Dinner at Tracy's

I went to the city a few days ago, picked Tracy up at the Hotel Las Vegas, did some shopping and brought him back to stay the night here in El Valle. He had never been to the house before and was very impressed. In the process I retrieved my camera, so now I have photos from last week's dinner at his house in La Chorrera.


Above (and below, for that matter) is Tracy in front of his house in La Chorrera. He bought an unfinished, Panamanian-style home and spent a good chunk of money renovating it. He has a fairly large property to go with it.


A slightly closer view. The taxi belongs to Nelson, who you will see in a moment.


Tracy with Brooke and Nelson, a married couple. Brooke is from Toronto, Canada, and Nelson is Panamanian. Tracy met Brooke at the airport on his first visit to Panama, I believe. She is five months pregnant and is planning to return to Canada to have the baby.


Notice the mosquito bites on Brooke's arms. My arms were just as bad. This was right at the beginning of the dry season, when the insect population seems to explode almost overnight.


Tracy's water tank. He has city water, and it is stored in the tank to create pressure.

A Few More Photos of Tracy's House in La Chorrera

A few more photos of Tracy's house in La Chorrera, taken last week. Descriptions appear below each photo. Click on any photo to see a larger version:


Above is Tracy's front yard, essentially. It's quite large. He had the wall built at the front, with two automatic gates for cars to enter and exit.


One of the two gas tanks behind the house. This one supplies gas to the clothes dryer. There's another for the oven and stove.


The table set for dinner. The house has a very spacious kitchen, though Tracy complains bitterly about the appliances (which he bought) not being installed properly, things not lining up correctly, etc. He's having a tough time settling into the house and getting things done the Panamanian way, which is to say, with plenty of delays and errors.

Lights, Action... Well, Lights Anyway

Wow! Though I may be alone, I am not in the dark! Adam's team has finished the majority of the electrical work. All the lights are functioning, our new refrigerator is plugged in and busy refrigerating, and I am back online, obviously. I am able to run several different appliances at once with no trouble. So far so good. I don't cross my fingers or knock wood, but I say, Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah in every case.

There is still work to be done. In particular the lines running to the air conditioners are substandard and will need to be replaced, which will necessitate tearing the walls open in all the bedrooms. In addition the water heater must at minimum be cleaned out, and possibly replaced. Next week, or sometime, or later.

I have been invited to Christmas dinner at Tracy's house in La Chorrera on Sunday. An atheist inviting a Muslim to Christmas dinner, isn't that a riot? Ridiculous, but kind. And the Brunner's have invited me on Monday, perhaps because I am employing their services, but maybe also just because they are nice people and they know I am alone right now.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Laura and Salma again. Only nine more days, Insha'Allah.