Why do my thoughts keep returning to Hotel Angela?  Why do I long to return to this little funky hotel on that muddy street in Bocas del Toro, Panama?

Perhaps it is because of it’s remarkable owner, Claudio, who will bend over backwards to help you in any way possible;  perhaps it was the clean and simple establishment that Claudio started back in the nineties when, as he said, he was looking for a place to put his boat and do some fishing.  I know that much of its appeal is the restaurant set over the water, where I would come down at 6 am and help myself to the free coffee from a large silver urn.  I would then sit at the second table from the left (looking at the rear from the perspective of the photo) and drink my coffee from the china cup as I watched the sun rise.  There was always a cool, mild breeze and sometimes the tide flow would make little noises against the pilings.  I would look over the side of the railing and watch colorful tropical fish feed on tiny delectables that the tide brought.  After a while my Dad would come down, and we would both drink our coffee and watch the panorama on the water.  Soon dugouts would be passing by along with motorized boats of all descriptions.  The light on the water would continue to vary as the light changed, and soon it would be breakfast time.     

The free breakfasts were delicious and the people that worked there were always exquisitely polite and helpful.  All the meals that we ate there were delicious without fail and were very reasonable.   For about $15 you could take day-long boat expeditions to the surrounding archipelago.  This was an incredible bargain since private agencies would charge almost twice as much for the same trips.  We went to Coral Cay where we ate a delicious fish lunch at a restaurant set on pilings over the blue water.  As we waited I went snorkeling in the clear waters among the schools of tropical fish.  There were dolphins in Dolphin Bay feeding on schools of fish, their backs grey against the blue water as they sounded.  On the way back we dropped by RedFrog Beach with it’s bright red poison arrow frogs sounding like chirping birds in the surrounding vegetation.    Other trips included a boat ride to Bird Island, a small rocky island, where Red-Billed Tropic birds (Phaethon aethereus)wheeled and soared, their white bodies with their two long tail feathers distinct against the green vegetation of the island.  This is the only Caribbean location where they can be found.  Starfish beach, Boca del Drago, a cave full of bats and the incredible rainforest with it’s luxuriant bromeliads were also visited.   

               We went to other places in Panama, but when I think of the visit there, I think most often of Hotel Angela.  Don’t go there if you like luxury or fancy, but if you like a clean, simple hotel with excellent food and employees, internet access, and an owner who is simply charming and wonderful, set in a beach combers paradise, then you should seriously consider this marvelous place.

Ok, now the democrats have a chance to show everybody how they will handle all the pressing problems. Funny thing is that I never heard very much about their plans before the recent election during which they won control of congress, so I am doubtful that anything workable will be presented. Politics as usual…
Lessee…oh yes, there was one and a half days of nonrain this week. Now it’s back to normal (looking out at the television-monitor grey sky and the drizzle, the windshield wipers, the dimples of rain in the puddles).
Yesterday, going into the library, I heard a hoarse croak and looked up to see what appeared to be a Raven in the top of a Douglas Fir. Wanting to make sure, since I rarely seem them in the lowlands here, I rushed back to my car and took out the binoculars to take a look. As I did another one joined the first. Yep, there was no doubt as I looked at the thick beak and the raggedy appearance of its neck feathers as it bent over to give some more croaks. I have never seen them in this immediate area until about a year ago. I see them in the mountains fairly commonly though. The crows, which they resemble, seem to have a built in antipathy toward the ravens and often mob them as they do owls, hawks and eagles. Perhaps the Raven prey upon their young.
I am working straight through this week with no days off, and I have to whine a bit. Sniff…too bad I can’t resist the money.
Last night I checked out Hotel Angela in Bocas del Toro, Panama. That was my favorite place during my visit to Panama last Spring. It showed that the weather was in the eighties with rain expected every day this week. How fondly I remember sitting out on the covered deck/dining room over the waters of the Carribean, drinking hot coffee, watching the sun rise, and checking out the reef fish feeding in the pilings by my table. I must go back if only for that.