A shorty

Hey guys! I don't have a lot of time, but I wanted to say hi and post some new pics! We had a crazy weekend with over 60 clients here checking things out.  Besides the rain that kind of ruined our plans, the weekend was, in my opinion, a success.  So I hope you're all doing well and enjoying the fall weather.  Someone should send me pictures of the changing leaves, I want to see them.  I love you all! I promise my next post will be better. 

Monkey Business

Today is a rainy day (and by rainy I mean torrential down pour not unlike the scene in Karate Kid II when Mr. Miagi saves his enemy from being trapped under that log and Daniel Son rescues the little girl from the watch tower), which is a relief.  We’ve been working tirelessly getting ready to open the beach club this week and it’s been extremely hot and sticky.  In fact, we’ve been working so hard that the other night Jameson and I went to bed at 8:45.  I haven’t done that since 2^nd grade.  It was awesome until Jameson woke up for the day at 2:30am. 

 So not to toot our horn too loudly, but I’m really impressed with what we’ve been able to accomplish given our lack of resources, time & manpower.   The other day as I was walking back from another drippy day working on the most beautiful beach in Panama (cue the violins), I saw 2 monkeys swinging in the canopy.  It looked like they were playing a slow motion game of tag.  One monkey would lazily swing from one tree to another and look back tauntingly to the second.  The second monkey would stare back trying to decide if it was too much work to go after his friend.  Then the first monkey would swing back and poke his friend until he got up and resumed the game.

 This little display of monkeys being monkeys was like a micro version of what it’s like working in a third world country: Nobody’s quite sure where they’re going or how to get there, there’s no such thing as a timeline, you have to “poke” at least 5 people to get what you need and when you get it, it’s broken and wont be fixed for a few days or weeks.  It’s frustrating, but it’s forcing us to be creative and do things the old fashion way – lots of patience, sweat and elbow grease.   I do, however, have to give a lot if not most of the credit to the 10 Panamanians who helped us for days, cutting down the jungle with machetes and bare hands and taking direction in broken Spanish from 2 gringos who are clearly out of their element.   So thanks guys, if you ever get on a computer and read this.

 We’ve named our little project Palma de Roca (Palm of the Rock for those of you who don’t habla espanol (which is speak Spanish for those of who don’t know anything)) after a little rock formation with a palm tree sprouting from it that marks the entrance to our place from the beach.   The whole thing is coming together and as soon as we get our liquor license (and Jameson and I take some bar tending lessons) we’ll be ready to go!

 We’re working hard, but don’t feel bad for us, we’re also having a lot of fun.  Last night, after a long day of snorkeling and spear fishing, Jameson and a guy named Dan put on a concert for some of the investors.  Is it just me or is Jameson the hottest guy on the planet?  I seem to remember that every time he picks up the guitar and gives a proper performance.  And in a few weeks they are sending us to do more “research” in the highlands of Panama where there’s a volcano and a huge zip line.  This is a once in a lifetime chance and we feel very blessed to be here having this experience. 

 I love and miss you all.  I heard the weather is starting to get a little crispy at home and the leaves are changing colors.  This is my favorite time of year and I’m sad to be missing it, but I hope you’re all enjoying it for me.  Stay safe and happy! 

One quick Jameson moment and then I have to go.  The other day Jameson was walking to the market in Bocas Town when an older man approached him.  This guy had skin like drying tar, black and wrinkly and eyes to match with filmy whites.  He was also missing a few teeth, which could have been the reason for the following misunderstanding, but I don’t think so.  He handed Jameson a live crab and said it was for him.  Jameson, assuming this gentleman had selected him to set this poor little crab free to scuttle along the sea floor with his crabby friends, bent down to the water and released it back into the wild.  When Jameson stood back up the old man looking very confused and a little shocked asked if there was something wrong with the crab.  Jameson realizing that this man was not wild life conservationist, but just a guy looking to make a buck started to apologize and told him he didn’t know how to cook crab.  The old man blurted out a high-pitched crackly laugh and said, “Agua caliente!”  (If you don’t know that one, ask a friend).

It's a Jungle Out There!

Hello friends.  How is life in the states?  I heard Obama gave an address last night; somebody please tell me what he said, Limbaugh doesn’t make the airwaves down here. 

