Ft. Lauderdale

I didn’t wake up as early as I thought I would so I wasn’t too worried if I didn’t make the meeting on time. I had a coffee and a chat with a guy who made his way through here every year or so, then dropped by the bus station to check things out again. I figured I should try to be down there for five anyways. Up the hill and a half hour late to the meeting, but better late than never. I had called Keith on the way up the hill and he said he was in Panama at the time but would be back in Boquete by noon, so I on had a few hours to kill up there.

I drove around for a bit, finding newly paved roads that I hadn’t explored, then returned for lunch at this good little place off the main road I had found last year. I stuffed myself with a big lunch and then went over to Keiths’ place to see if he was around or not, and as luck would have it, he had just gotten back.

I parked my car, gave him a few details about car papers and such, and walked myself back to the road to catch a bus into David. The bus was packed, and I the only white guy, but it was a pleasant enough ride. It sure is nice to understand Spanish enough to understand some of the conversations going on around me. I thought it would be cooking hot in there, but it wasn’t at all. I wasn’t hot until I had made my it all the way back to the Pension, where I sat… and waited… until 4. Had a shower, a change of shirts, and caught a taxi to the terminal where I bought my ticket, and waited… until 5:20 when we were all boarded and on the way.
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One Day Left

Sick as a dog last night. That is the first time I have ever had bad food here. At least I think it was the food from the restaurant. As soon as I was finished eating dinner I didn’t feel right, and the meal sat in my stomach like a stone. Cramping up, then subsiding, then cramping up again, I ignored it until I went to bed hoping it would pass, but as the night wore on I became more and more aware I was going to have to heave it out of me. I has been at least 7 years since I puked last and I didn’t relish the thought as there was a time when I did it as a matter of precaution after a long night of drinking. Nature took her course and I felt much better only to return for a repeat performance around 5:30 AM, after which I was finally able to get some sleep. So today I ate baby food. A fruit plate in the morning, plenty of water all day, and rice and vegetables for dinner with lots of hot sauce on it to kill off any remaining bugs. I fell normal now, and am much relieved.

Aside from that, I spent the day down at the beach with Christina et al, talking with various grey haired and sea weathered sailors who all seem to share somewhat the same mindset of minimalism. People really are waking up to what is going on, but only the skinny end of the bell curve.
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Up to Boca Brava

**Note:  This is a collection of posts strung together over the course of a few days without an internet connection.**

Today, January 16th, I awoke a little earlier than usual. Perhaps I knew in the back of my mind that I didn’t want to head out to Olgas’ property late in the day when the sun was high. Got my car out of the parqeo while I could, went over to get a coffee, and came back for a morning shower. The morning shower, up until today, was been sort of a shock treatment, but I think I am now quite used to having a cold shower, and down here, quite prefer it.

Feeling much more awake, I took myself over to Olga’s room and knocked on the door. Geez…, she is all set up in there with a coffee maker, crock pot, little plants, internet, printer (which I borrowed the use of later to print my boarding passes), and internet telephone, not to mention that her shower had one of those suicide heads on it for hot water. I was a little jealous, but hey, this is the owners sister. She should be set up nice. After a little back and forth banter and a coffee from her machine, we set out on the way to her place about 1/2 hour from here.
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Booked.

The image above is a spooky house that is down by a river just outside of David.  I have no idea of the story behind it, but it must have been huge before it fell into ruin.  The river that it abuts is a fine place to cool off in the shade on hot days, which are the norm now, in David.  There are little fish in it that freak you out as they pick at the dead skin on your legs.  Once you know what is happening, they are just good laugh, as the feeling is just about impossible to describe.

Well, that movie sucked. Long, poorly directed, and cheesy. I think I’ll try one of the kids movies the next time. They usually have an adult vein of humor through them to keep them awake.

Last night I tried to make my reservations from the hot-spot down the street from here. I got all the way through the pages, inputting my information multiple times, but when it came time to pay for it with my credit card it was declined. Uh oh. Now what? I had some problems with this card earlier that day when I tried to buy the battery, but thought it only a problem with the line at the time. My Visa worked ok, and I paid for it with that, but when I tried the Visa for the flight, it was declined also. It took a while to lay me down to sleep that night. What was the problem?
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