Dateline- at sea- and Nicaragua

Forgive me, dear pals for neglecting you-
The days are sea are seductive. Although I had had planned to finish the rough draft of my next play by now, somehow I don't seem to get much of anywhere.
But I have been reading. As of today I'm in the middle of book #5- Susan Orleans' The Library Book, about the great fire in the LA Public Library in 1986. Terrific!
But now- to catch up- (I may skip around a lot here- )

The knee continues to be cranky and I get tired a lot. The internet is dicey, so even if I’m ready to chat with you, the computer won't necessarily cooperate.

But- here is another update.

We arrived in Nicaragua. David had a bellyache, etc. and didn’t go on our tour, but I headed out on a very tame tour of a small town and a ranch next to a lake with volcanoes. Nothing (literally) to write home about. The tour buses were all escorted by cop cars and motorcycles, which (the guides assured us) were just to make sure that we didn’t get stuck in traffic jams. (????)

Now back in the old days, I always thought Daniel Ortega was a good guy and the Sandinistas were on the side of the angels to throw out that nasty Samosa guy and his goons. According the the guide, this isn't the prevailing view among young folk here these days. He groused about taxes and the fact that the nation owns the wind generators, etc. that provide most of the nation's electricity.

Speaking of politics-hardly anyone we've met on the boat does. It's just too explosive and folks just don't want to go there.

Talked to an English couple at dinner tonight and they said people have asked about what's up in their country with Brexit and all, but the Americans keep their traps shut about home. I think that there are a lot of Trumpsters on the passenger list, though. 

We hit Panama City yesterday. My knee banned me from joining the aerial tram ride up into the rainforest, alas, so I gazed longingly at the stunning skyline. I want to come stay here for a while! The architecture is amazing.

I especially liked one skyscraper in the shape of a sail (at the right of the bottom picture). Alas- I found out it is the Trump Ocean Club International- though his people have since been removed from the board and his name has been removed from the property...

More later- I promise- including an amazing story of our sojourn in Costa Rica and the transit through the big canal today...

Oh- one other thing (not related to the trip, but related to me)... today was the day my first radio play was recorded in LONDON! It should be up on the web in about a month. I'm sooooooooooooooo excited....