The Panama Adventure

Our veggie guy has been out for a couple weeks, so we went to one of the markets down the street for some fruits and veggies. The bigger market is closed to prevent crowding, so you have to stand at the doorway and ask for what you want. The smaller market, however, is open air and you can go in and pick out your own items. Both have a drive up option so you don’t even need to get out of your car if you don’t want to.

The smaller market has everything we need, and the owner and her staff are super friendly so it’s a pleasure to shop there. She seemed really pleased that I wanted some pictures to share with you all in the US and other countries around the world. I told her that she will be a little bit famous! She was only embarrassed that it was Sunday and the market wasn’t as well stocked as it would have been during the week, but it still looked good to us.

We are very fortunate to live in Chiriqui province where most of the produce is grown, so we have fresh fruits and veggies all the time. I included a price list in the pictures. I don’t know how this compares to your prices, but we find produce here very affordable. And, it’s picked ready to eat, shipped to the markets the same day, and it may not look beautiful and perfect all the time but it sure is delicious. I don’t mind an occasional worm or bruise if it means less chemicals were used in growing, and less goes to waste because it didn’t look absolutely perfect. We eat this fresh produce every day, produce that is grown in this rich volcanic soil, and I think this is a big part of why we feel better and healthier here.

On the way to the market, we passed maybe flowering and fruiting trees. The dry season is interesting because it is the time when many beautiful flowers appear, and many of my favorite fruits are available.

I have also collected some miscellaneous pictures, which I’ll share here…

So, that’s what we did Sunday in the morning. In the afternoon we had band practice with our drummer which went really, really well. We are excited to get out there and play some music when it’s finally allowed. The virus statistics continue to do very well, and they continue to vaccinate people as quickly as they can with the limited supplies that are arriving. So for now we continue to be as patient as we can, and give thanks that we are safe and comfortable here with everything we need. But, we, and you, and the whole world continue to look forward to the day when things are more “normal”, whatever that will be on the other side of all this.

Oh, and it’s summer again. We had a couple days of clouds, rain, and cooler temperatures. Then, yesterday and today, it’s like summer again with blue skies and hot sun. We’re in transition between seasons, but even now it’s not as hot as it was last week so we’re happy.

And, we had water yesterday all day!! Power and internet are pretty reliable here, but water not so much. It’s either too dry and there are rolling outages, or it’s too wet and they shut off the water to clean out the system. Or, like now, they are fixing something. They have been working in the area where the big water main broke, and they are also working on a big project to bring more water to both us and the area on the other side of the river, so the water has been off in the daytime while they work. We are thankful for our reserve tank, and living here sure has made us thankful for clean water! So much of the world has to carry water, and many don’t have any clean water. It’s easy to take so much for granted when it’s always there.

So, that’s about it for today. Keep on keeping on, and keep on taking good care of yourselves and each other.

It’s like a switch was flipped. One day was summer and the next was not. It was really hot for days, upper 90’s, dry, intense sun, and a lot of the plants were crispy and crunchy. On Wednesday afternoon we had a short but intense downpour. Then, Thursday, we had rain, lots of rain, a steady rain well into the evening and light rain overnight. Friday, yesterday, was cloudy and then rainy in the afternoon, and there was more rain in the evening. It’s suddenly cooler too. I like the warm weather but it was getting to be too much even for me, and these rainy season upper 70’s-low 80’s temperatures are very welcome.

Seasons are a bit different here. Summer starts in mid December. Rain is infrequent and then hardly happens at all until mid April. School summer vacation is December until mid February. A lot of home repairs and improvements go on in summer because they don’t get rained on in the afternoon.

I ran across this interesting website that explains the weather in this area. Apparently, because of the changing tilt of the earth, we are in a tropical, equatorial weather pattern most of the time. But during the summer we get pushed into the subtropical band of weather which is dry and windy. Boquete Weather and Climate (Boquete is the town up the road from us in the mountains, but the weather info applies to the whole area)

So, that’s the weather. In other news, I haven’t written as often here because there still isn’t much going on. What did we do this week? Well… same as last week, and the week before. I forget that just because it’s routine to me, it may still be interesting to people who only see our area and our lives through what I share here.

