Happy Mother's Day

I know I'm a day or two late sending out Happy Mother's Day messages, but the warm and fuzzy feelings are still here. As an expat living in Panama we get to celebrate Mother's Day two times per year; the North American version which is in May and then the Latin American version which is in December. Since Mother's Day is my wife's favorite holiday, she now gets to double up on it. For this May 10th Mother's Day we joined forty other people and at the BluWater Bistro in Nuevo Gorgona, Panama for an excellent Spanish wine and food paring. We enjoyed some fantastic food and drink with great company. My night was especially over the top when one of the other women guests approached us and said that my wife was the most beautiful woman there. A very nice compliment for Kryss to receive on her favorite holiday.

Ten days ago we were warned by the civil defense authorities that no one should go swimming in the ocean and on very specific days to stay off the beach because of some very large waves and strong undercurrents that would be hitting our coastline. Since this is a weather phenomenon the weather guessers can only speculate on the causes. However, the most common explanation has been the "blob" that is along the Pacific coast near Alaska and Baja California. The second supposition has been a large typhoon near New Zealand has changed the water currents. No one has discussed that it might be the cycle of the tides caused by the new moon and the full moon. The waves that hit us were big to our standards, not Hawaii north shore waves, but they were eight to thirty feet above normal. We watched waves crash into neighbor's seawalls and then go over the wall and into their pools. Needless to say the surfers were having great time until the police and lifeguards cleared the beaches and the ocean.

Business continues to grow in the Playa Coronado area. We now have a new beach bar called, "The Tiki Bar", which is on the beach in front of the Bahia Condos in Gorgona. It is about a quarter mile walk from our place and is easy to get to anytime except at high tide. We went to their "soft opening party" all drinks and snacks were free for the first three hours. This will probably be a very popular place especially on Thursday and Sunday afternoons for volleyball. On the second day of their opening the big waves hit and washed right up onto their deck, but nothing was damaged. Currently they are open Thursday thru Sunday but plan longer hours when the "tourist" season starts again.

We went to another beach, Punta Chame, with our neighbors a few days ago after all the big wave stuff calmed down. Punta Chame is a little village on the tip of a very narrow peninsula about 35 kilometers from Playa Coronado. Very wide and expansive beaches and no one around. Near by is John Wayne Island which is named after the famous actor. In his heyday he would come to the island for his R and R. It is currently for sale, and it includes a small dock, a quaint hotel and a couple of fishing boats. Don't know the price but if your interested in owning an island and a hotel that's the place.

We have received our Panamanian Cedula's. This now completes the process for us to be legal permanent residents of Panama. We no longer need to carry our USA passports or copies with us. We are extended all the rights and privileges of a Panamanian citizen except we can't vote nor can we receive their version of social security. In four years if we so desire we can apply to become Panamanian citizens. So with our Cedula's in hand and our Spanish improving daily, hast luego amigos