Potluck? I'm in.

One of the most incredible things about our life in Panama is our friends.

This community has been so warm, welcoming, and supportive. When I look at the numbers in my phone, I think that I could call any one of them at any time if I needed help. I lived in Denver for about three years, and I couldn't say the same about my little directory there. Not that I didn't know great people in Denver -- they were, are, very great, and I love many of them very much -- but for the most part, In Case of Minor Emergency, they lived too far away or I wouldn't have wanted to bother them or we just weren't THAT close, or something.

Here, everyone supports one another, everyone is very helpful, and we regularly get together and have a fantastic time. There are beautiful ocean views, great food, and like-minded conversation every time.

Just call me Iron Man. (No. Don't. Not even close.)

Every year, Coronado hosts a triathlon, and there's a group of friends and colleagues here who are really getting into the triathlon scene. They have been training together and were very excited about this upcoming event.

Myself, not so much.

I can't really swim. I don't much like to bike. I've been a reluctant runner lately because of my hamstring, which has been causing me some pain. But, as it turns out, you can enter the competition as a team of three, each person doing one leg.

Our friend Rudi would swim, Brent would bike, and I would run the 5k.

Race day was pretty exciting: super high-energy, casual athletes warming up alongside professionals. Rudi is a strong swimmer, so we expected him to do really well on that first leg.

The swim is two laps around the buoys in the ocean, and as people started finishing the first lap, we didn't see him. Finally, we caught site of him still out to sea, really lagging behind. He came out of the water huffing and puffing -- and kind of blue in the face, saying that he was done, he couldn't do the next lap. 

We were really disappointed, but as his breath came back he explained that he had been kicked in the face early on (a common problem during a triathlon swim) and had swallowed a bunch of water. We were disqualified, but the officials let us finish the race.

So Brent took off on his bike, and I did the run. I passed a lot of people, which is fun even when you know that they've already completed a swim and a bike ride, and you're totally fresh. Everyone was encouraging and positive, and I had a great day even though we weren't awarded an official time.

We all went to a friend's house afterward for some champagne and an incredible breakfast. The true triathletes among us were already planning for the next one. I could definitely see getting in as a team again -- but the "sprint" distance was good enough for me.

Just when you think you know what's going on...

I sure do like these ladies! Nobody does pool parties like my Panama friends do pool parties.

Enough's enough.

So. Real estate is not my thing.

I was never a real agent here -- that was never the intention. (Aside from that one day when I showed some people a few houses, which only served to remind me that I would HATE being a real agent.) But when we were asked, shortly after arriving in Panama, if we would be the go-to people for the Bahia Resort in Gorgona, it was a no-brainer. Of course, we'll step in and earn commissions on condos that people are going to buy, because eventually, they will buy every single one. All we had to do was make ourselves available and spend some time at the Bahia (have you seen that place? Not a bad gig) to catch any walk-ins.

Here's some news. There are no walk-ins at Bahia. It's off the main roads, so it's not like people are just driving by and see it. I spent hours there, and I only had one walk-in. Turns out, he was a real estate agent with another company, so when he called and asked to see the condo a second time, then showed up with his clients, I was a bit surprised. They didn't buy, so I didn't get a portion of an already portioned commission, anyway.

Gradually, I started being there less often. I'd drop by rather than spend my entire day there. Other agents were carefully working their way around me, anyway, because they didn't WANT to share a commission (though my share wouldn't have come out of theirs, anyway, they were still wary -- so sales were happening, and I wasn't getting paid on them). Spending time there was a huge waste of my time, when I had other things to be doing: Thai bodywork, yoga classes, and so on.

So, I gave it up, and it's such a relief. I resented every hour I spent there, and I felt guilty for every hour I didn't spend there.

It's always hard for me to be a quitter, but I've got bigger fish to fry.

And in good news, I did end up getting paid for the sales I helped facilitate, so it wasn't a total wash.

Brunch and other activities (okay, just brunch) at Gamboa Rainforest Resort.

Panama has Oferta Simple, which is like Groupon -- and one of the deals was a night at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort, a fantastic resort in the...Gamboa...Rainforest. Like it says.

Anyway, three of our best coupled friends bought it with us. Brent and I went to the city on Saturday for a food and beer festival, and we stayed in the city on Saturday night and drove to Gamboa on Sunday morning to meet up with Cat and Mack, Rachel and Josh, and Stephanie and David for brunch.

Though brunch wasn't included with our room deal, we had heard it was an incredible spread so we decided to go early and take advantage. We arrived to be seated at noon. There were only a few other people there, and our waiter told us to eat, drink, and enjoy -- wine, beer, and champagne were all included in the price of the buffet brunch, $35 per person.

Incredible. Salads, steaks, seafood, and SUSHI! We noticed the dining room fill up as we sipped on another mimosa. We barely noticed it thin out again, when Mack announced he was going to the room for a nap. He returned, well-rested, and we had one last glass of wine before going to play some pool volleyball -- at 4:00pm. Four hours of brunch. And Cat and Stephanie weren't done yet -- they hung around until 5:00 and missed the killer volleyball game.

(Turns out I'm not as good in the water as I am on the sand. It's really hard to play pool volleyball without getting your face wet.)

Our rooms were spacious with wonderfully comfortable beds -- one of the best I've slept on in awhile -- and a balcony hammock.

Cat and Stephanie went to bed early, and the rest of us stayed up chatting at the bar before calling it quits.  Despite being excited about the activities that were included with our stay (biking, a night safari, and more), we ended up not doing anything. Except brunch. Brunch was the best activity.