Location Update
Sad to say but I'm back in the States after having to give up on getting the rest of my stuff back. I'm lucky to have friends that gave to the cause with cash and places to stay while I figure out my next move. Friends in Panama and Costa Rica were extremely helpful, and if it hadn't been for certain people in Panama helping out (you know who you are but will remain anonymous here) I would have literally lost everything but the clothes on my back.
I thank everyone not only for their faith in me, but for sticking with me when things got rough. I'll remember the kindnesses and endeavor to return them when I can, as well as whatever cash I can muster up over time. This gives me a reason to set out again and find another adventure, though the direction isn't yet clear. Will I learn from my mistakes? Who knows?
When I was a kid a group of us used to climb up to the top of a thin tree and swing it back and forth until it bent enough to fall toward another tree where we would all try and switch over before the decreasing ballast allowed the original tree whip back. Of course we pushed it- taller trees, more kids, more risk, more danger, more adrenaline, more broken branches and thuds from the ground. The payoff was to look back and say wow, look what we just did. Somehow nobody died.
Cocktails in Boquete was kind of like that. The looks I get from my friends back home remind me that I lost thirty pounds getting there, endured sickness, hundreds of bug bites, corrupt officials, simply dangerous and armed people, lack of sleep and an astounding lack of professionalism in virtually all the professions.
The bar was a success in all but endurance, and yes, that of course would be the most important part of any business. And though it sucks, and hurts, to have not made it pay off, I can still look back at it and say wow.
That doesn't mean I will let up on the fat one- that's just a public service. I'm just going to have to figure out how to balance my revenge (in as healthy a manner as is possible with such a thing) with my need to move forward into something new and pay my bills. If nothing else I hope to continue to entertain here as I sort through my options.
Thanks again for the support.