Panama - Arrived September 18, 2022
We arrived! We left Seattle in a whirlwind just after midnight on September 16th and had a quick stopover in Atlanta before arriving in Panama City, Panama, around 2:00pm on September 16th. Another whirlwind took us through passport verification, baggage claim, and customs, and then we caught a quick $32 taxi to our hotel, arriving at 3:00pm. Miguel hit a local pharmacy for 2 gallons of water while I crawled right into bed and slept all but a few of the many hours between our arrival and awaking this morning at 7:00. My brain is still too groggy to count 12 hour half days, and 24 hour days, then subtract the two hours we are ahead of Seattle (because Panama is on Eastern Standard Time and does not see any reason for Daylight Savings) - I am so groggy.
About 30 minutes before landing in Panama City, I was hit with a wave of reality; we really have done this! The shell shock of too much to do lifted, and the gratitude settled in. Relief in being done descended like a blanket, but instead of feeling comfortably weighted, I became lighter, brighter, and giggly! A lot of help and a whole bunch of magic came together, and we moved to Panama.
We chose to stay at a hotel we enjoyed on our January trip, and it feels like home - a good choice as we begin to see Panama as our home, and they remember Miguel, as do the two restaurants we have eaten at so far.
I know from my long history that I can pull energy out of a hat for a project that needs to get done, and then after the project deadline, I crash and re-stock energy for days - and I am re-energizing right now. I can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, and since arriving, I have slept for 4 hours, waked for 2, slept for 4, roused for two, rinse and repeat. The waking periods will get longer, then the sleeping periods will get longer, and then I will return to normal. Miguel has stated that our Panama normal, now that he is not tied to his midnight return from work, will be to retire at 11:00 and rise at 7:00. The sun sets here at 6:00 and rises at 6:00 - it pokes at your eyelids and pretty much insists that you arise by 7:00.
We have flights to David on September 23rd, then a ride to Boquete to our Honeymoon suite AirBnB.
Finding us: WhatsApp is best. Before leaving the USA, we changed our phone carrier to T-Mobile, so texts work, but we will not be checking them all that often. The best way to find us is via WhatsApp, which you can find on your favorite app store. WhatsApp is under our names individually, and if we are in your contact lists, you shouldn't have trouble finding us. Using WhatsApp, we can video chat, similar to Facetime or Zoom. WhatsApp also does voice calls and texting; it is free and uses wifi. You'll like it! It works all over the world.
You may need to sign in to see the blog on the blog page - please do. One of my problems with using email to send these newsletters out is remembering which people to include; the blog helps with that. Relying on memory was getting iffy! If you sign into the blog, I can track who wants to receive these newsletters and who doesn't.
Thank you! We made it! Miguel and I appreciate your support and your cheering us on! I will keep you posted as I catch up on sleep and energy and we make our way through Panama City to Boquete and our Honeymoon Suite.