Back Again

Back again in Panama for another well-earned holiday. Well, at least I like to think so. First activity was another visit to the department of Migration to renew our carnet. This time we got one that is valid for a year. Usually you get a three month carnet, but the department of Migration receives so many applications, that they need more than three months to process each application. So rather than spending a lot of time renewing three-month carnets, everyone now gets a one year carnet and they contact you when the application has been processed. Lucky for us, since I still have to spend quite a few months in Angola.

The bed and breakfast is now essentially ready. There are of course still some things to do, but we are ready to receive guests. The main constraint is now our licence. We still have not heard whether the ministry of finance will accept our application for registration under law 8 as investors in tourism in tourism develoment zone 10. The ministry thinks we are just outside zone 10. And when I say just, that is exactly what i mean. It is a matter of yards. We hope to get a reply this month.

The main task now is to clean and plant the front garden. Since we are at the height of the dry season, which is not the best moment to plant anything at all, so clearing is the more obvious task. Because, even though the builder did a good clearing job, building rubble is still present around the house and has to be cleared away as much as possible. I am not sure where it comes from, but sometimes I have the distinct impression that building rubble appears by spontaneous generation. The moment you turn your back on a cleaned part, reinforcement iron, broken tiles and chunks of concrete mysteriously reappear. However, it does seem to come back in smaller quantities and smaller pieces, so we just have to keep going.

On a happier note, dry season is also the season that hummingbirds come in large numbers to our feeders. We often see three species feeding at the same feeder and there are often as many as ten hovering around the more popular feeders.

What makes a feeder popular is still something we are trying to work out. Location is obviously an important point. But once the paint of the feeder starts to fade, it does seem to lose some of its attractiveness, even if the sugar solution is identical to that in a newer feeder.

For photo's check out www.flickr.com/photos/tanagertourism