Frogs; First Rain; Weighted Walks; Rosa

We had a few light rains last week and the toads and frogs have come out in force. Some are quite large and must have been hibernating all summer long. They are everywhere in the road. Yesterday evening driving home from dinner with Cleo and his son Caliler, I stopped the car four times to shoo the frogs out of the road, so as not to run over them.

We had our first long, heavy rain this afternoon. Looks like we're easing into the rainy season, or perhaps we are already there. I checked the entire house for leaks and so far just the same minor leaks in the foyer area and the center of the living room that we had last year. We meant to have those patched but never got around to it. Now it'll have to wait until next summer.

I did another of my 30 minute "weighted walks" this evening, wearing a pack holding two 30 lb dumbbells. I would have liked to go longer but the strap was really cutting into my chest. I need to figure out some way to carry the weight more comfortably, maybe by padding the straps with something. I enjoy walking at night, and with the weight it's the equivalent of a one hour fast march.

I managed to get Rosa all booked up six days a week, out of which I will employ her two days. I needed to cut her hours back to save money, but I wanted to find other work for her first, and I'm happy that I was able to do that.

Laura tells me that Salma has learned the word "heavy" - more or less - and now everything she carries is "heawy, heawy!" She's been having some long crying fits and nothing comforts her. I know she is missing everything and everyone she has grown up with (except her Mama, of course). I may return to California to be near her later this year, in which case I will most likely rent out this house in El Valle. I will not sell it. This is one of the beautiful, peaceful places of the world and I hope this house will one day be passed on to Salma, who is a Panamanian citizen as well as an American, Egyptian, German, Muslim.

Night Walks in El Valle de Antón

I have a daily phone call with Laura and Salma. I use Skype and call computer-to-computer to it costs nothing. This morning I sang the ABC's to Salma and Laura told me that she bobbed and danced to my voice. Linda has some potted ficus trees in the house and apparently Salma is getting great enjoyment out of scooping out the soil and dumping it on the floor. Laura took her to Target and chased her through the clothing aisles and Salma loved that.

I have to cut Rosa's hours back to two days a week but I can't bring myself to do it, so I've tried to find someone to hire her on the other three days. I posted a message on the Valleros website. Corrin, who says she desperately needs someone to do housework, has agreed to employ Rosa one day a week. So I still have two days to fill.

I went for a night walk with Rudy. At about 8:30 pm we set out to visit his property. He is in the middle of building a home. The property is in an isolated location. Rudy warned me that the gate might be locked, but that we could squeeze through a gap. It turned out that his workers had strung barbed wire across the gap, but there was a small opening at the bottom so I got on my stomach and shimmied through the dirt. "Go on," I said to Rudy. "It'll be just like boot camp forty years ago." So Rudy did it too, and we proceeded to his property with dirt all down our fronts. The trail crosses a small stream (you hop on three stones), and up through a wooded area to the site of the construction.

There was no moon, only bright stars, though of course we had our wind-up flashlights. We toured the property and Rudy explained the layout to me. The wind has grown quite strong at night lately and it kept picking up fine sand from the construction and flinging it into my eyes. A frog had gotten into the house and was trying to climb the wall. Huge clouds of mist obscured Cerro Gaital in the distance.

I love walking around El Valle at night. It's all wind in the trees, mountains, clouds and stars. Wandering dogs, frogs, sometimes ñeques or opossums, and the occasional silhouette of a sloth if you're lucky. Sometimes youths making out in the shadows.

We walked out the long way, along the Casa de Lourdes road, and parted ways on the Los Capitanes road. Returning home I detoured through the far end of my yard and stopped at Zippy's grave to say hello. I found Li'l Fishy outside and meowing at me her unhappiness at being left alone. Now I'm back in the office and she's in her box next to me, happy and purring.

Lightning Bug, Ani, Voicebox, Heavy Pack, Stars

Last night there was a bug thrashing on the bedroom floor, apparently dying. I didn't know what kind of insect it was but I stepped on it with my sandal. Suddenly it began shining light and I realized it was a lightning bug, and then I felt bad about stepping on it, as if it were somehow a beacon or a lamp and I were a dark giant.

Ani came by today to get her pay for last week. We won't be needing her services for now, so I gave her a month's severance pay. I could see she'd been crying, whether because she is out of a job or because she misses Salma, I don't know. Perhaps both. She has been Salma's part-time parent since Salma was six months old. I told her that Salma loves her, and that she (Ani) will always be a member of the family, and that when Salma returns I will call her to come back to work.

I decided this evening to go for a walk. I enjoy listening to my iPod as I walk. When I picked up the iPod from the kitchen counter the cord was tangled up with some small plastic box, and the little box suddenly began emitting a loud crying sound. I stared at it in alarm and confusion before I realized that it was the "voicebox" for Salma's doll. She has a doll that used to "cry" when you squeeze it, but for some reason we had removed the voicebox and here it was. The noise was startlingly loud in the large, silent kitchen.

