A Christmas to Remember

We spent a lovely Christmas Day with new friends and old -- a scrumptious dinner, great company, and even dolphins leaping in the distant bay.....it just doesn't get much better!

 

Mary gathered us and two other couples (Ursula & Bob; Vonne & Ken) at her house for a traditional feast, followed by a fun gift exchange and good conversation.  We dined on the deck with the sunny rainforest surrounding us and dolphins jumping in the bay in the distance.

 

We missed our family and all our old friends this morning, but felt oh so grateful for all the new friends and wonderful experiences of paradise, and with the Vonnage phone we were fortunate to be able to call and talk to all the kids. It truly was...A Christmas to Remember.

 

love,

Norm & Nancy

 

!2 Days of Christmas

Yesterday we went to the first of the many Christmas parties we’re invited to, held in a lovely home built right out on the  water. The owner, an American businessman who only visits a few times a year opened his place to about 60 people, and he wasn’t even here to attend himself!  That’s just the sort of thing that is commonplace down here – neighbors extend themselves to neighbors to help in any way they can.

A great time was had by all.  The menu was Clam Chowder  and Lobster Bisque – both delicious - with lots of side salads and deserts as well. Everyone arrived by boats, of course, and soon the house was surrounded by boats tied together 5 and 6 deep. What a wonderful way to celebrate the season!

 

And now we’ve got five more invitations for parties this week. Whew!  We probably can’t keep up with this crowd, but we sure enjoyed ourselves yesterday.

Sending out all the blessings of the Christmas season: Joy, Peace, and, most of all….

  Love.

 

With turbo barking up a storm, Nancy went out to see what all the ruckus was about. OMG!  A SLOTH was climbing right next to the porch!  she screamed for Norm (who was in the shower) and he came running, his imagination running wild, as he wondered what the screaming was about.
What an amazing sight this guy was! We decided , if nothing else good happened the entire trip, just this sloth sighting was enough.

SLOTHS FACTS: On land, sloths' weak hind legs provide no power and their long claws are a hindrance. They must dig into the earth with their front claws and use their strong front legs to pull themselves along, dragging their bellies across the ground. If caught on land, these animals have no chance to evade predators, such as big cats, and must try to defend themselves by clawing and biting.

Though they couldn't be clumsier on land, sloths are surprisingly good swimmers. They emit a long, high-pitched call that echoes through the forests as "ahh-eeee." Because of this cry these sloths are sometimes called ais (pronounced "eyes").

Compared to most mammals, a sloth moves very slowly. Sloths can climb only 6 to 8 feet per minute. They grasp tree limbs with their sharp claws, which can be 3 to 4 inches long. Sloths mainly leave their tree to urinate or defecate about once a week. Leaving the tree makes them vulnerable to predators like the eagle or jaguar, or a barking dog like Turbo.

 

To Bocas To Bocas to Buy a Fat Hog

To Bocas to Bocas to buy a fat hog.  But, we didn't do any jiggety -jogging as it was actually a really smooth ride home under the brightest blue skies.  On the trip in we spotted a magnificent Blue Heron up close and personal , but my camera jammed so I had to "borrow" a photo from the Internet.  And, speaking of sights check out the three master that was in Bocas Bay!

Shopping in Bocas Town is an experience. You would think it would be a simple matter of getting to town (by boat) and going to the store. NOT!  The peppers I needed were at one store at the far end of town; flour and sugar at the little grocery in the middle; cake mix and yams at the other extreme end of town. And since both Mary and I wanted fresh salad greens that meant waiting until the ferry arrived at noon to be able to buy those from the Gourmet  Grocery Store. ( and yes, that is the name of it and it stocks small amounts of the sorts of things one finds in the deli back in the States). Prices are exorbitant, but like everyone else we pay because we just really want those Blue Corn Chips to go with our homemade salsa.

Oh, and then it's the drugstore for anti- itch Creme ( yes, the Chitras are still here) and a bar of sop and lastly the hardware store for my rubber boots for TROMPING about the jungle. Meanwhile, Norm has gone to two places for propane, because although the first place does have propane, they don't fill the brand of container we have - go figure!

Living, and shopping, in paradise is exhausting!  However, we were in good company with our dear friends, Mary and Carl and the refrigerator is well stocked again. We came home and cooled down with fresh hand- squeezed lemonade and a sit on the porch. Life is good. ❤️

Livin large in paradise,
Nancy' Norm & Turbo

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !

