Without a doubt, 2024 was our biggest adventure year of retirement. We visited over seventeen different countries and saw some amazing sights. We celebrated a monumental birthday with my mom in Florida. I attended a writer’s conference in Greece with bestselling authors Jonas Saul and CC Humphries. We cruised on three ships to visit the Greek Isles, almost the entire perimeter of South America, including the Strait of Magellan (Cape Horn), and revisited the Caribbean. If I don’t yet have your attention, read on. I will share some amazing adventures and slip in a few incredible pictures.
In February, my sister Melinda, her husband Hunter, Jen, and I, along with our three daughters, their spouses, and grandchildren, gathered in Fort Myers, Florida, for a surprise party to celebrate our mom’s birthday. I wanted to share a few pictures from the party. It’s not often that a surprise of this magnitude can be executed with such precision. Great Job, Melinda.
In March, Jen and I flew to Santiago, Chile, for a great South American adventure. Our detailed blog post about the trip is in the blog archives. We explored Santiago and some of the Chilian interior before boarding the Norwegian Star to sail the coast of South America for 24 days. Our journey ended in Rio de Janeiro. When blogging our year in review, I never intended to repost what I’ve already posted. If you missed the South America Adventure, I hope you will click the link here or on the sidebar.
In May, we celebrated Jen’s birthday and entry into the American Social Security system. Our good, life-long friends from Michigan came to Panama to help celebrate. The week was full of local adventure and celebration.
We enjoyed a special six-course dinner hosted by Chef Aristoteles at Nazca 21. One of our favorite entertainers, Pascal Turner, entertained us while course after course was delivered to the table.
One of the places that our visitors always ask to visit is Valle de Anton. It’s always a place where repeat visitors want to return. We explored the Sunday Market and The Museo del Valle de Anton before having brunch at the Golden Frog. The restaurant is off the beaten path, but the food is good, and our server spoke English. Our guests enjoyed the delightful patio atmosphere.
We certainly took our guests to the beach and pool while they were here. They asked for relaxation over adventure, which was fine with us.
Our visit wrapped up with a day of adventure in Panama City. We journeyed to Casco Viejo, where we toured St. Joseph Church (The Golden Altar Church), the Panama Canal Museum, the Mola Museum, and the I Love Panama Chocolate Company. We wrapped up the last day with a visit to the Panaviera at the top of the Trump Tower (J.W. Marriott). We had a delightful meal there while the sun set on our visitors’ final day of adventure.
  Diane Barber  Ron Tyler  Linda Tyler |
A few days after our Michigan friends left, we welcomed our oldest granddaughter to Panama. Jen and I have decided to have each of the grandchildren to Panama just before their senior year of high school. The time we spent with Victoria was special for all of us. We adventured and explored every minute of the ten-day visit. If you missed the blog post about Victoria’s visit in June, I hope you will click the link here, Victoria’s Panama Adventure, or on the sidebar to check it out. We are proud of Victoria’s accomplishments. She has chosen to continue her education at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. She was accepted and offered substantial scholarships. Congratulations kiddo.
In early September, we went whale watching with eight friends in a panga on the Gulf of Chiriqui. We all agreed that it was the best whale-watching trip we had taken. Our guide, Captain Jay, had the whales figured out perfectly. There were times when we had whales in all directions. Our hosts at El Regalo Resort booked our tour and hosted us in delightful rooms. The resort has five suites, and we occupied the entire place. Jenni and Carroll have made their place the best of the best in Boca Chica. They have a chef who never disappoints. Our breakfasts and dinners were perfectly prepared, and the bartender kept the drinks flowing while we swam in the beautiful pool. I am sharing a gallery of great pictures from our adventure below. Adventuring in Panama never gets old, especially with good friends.
By the middle of September, we returned to the skies for the pinnacle of our 2024 travel. We flew from Panama to Miami for an overnight layover. Then, we traveled to London, where we met some friends, Joanne and Kirk. They took us for the best fish and chips and gave us an all-star tour of London before returning us to the airport for our flight to Athens.
