The Panama Adventure

There is nothing pressing on my mind to write about, but of course that doesn’t mean I won’t rattle on about something. Right now, it’s just daily life, mostly music and coughing. A cold has made its way though the band until it finally got to me, and the cough hangs on and on and makes it hard to sleep.

The music, however, is going really well. The more I play the more comfortable I am. The audience and employers alike have been very positive and enthusiastic. There is a Panamanian bass (and guitar and piano) player who is beyond amazing. The other night he went out of his way to compliment me. That meant a whole lot, coming from him especially. I see a trend which I really like. The musicians,  both gringo and Panamanian are coming together, supporting and helping each other, and becoming friends. It’s a nice feeling of community.

We have outgrown our car though. The Hyundai Atos that we like so much will be on the market soon. With both of us taking equipment it’s packed like a 3-D jigsaw! If any of you are interested in a well behaved, inexpensive around town car ask me for details.

Otherwise.. my daughter and her city of Santa Rosa are starting to recover from the fires. She is part of the effort of finding housing for displaced people and says it is very frustrating. There are something like 6000 homes destroyed, but no place to house all these people. It’s going to be a long hard road to recovery and the city hopes it doesn’t lose many of its young working families, people vital to the culture and functioning of the city.

Here in Panama we are in the height of rainy season. Some days are hot and sunny, but by afternoon there are usually clouds moving in followed by rain. Do your laundry and errands in the morning! There are some days with no or very little rain and others, like yesterday, where it felt like the sky had opened up. Those big downpours don’t last long though, and then settle in to a steady rain through the evening.

So, just life, chores and errands, hanging out, playing music while it rains, going to the gate to find a pot of flowers from the neighbor, petting the dog who thinks she must be no more than six feet away from me at all times, and waiting for the latest bananas to ripen. Mi vida difícil en Panamá.

It’s been exactly a week since my daughter and her family fled Santa Rosa in the early hours of the morning as the fires rushed into the city. I know there are disasters in many other places but this is my daughter’s city, my US address, and a city I’m familiar with. This has hit too close to home.

My daughter and family came back home last night. Her house is fine, as is the house of her in laws. There are still fires burning though and areas are still under evacuation. She said the air isn’t too bad because the winds weren’t blowing the smoke at them, but they could see the flames in the hills.

Many weren’t so lucky. According to this article, 40 people lost their lives. Hundreds are still missing and more may be found dead. 217,556 acres have burned and 5700 homes and businesses have been destroyed. 100,000 people have been evacuated and many won’t have homes to return to.

But, in all this trauma and destruction, thousands have come forward to help. There are more than 10,000 firefighters and police in the area from all over, and national guard, Red Cross, FEMA, and many other personnel. My daughter said it looks like an air show with all the planes and helicopters overhead fighting the fires. Individuals are also helping with an outpouring of donations, food, shelter, services, and tons of care and moral support. Even I, because I have a Santa Rosa address, I have received emails from Schwab and other banks offering support and any services they can offer to help get through this difficult time.

some random photos…

A very smokey sunset in San Francisco.

Photo taken by my daughter as they left their neighborhood in the early hours of Monday morning

Numerous planes and helicopters fight the fires

There are signs everywhere thanking the firefighters and others who have come to help. There are also signs of hope and support, like this one.

Photo of blackened hills taken by my daughter as they left Santa Rosa

Not sure where I found this photo…

Firemen, police, national guard and other helpers camped out at the fairgrounds

There is a FEMA center where people can go to one place for help with everything – housing, insurance, FEMA assistance, replacing vital documents, drivers licenses, etc. There is an article here. My daughter, who usually works for the county, will be there helping with housing.

Its a daunting task to rebuild all those structures and lives, and to recover from the stress and trauma. There were people who literally ran for their lives in the middle of the night with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. I thought the fire chief was going to break down in a town meeting when he described putting every resource on the fire and being unable to stop its progress. But, with the amount of help and support being offered, I think in time people will be able to move forward and rebuild their lives. I certainly hope so.

I try not to pay much attention to what goes on in the White House. It’s better for my blood pressure that way, but has the president even mentioned the California fires, let alone made plans to visit? At least congress is sending money which is enormously helpful.

I am very glad to be sitting in my block house with a metal roof. I’ve seen many brush fires here but I’ve never seen a burned house.

Tuesday, Oct 10, five years ago was when I arrived in Panama intending to make it my new home. Joel followed in November after wrapping things up in Florida.

