace. Two didn't chase the frog but did investigate the frog's path/smell after the frog had hopped off. We are grateful that TwoBaby is an old, well fed cat because he hasn't gone after any of the birds which visit us each morning, chirping us awake.

Tommy is busy, cataloging all the refreshment stops. There are very few "bars" as we know them, but plenty of cafes which serve drinks. And there are two miserable concrete structures which are known as the beer gardens. I prefer the cafes any day.

El Valle was once the crater of a vulcano (a gazillion years ago). The town itself is flat, which is ideal for bike riding. I couldn't resist: I bought a bicycle. But because I have a really good bike which will be coming with our household goods, I bought the cheapest one I could find here. What a piece of junk! I have already had two blown tires. Everyone just shakes their heads and says "Chinese" because this bike was made in China. They say the same about the light bulbs sold here in El Valle. Now we all know that China produces good products, but the worst ones (i.e., with no quality control) seem to end up here in Panama.

Tommy visited the post office today to find out our address. It is:
Tommy and Barbara Camph
General Delivery
Province Cocle
El Valle de Anton
1001
Panama

We may also get a post office box in Miami (there are three different companies here, offering this service). Apparently this is a good thing to have for such things as Amazon shopping.

Our cell phone is (country code 507) 67 38 47 20. When the telephone company decides to appear and install a phone, we'll let you know the land line.

Crazy stuff, hm?

El Valle, Panama, May 9th, 2007

Woops...it has been awhile! We did go back up to Lake Arenal, and spent another two days looking at properties. There were two great pieces of land, overlooking the lake. We left the area, feeling really good about the people and the place. This time, on the way down to San Jose, we stopped to look at Volcan Arenal. Our bar of choice had seats looking directly at the volcano, who chose to erupt and throw some lava down our side while we were sitting there. This is truly an amazing experience! So primevil, so out of control, so stark and fascinating. You expect to see dinosaurs at any moment!

We spent the night again at the Belen RV trailer park, and the next day headed south (unfortunately, through San Jose...ugh!), arriving in the Dominical area late in the afternoon. What a drama, getting into the campground! Our van was too high for the first entrance, so we were directed to the back entrance, where metal lines had to be held up with poles to give the van enough clearance! The owner was extremely accommodating, and made a difficult situation good. What a gorgeous beach area is Dominical! This apparently is a great surfing area, so once again, we were the oldest folks around. We found a super restaurant nearby, and had great fresh tuna for dinner.

The next day we went back up the highway, so that we could visit Pete and Mary Jo's house at Tres Piedras. We were 40 minutes getting down to the valley floor, on a difficult road for our van, but when we arrived at their caretakers' house, we were welcomed with great enthusiasm. Irma, the wife, took Barbara wading across the river and up the grass driveway to the house. What a great location! And what terrific people are these caretakers. They cut us two pineapples to take along, and invited us to return when the river was low enough for the van to ford (in the "summer", which would be January or February...the season reverse is difficult to get used to.) Tres Piedras is a bit of magic!

We continued along the coastal highway, which was absolutely beautiful and the road in great condition. We spent the night at the Bunka Lodge, about 60 km from the border. We had our own little guest house, which was so well equipped and laid out that we took measurements, thinking to copy it if we were to build a guest house.

The next day we crossed the border, and you all know our feelings about borders so enough said. We had intended to spend the night in David but after an hour of being rejected at the hotels (all full!) we continued on to Boquete, which is a mountain town and much, much nicer than David. We found a hotel which gave us our own cabin (which we are really liking!) and started exploring. We found a jazz club! We liked Boquete a lot so spent the next two days looking at houses, and did find one we liked.

After two days in Boquete, we headed east and ended up in Santiago for Saturday night. On Sunday, we continued eastward, checking out beaches as we went. Our favorite was Santa Clara, which has white sand, a couple of casual restaurants and ranchos with hammocks. That night we ended up in El Valle, which is a mountain town where our friends from Silves, Rene and Tom Cosans, live. We spent Sunday night at a hotel and then met up with Rene and Tom on Monday, April 30th.

Rene and Tom took us to lunch at a neat local place (garlic shrimp...yum!). As we were finishing lunch, one of their friends came to the table and, after hearing that we were there to look at property, she announced she had something for sale and would show it to us that afternoon. She did, we liked it, Rene and Tom couldn't believe the value for money, we looked at it again the next day, made an offer, and here we are!

The agent is named Chola and she has 10 brothers and sisters, and they all have children. One of Chola's nephews is a lawyer in Panama City and he and his partners specialize in ex-pat matters. Chola bundled us up, took us to Panama City and for two days we did the visa stuff, the bank account stuff, and met the owners of the house in El Valle. Oh, and Chola found someone to take care of TwoBaby while we were in Panama City. The Chola universe!

So, now the lawyers are working out the contracts, our terrific bank (SRI Federal Credit Union) has already transferred the down payment, and we are on hold, waiting for a summons to Panama City to sign the promissory contract for the house. Wild, isn't it?

Laguna del Arenal, Costa Rica, April 22, 2007

We did cross the border into Costa Rica on Friday the 13th. It was another hot, slow and corrupt border crossing. We paid $100US in bribes and fees (mostly bribes). On our way to the border, we were on a road which was extremely pot holed, so Tommy was playing "dodge the pothole". All of a sudden we were stopped by the Nicaraguan police, who wanted to fine us for zig zaging on the road! Due to my limited Spanish, this took a while to understand. While this was sinking in, the police stopped a Nicaraguan car and told them they were going to be fined; the Nicaraguan started arguing fiercely. Accordingly, we too gained some courage and start complaining about the "carretara muy mal". The police had enough of our act, and waved us onward. Hey, a minor victory is still a victory!