Amorgos was the site of my writing retreat with Chris (CC) Humphries and Jonas Saul. It was amazing. After we arrived and unpacked, there was time to explore the resort. Our entire writer’s group gathered for a beautiful welcome dinner. After dinner, there was time to get better acquainted poolside with the facilitators and attendees anxious to discuss writing.
At the first morning session, we introduced ourselves and discussed what we were writing and what we were looking for from the retreat. The guest authors discussed the industry and offered clarity on direction. I had face time with all of the great authors at the retreat. Jen and I had lunch with Chris Humphreys and his significant other, Kat.
The second-day program was The Mountain: Beginning the Novel and Finishing It! Award-winning historical, crime, and fantasy novelist Chris (CC) Humphreys revealed some of his secrets of successful writing. Chris broke the writing journey into stages and guided us through each stage using a blend of anecdotal examples. Later in the afternoon, we gathered for a writing exercise.
On the third day, we discussed the discipline of creating the novel, how much emotion should be on the page, and how to place the tension in the right spots to keep readers turning the pages. We discussed setting up the book to be psychologically pleasing to the reader, leaving them with the emotional experience readers read for. Reading is an emotional journey, so make them feel it, and they’ll love you for it and tell all their friends about you (your book). After our session, we walked together to the village for lunch at an amazing local place. We gathered for drinks and casual discussion in the late afternoon before our evening meal.
On the fourth day, we learned to write a good fight scene that entertains while advancing the plot and revealing the character. How characters fight can reveal as much about them as how they make love. A good author must chance to delve into the dark side to broaden and deepen their characters and plot. Fight and sex scenes are a huge opportunity for any writer to confirm a suspicion or to startle with a revelation. A “character in peril” keeps the pages turning.
Later in the afternoon, we toured the 11th-century monastery of Agia Anna and the white village of Chora.
On our last day of workshops, we discussed promotion outside social media. Chris Humphreys and Jonas Saul demonstrated how to get our work in front of readers through proven results. This concluded the educational portion of our week. I met with Jonas Saul and enjoyed an awesome one-on-one lunch meeting. He shared his thoughts with me on a sample from the rough draft of Mayhem in Eagle Cove, the second of the Detective Larry series. His kind words about my upcoming novel were informative and inspirational. It was clear that this workshop would be a turning point in my writing experience. Exciting things will happen over the next few months as I finish the draft and send it to the editor. By the way, Mr. Saul has agreed to edit the upcoming book.
After lunch, we gathered for a village hike. Jonas led the three-hour hike from the ancient village of Lagada to Tholaria and back to the hotel. The gallery of photos below is a few from the hike. In one village, we stopped at Jonas’s home, where he unselfishly invited us in to see where he and Rania write and live during the high season on Amorgos. We were back in time for pre-dinner drinks. I’ve talked very little about the food at the resort. We gathered as a group each night and enjoyed a family-style Greek meal. Every day of the retreat was filled with information and encouragement that drove each attendee to be their best. We all came from different countries and backgrounds and wrote different genres, but the ability to feed off the knowledge of one another was as wonderful as the learning portions of our time there.
With the retreat ended, we left the resort at 4:45 a.m. for a ferry departure at 5:45. The ferry took us to Athens, where our driver picked us up and took us to our hotel, Attalos. After unpacking and settling into the hotel, we toured the Acropolis Museum.
Sunday at 11:00 a.m. we saw the changing of the guards at Syntagma Square. This is considered the best time to see this happen, and we had a great spot to view it.
Later in the evening, we toured Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon at sunset and got some great pictures.
We arranged to explore the ruins of ancient Corinth and the Corinth Canal the following day. We enjoyed a scenic drive from Athens to Corinth along the shores of the Saronic Gulf. The journey took us past beautiful beaches and the spectacularly narrow Corinth Canal, built to link the Saronic and Corinth Gulfs during the 1890s. Like the Panama Canal, it required several attempts before finally being completed. First proposed in the third century B.C. it wasn’t completed until 1893. In stark contrast, it is sea-level with no locks, narrow, and one single channel. It is 4 miles long and eighty feet wide making it impassable by most modern ships.