Some friends were curious about our outings to the fruit and veggie market. Most of the produce is grown in this province up in the mountains, so we are lucky to have a great selection of fresh produce available every day. I was going to go to the market but it’s started to rain, already, and it’s only 10:30 AM. But we sure appreciate the rain. (I know we could take the car, but half the point is to get some exercise) If we go tomorrow, and if I remember to take my phone for some photos, I’ll share more about that tomorrow.

Speaking of friends, there was a group of us in Florida that got together fairly regularly and had lot of fun times together. We have reconnected on Zoom now, and nothing has changed. IMO, that’s real friends, people who care about you through good times and bad, and are still there even if you haven’t talked for literally years. Yes, my friends, you know who you are and I appreciate every one of you!

In COVID news, things here are better. The numbers are getting lower, both the overall number of infected people and the number of people in hospitals, so that’s very good news. They are still aggressively testing, hoping to find the asymptomatic people who can unknowingly spread the virus. People coming from South America are automatically quarantined in a hotel/hospital on arrival for 5 days and then retested, in the effort to keep the variants out of the country. They are also randomly testing infected people for variants, and contact tracing continues as well.

Vaccines are arriving but not at the rate they were expected. But vaccinations have been underway for a month in a very organized fashion for people over 60, teachers, and people with chronic health conditions. They started in Panama Province (Panama City) where there have been the most cases, and they are now working in Panama West (suburbs of Panama City). Chiriqui (where we are) is next so we’re waiting! They have been using Pfizer vaccines, but the news says they are also getting vaccines from Covax, AstraZeneca, and they have been talking with Russia and China about getting more vaccine from there so hopefully at some point soon, the pace of vaccinations can increase.

Everyone is tired and Panama is no exception! People are tired of restrictions, of not seeing friends and family, of worrying, of being isolated. But, we’re glad to be here. People seem much more likely to cooperate with what needs to be done to prevent the spread of the virus, and our statistics show the results. But we are all looking forward to better times! It will happen, not today, but it’s coming. Hang on, and take care of yourselves and each other.

Last week I had the opportunity to do something a bit different. Well, going out for anything other than necessary errands is different, so this was a very nice day. Molas are a fabric art form of the Guna Indians who live in Eastern Panama. Since COVID these people have lost their art sales and tourism dollars, their main income, so they have gotten creative about other ways to earn money to care for their families. I wrote a post in the past about their mola masks. They use their fabric art skills to make masks, something that everyone needs these days. My mola masks are my favorites, comfortable, breathable, and beautiful. Check out this post if you want to see them, or buy them for yourself.

Beautiful Masks! | The Panama Adventure

So, these ladies and their friend Victor had this idea to hold workshops to teach people how molas are made. If you need convincing that this art takes tons of skill and time, you will understand this after a workshop! The teacher put a pieces of white cloth on a piece of black cloth, drew a simple design, secured them together with basting stitches, and then cut along the lines of the design. Our job was to sew the cut edges, and then cut more lines as needed. After maybe 30 minutes of carefully sewing little stitches with a little needle, I had completed maybe three small lines. It’s not easy to make the stitches small and neat, without pricking your fingers. Nor is it something that can be done quickly, even with skill and experience. The teacher at our table said she had been sewing since she was eight years old.

Here’s a few pictures of the class. It was in a private room of a local restaurant in Boquete, and had 2 tables of 6 students each. Victor, the organizer, is in the gray t-shirt. He is also a Guna indian, but fluent in their language, Spanish, and English. He is also a tour guide in Panama CIty and San Blas, offering a different sort of tour to immerse people in the local culture and introduce them to the local people. He also works very hard helping local kids with food, books, education, opportunity, and lots of love to help lift them out of their challenging circumstances. (2) Localinpty KIDS Programme | Facebook

The young lady in jeans and a black shirt is a bilingual US/Panamanian who was there to help with translation and anything else as needed. The teachers were two lovely Guna women. You can see them in their traditional dress in the photos, with the molas worn in the traditional way as part of their clothing on the upper body. The other photo is a hat band I bought for a gift. Along with the traditional molas, they make other useful items that people can buy.

