Christmas in Panama wasn't as terrible as we thought it might be. Without snow, without family we began to question our decision to stay here over the holidays. But with lots of family arriving in January and February we felt like it was the right choice...back in October. But as the day approached the reasons for staying seemed foggier and foggier. Christmas, for us, has always been tied to snow and family and a long cozy day spent inside visiting with loved ones and roasting meat and vegetables.
So no family. No snow. And a kitchen as hot as h-e-double hockey sticks when you try to roast so much as a chicken wing. We began to worry a couple of weeks ago when the spirit of the holidays hadn't really hit us yet.
But, today was great. Our Christmas tree, imported from NOVA SCOTIA, was fragrant and sparkly. Our kids were sweet and lovely and adored the presents from Santa. And our traditional Christmas afternoon hike, which usually finds us kitted out in snowsuits, was this year spent wandering through the rainforest. We even saw an orphaned baby sloth, being lovingly cared for by Park Staff. And as an aside, there is nothing cuter on the entire planet than an 8 week old sloth.
So we made it through our first holiday down here. We survived and actually made quite a good day of it. Merry Christmas, happy holidays and wonderful New Year to you wherever you might be.
3 comments:
Hey Merry Christmas, Mare - and Rob and Zella and Max!! Tree impoted from NOVA SCOTIA! How good is that? Today's Boxing Day and the weather is actually supposed to change to rain over the next couple of days, so all the snow we have will turn that ugly black/grey colour. At least it looks like your Mom and Dad likely made it in yesterday - the weather was pretty good. There were an awful lot of cancelled flights leading up to Christmas day because of crappy weather. So glad you made it through your first Christmas away - like I said before, "been there, done that" and you're right - it's never as bad as you think it might be. Take care and love you all lots!
Carm
Mara ~ Recently discovered your blog on your lives in Panama. We love it! I read to my husband your postings and can say "we have been there, done that" when it comes to children. We are recent empty nesters considering a visit/move to Panama and enjoy your writings & photos. This also was our first Christmas without family close by as we decided not to travel do to the bad weather in the Pacific Northwest. Instead, we stayed in sunny North Carolina with 60 degree temp on Christmas day - somehow it did not seem like Christmas - but then again, I was thankful we were not in the cold & snow of Washington State. Are we ever happy? Again - love your postings - keep them coming.
Take Care ~
Paula
Happy New Year to you! I'm glad to have found your blog while searching for info re: Panama City, Panama. My husband is a furloughed pilot who has an interview with a company that flies a military contract there. We're looking into whether the lifestyle would be "do-able". I've heard schooling (English) is expensive. I'd consider homeschooling if I weren't so fearful I'd do irreparable damage to the two of my children with autism. :-) (It's likely they'd adapt to the lifestyle more readily than I, truth-be-told. *grin*)
Lisa
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