About 60 miles (or was it kilometers? can't remember) from the border we arrived in Liberia, a modest-sized town, where we stopped to go to a bank and grocery store. I found myself wimpering with joy, as I entered the air conditioned, modern grocery store with everything I could ever want! Boy, I guess it has been a while! Lovely! We stayed that night in a "decommissioned RV park" (whatever that means), and the next day drove down to the beach.

It was really too hot for us at the beach. After a few refreshments, we headed up into the highlands. As we drove into the Laguna del Arenal area, we were flabbergasted at the beauty and tranquility. We only stopped for a drink, and ended up spending the weekend there. This also happened to be the weekend of the local festival, much of it right in front of our hotel. That was great fun! One of the main parts of the festival was a "tope", a horse parade up and down the main street. The fancier riders got their horses to prance and dance. After several hours of this (mind you, refreshments were plentiful), the horses and festival goers went down the hill to the bull ring plaza, where there were lots of food stands, a merry-go-round, etc. etc., as well as the bull fight (for which we didn't stay). Lots of local color!

The town of Arenal felt good to us, with the right mix of gringos and ticos (as the Costa Ricans are called, and this nickname isn't derrogatory). The lake is incredibly beautiful, and there are lots of artists around. So on Sunday, we looked at land and houses for sale. Nothing was quite right. To jump ahead: we returned this weekend to look some more, and this time we did see two different parcels, either of which could work for us. We aren't going to put in an offer because we first want to see what Panama has to offer. But gosh, it is beautiful here!

In between the two weekends, we stayed in the San Antonio de Belen RV trailer park; this is right outside of San Jose, the capital. The park is run by a transplanted Californian, and its guests were either German or Californians (not just us). One of the Californians wants to return to Yuba City, which should be an indicator of how much time we have spent with him. One of the German couples had had their camper van shipped to North America and they had been travelling for almost a year. They were ready to finish their trip and go back home, had paid their passage (including the car), and had confirmed reservations on a freighter (this costs about 5,000 euros, one-way). The day of boarding, they were told that there was no room on the ship for them because the freighter was full of mangoes; perhaps there would be room on the next ship in two weeks. And they have no recourse! Life in the second world!

During our time in Belen, we got TwoBaby's papers sorted out. He first had to see a vet, get another shot, and then the vet had his papers verified and stamped by the Minister of Agriculture. We took those papers to the Minister of the Exterior, where they were stamped and signed. Then we went to the Panamaian Embassy, where the papers were stamped, signed and verified or some such bullshit. To do our part, we had to go into San Jose, which we found quite unfriendly and a bit too rough for our tastes, so once our business was finished, we took a local bus back to Belen.

This last week, the electricity has been cut three times for several hours each time. Apparently these were planned cuts, but no one around us seemed to know that. We have been told that the electricity company is doing this due to shortages, or, alternatively, in preparation for a rate hike.

We have been lucky so far with regard to the roads: they have been pretty good. And, contrary to Nicaragua, there is very little roadside trash (Nicaragua was terrible in this regard). As you drive around, periodically you see the following painted on the road surface: a square, and in the square is a heart with a halo. We were told this was a reminder to wear your seat belts, which you surely need here. The number one cause of death in Costa Rica is road accidents!

Our plan is to return to Belen tomorrow, and then on Tuesday, go to Pete and Mary Jo's house near Dominical, after which we will make our way to the border. Tommy's goal has been to get to Panama by the end of April so we should meet that goal (fingers crossed!).

Talk to you soon!

San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, April 12th

This place is a little slice of heaven. In many ways, it reminds of us what the Algarve must have been like in the 1970's. San Juan del Sur is a surfers' paradise (consequently, we are probably the oldest people in the town), with the smallish town built around a bay. The only thing between our hotel and the ocean is our favorite bar. No DWI's for us! Last night we had a lobster dinner...so good and so cheap!

Tomorrow we expect to cross the border into Costa Rica, and then head south towards Liberia and the Nicoya Penninsula. We expect to spend the weekend there, and then head for San Jose (the capital of Costa Rica) because TwoBaby has to have specific papers, verified by the Panamaian Embassy, in order to cross into Panama legally. Everyone advises us to forget about the papers, and bribe our way across the border. Our decision still hasn't been finalized. We'll see how we feel next week. In Costa Rica, we hope to visit Pete and Mary Jo's place (although they aren't there, and Pete just reported that the river is not passable in our van). Lots of adventures ahead of us!

Before we came to San Juan del Sur, we spent a day in Granada. What a fabulous place! It is picturesque, it is clean, has lots of history and is very easy to get around. We took an hour-long buggy ride around the town, with our driver doubling as a tour guide. And didn't you want to know that there are 12 Catholic churches in Granada? We would be happy to return to Granada, particularly if the baseball championships were going on!

Granada is on Lake Nicaragua, which is HUGE! This lake is part of the passageway for the proposed canal project to link the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. We had heard rumors that the Japanese were funding this project, but those could be just rumors.

Speaking of funding....as one drives around, particularly on the miserable back roads, you see lots of billboards which credit various countries for funding to fix the roads. Countries so far are Japan, Denmark, Holland and the EU itself. And this is funny...on the potholed back roads, you will come across kids with shovels. They are filling in the potholes, and as you drive near them, the kids are pointing to the pothole they just filled. Of course, some money is expected.

Contrary to several guidebooks, the beer through Central America has been great. Tommy likes wine with dinner, and that has been mainly from Chile, and a few times, from Argentina. The food hasn't been that terrific except for special dinners like last night. But here in Nicaragua there are these little treats called rostillas, which are corn bread rings. Some of them are plain and some have cinnamon, and they all are delicious!

We have been surprised by the great differences among the countries, and how the changes are immediate rather than gradual. There is no place like Guatemala, with the colorful weavings and crafts. The people in Nicaragua have been the friendliest so far. The scenery changes dramatically every thirty miles or so.

So, tomorrow...onto to Costa Rica!