I came with few expectations. I figured there would be problems with the language barrier (there were). I knew there were comfortable homes and stores that sold pretty much anything I would need so I wasn’t worried about setting up my new life. The people we had met on visits had been nice so I wasn’t worried about getting along. I figured I’d just move forward and just let things unfold.

I never expected it would be this good though. I never expected to feel happier and more comfortable here than I ever did in my native country. How could that be? Why is that?

• People accept and respect you as you are. Nobody cares about your religion, politics, net worth, appearance, relationship status, how you spend your time, or any of the things we judge people by in the US.
• Of course no place is 100% safe but we worry much less about our safety and property than we did anywhere in the US.
• There are no hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, or other weather disasters. After living in tornado alley and hurricane prone Florida, it’s a great relief to be here.
• It’s warm. I do not like to be cold. I am very happy at 80+ degrees in shorts and t-shirt.
• It’s affordable. It’s a relief and peace of mind to have enough for everything you need and most everything you want.
• As one of the uninsured for most of my life, it’s a huge relief to have competent and affordable health care available.
• We live with happy people. Greetings are genuine and smiles light up like sunshine. People don’t get upset  and life unfolds at a relaxed pace. So, the water isn’t on today, or there are weeds in the yard, or potholes, or the neighbor is blasting music. The strongest reaction is probably an eye roll. It can feel inefficient and messy at times but I’ve come to love it.
• Panama is a gorgeous country with mountains, beaches, and everything in between. There is always a new bird, bug, fruit, story, recipe, remedy, or cultural belief to learn about so it’s endlessly interesting.

Of course there are downsides. No place is all rainbows and unicorns or the paradise some publications promise it will be. You have to be prepared for many things being quite different, and sometimes confusing and frustrating. But if you can just go with it, it can be a great experience. It’s one of those things you have to experience to understand fully but now that I understand, I definitely plan to stay.

The devastation of the fires is just incredible. I’ve been following news and updates from here while my daughter concentrates on taking care of herself and her family. They are fine at the moment, back at home, and even have power but they are packed and ready to go at a moments notice. The fire above them seems to have burned down and become calmer, but there is a more active fire below them prompting new evacuations, and the wind is expected to start blowing hard again today. The in laws are nearby, also fine though they don’t have power, and they are also packed and ready to go. It’s watch and wait for now.

There are multiple fires in the area. The Tubbs fire is the one that swept through Santa Rosa. The area had a considerable amount of rain in the recent past so the grasses and plants really grew. Then the rain stopped, everything dried out, and the winds starting blowing, some at near hurricane strength in the mountains. It’s a perfect recipe for fire disaster.

This from the local newspaper. Bennett Valley is just below my daughter.

I watched a live presentation last night by local officials. There is an incredible amount of help pouring in – firefighters and equipment from all over the state, gas and power people and equipment, hundreds of police and national guard, Red Cross, telephone services, medical help, and volunteers. Most are working around the clock. They pledged to stay as long as necessary to help people recover. Financial help is also coming, and insurance adjusters and FEMA are on site.

My heart went out to the fire chief though. He was almost in tears when he told about Sunday night. They had every available resource on the Tubbs fire but there was nothing they could do to stop it. Soon their job turned to banging on doors and getting people out, saving lives over property.

Hopefully the winds today won’t push fires into new areas to do more damage, and hopefully this crisis will be over soon. People look exhausted. Then comes the long process of recovery and rebuilding.

Meanwhile, here in Panama, the country is beside itself with excitement. The soccer team is going to the World Cup! Soccer is a really big deal here, and it’s such a big accomplishment that the president has declared today a holiday for everyone.

I realized last night that yesterday was my five year anniversary of living in Panama. I was too focused on other things to even think about it at the moment. I’ll have to gather some thoughts and write something later.

My older daughter lives in Santa Rosa, California. She was awakened in the early hours of Monday morning to learn that large parts of the city were being evacuated because fires were rushing into the city. Conditions were very dry and there were high winds, 30 mph gusting to 50 and even 70 in the mountains! There was no stopping the fires under these conditions and soon 20,000 acres, and more, were on fire, and this was only one of a number of fires in Northern California.

It is now Tuesday morning and it’s hard to find updated information. My daughter (with husband, two little kids, and a cat) first went to a friend’s house in a nearby town and later, when her in laws decided to evacuate also, they all went to her aunt’s house south of San Francisco so they are all safe. Her house is just outside the latest evacuation zone maps that I can find, and the in laws are right on the border so I think chances are good that their homes will be ok but it’s too soon to say for sure. As of last night fires were 0% contained and though the winds had decreased, they were still blowing.

