Lunch With Noriega's Ghosts

Yesterday, I had a very interesting lunch that included a few ghosts who were murdered by Noriega in the 1980’s. A friend of mine (Dr. Jennifer Daniels who you might recognize from previous blogs) is caretaking a house (pictured) that was once “owned” by Manuel Noriega. I use the term “owned” loosely because he really seized the house when he was the military dictator of Panama from 1983-1989. Dr. Jennifer prepared an amazing lunch (at least if you are vegan like me) that included cucumbers dipped in guacamole, out-of-this-world split pea soup (which I hope to duplicate), a huge fresh fruit salad (with star fruit from her neighbor) and her famous oatmeal cookies. After lunch, she and her new husband Gary took us on a tour. The views were unbelievable (I could almost see my beach house) and the garden was one of the nicest I have seen in Panama. One of the bedrooms once housed Fidel Castro. It was a much better outcome for us than for Noriega’s guests of years past. They would be invited to the mansion for a meal followed by a party. You guessed it. They would be lead out to a beautiful vista and killed.