Jinotega, Nicaragua, April 7th

Wow! We are in Nicaragua, in a little town in the highlands, about 100 miles north of Granada. Since this is Semana Santa (Easter week), we have been trying to stay away from the populated areas to avoid high prices and scads of people. We are staying in a lovely, fantastic, what a surprise! little boutique hotel with terrific staff and a gourmet restaurant. We decided to give ourselves two nights here, since we were all suffering from too much travelling and too many border crossings. We will probably leave tomorrow for Granada.

To back up...we left Xela four days later than planned because Tommy came down with bronchitis. The hotel found a doctor, who made a hotel call and proscribed antibiotics and four days of bed rest. We left on Thursday, March 30th. Tommy, who had been imaging maneuvering the car out of the garage (for two weeks), had no trouble at all. As we drove south out of Xela, we saw the lush harvest gardens which supply organic produce to the USA, and nonorganic produce to the rest of Central America.

We chose to drive on CA 2 (not CA1, the Pan American Highway), which parallels the Pacific coast line. This road is in much better condition than CA 1, but we still endured tremendous traffic jams (for no apparent reason). Our last night in Guatemala, we camped in a water park (how about that Greg and KG!), which was set up for RVs and camper vans with electricity and water. They just forgot to tell us that the park and restaurant closed at 6pm, so we had a lovely dinner of crackers that night! (Once the park closes, the gates are locked and you are there for the night.)

The next day, we crossed into El Salvador. The crossing, even though we hired someone to help us, took much longer than expected (about 2 hours) so we were a bit late finding a place for the night. We ended up in a town called Acajutla, which is on the Pacific Ocean but could only find one hotel with secure parking, our primary concern. Although right on the ocean, this hotel was a true shit hole, so we slept in the van and were careful not to use any of the facilities. Repulsive. This next morning we were encouraged to leave by 9am, so that the hotel could rent out its rooms to beach goers.

With such an early start, we decided to take the guidebook recommended Ruta das Flores, a road going up into the mountains. It was beautiful and cool, and so lovely that we stayed in a little hotel in the middle of a coffee plantation. We had our own cabana, complete with hammocks on the porch. It rained during the night...our first rain since we left California! What a terrific little stop!

Our third night in El Salvador was in Zacatecoluca, a rather miserable, though lively, market town. In order for us to pull through the driveway into the parking area, the owner had to move his taxi and open the rubber curtain across the driveway. The van and TwoBaby were great curiosities to the owner´s kids. The local bank was also the internet cafe. This was located right on the main square, which was surrounded with market stalls selling food and everything else imaginable. Our hotel had cable TV, so Tommy watched the final game of the NCAA tournament (sorry about your team, Greg!).

The next day we stopped at Playa El Cuco, where we had planned to stay at a beach resort. Unfortunately for us, the resort had doubled its prices due to Semana Santa so we continued down the road til we found a small sign for quartos. The rooms were disgusting so we talked the owner into letting us camp in the van, under palm trees, about 100 yards from the ocean. It was magical, complete with ceviche for lunch and fresh fish for dinner, both prepared by the owner´s wife. Again, we were the curiosity of the day to the local kids and chickens and turkeys, which were wandering around the property. The property itself was huge, with palm trees and three medium sized dwellings, disgusting as they were. And it was right on the ocean. We asked the price of such a property, and were told it would be about $250,000US. Not that we want to live there!

On Wednesday, 4 April, we crossed from El Salvador into Honduras at El Amatillo. This border crossing, no matter which way you are going, has the worst reputation in Central America. It is hot, it is slow, it is expensive, it is absolutely horrible. We hired a guy with a Michigan shirt to help us, but even so it took us almost 3 hours and $100US to get into Honduras. The guy with the Michigan shirt had lived in the US for about twelve years before he was deported (we were too chicken to ask him what he did).

About 60 miles from the border, we found a brand new motel (two weeks old!), complete with huge swimming pool, a bar and a restaurant. We had to stop. The people here were extraordinarily helpful and friendly. This was the first place with satellite TV (previously TVs had been cable), and it was amazing how many US channels were available (not that there was much interesting to see). During the night we lost electricity and the TV, due to a terrific rain storm, complete with thunder and lightning. Fortunately, the electricity came back on after about 20 minutes, so we didn´t suffer in the heat and humidity. During our 24 hours, or so, in Honduras we were stopped by four security/border patrols, and one which asked to see our emergency triangles. Oops...no where to be found in the van! (The question is, how can you sell a $25,000 van and not include triangles). The cop said we would have to return to Choluteca (about 60 miles westward) to pay the fine. We must have looked so pathetic that he finally let us go (no bribes). We stopped the first possible place and bought the two required triangles.

And then on Thursday, we crossed the border into Nicaragua. Our guide, Carlos, ran around, getting all our papers signed and bribes paid (yes, we are not too proud to pay the border bribes!), so the whole process only took about an hour. We headed eastwards, towards Esteli, which sounded great in the guidebook. It wasn´t so great, but we needed a place to stay since it was getting late in the day. We rejected the best local hotel, and went to the best restaurant, which was on a hill, overlooking the town. We talked the restaurant owner into letting us camp near his restaurant. This area was patrolled by his security guard, so we felt safe and were happy to get to our van after a good dinner. The guard said something about us having to leave early in the morning but we told him we were leaving at 9am. WRONG! At 5 am, he pounded on our doors, saying we had to leave because his boss would be coming soon. Arguing didn´t help...he had the gun (he didn´t point it at us, we just knew we was in the position of power). Obviously, I need more Spanish lessons to find out where our communication with the restaurant owner went wrong.