That got me thinking about Salma and how much I miss her. It's very hard, but I know that my bond with her is strong enough to weather this absence.

Just for fun, I decided to put a couple of dumbbells in a backpack and wear that on my walk, to make it tougher. I wrapped two 30 lb dumbbells in a towel and stuffed them in the backpack, then set off on my walk, listening to a novel called "The Traveler" on the iPod. The pain in my shoulders and the hammering of my heart quickly reduced the length of my planned walk from a long circuit around town to a few blocks, and then just around the one block.

A few local dogs befriended me and walked with me, every now and then nuzzling my hands to be petted. One was a large black puppy, and the other was a fat old dog with a limp. They followed me all the way home. By the time I returned home the weight of the shoulder straps had cut off the circulation to my arms and my hands were tingling. Elapsed time: 20 minutes. I don't know how they do it in the army. Don't they have to run 10 miles wearing 100 lb packs, or some crazy thing?

There's no moon tonight and the stars are incredibly bright. The sky is packed with them, stacked on top of each other like apples at the market. SubhanAllah. This is a beautiful place, beautiful people, in the crater of a volcano nestled beneath the stars.

Ants and Pasta, Welcome Home

Laura and Salma flew to California this morning. Or their plane did, and they just rode.

After seeing them off at the airport I stopped by my friend Tracy's house in La Chorrera. There was a salamander on his kitchen floor and I helped it out into the yard. Two cats lounging about the house on the cool tile floors, and the smell of burning leaves in the air. No sign today of the parrot that calls, "Mama, mama." Tracy is having a running dispute with his Panamanian neighbors. He recently discovered that his property is larger than was previously believed, so he moved the fence accordingly. A large chunk of what was believed to be his neighbor's property is now his. They have responded by loosening the fence posts, breaking into his backyard casita, tossing dogs and chickens over the fence, and on one occasion striking him with a board. The case has gone to the local magistrate and one of the neighbors may face jail time.

I got home just in time to see Henry and Nora Smith pulling up to my gate. They were in town to scope some properties, so I quickly fed the cat and went with them. They brought their granddaughter Ana Sofia with them to meet Salma. Ana Sofia is a happy, friendly little girl, charming in the way that Panamanian children can be.

I guided them to the new place that Silen is building and selling. Silen, who sold me this house, asked me about all my fruit trees. "How's the papaya tree? How's the mango? How's the guanabana?" Etcetera. I told him the bananas, papaya and mangoes are great, but I didn't even know that I had guanabana.

I took Henry and Nora to see the two-story house past Dan & Cherry's that a developer built on spec and is trying to sell. Nora took lots of photos.

Returning home I found Listo watering the yard on his day off. I asked him about the guanabana and he showed me, and he also pointed out a chirimoya tree (another one I didn't know I had).

I opened some windows and the kitchen door and stepped out into the side yard, only to step into a new anthill next to the sidewalk. I didn't even notice it until I got the first bite, and by the time I got my slippers off I had a half dozen bites on my foot. Welcome back to El Valle. In fact the insect population seems to have burgeoned lately, perhaps because of the light rainfall we've had. Termites, spiders, and a mouse-sized cockroach are running rampant in the house. I took off my slipper and aimed it at the cockroach but he escaped beneath the bathroom sink. Such sensitive little monsters.

The sugar-ant super highway has disappeared from the kitchen counter but a few scouts remain.

On the other hand it was nice to look in the fridge and find the delicious macaroni and mushroom dish that Rosa left, along with an olive and feta salad, and the remains of the chocolate cake that Laura made before she left.

The house is large, empty and silent, with a cool night breeze blowing through now that I've opened the windows. Salma's room is dark. There's a scent of jasmine in the air. Li'l Fishy is very glad to have me home and follows me from room to room. I have turned my phone off because I'm not in a talking mood, so if you've tried to call I'm afraid I have not received your messages. I still read my email.

Questions About Life in El Valle

This is in response to the comments on the previous post:

Hello Claudia,

I went over and looked at the house today. I am amazed that it's for rent. Those types of homes are usually owned by rich weekenders and they don't typically rent or sell them. How much are they asking?

So, the street that goes off the main road is at first unpaved, then paved but badly pitted. An ordinary car can manage it, but in general for living in El Valle I recommend an SUV or 4-wheel drive vehicle.

Once you get near the house the road is smooth. The house itself is nestled in the foothills among the trees and birdsong. It's a lovely location. I viewed the house from the street, but from what I can see it looks large, and the yard is huge.

Seeing the inside is important however, because Panamanian homes are often dark inside (to minimize sun exposure and heat), and some people don't like that.