Thank you Kathy Donelson (In the photo above with the two ladies, and her super cool blue skirt) for allowing me to use these beautiful photos! On the left is the two teachers with a table of their work in front of them. The lady with the red head scarf also has the traditional beaded arm and leg decorations. Victor explained that it takes a considerable amount of time to put them on, and they are to protect the skin from the sun. I especially love the smiling photo of her on the right. It really shows the lovely personality of one of these gentle and loving people.

The workshops have gone very well so they are planning to do more of them. If you are in Panama, go to one if you can. Contact Victor and he can get you signed up. WhatsApp is +507 61187621 or email at localinpty@gmail.com or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/victorprez  Or, if you want to arrange a private class, or a workshop in another area, talk with Victor. Maybe he can arrange it.

April 9th, 2021 (Panama City)
April 16th, 2021 (Coronado)
April 23rd, 2021 (Pedasi)
April 30th, 2021 (Boquete)

I’m glad I could make it to the workshop and see some friends, and make some new friends. I’ve talked with Victor on line a lot so it was especially fun to finally meet in person! I hadn’t been to Boquete in a year, so it was also nice to make the drive up there and be reminded of how incredibly beautiful it is here.

Other than that… we are anxiously waiting for the rains to resume and this hot, dry, and windy summer weather to be over. It should happen any day now. The virus numbers continue to slowly drop, and I hope this holiday weekend doesn’t change that. The number of people in the hospital is lower than I’ve seen it in a very long time. Vaccines are coming, but slowly, because supply coming in has been much lower than promised. But this month, more is supposed to be coming from a couple other sources. Meanwhile, we keep on keeping on, and give thanks that we are doing fine.

Happy Easter everyone!

Summer in Panama, also known as the dry season, starts about the middle of December and end about the middle of April. We had an unusual amount of rain earlier in the summer, which was really nice but now it is definitely summer. We haven’t had any rain for weeks, the sky is an intense blue with a hot sun, and the summer trade winds are blowing. Nights tend to be breezy, cool, and just beautiful but you want to avoid going out in the afternoon because it’s hot and the sun feels like it will bake you.

Summer is interesting because a lot of the trees flower and fruit at this time of year. My neighbor had a yellow guyacan, and now it has a lot of bean type seed pods. Now the pink and white trees are blooming and they are beautiful! The bougainvillea are always beautiful in the summer as well. And, mangos are getting ready. I prefer the rainy season but there is a lot to be said for summer.

We also have these noisy beetles. When I first heard them I didn’t know what was happening. Were the neighborhood kids whistling? The neighbors explained what they were and the whistling or singing intensified every day until the rains returned. I took this video in my backyard yesterday afternoon. There’s nothing to see, only the woods next to the house but turn your sound up so you can here the sounds.

Unfortunately, summer is also a time of brush fires. I think people burn their land to clean it but when conditions are dry and windy, things easily get out of control. Maybe some of the fires are also accidental, but nobody seems to know for sure. We only know that the smoke is really unpleasant, and though houses are block with metal roofs, it is still possible to lose things around the house, plants, and trees. We returned from biking one day to see smoke rising from the woods behind the neighborhood. Thankfully it stayed on the other side of the river but the neighborhood was smoked out for two days. Other than the smoke, the sky was sure gorgeous that day.

Continuing with other random photos here – If you see “Pipa Fria” get some! That’s coconut water and it’s really good. Usually they will fish a green coconut out of a chest of ice water, whack the top off with a machete, stick a straw in it and give it to you for $1. Sometimes you can also buy bottles of coconut water to take home. This particular business, if you are local and want to find him, he’s on Via Boquete south of the bridge across from the ball stadium.

I’ve had a few questions about money lately. The currency here is the balboa and the dollar. They have the same value and paper money is always US dollars. Coins however are a mixture of US and Panamanian coins. There is also a $1, or 1 balboa coin which is silver with a gold/brass center and it’s widely used. It’s handy to have dollars here. You don’t have to worry about exchange rates or do math in your head to figure out what things cost.

