Ok, so I have been back in Panama for 2 days now. Did a little shopping today, but not much else. I was planning to go out to Coronado and visit a friend of mine there, but the more I think about moving the luggage I am carrying, the less I want to do that, so the call has been made. Tomorrow morning at 8:15 “Panama time” I board that damn bus again to David. 10 hours of churning along the highways. Ahh, well it isn’t really that bad, and all will be well again once I have the freedom of my wheels under me. Dragging around this little box of car parts has proven to be a bit of a pain. I should have put more thought into what I wanted to do while I was here. I know there are things that I will remember later when I am miles away.

I had resigned myself to staying in the room tonight, getting a good rest, and catching the bus in the morning, but that didn’t last long. Stir crazy called me so I had to go and visit. I just had to get out of the hotel, so down to the local park I went. As I was sitting there, smoking my first Panamanian cigar, along came a racket, and not your usual racket either. This was some sort of parade.

From the look of it, it was a parade in honor of the firefighters here, and it went on for about a mile. Three marching bands sprinkled into the mayhem for good measure.

Y’know, I just love it when the unexpected happens like that. In fact, it is strange just how many times it has happened. Always a nice treat to be down here.

We are still in the tail end of the rainy season here, and the humidity is quite high. Had a taste of a real thundershower in the afternoon. The sky just opens up and it all falls at once, then again, then again. Nice, warm, dime size drops. Soaked to the bone in 30 seconds if you get caught out in it, but that didn’t happen.

Panama City has come a long way since the first time I was here when it comes to smog and black smoke belching buses. There are still a few around, but most are WAYYYY better. Cudos.

So, those are just a few notes for the evening. The marching bands are now doing the rounds at the local barrios. They swarm one, play a few tunes, then move on to another. Gotta love it!

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Well, I am now back in Boquete. Wind a blowin’ but the weather is nice. Got the car started no problems there but a weakened battery. These things need to be charged at least monthly to stir up their guts, or they go bad with lack of use and the heat here.

Not much has changed here but for more people running around with big ideas of the future. Add me to that list, I guess.

I took mostly video of the parade in Panama, so there isn’t room for them here. I still need to go to school on my camera again, relearning about night settings et al. So no pics yet. Relax, get a bit of a tan. Tend to things here for a few weeks, and I’ll have a good footing to set out on.

There are a few folks around here I want to go visit and see where their projects are at now. Some should be finished, others farther along, and a few interesting ones I have heard about to add to the list. We will see what the morrow brings.