We strolled around the relics of Corinth, once an influential ancient Greek and Roman city, and then visited the seaside town of Kehreai.
Upon returning to Athens, we spent time exploring Monastiraki Square. The square was less than a six-minute walk from our hotel, and we found great Greek restaurants, shops, and a market. We found a place to change some money to Euros and bought a charge block for our phones. Taking pictures and roaming quickly depletes our phone batteries.
To put things in perspective, we arrived in Athens ahead of our travel buddies Daniel and Laura. They had been in the country for a few days and preferred exploring the countryside in a rental car. We finally caught up with them two days before the departure of our Greek cruise. Together, we visited the sites of Athens, starting with the Acropolis and Parthenon. Our hotel had a magnificent rooftop bar with amazing views, but nothing compared with fighting through the crowds to get up-close and personal.
From there, we used the hop-on, hop-off bus, a great way to travel from site to site. We visited many archaeological sites and museums. Our first stop was the Temple of Zeus and the National Gardens. We then went to the National Archeological Museum. Time was getting the best of us, and we wanted to see more ruins, so we continued to the Ancient Agora (market), Hadrian’s Library, and the Temple of Hephaistos. We wrapped up our day with dinner at an amazing seafood restaurant, then a photo opportunity at the rooftop bar of our hotel.
We had breakfast together on our last day in Athens before parting ways. Daniel and Laura adventured in the morning while Jen and I packed and went for early boarding on the Norwegian Pearl. We reconnected later on the ship. They shared some great pictures from the morning.
When traveling with friends, everyone chooses what they want to see and do. We took numerous tours while Daniel and Laura took other excursions. We seldom went on the same adventures. Jen and I continued to explore archeological sites throughout Greece and beyond. The Norwegian Pearl moved us seamlessly from port to port.
Our first port was Santorini. It is said that Santorini has more churches than houses, donkeys than people, and wine than water.
We visited Akrotiri, one of the 10 top Archaeological sites in the world, and learned about the prehistoric city, also known as the Pompei of the Aegean. The Theran eruption of approximately 1627 B.C. destroyed this unique Minoan settlement, and Spyridon Marinatos started the extensive excavation in 1967.
The nearly thirty-five centuries-old city still preserves many remains of its fine frescoes, everyday objects, and artwork because the volcanic ash protected them from the elements. At the time of the eruption, the city had reached great development and prosperity, with an elaborate drainage system and sophisticated multistoried buildings. Among other things, Akrotiri has been suggested to be the inspiration for Plato’s story of Atlantis.
The unique archeological site is completely under cover to protect it from the elements as the archeologists work to uncover its well-preserved treasures.
Following our visit to Akrotiri, we stopped at an impressive winery to taste Santorini’s famous wines, enjoy the magnificent view, and relax in its peaceful environment. Jen and I felt that the views were much better than the wine. Others in our group loved the wine. My take on it is that you shouldn’t go to Greece for the wine.
Our final destination was Fira, the cosmopolitan capital and one of Greece’s most famous and picturesque places. We had time to admire the white houses built on the crater’s slopes and explore the narrow paths before taking the cable car and the tender back to the ship.
On the second day, the ship docked in Mykonos. We took a great 3-D tour of Delos. To reach the ruins, we boarded a smaller boat and cruised to the nearby sacred island of Delos. We viewed a wealth of ruins using an electronic tablet with augmented-reality software that showed the structures as they appeared in ancient times.
According to Greek mythology, Apollo and his twin sister Artemis were born in Delos and first settled in the third millennium B.C. Archaeological discoveries excavated here have been deemed so indicative of an ancient cosmopolitan port that the island is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
All of the structures on Delos are excavated ruins, except for the museum and a few buildings for personnel. The landscape remains largely unaltered since ancient times because a town was never built over the original port, a rarity few other archaeological sites share.
As we meandered through the rather barren island, we saw ruins that included temples, statues, mosaic floors, and roads, such as the Sacred Way, which leads to the Sanctuary of Apollo. Another highlight is the Terrace of Lions, named for the Naxian marble lions that guard it. The originals are in the island’s museum to protect them from the elements.
