Zoe and Abby

We spent a couple of days on the Cape with Lorenzo's brother Marcel and his four grandchildren.  Fun stuff-  Beach!  Pingpong!  Drawing!  Eating!  Lots to catch up on.  

Sam and Abby (I think)

Sandy Point:  we swim here every day.  Yesterday, the lifeguards tried to herd us into shallow water, but we were adamant.

Meg and Simca making jewelry at the dining room table.  We're spending this vacation in the dining room, reading the paper, logging computer time, and of course eating.  It's overcast outside today.  Pippa and Kate are in the kitchen planning a trip to the beach.  Muzz and Lorenzo are watching tennis.  I'm downloading Caribbean maps on the iPad.  Big fun!

We're in RI for a few weeks; meanwhile, back in Panama, Laurie Jones is cat-sitting our boat.  Yesterday she dropped her keys overboard, and had to get in to feed the cats.  So she called Sam, her skinniest friend, and pushed her through the porthole into the bathroom.  Who knew that was even possible?  

This is what you get when you lend your iPad to kids!  A local boy, Gabriel, did this drawing for me when we were out on Bastimentos last week.   He already had it worked out in his head, and drew as if he were copying it down from memory.  Very methodical.  When he needed a new color, he came looking for me.  

It's a superhero- well, obviously!

We spent the past week a few miles from Bocas town in the area known as Tierra Oscura.  Salt water bays with little mangrove islands.  A few gringos have houses there- one with a chocolate farm.  There was a fourth of July barbecue, without fireworks.  Very peaceful area, except for the sound of VHF radios calling out to each other.

Creature of the day:  Blue-grey Tanager

So Michelle and I went back to the Monkey Garden this morning for a bird walk.  It was- wonderful, I think.  Although I didn't see many birds- my norm for birdwatching- birds were seen, and the garden is so spectacular early in the morning that it didn't matter.  Our guide was a kid from the Smithsonian outpost here, steeped in tropical ecology and a very informed birder.  For what I missed, see Birds of Panama.  Especially the national bird.