Answers to your other questions:

American TV: You can sign up for Direct TV (cable service) which offers a wide selection of American programming. I don't know how much it costs.

Internet Connection: The most reliable service provider here is Mobilphone. It's wireless. I don't know if they offer 5mps, but another web developer here (Zach) has 1mps and I think he pays $150/month. I have 256K and pay $45 per month. Are you sure you really need such a high speed?

My internet connection is stable, though sometimes slow in the afternoon. The power goes out often here (a few times a week, several hours at a time, usually at night but occasionally during the day) and of course when that happens you won't be able to use your computer unless you have a large battery back-up unit. I do have one and it provides about 5 hours of power.

Things to bring: for us, nothing but thank you for offering. For yourselves, I wrote a post on this topic some time ago. See it here:

What to Bring When Moving to Panama

Re: Check Out This House in El Valle

I got this comment recently through my contact form. I've abbreviated it slightly. See below for my response:

Hi Laura. My husband and I myself are coming to Panama in mid May and we are right now deciding if we should rent a house down at Playa de Coronado and/or in El Valle. We found a house in El Valle. I would love if you could tell me on which "side" of the road this property is:

Here's a description: (removed to keep competing house-hunters from getting it).

Laura, since you live in El Valle would it be possible for you to find a little bit more information on the house and the location aside from what our realtor explained to us? I really truly appreciate your comments.

P.S. We have no icecream machine... but if everything works out ...well a dinner in our new home is on us :-)

Best wishes
Claudia

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Claudia, thanks for your email. Actually I am Wael, Laura's husband, and this is my blog. Laura's blog is www.CasaSalaam.com.

Yes, I know the street you described. It's a nice, quiet street in a good area. Not so close to the center of town but near the Centro Commercial, which is handy since that's the biggest store in town.

I'll go over there tomorrow and take a look at the house. Thanks for the dinner invitation and I look forward to taking you up on it. Please send me another message through the contact form and leave your email address this time.

Begone, Duende! Let my Daughter Be

Has Salma seen a duende? More likely she is just going through a phase. It started about four days ago, at least that's when I noticed it. She was in the bedroom watching an Elmo DVD that we recently got. Normally either Laura or I am in the room with her, but at that moment Laura had gone to the kitchen to get Salma a snack. Elmo is pretty harmless anyway. Suddenly Salma came running out of the room, crying.

Ever since that moment, this is what we're going through:

Salma will not stay in any room alone, even for a moment. If we're playing in the living room and I get up to go to the bathroom or get a glass of water, she will whine or cry and follow me.

Salma refuses to sleep in her crib, until she first cries for an hour or more. I (or Laura) hold her, sing to her, she falls asleep, but as soon as I try to lay her down she clutches my shirt and cries. If I set her down she will scream and cry. The only thing that will work is for me or Laura to sleep in the bed that is next to her crib. Even then she cries and wails before settling down.

Same thing for daytime naps. She will not sleep on her own. She cries and screams as soon as I set her down. Even Ani cannot get her to sleep.

She has also become very insecure. She used to be intrepid, exploring everything, approaching everyone. Now all of a sudden everything frightens her. I picked up the vacuum cleaner the other day - it was off - and Salma ran away just at the sight of it.

As a result Salma is exhausted, so she whines cries all the time and doesn't want to eat. She's a total basket case, and I am becoming one too. It's wearing me out. What on earth is going on?

Meanwhile Rosa is out sick, apparently with an infected molar. Her husband Claudio came by today and I gave him Rosa's pay for the week to pay for her medical care. I mentioned to him what was happening with Salma, and he said very matter of factly, "Maybe she saw a Duende."

Because of a discussion I had with Corrin Skubin last week, I just happen to know what this is. A duende is a mythological figure similar to a fairy or goblin. According to some, it's a goblin or elf that appears in the form of a dwarf and takes small children.

Wikipedia says, "They are believed to be of a small stature wearing big hats whistling a mystical song while walking in the forest. Using their talent they are believed to lure young girls to the forest and causing them to lose their way home. Conversely, in some Latin cultures the Duendes are believed to be the helpers of people who get lost in the forest so they could find their way home.

In Hispanic folklore of the American Southwest, Duendes are known as evil, green-skinned, red-eyed little monsters who live inside the walls of homes, especially in bedroom walls of young children. They attempt to convince children to misbehave, and will eventually try to steal a child's soul."

It's true that I sometimes hear noises coming from inside the air conditioning unit in Salma's room. Laura has mentioned that we might have mice in there.

In all seriousness, though, I hope Salma gets over this problem soon, Insha'Allah.