So, we were up early with no real plan. We head up into the highlands to the "City of Mists", Jinotega, which is about 100 miles north of Granada, and found this terrific hotel which allowed us to check in at 9am in the morning! Also staying at this hotel, is a youngish Texan, who is developing a first world style subdivision (urbanization) near here. The houses are much cheaper than Panama and Costa Rica, and he said that sales were great. Could be bullshit, but maybe not. It is lovely up here, and the Nicaraguans we have met have been so nice and friendly with lots of smiles. Yesterday we went for a drive to the lake and were stopped by the cops, who asked to see our papers. Oh shit! This was the one time we didn´t have them with us because we had unburdened ourselves of all that stuff and left them (inadvertently) at the hotel. After lots of explaining, the cop smiled and let us go on. Lucky, weren´t we.

We wanted to tell you about "Auto Hotels", which we have seen all through Central America but mostly after we left Guatemala. At first we thought that these were like North American motels. However, after looking a bit more closely and reading about these auto hotels, we realize that they are not motels as we know them. Picture a cinderblock courtyard, with about 10 to 20 one car garage type openings. There is a curtain across each opening. Apparently, you drive into this garage opening, the curtain is closed and you and your honey have the privacy to do whatever you want. Some of these places look quite desparate, and some look very fancy, and they all charge by the hour.

So many of the people we have met have been deported from the US, after living and working there for years. One gets a whole different feeling about "illegal immigration" into the US after travelling in these parts. So many of these immigrants are the main financial support for their families. In fact, 15% of El Salvador´s GNP is due to funds sent by the immigrants. That was one reason that El Salvador now uses the US dollar as its currency.

Time to go....talk to you soon!

March 24th, 2007

Yesterday I graduated from school! Verbs and tenses and cases are still exploding from my brain, and I may decide to speak in the same fashion as my brother Peter, who says he always uses the infinitive and never declines his verbs. I was something of an oddity at the school since most of the students are in their 20's, most of the students opt for the "total immersion program" (staying with a local host family and eating three meals a day with that family), and most students are here for at least four months. Obviously, they speak much better Spanish than I will ever speak but at 58, I'm going to do what is comfortable for me and my family (can you imagine Tommy living for two weeks in very basic accommodations, without TV and very little privacy?).

Last Sunday a group of us (students) went to Chichicastenango, the site of the largest indigenous market in Guatemala. We went there via chicken bus (one transfer) and the 100KM took four hours. The other kids said I had a true chicken bus experience, with a driver who was trying to win the chicken bus race, sometimes cornering on two wheels (well, not really, but it sure felt like it!). For the last hour, I shared my seat with two other people (this is a seat built for two elementary aged children). Anyway, I had my chicken bus experience! On the way back, we were all so tired, that we returned via mini-bus, which was somewhat faster and safer.

Chichicastenango is a market-lover's paradise. Stall after stall after stall selling local crafts, woven goods, beautiful clothes, shoes, belts, hammocks, travel bags....etc. etc. The colors! The variety! The richness of it all! Inadvertently, I discovered how to get the best price...just walk away. So, by walking away many times, I came home with lots of treasures! Just think of all the money I saved! We also visited the church at the top of the town. Our guide said that it was used primarily by the Mayans. It felt and looked very primitive and smelled overwhelmingly of incense, which was being burned at the entrances and in the church.

Have we told you about the great VISA scam? Cynthia will recall that we encountered this several years ago in Spain, and Bert ran into this in the Algarve when trying to buy port. It goes like this: the famous VISA emblem is on the gas/petrol pump, or front door, or even painted on the stall pillars, as we saw in Panachel. Often one chooses a specific restaurant or store or gas station, due to the VISA emblem. So, you eat or fill up or select stuff and go to pay, flipping out your VISA card. And the clerk looks at you and says, "machina no funcionada". Right. Machina no funcionada for years. We even have been tricked after asking if we could pay by VISA before we filled up with gas/petrol. Once the fill up was complete, the machina had stopped working. So, you always have to have enough cash to cover the fill up or dinner. Machina no funcionada.

We both came down with the flu this week. I missed a day of school while trying to recover. Even though I went to school, I didn't have much energy so decided to take a mini-bus half way to school each day. These are passenger vans (about the size of Tommy's Toyota and Chevy vans) with seats for 12 to 15. There are no published schedules or routes; the busses just drive around town, picking up passengers. The driver drives and his helper hangs out the side door, yelling for passengers. I flagged down my bus in front of the hotel each day. There are so many of these mini-busses that I never had the same one, and always just told them my desired destination before getting on. The fare is 1Q, no matter how far you go. This demand-based system really works! Donald says it has no chance in the USA due to unions, liability, the government and lawyers. Too bad!

It is easy to get your daily ration of fresh fruit: every other street corner has vendors of sliced fresh fruit (watermelon, papaya, cantalope, pineapple) and vendors squeezing fresh orange juice (which you drink from their glass glasses and return the glass, which they wash in a pail of water). I was game! Many of the vendors also have fresh eggs and I still haven't figured out how those are served (nor do I want to!).

We have the great fortune to be in a hotel which is centrally located for almost everything we want to do. Within a four block radius we have the Parque Central, banks, post office, lots of restaurants, internet, laundry, used book store (!), and TWO jazz clubs! We have been music pigs, attending almost every night. One of them is a little hole in the wall, with the "stage" being a platform over the smallest kitchen imaginable. This one specializes in a guitar style called "trova", and can handle about 30 people. The other club is a real restaurant (French) with great food, and seating for perhaps 60. We were there last night for Buena Vista style music, and we will go tonight to hear a trio playing more traditional jazz.

There is also a stained glass studio just around the corner. This guy's work is fabulous but he has a very small market because this is such a poor country. He did some of the windows for a church on Parque Central...absolutely beautiful work.

There are lots of foreign college-aged kids here, studying Spanish and doing volunteer work. The majority of students at my school were pre-med students, with one being a doctor who had just finished her residency in Seattle. What a fabulous experience for these kids! Most of them are either from North America or Scandinavia. Xela is a sister city to Tromso, Norway so that probably encourages Norwegians to come here.