I think that’s it for the moment. In other news, the virus numbers have been decreasing and stabilizing, and we didn’t seem to suffer the spike I feared after Carnivales (it was cancelled but people still traveled and enjoyed their time off). Vaccinations are in progress but the supply coming in has limited the speed of progress. But I am impressed that they seem super organized and in frequent communication with the population. Right now they are in phase 2 (people over 60 and people with chronic diseases) and they started in the Panama City area where they have had the most problems. They’ll get to everyone but it’s going to take time, and more supplies. But, meanwhile, most things are open and operating again (with restrictions and protocols) and the city feels very alive again. We’re all so tired of the pandemic and we’re not out of it yet, but any encouragement and positive news helps us look forward to better times. And, we’re still alive and healthy enough to complain, and there’s a lot to be said for that

Is there mail in Panama? No! Well, not mail as we know it in the US. There are no mailmen going door to door delivering letters and packages. So, how do things get to people?

There is a post office downtown. You can get a post office box if there is one available, which from what I hear is rarely the case. Otherwise, you can use general delivery. If you think you have something to pick up, go to the post office with your ID and they will look through the boxes and drawers of things to see if your item is there. The post office isn’t fast but it works, and it’s very economical.

Many people would rather use a mailing service like Mailboxes Etc. In the last year, and even in the last few months, we have seen more and more mailing services pop up. They usually have a “Shop on the Internet!” advertisement out front. More and more people here are discovering, and loving internet shopping with the huge selections and better prices. People are also shopping less in person for safety in this pandemic. So, it makes sense that there is an increasing need for a mailing service.

We usually send our internet purchases to my daughter’s house and pick them up on visits, but since we haven’t visited in 16 months we are feeling the void. It’s been great to discover a service that gets packages here in a timely manner and doesn’t cost a huge amount.

PGT Logistics | Envíos de Miami a Panamá – Compras por Internet en Panamá

It’s usually a week or less for a package to get from Miami to here, and it’s $2.50/lb. and $.50 handling per package. You may be changed more for a larger size package. For example, we have been changed $5 (+$.50) for a small box or package of clothes. But you will see your price in the invoice that comes to your email, and even with shipping costs it can be well worth it to shop on line.

How does it work? You are giving a mailing address (in the Miami/Doral area) and you can take advantage of free shipping offers to there or pay whatever it costs for postage to the Miami address. This address has the necessary information to send the package or letter on to the David office and alert your account. When something arrives you will get an email telling you the weight and cost to pick it up. Then, you stop by the office, pay, and collect your item. We always enjoy a chat with Luis, the bilingual, friendly, efficient, and fun Panamanian who works there. (He took his mask off only for this quick photo)

It gets even better! You can also get your package delivered to David or Boquete. Luis said you can request delivery by either phone or WhatsApp, and you can pay by bank transfer or pay cash on delivery. Contact him for any questions 6150 5434 WhatsApp or 399-4305 / 399-4306 info@pgtlogistics.com

You can find whatever you need locally. Panamanians have been doing it for generations. But it’s really nice to have the option to buy things on line for the better selection, better prices, and convenience. This office is between the car wash and the gas station, and across from Filipe Moto on the old Via Boquete, just above the Terronal shopping center. We appreciate that we don’t have to fight the traffic and congestion to go downtown, and it’s even right on our usual bike route.

Living in Panama can definitely put a damper on your internet shopping habits since it takes more time and money to get things sent here, but it’s great to know there is an option that works well if you do want to order something.

I’ve accumulated a lot of random photos over the last few weeks, so I figure I’ll just put them out here in no particular order.

First group – fruits. The mangoes and avocadoes bloomed, but we also had a few really windy days so I hope the flowers didn’t all get blown off. That would thwart our plans to enjoy the fruit later.

<complaint>I do not know why the text is on top of the photos here, but nowhere to be seen when you scroll through the individual photos. It’s never done that before and I can’t see how to change it. All too often people “fix” and “improve” things, and only make them more aggravating and complicated. I’m still figuring out the new, improved (ha!) blog editor, so please don’t “improve” anything else! </complaint>

I checked on my favorite mango tree yesterday and it has a lot less fruit than expected. I’m afraid the winds did blow off too many flowers. But there’s still enough fruit on that tree and others so later, I’ll be able to pick up some good mangoes.

You know there has to be pictures of bugs! I read somewhere that Panama has more kinds of bugs than the entire North America. I believe it, and if you like bugs it’s really fun here. Even if you don’t like bugs, be reassured that the vast majority of them are harmless and don’t bother you, so it’s good if you can learn to share your space a bit. I’m not a fan of putting poisons in my environment unless absolutely necessary.

