nonamedufus

Sure, wait until the end of my holiday before bringing out the big guns. There I was Sunday, minding my own business, sitting on the balcony of my brother-in-law's Panama condo looking out over the infinity pools and ocean ruminating about what I enjoyed best about my two week trip to Panama. Was it the 100+ degree temperatures? Not exactly. Was it the great meals we had on our trips out to various restaurants? Not exactly. Was it the ability to play golf every day? Not exactly. Was it the gorgeous beach? Not exactly. Was it the fantastic sunrises? Not exactly. Was it the zoo in the fertile - and cooler - volcanic valley of El Valle ? Uh-uh. Well what was it then? Well, over beside the pool - and at the risk of appearing to be an old lecherous coot, which I may well be  - it was the discovery of young women in thongs. That's right, thongs. I'd seen pictures before but I've never seen them in their natural habitat. He...

I was taking things easy Tuesday. It's my chemo pill day so I stuck close to the condo and didn't play golf with my brother-in-law Jean-Marc and his friend Christiane. It gave me time to read up a little on Manuel Noriega. You know, the former military governor of Panama who was trained by and worked for the CIA, ran drugs, killed people and now wastes away in jail after finally being extradited to his homeland after trials and jail terms in both the United States and France? Yeah, that's him. Noriega not a happy camper when captured. Did you know that when the Americans invaded Panama in 1989 and surrounded the Vatican Embassy where he was holed up in an operation called "Nifty Package" U.S. Navy Seals blasted rock music at deafening levels in an attempt to get him to surrender? Do you know what song they played over and over again? I Fought the Law and the Law Won by the Clash. It must have worked. He surrendered. On Wednesday, I fought the golf course....

Well my late arrival, and the even later arrival of my golf clubs and clothes are well behind me and I've been enjoying a relaxing time on the beach at Bijao, Panama, near Santa Clara. The days have fallen into a simple routine of golf in the morning, before it gets too hot, a bit of a nap, lunch, another nap, a dip in the pool, a walk on the beach and a cocktail or two before dinner. The temperature here is in the low to mid 90s for you American types and around 32-36C for my Canadian compatriots. So it's good to get the golf out of the way early in the day. When I first arrived I was after my brother-in-law to find an 18 hole course. The one at his place is 9 holes. Well, I tell ya it's all I can do just to finish 9 holes. So that's just as well. Things move slowly in Panama. Case in point: the air conditioner in the living room blew and my brother-in-law made arrangements to get it fixed last Saturday. Last Saturday the repairman called and said he'd be...

Remember this pic from Tuesday, and I said I was in the plane, in seat 8-D? Well, I lied. I wasn't in the plane. I was still in the airport. I waited an hour and a half to board because United had a slight problem. "We can't seem to start the engines" said the announcement on the public address system. Well this put a crimp in my travel plans, to say the least. I'd arrived at the airport at 4 a.m. I'd checked in, got my boarding pass, checked my luggage and been through customs and was waiting for the first leg of my trip to Panama to get under way. No such luck. The flight was due to depart at 6 a.m. It took off for Washington Dulles airport at 7:30. My connection to Panama was set to depart at 9:26 and I arrived breathlessly at the gate at 9:15. Phew, made it. Not so fast. The plane had departed. "Departed?" I said incredulously. "Well, yes sir. Everyone was on the plane." "Oh, no they weren't," said I, dripping with...

Ssshhhh! Don't tell anyone but you see this plane? Yeah, I'm on it. Seat 8-D. I'll be landing in Panama this afternoon, meeting up with my brother-in-law, and taking off for his beach front property in the Bijao resort in Santa Clara. I didn't want to tell you sooner for fear of jinxing things. Some of you may recall how my earlier plans for a six week Panama sojourn were dashed when my hematologist refused to let me go in December. Well, my latest blood work results show a vast improvement. No cause for concern. And my next doctor's appointment is in late March. So, hey, I've decided to squeeze in a couple of weeks on the beach, in the ocean and at the golf course in central America. And I've left poor Mrs D behind working hard at the office. I think if she has some spare time she's gong to paint the kitchen. That'd be a nice treat for my return. Isn't she swell? I've worked hard for this. I've followed my doctor's directio...