We plan to leave Xela tomorrow. We love it here but it is time to move on. There are several things we won't miss: the incredibly dirty air, which we have noticed much more since we were ill. The tragedy of the homeless children (all ages) which is an enormous problem here. The "collectors", which are college boys, dressed in klu klux klan-like outfits except that the outfits are purple or yellow or black, rather than white. They go around the city, soliciting donations from businesses, mainly. If the business doesn't pay, their merchandise and walls are splashed with paint. My teacher said that the police don't do anything about this problem; I subsequently read a newspaper article which said that the police were trying to stop this practice. Meeting these collectors on the street is creepy.

So, talk to you soon!

March 14th, 2007, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

We arrived in Quetzaltenango two days ago, so that we could go to Spanish language school here. This is the second largest city in Guatemala and if you can´t handle the official tongue twisting name, its nickname is Xela. It is a great place! We decided not to opt for the home stay option, but rather are staying in a modest downtown hotel. I have had two days of lessons and my head is exploding with verbs. Tommy is having some quiet time for now, needing to de-stress after the drive here. I walk back and forth to school (about a half hour each way), getting my morning coffee at McDonalds (the only coffee place open at 7:00 am). I get back to the hotel about 1:30 and then Tommy and I join forces to explore our neighborhood. TwoBaby holds down the fort at the hotel, waiting for us to bring him treats.

Our previous post left us in Flores, from which we drove south down the middle of the country. From Flores we went to Coban, where we stayed at a great little B&B and ate an upscale dinner in their restaurant. The next night we stayed in a funny little motel near Salama which had a pool, noise all night and a horrible restaurant. While we were looking for our night spot, we stopped at a restaurant to ask if we could camp in his parking lot. He looked at us, and then said ¨Cobras!" Tommy starting shouting, ¨Cobras! There aren´t any cobras here!¨ Finally, the man pointed us down the road, suggesting that we could find something further along. About a half hour later it dawned on us that he was saying ¨cobrar¨, meaning that he wanted payment for letting us camp in his secure grounds. Ah yes, a good lesson which we used the next night when we camped in a restaurant parking lot nere Tecpan.

From there we went to an official campground in Panachel, near Lago de Aitlan. This is a lake, formed by a collapsed volcano and surrounded by at least three other volcanos. It was completely magical! Our campground is owned and run by a transplanted Texan who smokes the truth every morning. Panchel itself is kind of a hippy, touristy, very comfortable small town on the lake, and one takes tuk tuks everywhere for a cost of 5 quetzals per person, point to point. A tuk tuk is a small vehicle, with probably a motorcyle engine and a small seat in the back for passengers. Panachel is at the base of a very, very, very scary mountain road. My eyes were closed most of the time as we travelled down the road.

After two days in Panachel, we drove here. All 96 kilometers took 5 hours! Most of this was on the Pan American Highway, which we had joined just east of Guatemala City. This highway is positively the worst piece of highway extant. It goes up and down mountains, with trucks crowding every lane, whether or not they have the power to get up the mountains or the brakes to get down safely. The highway has road works, road works, road works, announced or not. Everyone is passing everyone, particularly on blind curves. You get so that you are certain the next one will be a head on collision; strange that we never saw one! There are pedestrians everywhere. There are vendors of foods and trinkets as you wait in line for a road work stoppage. The entire highway is completely and utterly accident potential, and without a break or rest stop. Tommy drove the entire way, and I am grateful that he could handle it (I couldn´t).

Here are some phrases to capture our impressions so far: incredible mountain scenery, particularly in the north central part of the country; moutainsides with small farming plots and corn growing up the mountain sides; pedestrians everywhere carrying their loads (food, firewood, animals) either balanced on their heads or their backs), short-bed pickup trucks with metal structures welded shoulder high so that about 15 to 20 people can stand in the back; guns, guns, guns slung around most men´s backs; wonderful tourist police in their black and gold pickup trucks, keeping the roads safe for us; hundreds of minibuses (9 to 12 passenger vans) doing the town to town transportation runs; pink Eveready signs painted on lots and lots of houses along the road; fabulous fruit drinks (watermelon included); old US school buses, some still yellow and many painted terrific colors, particularly those known as the ¨chicken buses¨ (the most basic and local of the bus system); and color, color, color everywhere! The indigenous women wear the most beautiful woven outfits, and they have the blackest longest hair you have ever seen.

The Guatemalans smile a lot. When they do, you see that most of their teeth (particularly the front ones) are outlined in gold. And wasn´t Tommy the lucky one: one of his gold inlays popped out (not the one you fixed, George) and he went to a dentist yesterday. This cost a mere 50 quetzals (about $6.50 US). We´ll see how long the repair lasts!

We have seen two funeral processions. In the first one, the coffin was in the back of a pickup truck and every conceivable kind of vehicle was in the procession (including a tractor). We saw the second procession here in Xela, as we were trying to navigate our way to the school. The procession was on foot, blocking the entire main street for miles and miles. Colorful, though.

As we left Panachel, we stopped to fill up with gas. The minimart at the gas station also sold dried cat food, the first we have seen since we left the US. We gratefully purchased a couple of bags although TwoBaby has been pretty happy about his non-dried food diet of fresh chicken and fish. We were able to find cat litter in Belize so loaded up on the stuff there.

Very few people here speak English but one phrase is always in English: car wash. There are lots and lots of car washes. We used one in the north of Guatemala to wash off our Belize road dust (extreme). It took two people 40 minutes to get the van clean. The cost was 25 quetzals (about $3.00 US). Hard to believe, isn´t it?

Everything is very cheap here. We delight in our dinners for less than $20.00US, including the sauce. Our hotel (but keep in mind that it is very basic) is only about $20.00 US a night. The fresh fruit is everywhere, and you can get four or five watermelon slices for about $0.50US. We don´t mean to dwell on the cost of living here. It is a pretty special place, as well!

Hasta la vista!