We have surprisingly few mosquitoes which I really appreciate. Who would think, living in the tropics, that this would be so. But we have lots of birds, bats, lizards, and other mosquito eating bugs which must keep the population down. And, speaking of sharing space, there are always little lizards in the house which we appreciate because they eat bugs.

Next group of photos – Shopping. The Apple store moved to Chiriqui Mall so we went by to check it out. The big City Mall store moved to Chiriqui Mall and now the whole mall has been upgraded and it’s looking really nice. We were surprised though to find hardly any people there on a Wednesday morning. The Apple store was open and had an attractive display, but if you want to buy something you have to order it and they will send away for it. We didn’t ask if they do repairs and service.

On that outing, we also tried the Pricesmart Click and Go option. You place your order on their website, pay with your credit card, and pick a time you plan to pick up your order. We chose 12-1pm, and showed up just before 12. Someone came up to the car fairly soon, checked our membership card and wrote down our name. Then we waited about a half hour and our order was delivered to our car. Later I found an email sent at 12:35 saying our order was ready, so I’m not sure if it would have been faster if we had waited for the email. But, we got our order, and it looks like they checked out our order with a cashier so a couple missing, out of stock items weren’t charged. Since I don’t enjoy shopping even when there isn’t COVID around, and it wasn’t any longer than shopping ourselves even with the wait, this seems like a good option. They also offer home delivery so maybe next time we’ll try that out. Before you ask, I didn’t compare receipts to see if click and go is more expensive than shopping yourself, and I don’t know what it costs for home delivery.

And now, here’s everything else – the rest of the pictures. My usual routine is I go biking, do computer stuff on the terrace, or whatever else I want to do outside in the morning. When it gets too warm in the afternoon I go to my room and practice my bass. The dog comes with me and sleeps in the corner behind the door, usually in some silly position on her back. She stays with me like my shadow and if she doesn’t make it in the room before I close the door, she’ll be waiting right outside the door.

I’ve also been seeing a lot of iguanas lately when I’m out biking. I don’t know if they are looking for mates, or water, or what but I like seeing them. They can run amazingly fast, and hide really well in a tree.

The guyacans, the spectacular trees with yellow flowers are also blooming right now. I thought the summer winds blow off the flowers quickly, but it hasn’t been windy lately but my neighbor’s tree still lost its flowers in just a couple days. Enjoy them while you can.

And, speaking of weather, it’s been a strange summer so far. Usually it’s hot, dry, and windy but we’ve had quite a bit of rain. This last week has felt a lot more like rainy season, and we appreciate the rain! But, today it feels like summer again, sunny, hot, and windy.

So, that’s it for my photo collection of the moment. We’ll get back to our favorite subject soon – COVID – ha! But sometimes it’s just nice to enjoy more normal things, like the beauty and the fun things that surround us every day. And, as always we are thankful every day to be here, where we’re not freezing without power and water, or suffering the many other problems we hear about in the news. I hope you all out there are doing OK!

Take good care of yourselves and each other!

I am still alive. I’ve been using this phrase a lot lately because I’ve ignored correspondence, the blog, and whatever else I usually do. There hasn’t been much to say and I’ve been occupied with other things, so writing has taken a back seat.

We’re still fine down here in Panama, nothing much new with us personally. In the country, it’s Carnavales time, party time! Traditionally it’s a big holiday with parades, gorgeous traditional costumes, music well into the night, and tons of people out having a good time. If you want to know more about this, check out this very interesting and informative article. Carnival in Panama – The What, Where & Whys (livinginpanama.com)

This year Carnavales festivities are cancelled because of COVID, but people still have the time off from work., What I’m seeing on line isn’t encouraging. The main highway was almost at a standstill with so many people leaving Panama City to spend this holiday in the interior. The virus numbers have been dropping so I really hope this holiday time doesn’t turn that around like it did after the November holidays. I guess we will see. But, right now the numbers of new cases are down, the number of people in the hospital has dropped a lot, and the number of deaths has also dropped. And, more vaccine is expected to arrive this week.