 

 

On Sunday we celebrated Mary's birthday at a party over at Rana Azule's. You may remember that last year we were here in Panama on my birthday and Mary baked up a delicious chocolate volcano cake and surprised me 3ith it over at Rana's.  Today it was Mary's turn.

I would have whipped up a cake for her but I knew that the local ladies already had that covered. what I didn't know was how adorable it would be!  See, Mary is a quilter, so this was the PERFECT cake for her.

There must have been 100 people at the little cafe on the water that is only open on Fridays and Sundays. while Rana Azule is a gathering place for the local folks around both Dolphin and Dark Land Bays,(the pair of side by side bays here joined by a narrow cut in the mangroves), extra folks showed up on this day to honor Mary because she is such a special friend to all.

Both Norm and I have been impressed with the depth, and the width, of friendship among the folks who have chosen to come here to live. It appears they will do anything for each other and are constantly vigilant for those opportunities. They're even eager to help us visitors! It reminds me of small town USA. The difference is that here in the bay you don't have to have lived in one spot all your life to be deemed worthy of this sort of friendship; it comes with the territory of moving in.

I always try to take something back with me whenever I go off on an adventure - "a lesson learned". I think that being a better neighbor is my lesson this trip. I already know that I'm a very good friend - I would practically kill for my friends, and I like to think that I'm good about being there when they need me, but I need to work on becoming a better neighbor at home..  

I love it when I figure out the lesson so early - easily!

Hasta,
Nancy & Norm

                   Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wing of time.  ~Jean Paul Richter

And the Dolphin Did Dance

Mary gave us another Berberi fruit like she did last year.  What you do is peel it, squish it and mixed condensed sweetened milk. Then freeze and VOILA you’ve got ice cream!  Now I need to get some sweetened milk.

We spent most of the day yesterday at Mary’s house with her and Carl and friends here from Boqete.  Fabulous dinner – spinach manicotti, snow peas, tossed green salad and cheese cake for desert. Yep, we are living large in the rainforest this year. There’s been no rice & beans on anyone’s menu!

It rained all afternoon and while we played dominoes at Mary's we kept an eye out in case there was a break and we could "make a run for it." No such luck!  but, the good news is the wind wasn't blowing and the boat we are using is a good one with a strong motor so this ride wasn't even scary!  the GREAT news is that on the way home, just before we got to the "cut" in the mangroves that separates the two bays, a DOLPHIN jumped up right in front of the boat!  MAGNIFICENT and probably the closest I will ever get to one of those creatures. It was the topping on an already wonderful day! Of course, it happened far too fast to get a snap, not to mention my camera was stowed in double baggies protecting it from the rain, but here's one from the Internet of similar size and action to what we saw:

Today we spent a quiet day “at home.”  I went tromping behind the house to explore but didn’t go very far as the trail pretty much peters out quickly and there are too many things that slink and slither for my liking out there!

So, today was a quiet day, Norm is the Rummy champion so far…..but the day is still young!

Much love from the jungle,

Nancy & Norm

The Best Laid Plans Go Awry

So much for the best laid plans.  It rained with a vengeance yesterday, so we hunkered down and spent most of the day on the porch -  just enjoying listening to the downpour and reading.  But, when today dawned with a big, bright sun I just knew that I was going to get to go swimming!  I even had a "morning chat" with Turbo and he agreed to go with me, but first we needed to take advantage of this bright day and get the laundry done. (We're on Solar Power - on the gray, rainy days we run the generator.)

So, laundry it was, and done in short order! I rather enjoy hanging clothes on a line and this one from the deck works especially well! Plus drying in the sun helps remove that damp, musty smell everything seems to take on in the rainforest.We were done in no time.

I slipped into my swimsuit and waddled on down to the dock to go swimming. I was really looking forward trying out the new ladder Brent recently made and I'd already checked for jellyfish every time I was on the dock since we arrived, and I knew I was safe in the department. Norm didn't want to swim, but he came along to help me encourage Turbo into the water and take our pictures. DARNNIT!   That crystal clear water I'd checked just days before was now a greyish cloud with an oily film on top!  WHAT?!  The only thing we can figure out is all that rain yesterday washed a lot of stuff down into the bay.

But, it's a gorgeous day anyway. Now we're porch sitting and trying to identify some of the colorful birds, playing with Turbo, and doing a bit more reading...I'll wait a couple of days to go swimming. :-(

I'm disappointed, but still....It be a bright new day!

Nancy & her sidekicks: Norm & Turbo