20K and a Year Away

Before we left the US, the Omicron variant was starting to take a tour of Europe. It had not gotten to the US, yet, and vaccinations had been ramped up. By the time we got here, Omicron was just starting to hit the eastern US. It didn’t take it long to spread all over and become the prevalent variant everywhere. Panama was doing really well with vaccinations and masks, as well as some other restrictions for keeping crowds down and reducing the spread, but as with everywhere else, the cases have been on the rise. Since we don’t really go where there are a lot of people, we have not had to do much to change our routine, but we have made some changes.

I have decided to keep the big bus rides to a minimum, which means we are not going to go into Panama City to explore until we are there to head back to the US. We can keep ourselves distanced easily while walking around, but we cannot do it on the buses, so why take any unnecessary chances. We will have to take the regular bus to get to the next place, but it is only an hour and a half away, then we can walk or take a taxi wherever we need to go.

The other day, we ventured into La Chorrera to go to the museum. Unfortunately, the museum was closed so we just wandered around the city and sat in the park. This was Parque Libertador with a bust of Balboa in it. The big photo op sign for La Chorrera was there, so of course, I had Axel do a selfie with me. We sat in the park a while and had the obligatory ice cream because it is hot. After a bit, we got an Uber back to the house and cooled off.

We have been really lucky, though, because the one family here that I know from way back when wants to make sure we are taken care of. Pedro’s sister, Dayra, and her husband and daughter picked us up Thursday and took us on a road trip to a town called Chicá. We stopped at a roadside empanada stand and snacked on cheese empanadas while we drove through the hills. They took us up to a national park with a viewing area, trails, and lots of woods. It was so neat to see the paths covered in pine needles and pine cones. It was just like Washington hikes. They aren’t really used to hiking, so we just went a little ways to see what was there. It was a great road trip and definitely helped pass the time and got us out of the heat.

The changes in the world are evident here, too. The State Department just moved Panama back to level 4, which is not a good thing, and advised against traveling. All of Europe is being covered in infections. Countries are establishing lockdowns, again. Looks like our plans will be changing, too. We are going to keep our eyes and ears open and make some new decisions about our travel plans. We might be taking a bit of a break if the restrictions continue to increase. Maybe, when the pandemic is really getting crazy, there is no place like home…

We will soon see what the future holds.