The electronic tablet with 3D augmented reality software enhanced our understanding and enjoyment of the ruins. We pointed the tablet’s camera at a ruin and could view the structure as it originally stood centuries ago.
It is believed that the population of this port was poisoned by pirates, leaving the site untouched for thousands of years before being discovered.
The cruise was port heavy. We stopped at a different site nearly every day. On the third day, we tendered ashore in Zakynthos for a captivating tour, introducing us to Zakynthos Town, the island’s oldest monastery and a traditional island village. We began with a guided tour of Zakynthos Town, sometimes called the Venice of the South. We saw the expansive square named after Dionysios Solomos, the revered poet who wrote Greece’s national anthem, and continued past splendid landmarks. The Byzantine Museum and the Church of Saint Nicholas were amazing.
We then went to the village of Bochali, located below a Venetian fortress, and appreciated sweeping views of Zakynthos Town and the sparkling Ionian Sea. At the 14th-century Monastery of Anafonitria, we learned that Saint Dionysios, Zakynthos’ patron saint, served as the monastery’s abbot for most of his life. We viewed colorful 15th-century frescoes uncovered during the monastery’s painstaking renovation.
On the fourth day, the ship docked in Corfu, where we indulged in a 4×4 excursion. We enjoyed the fun and adventure of Corfu’s countryside while traveling over stony trails through the olive groves. We caught glimpses of the sparkling Ionian Sea and beautiful green hills and saw many locals’ traditional way of life. Our guide led us up the main coastal road to the island’s northeast. We then took small country roads to quaint villages, stopping at the most charming and oldest on the island to take in the views.
We went uphill on a narrow, winding road that zigzagged to Sokraki, where we stopped to admire one of the most fantastic panoramic views. Continuing on a dusty road, we arrived at Troumbetta. We passed through other picturesque sites before stopping at Bella Vista to enjoy more spectacular views while enjoying refreshments and Greek snacks. We found it difficult to decide which village was the most appealing.
We also visited a traditional Koum Kouat distillery. The Koum Kouat citrus fruit, which only grows in Corfu, is made into one of the island’s most famous products: a liqueur with the same name and fruit-preserved sweets. We viewed a small exhibition of antique distillery equipment, sampled the produce, and purchased a bottle of the local liquor.
Jen and I toured Lapad Bay & Old Town on our next cruise stop. We enjoyed the panoramic views of Dubrovnik while riding through the hilly Lapad Peninsula. At a bay on the peninsula’s western shore, we stopped for a short walk to the Sunset Beach Club. It was an ideal setting to linger over a drink and enjoy the sweeping views of the sparsely populated Elaphiti islands. Afterward, we visited Dubrovnik’s medieval Old Town, which UNESCO deemed a World Heritage site for its extraordinary architecture. As we walked along the main street, the Stradun, we saw Saint Savior Church, the polygonal Fountain of Onofrio, and the Old Pharmacy, founded in 1317. The defensive stone walls surrounding Old Town were built in the 13th century.
The next day, we tendered ashore in Kotor, Montenegro, for a highlights & cable car adventure. We viewed Montenegro’s coastal beauty and rural charm from several characteristic locales, ending with a cable car ride from the summit of Kuk Hill. During the descent, we gazed out over Kotor, its namesake bay, and the surrounding mountains. The terrain was so striking that when playwright George Bernard Shaw visited, he famously quipped from nearby Mount Lovćen, “Am I in paradise or Montenegro’s coastal beauty and rural charm on the moon?” The vistas were just as memorable as we traveled through Lovćen National Park to Cetinje, once the royal capital of Montenegro. Founded in the 15th century, it was a lovely setting for our lunch as it lies in a green bowl at the foot of Mount Lovćen. Our next stop was in Budva, a medieval port that inspired the English poet Lord Bryon. He described it as “the most beautiful meeting of land and sea” and we discovered it still is.
