[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.
3/14/26
Aloha Everybody!
We got home last Sunday after a lonnggg journey from Colombia of about 26 hours. We left Cartegena about 8:30 p.m., so add another 10-12 hours to the total hours of being awake (ish). We flew first to Bogata, then to Houston, then Denver, then non-stop to Kona. Not exactly carbon-frugal routing, but we were at the mercy of airline scheduling. We had a fairly tight connection in Houston. This was a concern because that is where we had to deal with Immigration and TSA screening. Zipped right through, thankfully. No delays at all.
It was a good trip, despite some geezer challenges. Panama was a very interesting place. Every major imperialist country in the 16th - 18th centuries wanted control of the shortcut between the
Atantic and Pacific that the isthmus provided. Spain was most successful at this, but not without being repeatedly attacked by other powers, mainly the British. British pirates and privateers often attacked Spanish coastal cities, particularly those that were staging points for shipping exploited loot back to Spain and therefore offered a rich prize to any successful attacker. We spent several days in three different locations, including a town in the highlands of western Panama called Boquete. It was here that we did some outstanding bird watching, thanks in large part to our private guide. She was an excellent bird-spotter, very knowledgeable and was very facile at quickly setting up a spotting scope and attaching her cell-phone to the eyepiece so that on the screen we could see the target clearly, despite visual challenges.
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| Quetzal |
The river cruise in Colombia was enjoyable, but not as much as our Mississippi trip last year. The Colombia operation is just a year-old, and still has some kinks in the itinerary and activities that need to be worked out. One of the best parts was interacting with local people, for whom our visits were as interesting to them as they were to us. The ship was small, holding just 60 passengers max. The
majority of our cruise mates were Canadian, and there were a few Australians and Europeans as well. They were all very congenial and had interesting histories, including one Canadian man who was an expat Indian whose family had been living for years in Uganda before Idi Amin expelled them. They arrived in Canada penniless with only the clothes on their backs. Despite the setback and immense challenges, he eventually founded a very successful computer company that was recently bought out for megabucks. Literally rags to riches.
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| Cruise Booze |
While we were gone the abundant rain produced a garden jungle that we have been whacking back this week, but it will take some time. I've also have to do some cleanup from the big storm that we had right before we left. This will involve hiring someone to cut up some fallen tree limbs and haul them away. There just wasn't time to do this properly, plus tree trimmers were overwhelmed. It should be easier now.
In Geezer Gazette news, I had my 2-month video consultation with my ablation surgeon (actually, her PA). So far so good. The side effects from my anti-arrhythmic drug have abated somewhat, and I feel much more energetic and I have more stamina. My Fitbit has recorded only a couple of brief Afib episodes. The video conference confirmed, though, that it is ambiguous as to whether this is due to the ablation or to the residual effect of the drug, which I stopped taking just a month ago. The next few months will tell -- I just have to wait and see. The PA repeated what my surgeon told me before the procedure, that an ablation isn't a cure for Afib, despite what most people believe. Rather, the goal is to reduce the "load" or frequency and duration of episodes without the use of drugs. I'll take it.
Coming up next week will be a round of encounters with the medical establishment -- appointments with my dentist, retina specialist, internist, and cardiologist. Maybe I should have scheduled a visit to my dermatologist just to do a complete round. Sheesh!
Ok, that's enough for now. Take care and enjoy your Spring. Carpe Vitam!