March 7th, Guatemala

Wow! Guatemala! We had an easy border crossing from Belize to Guatemala. The border town was similar to Tijuana: a little sleazy and lots of vendors. Several miles down the road, we stopped for refreshments and Tommy used the bathroom (which turned out to be in the owner´s house). Suddenly, Tommy is yelling my name: he was locked in the bathroom! The owners and we had a big laugh about this. We continued on to El Remate, where we had hoped to camp for the night but the town didn´t feel quite right and the camping site was up a very steep slope. Instead, we drove on to Tikal, the site of the largest Mayan settlement in Guatemala.

This area is so well organized but not overly commercial. The campgrounds (for vans and tent campers) was right on the edge of the park entrance, as were some small restaurants. Easy! We woke up at 5 am on Tuesday, as the really serious Tikal visitors were heading to the park so that they could watch the sunrise at the temple sites. We were less serious (big surprise!), and fiddled around for several more hours before going in.

What a place! Those Mayans were amazing! Incredible number of temples, etc. in a very small area, although we guessed that we walked about 6 miles in order to see all the sites. The park was fairly crowded with lots of tours. We were one of the few who didn´t climb to the top of the temples. seeing Tikal was a really great experience, and yes, Wilson, Tommy did get the t-shirt!

Last night we ended up in Flores, an island in a small lake about 60 miles from Tikal. We camped across the street from our restaurant, after being assured by the locals that it was safe (it was). Today we´ll head southward.

The entire Central American area could use Tom Baron down here to get these roads in better shape! The maps give one no indication if the roads will be good or bad, and when bad, they are very, very bad. We followed a bus yesterday, so that it could show us the danger spots. And, contrary to the books, livestock crosses the road. I get a kick out of the pigs but Tommy likes the turkeys best.

We talked to a family from Quebec. They are travelling, with three young children, all through Mexico and Central America. Their van is the same size as ours, and they estimated that their trip would last eight months. We also saw two motorcyclists from Germany (plates started with AA..Achen?), who had their large dog in a cage at the back of one of the cycles. I feel quite normal, travelling with TwoBaby!

Last night in our restaurant, the TV was showing the UEFA Champions League playoffs (Lyon v Roma), and flashed that Porto and Chelsea would be playing later on. We wondered if Miranda and Peter went to the game.

A few final notes about Belize: such great people who are always smiling! And everyone speaks English. There is lots to do there, for example, stays at the jungle lodges, tours to the caves and Mayan sites, hiking, diving, swimming, snorkling, canoeing...unending. Everyone rides bikes. And there are Chinese everywhere! Almost all the businesses are Chinese-owned and no one seems able to explain why. Nancy, the graveyards are above ground here, too. At the border, we saw a pickup parked in a ravine parallel to the border. Two guys jumped out of the pickup, hefted two large boxes, and ran across the border (out of sight of the guards). Our last campground in Belize was one of the nicest: it had a great restaurant, and a river in which I went swimming each day. We also met a group of bike riders who were on a tour of Guatemala and Belize (one of the guys was a Californian, who saw our California license plates). They were with an organized tour, which transported their luggage from place to place while they rode. Their truck had broken down that day, so they ended up camping in our campground unexpectedly. The British Army Jungle Force (which trains in Belize), helped tow their truck out to a town.

These little stories are part of our lives now. See you soon!

March 4th, 2007: San Ignacio, Belize

Today is Sunday, March 4th and we are in San Ignacio, Belize, which is the western most city in Belize. We hope to cross into Guatemala on Monday or Tuesday.

The last time we talked, Tommy and I were in Corozal, having just crossed into Belize. Since then, we have seen much of the country (Orange Walk, Belize City, Ambergris Caye, Dangriga, Belmopan, and now San Ignacio. Belize is a very small country, but only has three good roads; the rest are either dirt (graded or not), or very broken pavement with enormous potholes. If you stay on the good roads, getting around is easy. We had the misfortune to take one of the bad roads by mistake; it took us 5.5 hours to go 40 miles. And it was hot!

Belize is beautiful! The landscape varies alot from the north to south, and east to west. Generally, the further south and west we went, we found things more "upscale" and less ramshackle. And the ramshackle is really ramshackle as only the Caribbean can do. Most people are riding bicycles, and those driving cars are honking their horns to say hello to their friends (most disconcerting until you get used to it).

While is Corozal, we took a drive out to Consejo, and bumped into a North American-looking subdivision (urbanization). Wow! This was really out in the middle of nowhere and we wondered WHY? Since then, we have come across several other subdivisions and various states of completion, but they are all very far away from any town or indigenous activities.

We took a boat tour to Laminai, one of the Mayan sites. During the tour, we travelled past a Mennonite community, saw the sugar cane factory, and birds, birds, birds! We were fascinated by the snail kite (this guy eats only snails and his beak is curved so that he can get into the snail shells); the keel billed toucan; egrets and kingfishers. Another day we drove to Altun Ha, another Mayan site; this was the day we took 5.5 hours to go 40 miles on the most miserable road ever. But along the way, we met Hector, who was cutting sugar cane and gave us one to suck on. Hector, as well as many other Belizeans we have met spent some time in the USA.

After camping two nights at Corozal, two nights at Orange Walk, and one night at Altun Ha, we were camping fatigued and spent two nights in a very basic motel near Belize City. Our friend Gill Graham would not have agreed to the parking lot of this motel, let alone staying there! It was, however, clean, air conditioned, and the toilet and shower worked fine. And our hosts were fascinated with TwoBaby, and told us where we could buy more kitty litter.