This is my daughter and her sister on her wedding day.

This is Paradise Winery now, totally destroyed. The wedding photo was taken on the gravel walkway you can see on the left. (Above photo is from the winery’s Facebook page)

I have seen entirely too many photos like this of various houses and buildings on fire, and the whole area looking like an inferno. I saw a live broadcast from the Home Depot parking lot yesterday and the decorative trees  in the parking lot were going up like torches, one by one,  and smoke and flames were billowing from th buildings just beyond.

This is Fountaingrove, a lovely area on a hill with beautiful vistas and high dollar  homes, and it’s completely destroyed. These are affluent people who certainly have insurance and the means to rebuild, but can you imagine having no home today? Where would you go? How would you start to rebuild your life? Now imagine being a homeless person, and there are many in Santa Rosa. I’ve seen them in tents, and those with cars and RV’s fill the parking lot to overflowing every night where my daughter works in her government job. Oh, and BTW who knows the condition of her workplace. A mobile home park two blocks away burned to the ground.

I know disasters happen all over the world, often with huge losses to lives and property, and often to people who have no means to rebuild. But, this is my daughter, and a home and city I’ve visited many times. I know whatever happens they will come through but I hate to think of the trauma, and many of her friends and coworkers who have lost everything.

Today I am thankful to be in a Panamanian block house with a metal roof where pretty much nothing happens. But, my mind is mostly elsewhere at the moment.

We love living next to a wooded area because of all the wildlife, mostly birds and bugs. Maybe not so much the scorpion that walked across the patio almost under our feet last night, but the majority of the wildlife is beautiful and harmless.

These birds hatched in a little nest in our front bushes. I tried not to bother them much, but when I went to check about a week after this picture was taken they were gone. I hope they flew off with mom instead of being someone’s lunch.

We have tons of grasshoppers. I think the coolest at the large black and red ones, but these interesting grasshoppers are the largest. My neighbor’s first response is to grab her shoe and get ready to smash it because they eat plants, but she’s not allowed to do that in my yard. It’s a safe for critters zone unless they are really causing a problem.

I happened to glance out the window yesterday and saw this laughing falcon sitting on the tree branch. They are very cool  birds but really loud when they have something to say. As they are warming up they sound like they are laughing, thus the name I’m sure.

After five years here I’m fairly accustomed to the wildlife we usually see but it’s still always interesting. I love being surrounded by so much life every day.

It seems like everywhere you look something is being built or remodeled. One of the biggest projects is the Federal Mall currently under construction. It is being done by the same people who did Albrook Mall in Panama City and it’s going to be huge. We have been watching it since they first started moving dirt around, and it was a lot of dirt! The site is so big and involved flattening out a large area and removing rocks as big as a small house.

Work stalled for a while. I heard while they were getting permits and permissions and when it restarted, things progressed quickly. After all the intense music practice and successful launch, I am reclaiming other parts of my life like riding my bike. Last week I took a couple rides over to the construction site to see what was going on.

I’m not sure about the bus terminal however. I thought there was also going to be a new terminal next to the mall, and the workers I’ve talked with on the site say this is so. People in my neighborhood, however, say no. The terminal is staying where it is. I found this video that shows plans for a new terminal on the current site but it’s over two years old and who knows if plans have changed.

I guess time will tell. Remodeling the current terminal sounds like a huge disruption. It’s in a busy, congested part of town, and what are they going to do with bus traffic while it is underway? But if it ends up like the video it would be really nice. As they say, not my circus, not my monkeys. I only stand by as an interested observer.

There has also been a huge remodeling project going on for some time at the ball stadium. When it started I had no idea it would be so extensive!

And, speaking of the music, as most of you know I worked hard to learn to play bass to help out my husband’s rock band. We have five gigs under out belts now and it’s going better than I ever dared imagine. Last Sunday we played at the Boquete Brewery, a place owned by a couple working rock musicians and frequented by many young Panamanians. One of the owners was there and this week we were moved to Saturday when there is a much bigger crowd, and the owner even sat in and played drums on a couple songs. It was awesome! Next week we play on Friday because we are already booked on Saturday at the mostly gringo place, where they also booked us for more gigs when they first heard us.

If someone told me I’d be playing Judas Priest songs to an enthusiastic bunch of Panamanians in my retirement….  ha! You just never know where the road leads if you keep your options open.