Penny In Paradise

It’s amazing how fast 2016 is going by….here we are at the mid-point of the year.   Lots is happening down here in Panama….

PANAMA HAPPENINGS:

COPA Airlines continues to expand, as Central and South America’s biggest carrier and Panama City is their “Hub Of The Americas”.   Here’s the new expansion project going on at Tocumen International Airport, the largest and most modern in all of Central and South America.

The expansion of the Panama Canal, has been in construction for the last 10 years (exactly the same amount of time it took for the US to build the original canal in 1904-1914.  One hundred years later, the wider canal (which recycles a great deal of the water that is just flushed out to sea with every transit….millions of gallons for each ship) will transit the first PostPanaMax freighter on June 26, 2016.   The new Canal has unleashed a huge building boom at ports along the Gulf and US East Coast, to expand their port facilities to handle the PanaMax size freighters.

Panama City is becoming more beautiful every day….check out photos posted by Tom Brymer of Panama Advisory International.

GOLF IN CHIRIQUI:

We have a fantastic golf course development in Boquete, called Lucero.   They have built these tree houses overlooking the jungle, with views of the Pacific, which can be rented by the night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim won the Valle Escondido Club Championship AGAIN….he’s the only person to have won 2 consecutive years in a row.  He awarded a bottle of Panamonte Rum to another player.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last time I showed you the BIG DIG in the back yard….now he’s installing a big drainage system of steel and concrete to ward off the rainy season erosion, and has laid hundreds of square meters of sod, with much more to go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We decided to have a huge party one day with Jim conducting a Shoot Out….prize?  You guessed it….a bottle of Panama Red Rum.  Everyone wants it to become an annual event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ISLAND FUN:

We recently visited the Pacific Coast with some friends, and stayed at the Bocas del Mar resort.   One day we hired a boat to take us to some of the island beaches off the coast, in the national marine park in the Gulf of Chiriqui.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE LAST MOVE FOR MOM:

Mom had her 90th birthday in November, and she moved to be nearer my son Paul, who married last year and moved to Orlando.  Unfortunately, she suffered some black out spells which resulted in falls, and a 2 week stay in the hospital, where they implanted a PaceMaker.   Since then, her mental and physical states have declined significantly, and she now has 7 days a week visits from a caregiver.   This is difficult for us both, since I am down here.   So…I decided to buy a townhouse in Valle Escondido for her to live in.  It has an apartment downstairs, which will house a live-in caregiver.  It is just 20 minutes from our house, and my cousin Joy lives right next door.  We’ll be doing some renovations, adding a kitchen downstairs, and painting everything to make it light and bright for mom.  I’ve started buying furniture and stuff, and I’ll fly to the US in late July to bring her back down here to live.   Just the thought of it has really made mom perk up, and improved her outlook.   After all, I’m her only kid and she needs to be near me in her last days.  Here are some photos of the townhouse now….renovations to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, of course, her life will be enhanced by frequent visits from our Girls….Tessa & Becky.

So…stay tuned for more updates on this big change in both our lives….both mom’s and mine.   I can only hope it improves her life living here near us and the girls.