We went over to Ambergris Caye via water taxi. While there we met up with Sarah's cousin, Coleen, and two Redding, California transplants, Denise and Jim (thanks to Wilson). Life is easy on Ambergris Caye! The big draw there is the barrier reef, and the diving, snorkling and fishing. It is beautiful! Coleen has an active coffee bar right in the middle of town. We asked her to tell us the most difficult thing about having a business in Belize. She said that getting reliable, steady supplies was the hardest thing. It turns out that the Mennonites produce 70% of what the country eats, and as a result, they also control what will be imported or won't be. For example, a while back, they decided that they would produce the cheese so none could be imported, leaving the country without parmesan and other such cheeses. This situation lasted until the tourist industry put pressure on the government. Interesting, isn't it? Denise and Jim now have a property management business, having sold their original Belize business, The Sausage Factory. We really enjoyed chatting with these folks!

We did a walking tour in Belize City. It is so small and well laid out, that it is easy to get around and find things. There is a lot of street life around the swing bridge and the entry port for cruise ship people. It is also quite scuzzy and dirty. But you can get anything: three people asked Tommy if he wanted to buy some dope or crack. Our DVD vendor asked both of us if we wanted to party with him. We were chicken! We found an Ace Hardware, and true to its slogan, Ace was the place and found a fan for the car to ease the night heat.

In between Belize City and our motel, we found a little bar (now, who is surprised at that?) right on the lagoon, with palm trees and a cooling breeze. It was a little slice of heaven! Again, here our host had spent 18 years in the USA.

Since TwoBaby had previously been fined for not having the proper visa, we decided to visit the Guatemalan Embassy to see if Two needed a visa for Guatemala. He didn't but it took about an hour to discover that. But what a fantastic reception we had! The people were so nice, and gave us several Guatemalan trinkets, pamphlets, and driving advice.

After Belize City, we drove down to Dangriga, which is a Garifuna town; Garifuna is almost creole-like. We stayed in a great, basic cabana on the beach. We walked into town (10 minutes)to get some dinner. Sad to say, we were very uncomfortable because we were in the color minority and it just didn't feel too safe. We were surprised about that.

The local beer is Belkin, and the guy who owns Belkin is also the distributor for Coke, Fanta, and Guiness. The local lore is that when Pepsi tried to introduce itself to Belize, the Belkin guy bought and destroyed all the Pepsi until Pepsi gave up. The beer, by the way, comes in regular, light, premium and stout and is very good!

We are taking our internet hits where we can find it. Several campgrounds have had a terminal (usually very, very slow); a coffee house on Ambergris Caye had a half dozen terminals as does this coffee house in San Ignacio. But the most interesting internet experience was in the gift shop for a prison. We picked up the prison newsletter, which we will forward onto Wilson.

This is a surprise: there is almost no smoking here, and this doesn't seem to be a goverment-mandated situation but rather that very few locals smoke (regular cigarettes). The food experiences haven't been all that great, although last night (in the restaurant in our campground) we had the most delicious squash soup (green!) and fresh fish.

Hey guess what! The cost of gas (petrol) here is about US$4.50 a gallon! It is a good thing that this is a small country! And also probably why there are so many bike riders.

Oh, one more thing: this is the land of religion. The 7th Day Adventists have really done well here. Everywhere, everywhere we see their churchs. And lots of Baptist churchs, too.

I think we are up to date now. Talk to you soon!

February 23, 2007: Belize!

Wow! We crossed the border from Mexico into Belize this morning. A mere 1.5 hours, and TwoBaby had to pay a fine for not having his visa in order. Oh yes, the beer was confiscated but not the wine. My theory is that the inspection agent liked beer but not wine.

So, to back up: contrary to our earlier indication, we decided to cross into Mexico from Brownsville, which turned out to be a great decision because it is a small crossing area, and everything is in one building. Everything went smoothly, including the inspection 20 miles further into Mexico. We were hot! We drove about 200 miles south of Brownsville, and ended up camping on the beach next to two RVs from Michigan. Bob and Bunny from Michigan report that the place is pretty deserted until Easter. The name of the area is La Pesca. We had a fresh fish dinner from the rustic cafe nearby...pretty darn special and a great way to start our Mexico experience.

Since we only had a 7-day visa (and, in reality, it was only 6 full days), we had to make a lot of tracks each day. From La Pesca, we pretty much followed Mex 180 down the Gulf coast, crossed the Tropic of Cancer, went through Tampico and Tuxpan, avoiding the bigger cities (like Vera Cruz and Villahermosa), but paralleling the coastline. We turned east south of Campeche, so that we could cross the border at Chetumal.

We camped each night, and our accommodations varied from the beach at La Pesca (free), to a field next to a (probably) hotel/whorehouse, a field (Anton Lizardo), the parking lot of a restaurant (Paraiso), and several real RV/camping spots (Isla Aguada and Cenote Azul).

Driving...poor Tommy! As he says, "the minute I take my eyes off the road, there is some *#@* thing to avoid!" Potholes you would not believe! But the worst of all are the topes, pronounced toepays, but I prefer toepiss. These are obstacles placed on the road (officially or not), with or without warning signs, to slow down traffic. You hit one of these fierce things once and you have learned your lesson! They vary from concrete lines to concrete mounds two feet high, and large round metal balls interred in the road. The military uses a gentler variety: spread out truck tire strips or rope (about 10 inches in circumference). All these topes catch your attention and reduce your progress to about 40 mph. And then, of course, there are other hazards. We had a real lock-up-the-brakes situation as a cow herd wandered right into our path. We did try a toll road one day, thinking that the driving would be easier. Not that toll road: there was so much road work being done, that we were on and off the toll road, and constantly avoiding road parts.
Tommy needs a medal!

We have seen such varied scenery as we drove through Mexico: we started in a dry, desert climate, went through green, green bouganvilla land, to rolling green hills, to Gulf coastal scenes, through lots of small towns and villages. This is a beautiful land!

Our eating experiences have been varied, from the fresh fish in La Pesca to a fancy beach restaurant (where we ended up camping for the night). Alert to our cooking friends: try fresh fish, sauteed in butter, garlic, onions and dried poblano chilis cut into strips. Out of this world!
We had pollo asado at a roadside restaurant we called "Dog Chasing Pig Restaurant"; the dog seemed to be in charge of keeping the pigs off the roadway (but didn't bother if they walked through the restaurant). Actually, this was a roadside stop, not a "restaurant". Last night we had a bottle of Mexican wine (Vinos Premium XA, Cabernet Sauvignon, from the Baja); even our cheap tastebuds thought it was excellent.