The ship docked the following day at Split, where we toured Split Old Town and Trogir Medieval City, taking advantage of a rare opportunity to visit two UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the same day. We discovered the treasures of Trogir and saw how the Romans influenced the old city of Split. The medieval city of Trogir boasted architectural treasures of beautiful stone houses, palaces, churches, monasteries, towers, and walls. The entire town was like an open-air museum, so strolling through its narrow streets was an unforgettable experience.
We visited the main attraction in Trogir, the Cathedral of St. Lawrence, probably the finest example of sacred architecture in Croatia. The unusual construction with three naves and three apses dominates the entire town. The main portal carved by local artist Radovan in the 13th century is world famous. We also saw the Town Loggi, Town Hall, and Cipiko Palace. Afterward, we had some free time to explore on our own.
The old town of Split is built on and around the massive palace built by Roman emperor Diocletian. It represents the most important example of Roman architecture on the Adriatic. Our tour started in the cellars, which are very well preserved. We saw the Cathedral of St. Duje, considered one of the world’s oldest Catholic cathedrals that retains its original structure. We also saw the Golden Gate, the Silver Gate, and the Peristyle Square.
Our Greek Island-hopping cruise reached its final port at Ravenna, Italy. We did not go ashore due to a tropical bora. The bora is a northerly to northeasterly katabatic wind in areas near the Adriatic Sea. Similar nomenclature is used for north-eastern winds in other coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea basins. I copied and pasted this description from Wikipedia.
We disembarked the Pearl nearly twelve hours later than expected after bidding a fond farewell to the crew, who showed us a magnificent cruise. The bora had left our ship floating in the Mediterranean, awaiting disembarkation. We took a shuttle from the port of Trieste to our hotel near the airport in Venice. Time, logistics, and late arrival gave us little time in Venice. We missed our adventure there but took the evening to enjoy a great Italian meal and relax in our 17th-century hotel. The hotel has been in the same family for centuries and President Reagan was a guest there (see the photo below). Venice was deluged with rain and wind.
Our return to Panama barely allowed us to do the laundry before leaving for Washington D.C., Bethesda, and Annapolis, Maryland. Jen and I flew to Baltimore, Maryland, a few days before Jen’s younger brother’s wedding. We spent two days in Washington, D.C. I had never been there, and it was an excellent opportunity to see our nation’s capital.
The photos below are randomly ordered and don’t do our visit justice. During the two days there, we visited The White House, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, The Vietnam War Memorial, The FBI, The Supreme Court, The Library of Congress, The US Capitol, and more. We walked what seemed to be a thousand miles. Our Congressman, Greg Stube, arranged for a private tour of the Capitol with one of his aids. That was a highlight of our visit. I particularly enjoyed the Library of Congress, while Jen enjoyed The Supreme Court. Background checks were required for The White House and FBI tours, making prior planning a must. Jen had the whole thing arranged and scheduled in advance.
It was a beautiful Saturday at the Naval Academy in Annapolis for Jon and Karine’s wedding. The ceremony was beautiful, and we were pleased to welcome Karine into the family and pray for special blessings for their happiness. The pictures below are some I captured walking into the chapel, where no pictures were allowed, and one of Jon, Karine, and Jon’s boys in the superintendent’s garden. The other is Jon and Karine cutting the cake.
After the wedding, Jen returned to Panama while I flew to Florida. As many of you know, Dad’s wife, Renee, passed away just before our trip to Greece. I could spend ten days with him before I returned to Panama. My time in Florida was eye-opening. The first picture below is from three years ago. It’s from Gilcrest Park last Monday. I returned to the same location to take pictures while I was there. The devastation in the park was awful. Hurricane Helene created a storm surge, depositing two boats in the park. After Hurricane Milton, I counted almost sixteen boats in the park, pickleball courts, and across the street. The takeaway here is the power of the storm surge. My family and I had no significant damage from the storm, but as I visited with my dad for more than a week, the devastation was heartbreaking. There were hundreds of homes with all their furniture out by the street. Dumpsters in driveways collected drywall and carpets from flooded homes.
We got our condo in Port Charlotte ready for our snowbird tenants before departing. Our plans for the last big adventure of the year were tweaked just a little for Renee’s memorial.
