Noriega Dreaming

Here we are in Panama, trying to outwit the immigration officials of Costa Rica. We arrived with little fanfare, and with the help of Joel, our Panamanian border crossing specialist, brought ourselves and Bessie, the toyota that can really do it all, into a lovely area of Panama known as the highlands. We are staying in Boquete, Panama. Which is a very cute little town and we have a fantastic room. I, Lefty, like Panama- the roads are good and travel is easy. The dollar is the currency. I feel like I am in Gatlinburg, only it´s much better than that. There is no dollywood and it´s much cleaner. Tomorrow we are climbing up to Panama´s highest peak called Volcan Baru. Ancho´s mom, Lily, left us yesterday. We dropped her at aeropuerto Juan Santamaria and headed south down the Panamerican Highway. The drive at first was fantastic, climbing up and up towards the highest point on the Panamerican Highway at jsut over 10,000 feet. Then the drive got really slow and painful as we putted along behind semis going very slowly and spewing exhaust. Yucky. Eventually we made our way to San Isidro General and after San Isidro the road was much better with less traffic. It was my first time in this part of Costa Rica and I really liked it. We stayed in a little town on the highway and had the best Chinese Food here yet. Of course, because our last and first experience with Chinese was so horrible, this was actually only the second shot at Chinese. The electricity went out as our meal was ready and we ate by candlelight... tres romantique! This issue with utilities has been keeping our lives interesting. This past weekend in Acosta was the weekend of infrequent water... at least Ancho´s Mom got a taste of authentic rural living. As I worried about whether my sister had made reservations at the hoity toity restaurant in Lexington, Kentucky for Mother´s Day, Ancho´s Mom noted that I was being rather ridiculous considering I was sitting in rural Costa Rica with no water and a backache as well. Sometimes I worry about the strangest things down here. Anyway, at least I am still keeping hold of that notable neurotocism that runs in the family. Ancho returns to Bath County in a week. Everyone batten down the hatches and protect any Sierra Nevada you may have. I am convinced that after four months without good beer he will spend the first week of his time at home on a good beer binge. Keep an eye on him, will you?

Love to all,
Ancho and Lefty