Last night we camped at Cenote Azul. A cenote is a formed when the limestone shelf breaks and the underground river floods the area. This morning I swam in the cenote (just to say I did); it was warm and the lightest torquoise blue in color.

We saw a lot of trucks, hauling sugar cane to market. These trucks are piled two and three stories high with the cane. We saw one truck, pulling three wagons of cane, and we very glad we weren't behind him on a hill. Occasionally ahead on the top of a hillside, one sees the huge silloutte of a black bull, advertising Magno Osborne; isn't that a port wine?

And so here we are in Belize. We haven't made a plan for our stay here (this answer drives the border guys nuts!). But we'll check in again soon. We're off to explore this town, Corasul, and have some dinner. Ciao!

Today, 15 February, we are in Laredo, Texas in a motel whose main attractions are showers, heat, happy hour and a guest laundry. After camping for several days, we are desparately in need of all of the above. Tomorrow we hope to finish up the paperwork (insurance and visas) and cross over into Mexico from here, rather than going on to Brownsville.

Big Bend (both the state parkand the national parks) was terrific! We drove through the state park, starting from the western edge, and ending up in Terlinga for the night. We had hoped to camp in Lajitas, but the campsite discussed in the brochure could not be found (even the Town Hall had not heard of it, and, with no cell phone coverage in the area, we couldn't call). Actually, to digress a bit: brochure writing seems to be a booming business down this way. The brochures are great; the actuality hasn't matched in quite a few instances. Very curious.

From Terlinga, we headed east into Big Bend National Park, heading toward Rio Grande Village with stops at Chisos Basin (overwhelmingly beautiful) and Boquillas Canyon. We chose to camp at Rio Grande Village, because snow was expected at Chisos Basin (no thank you!). The wind had dropped from the previous night, and we were able to get the grill going for dinner.

On Valentines Day we drove to Del Rio via Marathon. Sorry to report, Wilson, the Marathon Cafe is no more. We did stop in Marathon at small cafe for coffee, beer, and internet, but "bar bars" seem to have vanished in the parts of Texas we have travelled.

Speaking of things vanished: where have all the "Drive Friendly" signs gone? We have seen ONE so far. We should note, though, that driving here in Texas is generally much, much better than in California so maybe the signs aren't needed.

The drive to Del Rio was on Highway 90, a red road, which was terrific: in great shape, no traffic, and great scenery. We camped at Amistad National Recreation Area, right on the reservoir, and cooked a terrific steak and asparagus dinner. Sometime in the middle of the night, the temperature dropped to almost freezing and we woke up very, very cold.

Today we drove to Laredo, stopping along the way to have the oil changed in the van. We are glad to be warm, and sure enjoyed the happy hour!

February 12th, Van Horn, Texas. We left the San Francisco Bay Area on 1 February, driving to Los Angeles using mainly Highway 1 to give our senses a treat. We had a lovely night in Morro Bay, although TwoBaby (our cat) had to spend the night in the van since all the Morro Bay motels seem to believe that "cat not pet".

We arrived in LA the next day, staying first with Donald and Sarah, and then moving over to Tom and Cynthia's for the next five days. And finally it was time to leave!

Our first journey was short: Pasadena to the Salton Sea, where we camped (primitive) at Bombay Beach, and had drinks at the Ski Inn. TwoBaby was petrified of the smells (intense) and bird sounds, as he and I sat at the shore, doing our Sudokus.

On Friday we continued on to Arizona, camping at Picacho Peak State Park, which is just off I-8, south of Phoenix. This is a fantastic park, with showers to rival any motel. The views! We drank a bottle of champagne, which meant Barbara wasn't awake for DVD watching. Tommy checked out the TV, which functioned and actually received a few stations.

On Saturday we drove a lot longer than we had intended, and ended up in Rockhound State Park, which is south of Deming, off I-10, in New Mexico. This park encourages its visitors to go rock hunting and take away up to 15 pounds of rocks (semi-precious type). There were quite a few folks with picks and heavy-looking bags, so it must be worth it. The Park Ranger here is very knowledgeable and attentive.

On Sunday, February 11th, we drove to Van Horn, Texas via I-10, which has an 80 mph speed limit in Texas; Tommy was ecstatic. We detoured through El Paso, along the Rio Grande, thinking that it would be picturesque and we would easily find a taco for lunch. Nope, no such luck; this area is ugly.

In the last three days, we have seen Border Patrols everywhere, and have been through two checkpoints. The patrols, and where they are (40 to 50 miles from the border, along fairly desolate stretches of the interstate) were a big surprise to us. We don't remember them from previous journeys along the border (but those journeys were long, long ago, so times do change).

Today we are going down to Big Bend National Park for a few days. Tommy was there with Wilson so many years ago. Skip remembers this park as one of his favorites. We are off to the store to get provisions.

Countdown, January 21, 2007

While Tommy watches the NFL playoffs, thought I'd get our blog started. We are planning to leave the San Francisco Bay area about 1 February, driving to Los Angeles on the first leg of our much talked about adventure (driving a portion of the Pan American Highway). We'll stay in LA for a couple of days, and then head for Brownsville, Texas where we cross over into Mexico.

Thirty some years ago, Tommy travelled for 13 months in a self-converted van. He faithfully wrote in his journal every day, including a full day on September 31st. This wasn't a date mistake, because there are complete entries for September 30th and October 1st. Tommy often has different universe experiences!

Our new passports arrived on Saturday, so we can cross that worry off the list. Next week will be busy, getting papers notarized, etc. etc. And I have to finish a window commission for Cynthia. We will be busy! But we will be back!