However the battery was not charged so all I got was this one photo taken just outside of the Old City Wall.  It was lit for Christmas though and looked really pretty!

Meanwhile back at the ranch...

 The brick walkway was torn off.

The scope of what needed to be done was increasing.  I added new siding to the mix, which of course needed to be ordered and custom cut.  

That taken care of it was time for the Panama Canal.  I heard that only two days before there was so much rain they had actually closed the canal!  Weird weather everywhere I went.

Last year when I went through the Panama Canal it was a little like my rebirth.  I was in a mental fog, not at all sure why I was there (except my husband and I planned and prepaid) I began to discover the me without anyone else to consider.  I know I went from a backstage kind of woman to one in the spotlight. Quite an adjustment after nearly 30 years as a couple.

This year's rebirth of sorts would turn out to be even more significant, as I had undertaken what would turn out to be not just my shedding of the old lifestyle, but a change for my house too.

The hills I would be climbing now would be very much like standing on the ship waiting for the canal to fill with water to take us effortlessly to the next level.  The house was much the same. 

Waiting for a loch to fill.... 

Each day when I checked my email I would hear about more "unexpected finds" as they tore into the old house.  I asked them to do what they could (always more money) and get the roof on and I'd be home soon.  Not much more I could do from the depths of Panama.

The rain would keep people from sunning, but since I don't do the sun thing I found ways to pass the time.

I could still draw...or

 Have a drink in the Observation Lounge

 I could go to the library...or 

 I could go to my room...or

 Check out the spa....or

I could dine somewhere outside... 

But ultimately watching a hunk in the pool was my choice. 

The house and I would both be healing on this trip.  While contractors ripped the skin off of my home, I let the beauty of Costa Rica absorb into mine.

Unusual sights...

 Amazing trees....Hercules Club (Aralia Spinosa)

But I could not help wondering what was going on back home where...

 she had shed her skin...

but also needed trees...

 her new skin was waiting.

Part 3 will be the conclusion....