Tuesday, December 19, 2006

A house in Panama


I'm back, safe and sound, in good old Ontario, Canada. I had a rather hectic week in Panama, dealing with various business matters, but it was fun, overall. It would have been nice to have had a little more time to enjoy the sights and do some more exploring, but that will have to wait until next trip.

I bought a house while in Panama. I haven't told my wife yet, though. I'm a bit worried about how to break the news to her. According to her, I once bought a 17-unit apartment complex without warning her in advance, and I am therefore understandably nervous about repeating the error of not preparing her for such a large investment. The complex I bought years ago was in a town called Bothwell, Ontario, but my wife always called it 'Botswana.' Do you sense that somehow she wasn't overly fond of the investment I had made?

My new house in Panama didn't cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. It cost considerably less. I purchased it from a nice Panamanian man who, with his entire family in attendance, was selling it and other similar constructions along the road that leads from David to Boquete. Yes, it's a bird house. What did you think?

Over the years, my wife has learned to deal with my acquisitions. She is by now quite used to my meanderings, with both feet and mind, and trusts my judgements and instincts. Thank goodness for that! A guy like me could drive a less understanding woman to drink, or worse.

When I eventually build my real house at our Roca Milagro property in years ahead, the little bird house shown above will be placed strategically somewhere, where I can always see it. It will remind me of my Panamanian trip at Christmas time, 2006.

9 comments:

  1. Welcome home!

    In my opinion, less is always more. What a great house. Don't you almost wish it was really available to move in?

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  2. Very cute house. I would be worried about termites and beatles though. As the Panama natives say: do not build with food!

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  3. Thanks, Bellezza, it's good to be home!

    That's a cute comment, Sylvain, I never thought of it that way. Wood is indeed food for termites. I guess that's why everyone is building with concrete or cinder blocks.

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  4. Nice place for a first home abroad...Bit squalid though, don't you think?
    *LOL*
    Seriously though, you going to coat it with something to give the termites & beetles "a moment of pause"?

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  5. Galt: Rum is really, really, cheap in Panama. Maybe if I coat the home with rum, the beetles and termites will simply be having too good a time to do any damage.

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  6. If you coat yourself, you wouldn't even care. :)

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  7. That reminds me of a story, Bellezza: I was driving home one evening, listening to the radio. The host of the show was interviewing a woman who had just written a cook book with exclusively chocolate-based recipes.

    The host asked the author which was her favourite recipe in the book. The author went into a long, elaborate explanation of how to melt some chocolate, add some cream and other delectable ingredients, until ultimately the cococoction sounded absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious.

    How to serve the dish?

    This is what she said: "... then you pour it all over your partner and lick it off."

    The unexpected answer made me laugh so hard I nearly drove off the highway.

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  8. Sounds like two desserts in one. :)

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  9. I agree. Sounds like pretty much a perfect way to spend an entire evening, perhaps accompanied by some Bailey's or Kahlua.

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