It should be no surprise to anyone if I told you its been raining all morning here. But if you’ve been following this blog you already know that its the rainy season in Panama for nearly two-thirds of the year.
Rain is just a part of life here in Panama. Unless it’s coming down at a rate of six inches an hour and wiping out bridges and causing landslides that devour houses people just get on with their lives. After all, what are the alternatives?
I first noticed this behavior when I was living over in Boqueron. One of my neighbors has a very large yard and the kids from all over would come there to play. One of their favorite games was a form of baseball. One day it started to pour but it didn’t interrupt the game for a moment. I used to laugh at gringo behavior I’d see when working at the family restaurant at the beach back home in the summers. People would come down to the beach and frolic in the water all day long. But let three or four drops of rain fall out of the sky and everyone would high-tail it to their cars. Not here.
Yesterday I went up to Boquete with a nearby gringo couple and Magalys, the maid we share. Magalys’s son’s band was supposed to be playing at an event sponsored by the local Lion’s Club. Shortly after we arrived it started raining, of course. But unlike in the States where things would probably have been postponed until another day, the show just went on.
Kids from a local school stood in the rain and played their instruments completely oblivious to the steady rain.
Adults had their moments, too, performing in the wet.
Great photos. If we could ever get some rain, we’d be dancing in it, too. A strong norther came through last night, with exactly enough rain to tap against the windows and make them wet. End of story. Oh, well – maybe next time.
In the meantime, I’ll just enjoy your photos and stories, and hope no one gets washed away down there.