Cicadas, Peacocks, and Frogs with Bad Timing

We're at the apex of the dry season. The weather is warm bordering on hot, bright and sunny every day. The birds are singing, our resident iguana is growing huge, and Laura and Salma have been making frequent trips to the swimming pool at Aparthotel El Valle, which charges $2 per person for a dip in a pool heated by natural hot springs. Salma wears a flotation device and is gradually becoming more comfortable swimming on her own, with her Mama a feet away watching.

The cicadas have started up and you can hear them all day long. A cicada's call starts out with a sputter like an engine trying to start, then winds up into a long, loud air-raid siren. If you didn't know what it was you'd think it was a machine of some kind.

Summer is mosquito season and the geckos are going to town. They're all over the house, laughing at us with their distinctive call. We've hung a mosquito net over Salma's bed and we make sure to draw it closed every night. I sleep in long sleeved pajamas as protection, with the ceiling fan running on low. No need for AC up here in El Valle, except on the hottest afternoons.

The peacocks at Los Aramos seem to have spring fever. We hear their calls at all hours of the day and night.

We had a few brief rainstorms last week and it seems to have fooled the frogs. Many came out of hibernation and can be seen hopping all around the neighborhood by the hundreds. Unfortunately for them the early rain was a nasty April fool's joke, not to be repeated. The ditches and streams are dry and I'm afraid this crop of frogs will die out. Laura already removed one from our driveway, picked to the bones by black ants.

The termites have shown a few signs of an impending population explosion. We'll see.

Laura is now teaching English two days a week at the public school. It's turning out to be quite an experience for her. You can read about it on her blog, http://www.CasaSalaam.com

Good News: the Golden Frog is Not Extinct in the Wild

From the English-language section of Prensa.com:

Panamá, Friday April 10 2008

Golden frog may escape extinction

"We could be witnessing the greatest extinction since the dinosaurs," explained Jeff Corwin, host of the popular television show "Animal Planet." Corwin was in Panama to film the first leg of a research project that will take him South America, Africa and Australia as well.

Corwin is investigating the massive and somewhat sudden extinction of amphibians around the world, specifically frogs, toads, newts and salamanders. Panama has not been spared the disappearance of these sensitive and wonderful creatures. The golden frog, the country's most well known amphibian, recognized worldwide for its extraordinary beauty, is on the verge of disappearing.

The species has suffered from deforestation and urbanization, but the principal cause of its demise is an aquatic fungus that adheres to its skin, asphyxiating and dehydrating the tiny creature.

The odds of anyone finding the endemic species where Corwin and his knowledgeable guide and colleague, Edgardo Griffith, director of the Centro de Conservación de Anfibios El Níspero, went looking for them, were miniscule. The frog was believed to be extinct in the area.

"A few years ago I was doing a show in the extraordinary region of Darién," Corwin said, "and we discovered some spectacular species of frogs. Three years later, when I went back to the region to document them, we travelled all over the area and weren't able to find any."

Yet to their astonishment, in the town of Copé in the province of Coclé, they found 15 adolescent frogs accompanied by an adult.

The golden frog will be featured in Corwin's forthcoming documentary, "The Vanishing Frog."

I had heard that these Animal Planet fellows were here in town. A few young American expats here (children of the Blume family) went with them on their expedition to the Darién, and returned vowing never to do it again.

That's great news about the the symbol of El Vallé - the golden frog. I have noticed a dramatic reduction in the number and variety of frogs here in El Vallé, and I understand that many species in the wild have disappeared altogether. Hang in there, rana dorada! Fight the fungus that be!

P.S. Prensa.com's English-language supplement can be found here:

http://prensa.com/hoy/herald.shtml

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Another Business Idea for Entrepreneurs in Panama

I've updated my popular post on Business Ideas for Entrepreneurs in Panama (popular in terms of the number of people who have viewed it, though no one has commented yet - grr!).

There are now 28 business ideas, after I added the following to the list:

Same-Day and Next-Day Courier Service - It's true that Panamanians like to take their time with things. What's the hurry? But the number of North American & European expat communities along the Panama-Penonomé corridor is growing, and these folks might appreciate a reliable same-day or overnight courier service that could do any of the following:

• Pick up mail or packages in Panama city and deliver them to coastside communities.
• Deliver documents to lawyers or banks in the city.
• Buy requested items (or even do a full-fledged shopping trip) in Panama city and deliver.

With the rising price of gasoline, a day trip into the city to do any of these things is cost prohibitive. For me, living in El Valle de Antón, a round trip to the city in my 2003 Nissan Sentra costs $30 in gas. That's outrageous. The alternative is a long, tiring trip on the bus.

A courier service, on the other hand, could use fuel-efficient mopeds and small vehicles to keep costs low. After all, Chinese restaurants and pizza parlors in Panama already use mopeds for home delivery, as in the photo above. Why not do the same for documents and packages, like the Thai fellow in the photo at the top?

In addition, courier services combine several deliveries going in the same direction into one run, for the sake of both time and cost efficiency.