Jan and Noel in Panama

Thanks to Randy and his friend, Dr Rios, we were invited to visit Panama. The primary occasion was that both Randy and Dr Rios were receiving recognition awards from the President of Panama and the secondary occasion was a medical seminar being presented at The University of Panama in Santiago by a group of medical personnel from Houston. Dr Rios was the organizer of the seminar.

Dr Rios is a native of Panama now living in Houston and is a former staff member at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Clinic. Medical care in Panama is excellent if you can afford it - it is very bad if you can't. Randy has worked with Dr Rios for the past seven years improving the health care for the indigent population. The long term goals are to establish a major clinic and training facility in Santiago to provide greater availability of health care to the outlying regions of Panama.

Day 1 - Thursday, October 13, 2005

We left San Antonio at 6:30 AM for a 3 hour drive to Houston where we met Robie and Kile - played with our Grandson for a couple of hours and then went with Randy to the International Airport. The Continental Airlines flight to Panama City took approximately four hours. In addition to Randy and Dr Rios, approximately eight Medical Personnel from Houston (the presenters at the upcoming seminar) were on the same flight.

Upon arrival in Panama City, we were ushered to the Diplomatic Lounge to await security clearance and our luggage. We were met by a contingent of local VIPs who greeted Randy and Dr Rios with hugs and kisses and warmly greeted the rest of us. It was really a treat to arrive in a foreign country without being hassled by customs or having to wait in lines for check-in. Three SUV-type vehicles awaited us at the airport and whisked us to the Plaza Paitilla Hotel where we had already been checked in and were quickly shown to our rooms. The entire group were then driven to Jimmy's Restaurant where we were wined and dined with course after course of delicious sea foods and steak.

We met the owner of a local TV Station who gave us his cell phone number with instructions to call if we needed anything. Everyone went out of their way to take care of "Randy's parents"!

We returned to the Hotel before Midnight and settled in for a much needed sleep.

page 2 >>