Bocas Marina
Bocas del Toro, Panama
Well, if all goes according to plan, Ole gets back on Sunday morning. He phoned me on arrival at Turku to tell me that American Airlines had “misplaced” his luggage in Miami on the way into Finland…a few worries for a few hours…but it showed up on Monday.
I took Maggie in to see the volunteer vet, and wonder of wonders, she’s put on 2 pounds, her fur is looking better, and she appears to be tolerating the thyroid medication (Tapazol) quite well. The ride over was even pleasant (relatively speaking). In the lancha, from her travel box, she seemed a whole lot less frightened than in the dinghy—and there was only discharge from the forward end this time. The vet is pleased. Now for the challenge of finding a steady supply to keep her motor from racing. She looks more like a cat (a svelte one) than a p.o.w. cat. She had us worried!
Kathy (from Attitude) and I went for an overnight trip to David, to meet Toby, the local “fixer” and visit a dermatologist, find bulk cat food and litter at the Central American Costco equivalent, and round up some Sunbrella for miscellaneous sewing projects around the boat. Found a great little hotel, the Castilla, right downtown, where a double room was only $45. Clean, bright, friendly, with comfortable beds and a decent restaurant and bar! Good Gringo find. Another great find was a restaurant we would have overlooked if not for a reference from Toby. Called “El Renegado” (the renegade), it’s run by a Spaniard and his Peruvian wife. Great ceviche, good wine selection, and an interesting menu. The restaurant is on the Pan-American highway, and looks like a typical roadside comedor, but the food is first class.
The dermatologist turned up a small basal cell on my face – no real surprise there, as I’ve had them before. They say (whoever they are) that skin cancers are actually germinated when you get sunburned as a kid. Lord knows I had my share of childhood sunburn, exacerbated by 15 months in Tahiti protected by nothing but coconut oil, not to mention some real doozies here, caused by 15 minutes of floating on my back in the noonday sun while at anchor. Nothing that a bit of liquid nitrogen couldn’t fix, but with this lifestyle I’ll have to stay vigilant.
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