Here at our house, we are hopeful! Maybe one day the band can play again so we’re gearing up. We had a fantastic practice yesterday and just blew through 2 sets (a normal evening is 3 sets of 10 songs each). I’ve had to do a lot of relearning of songs we haven’t played in ages, and we’re not used to being on our feet and on point for extended time, but we’re coming back. I feel SO much better now knowing that we could probably go out tomorrow and do well if we had to. And, we have probably 4 more sets of material to rehearse, including even more new songs, so with more time we’ll be even better. And, I’m also having discussions with my family about visiting, when will we all feel safe, when could this happen. After all this time it’s almost hard to believe there is real hope! Please please don’t mess it all up and do a super spreader holiday. But whatever happens, the vaccine is coming and it should be our turn soon, which will make us feel much better about traveling.

There have been some good things that have come from this crazy time. Many of us have learned to use ZOOM! I’ve had some wonderful family chats, and last week a bunch of my friends from Florida got together on zoom. Most of us hadn’t talked since I left eight years ago (except maybe Facebook which some of us use more than others). It was great seeing everyone and we hope to do this again every month of so. I hope so, because I still have lots of questions and want to hear a lot more about what has been happening! You know those friends who are friends if you talk, or if you don’t talk, or if you are apart for literally years, and they are still friends just as much as ever? Yeah… those are my friends. I know you all read this blog so I want you to know that this really means a whole lot to me! Thank you.

What else? Rain! We’ve been getting a fair amount of rain. It’s summer and usually very dry from December to April so this is very odd, but thank you. It’s much appreciated. It cools us off and the plants can thrive.

And mail… we have a new mailing service and they seem to be working out very well. There are some things we can’t get here, mostly clothes (I’m big, and even more so by Panamanian standards), music related stuff (available but with very limited selection and higher prices), and assorted odds and ends (always an odd list – spices, colored duct tape, etc). Usually we pick up stuff on visits to the US, but since we haven’t visited in so long we’re happy we can have things sent. PGT Logistics | Envíos de Miami a Panamá – Compras por Internet en Panamá This company is half the price of the one we were using, nothing has been lost in transit for weeks, and it’s right down the road so no going downtown and fighting traffic. It’s interesting though. I see these “buy on the internet” mailing services popping up all over town. Apparently people are discovering the advantages of internet shopping and it’s becoming quite a thing.

People are also discovering the advantages of curbside pickup and delivery services, as people try to avoid in person shopping and possible exposure to the virus. We tried curbside pickup at Pricesmart (our version of Costco) and it worked out well. You can see motorcycles all over town delivering food from various restaurants, and deliveries from hardware and other stores is becoming more and more common. I have a feeling that both here and in the US, this will persist after the pandemic is resolved. Many people here work long hours and keep very busy, so if this kind of shopping is faster and easier they probably won’t want to give that up.

That’s about it for news from here. One of these days I need to post some photos I’ve taken over the last few weeks (includes bugs – you have been warned. ha) But, for now I’ve gone on quite enough. You all take care, and stay warm!! I see all the news of frigid winter weather and remember how miserable that can be if you don’t like the cold. Take good care of yourselves and each others.

The vaccine arrived in Panama in the early hours of Jan 20th. Unfortunately only 12,840 doses were delivered instead of the 40,000 that were ordered, but as soon as they arrived MINSA (health department) started vaccinating front line health care workers, and distributing vaccine to the various provinces so their front line health care workers could be protected.

COMUNICADO No.335 | Ministerio de Salud de la República de Panamá (minsa.gob.pa)

The article also mentions a more virulent strain of the virus in the UK and South Africa. Now, any arrivals from those countries are automatically quarantined for five days and then tested. One person infected with this strain was identified and continued in quarantine until he was no longer infectious, which prevented this strain from getting out into the general population. The Gorgas Memorial Institute is also testing random samples to track any mutated forms of the virus that may be in the country.

The first person vaccinated was Violeta Edith Gaona de Cocherán, a nurse for 37 years who is working in an ICU in Panama City. She was chosen for this honor because of her many years of service and dedication, and her current work with ICU COVID patients.

Miss Gaona: una vida dedicada a la enfermería | Ministerio de Salud de la República de Panamá (minsa.gob.pa),

In general virus news, the number of new cases in Panama has been dropping. The number of people hospitalized lags behind because it takes a while before people recover enough to leave the hospital, but there seems to be some progress here as well. We are definitely not out of the woods yet but there are hopeful signs. We continue to get daily communications from the president, the health department and other authorities, and daily reminders to be diligent with infection control measures.