We drove to Miami, returned our rental car, and overnighted before boarding the Norwegian Joy.
Our first port was in Cozumel, Mexico. Admittedly, this is someplace we’d been before, but how can you not love the adventuring experience there? We enjoyed a unique excursion, Cozumel by Land & Sea. It combined an insider’s view of local chocolate and tequila production as a postlude for exploring the wonders underwater in a semi-submersible. At the Mayan Cacao Company, we saw how chocolate is made from cacao. This process dates back to the ancient Mayans, who drank chocolate for ceremonial and medicinal purposes as far back as 500 BC. After sampling some creamy (and exceptionally yummy) chocolate, we proceeded to a tequila-tasting seminar for a tasting that presented the historical and cultural importance of tequila on the Yucatan peninsula.
A different perspective of Cozumel awaited us just offshore on Paradise Reef, where we explored the underwater world in a semi-submersible way. Although the vessel’s viewing windows were only a few feet below the water’s surface, the sights were extraordinary. We saw a riot of brilliantly colored fish and coral reefs.
Our second port was in Harvest Caye, Belize. This was another of the places we have yet to have the opportunity to explore. It was on the list of possible retirement destinations before choosing Panama. Our ship was the only one in port, making it an easy, laid-back stop. Jen and I enjoyed Rainforest River Tubing. There was a genuine feel for rural life while we drove through the densely forested countryside to Maya World Outpost, the starting point for our adventure. After a short briefing to help maximize the tubing experience, we eased into the refreshing but cold river, and the current carried us downstream. Floating down the slow-moving river on an inner tube, we took in the spectacular rainforest scenery while listening to the ambient sounds of the jungle. Mountain springs feed the river, so the water is crystal-clear. Along the way, we passed through a picturesque mountain gorge over a series of small rapids and under overhanging trees, keeping us primarily in the shade. The ever-changing scenery added to the excitement and made the trip memorable. We heard and saw squawking tropical birds abundant in the protected rainforest.
Next, we made port in Costa Maya, Mexico. We didn’t plan any excursions there as we’d visited before. We decided instead to remain aboard the ship and enjoy the incredible offerings. We opted to add the adults-only area, Vibe Club, to our package on this cruise. We loved the special adult-only atmosphere and enjoyed the hot tub and high-end bar. Taking a cruise is only sometimes about the amazing ports and adventures. We could kick back and relax while someone else did the cooking, laundry, and housekeeping. The bars and restaurants aboard the Norwegian ship did an excellent job keeping us fed and hydrated. Thanksgiving dinner was prime rib, soup, vegetables, and pumpkin cheesecake. We could have selected turkey and all the fixings, but why when the prime rib is on the menu? Another great benefit of a cruise vacation is the awesome shows…we had the Beetles on board. There were also comics and multiple talented entertainers rounding out the long list of entertainment.
Our delightful cruise continued to Roatan, Honduras, where we made port on Thursday. Roatan was another consideration for our retirement strategy. We have friends in Panama who nearly opted for this beautiful island offshore from Honduras. We could see why. It’s full of English-speaking expats, and the near-perfect tropical Caribbean climate was amazing.
Jen is hooked on ATV adventures. She booked us on an amazing adventure through the rainforest and mangroves. The adventure began in the village of Politilly Bight, where we hopped on ATVs and raced off caravan-style, following the guide into the surrounding wilderness. We saw the natural beauty that abounds in the island’s more remote regions, riding the ATV through a tropical rainforest. The recent rain and natural trails with potholes had mud flying, making driving all the more fun and our shoes and clothes dirty. After a brief stop at a traditional Garifuna village, we were transferred to Oak Ridge, the island’s oldest fishing community. From there, we cruised along the mangrove-lined shores of southern Roatan. Mangrove forests line the banks almost everywhere and often create tunnels in the tree canopy that our boat easily navigated through. Besides being environmentally beneficial, mangroves shelter many animals, especially water birds such as green herons and roseate spoonbills.
