What do you say when you aren’t doing anything interesting? It’s easy to forget that daily life is interesting to other people who wonder what it’s like to live here.

It’s rainy season but we had a dry spell for many days. More normal weather seems to have returned now with rain in the late afternoon and/or early evening most days. Everything still grows like crazy though so I took advantage of the dry time for my favorite pastime, yard work. I still have to explain occasionally that it’s my therapy and that’s why I don’t hire it out.

The water has been a problem for 2-3 weeks now and we have only had water for a few hours a day, at most (and which hours are anybody’s guess). As usual, nobody knows what is going on, but I have heard rumors about major work at the water plant that supplies us. I am very very thankful that we have a water tank so it doesn’t inconvenience us.

If the water is out for more than a day or so, a water truck comes around to fill any container you provide. Our neighbor, a smart and capable guy, built a pipe extending to the street so the water truck can use it to fill their tank. We were ok with half a tank left, but he has a busy house with adult kids and school age grandkids so he was happy to have a full tank.

The water came back later that night. It’s been on all last night and today, so maybe they are done working for a while?

They are building a huge new mall nearby, so the other day I biked over to see what was going on. Word is that most of the work is going on inside now, and finish date is still expected to be this December. Google “Federal Mall Chiriqui” if you want to know more and see projections for the finished mall. It’s HUGE!

The country has discontinued the use of plastic bags. The bags get everywhere, in the trash, beside the roads, and in the waterways so I think this is a great move. Canvas bags,  and more recently, biodegradable bags are available in the supermarkets. We were given a biodegradable bag at the hardware store yesterday for our purchases.

At first, just the canvas bags were being sold.

Now biodegradable bags are also available. Near the entrance I also saw larger, decorative bags for sale.

What else? A couple more pictures of things around town –

This calf was munching on grass in front of the cell phone tower.

I’ve watched this building for a radio station go up. It looks almost finished but it seems like everything has to wait for utilities, so it will be interesting to see when it is open for business.

So, that’s kind of what goes on here, daily life, shopping , errands and household chores, working in the yard, seeing friends, riding my bike, some on line correspondence and activities, and practicing music.

Joel at a gig

Getting ready for gigs…. our living room always looks like a music studio. When we pack everything in the car, then we can clean it before everything comes back again.

Last, but definitely not least, I never get tired of seeing all the beauty around us and a view of Volcán Barú, our nearby volcano, is always exciting.

La vida difícil en Panama 😊