Panama is waiting for news from Pfizer about a delivery date for more vaccines. When the rest of this order is filled, they can complete phase 1 of their plans and look forward to phase 2. (A New Year – a post about the phases) So, progress isn’t as fast as they planned but it will happen. I don’t know if Moderna vaccines or others that are becoming available are also being considered.

The general feel in the world seems to be that we will get through this before the end of the year, and in six months things should be much better as people get immunized and as the virus has less people to infect.

Right now though, it feels like this has been going on FOREVER! We are all so tired of it. So many have suffered in so many ways, and so many have died. Let’s all keep hope in our minds and look forward, and continue to take good care of ourselves and each other.

Yesterday was Wednesday, January 20, 2021. A lot of very good things happened yesterday!

First, of course, is the inauguration of a new president in the USA. I know many wished for a different outcome, but this is a new beginning and I hope better times are ahead for all of us. The pandemic and the recent violence made for a very different inauguration ceremony, but I don’t think it lessened the impact. Lady Gaga sang an incredibly beautiful performance of the national anthem, and she was only the first of a number of amazing participants. I thought Biden gave an excellent speech stressing unity and healing. It felt honest, heartfelt, and very hopeful, which I think is what we all need right now.

A woman of color is now the vice president! What a momentous thing that is. I saw the whole ceremony was full of women and people of color, but to have this woman, to have her in this position, it’s an awesome thing.

But wait… there’s more!

Yesterday, in the early hours of the morning, the first doses of the vaccine arrived in Panama.

COMUNICADO N° 330 | Ministerio de Salud de la República de Panamá (minsa.gob.pa)

The first people were vaccinated in a happy ceremony attended by the president and other officials. The first people to get the vaccine were ICU nurses, respiratory therapists, and other front line workers.

We only got about a third of the vaccine that was ordered, but Pfizer said that when they get caught up they’ll sent the rest (“in the first quarter of 2021”). Since supply is limited, they are going to vaccinate people in the Panama and Panama West districts where the virus has been the biggest problem. So, it’s going to take time to get to everyone, but what a hopeful thing to see the first doses finally arriving here in Panama!

My friend in California got her second dose of the vaccine yesterday. She’s an ultrasound person at the local hospital, and her husband, the radiology guy, should get his this week also. We all hear the stories about the disorganized and inadequate vaccine distribution, but it feels great to hear that some people are getting protected, especially those in the front lines of patient care.

What else? We had electricity yesterday. We got a notice that the power was to be shut off yesterday while they did some repairs. But, they shut off the power about 10PM and it was back on in the early hours of the morning, so we had power all day. It was an especially good day to have electricity since we wanted to watch the inauguration ceremony.

I got my teeth cleaned and got a clean bill of health from our dentist. My life long battle with dental problems came to an abrupt halt when I arrived in Panama. I’m not sure why, but thank you!

My daughter sent me pictures and art of my grandchildren, and the package seemed to have gotten lost in transport and was in the never never land for two weeks. But, now I have notification from the mailing service that it arrived in Miami and is on its way to David. And, my husband’s repaired hearing aids are also arriving.

The virus numbers in Panama seem to be improving. I don’t want to say anything too quickly, but the statistics of the last few days seem to be a bit better. Maybe all the restrictions made a difference? Hospitalizations are still high, but since someone usually needs a few weeks rather than a few days to improve enough to leave the hospital, maybe those numbers just need more time.

Did I share this already? It’s a recent Bob Adams video where he talks about COVID in Panama and the plans for the vaccine. He says the country is generally doing well, and that eventually everyone will get the vaccine, citizens, residents, and even tourists. Jump to about 5:55 in the video if you want to go directly to that part.

Summer has definitely arrived in Panama now. We haven’t had rain in quite a few days, and the trade winds have been blowing. Mangoes and avocadoes are flowering, along with other ornamental and fruit trees.

We are still in a very difficult period with this coronavirus, but it feels so good to see good things happening, and these signs of progress that reassure us that this won’t last forever. It probably won’t even last through this new year.

Hang in there everyone! And, as always, take very good care of yourselves and each other. I want to see all of you still here when we come out the other side.