We concluded the cruise in Miami. With another great adventure in the rearview mirror, we departed the Port of Miami by coach with a knowledgeable guide for a one-hour drive to Everglades National Park. This world-renowned eco-system covers about 5,000 square miles and is home to most of Florida’s alligators, snakes, black bears, wild pigs, over two hundred species of birds, including herons, egrets, white ibis, anhingas, roseate spoonbills, wood storks, ospreys, hawks, vultures, eagles and more, plus the endangered and nocturnal Florida Panther – less than 100 remaining in the wild.
We boarded our airboat for a thirty-minute exhilarating ride over the “River of Grass,” where we encountered several different creatures. After the airboat ride, we enjoyed an alligator show and various crocodilian exhibits. We then had time to visit the souvenir shop. On the drive back to the city, our guide gave us great insight into the two Florida tribes of Native American Indians.
Our Miami adventure continued with a sightseeing and millionaire boat tour. We started at South Beach in the Art Deco History District. After South Beach, we explored the Wynwood Art District before moving on to Little Havana. The guide had our driver take us through Coconut Grove, Miami’s oldest and most prestigious neighborhood. At the Bayside Marketplace, we had lunch before boarding the Millionaire’s Cruise. The guide pointed out celebrity homes and offered fun facts. It went by so fast that all the homes photographed were not identified.
Our day ended at Superblue Miami, where Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s interactive artwork was presented in an amazing new sound and light installation by Studio Lemercier. Each room of the Superblue exhibit was a different experience. One room was full of bubbles falling from the ceiling, one had mirrors and lights, and another was a laser light experience.
After two full days of exploring Miami, we caught a flight with 20 other adventure seekers to Cuba. I stated earlier that the pinnacle of our adventures in 2024 was my Writer’s retreat in Greece. If you haven’t yet read our blog post from Cuba, it’s worth your time. I was blown away by the history, culture, and people there. You can use the link above or on the sidebar to access it.
I couldn’t conclude this post without talking about a few other significant things. I was invited to speak at several events and participated in some podcasts. My interview with Retire There is due to be published shortly.
Watch my newsletter for information about that as it becomes available. I had a great interview with Melissa Darnay from Choose Panama about our retirement, my writing, and life in Panama. That interview was posted to her website and nationwide on every platform where people enjoy great podcasts. My interview with Melissa is available here.
I talked earlier about Renee Johnson’s death. We also lost one of our dearest friends here in Panama, Barbara Munn. Barb and Renee were both instrumental in the writing of my first novel and advised me on the second before they passed. Jen and I are sad at the loss of these beautiful women. May they both rest in eternal peace.
We’re home in Panama, and it’s just a few days until Christmas. We anxiously await the miracle of the newborn Christ Jesus. We will be celebrating with our church family and fellowshipping on Christmas Eve. On Christmas day, we will be having a small dinner party with a few of our most special friends. Panama has provided Jen and me with special friendships that will last a lifetime.
The blog posts have become less frequent recently because we’ve been busy traveling and doing a little work. I am trying to finish book 2 of the Detective Larry Saunders Series, Mayhem in Eagle Cove. I still publish the Retired in Panama Newsletter every Monday. If you aren’t subscribed, do it now. It’s FREE. That’s the best way to stay dialed in on the launch date, sneak peeks, and special events. Of course, if you’re not subscribed to receive this blog in your inbox, check the sidebar for the link to subscribe. I never share my subscriber list, and I never send spam. Your privacy is highly respected.
Have a blessed New Year,
Greg and Jen
#welovepanama
The Cohete R-12 (pictured above) is a medium-range ballistic rocket. During the early years of the Revolution, the Soviet government positioned three regiments with 36 operational rockets, all with nuclear heads, at the ports of Bahia Honda, Mariel, and Casilda in the Pinar del Rio province.
After a short walk through the park, we found the escalator leading down to one of the most amazing shopping destinations we have ever experienced. We didn’t buy anything due to our luggage restrictions, which were coming in a few days when we would be traveling on three domestic flights within the country. We found a restaurant and had lunch before returning to the hotel to prepare for our evening. The tour company was picking us up for the Magic Water Circuit by Night.