 We’ve been here a little over a week now and the novelty is wearing off a bit.  I’m realizing more and more everyday that I live in the jungle.  Not next, near or kiddy corner to, but in the jungle.  This little spider over here on the right is nothing compared to a few I’ve seen in the last few days.  Big brown beastly spiders, not spindly and fragile looking, but hefty with girth, yes I just said girth.  When we walk to the beach, it’s like we’re in a green tunnel with vine-covered walls.  The sun barely reaches the ground because the canopy is so thick.  It’s kind of like we’re playing Tarzan and Jane except my Tarzan doesn’t sport a loincloth, not yet anyway.

 Today I saw the biggest snake I’ve ever seen outside of a glass box at the zoo.  At first I thought it was a big black stick in the middle of the path, but as it slithered off into the green I figured out what it really was.  Apparently they are the reason there are no poisonous snakes on the island, they eat them all.  A snake-eating snake, never heard of that before.

 The bugs are relentless.  Yesterday we found a bizillion ants in our peanut butter even though the lid was screwed on tight and somehow they got into Jameson’s cup o noodles even though they were completely covered in plastic (I wasn’t too bummed about that one). They also found a way inside our toaster oven so Jameson decided to take his revenge by turning on the heat and watching them roast.  We have a few geckos that live in our apartment.  They’re too high up to catch, but I don’t mind because they eat the other bugs.  However, I don’t appreciate finding gecko poop in my bathroom sink.

 Work has officially begun on the beach club.  On Tuesday Jameson, Justin, and I worked for hours in the sun clearing dead leaves, driftwood, and all manner of green stuff.  To our surprise we found that underneath all that junk was beautiful sand.  You can see from our before and after pics what a difference a few hours of elbow grease can do for a place.  I had no idea I could sweat so much, did you know your ears could sweat?  We also sent a few million ants and tree crabs into a frenzy by destroying their nests.  There is a massive termite ball up high in one of the trees.  Every day we try to throw stuff at it so we can watch it explode with thousands of bewildered termites.  So far we’ve all missed, but tomorrow I’m going to get it.  I’ll try to take a picture so you can see just how huge this thing is. 

 We’ve met with Eric, the aquaculture/landscape architect, who has some really cool ideas about how to move the water and sand around to make everything look sweet.  Hopefully that will all be underway by early next week, but we’re beginning to see that just like most other countries around the world, Panama does not run on American time.  This afternoon may mean next week and next week may mean next year.  It’s very frustrating, but it’s a reality of working in another country.

 So the catamaran tour was great.  We saw some dolphins (see pic), went snorkeling and got caught in one of the biggest rainstorms our captain had seen in 10 years.  We parked our massive boat behind a mangrove and waited it out.  It was pretty awesome; horizontal rain, lightning all over the place, and deafening thunder.  Not bad for $40.

 I’m off to do laundry for the first time 10 days and to post this so we hope you’re all happy and healthy and enjoying your ant free life!

Bienvenidos a mi blog!

Hola gringos. Yes, I’m totally fluent in Spanish in just 2 days! Seriously though I have learned more Spanish in the last 2 days than I would have watching hours of cheesy shows on telemundo. We’ve been here for about 48 hours and I have to say, so far so good. We totally revamped our little dorm so it looks not only tolerable, but actually warm and inviting. I can’t completely obliterate the bugs, but each day I awake with renewed determination to kill as many as I can. Our place is totally livable now and we’re all settled in. Justin, the intern that has been here for 3 months, has been a huge help. He cooked us dinner the first night and has been very patient with our relentless questions. We’ve met a lot of really nice people who have also been very patient with our lack of Spanish.

Even though I’ve driven through Wyoming several times, this island is definitely the most primitive place I’ve ever been. There are no roads, no telephone poles, no stores, no hospitals, no nothin’. The indigenous people aren’t naked, but they don’t wear shoes, which might not sound like a big deal, but if you could see the size of the ants here you’d wonder how anyone would dare expose an inch of skin let alone walk barefoot on army ant territory. Their feet look like human flippers, wide and flat.

I’ve seen the craziest bugs and animals here; I almost ran into the web of a spider the size of a kid’s hand, two hummingbirds have died from flying into our window so we got to see them up close, I saw a red frog on my first day (it was really little, see pic), and there are feral dogs everywhere. I have to be careful not to feel bad for them or they will follow me home and soon I’ll have a dog rescue center on my front porch. I have yet to see a sloth, but I’ve been assured they are everywhere. Last night we saw the coolest lightning storm. If you haven’t spoken to me in awhile you wont know of my latest obsession, but I’ve discovered that I am totally fascinated by lightning and last night provided a serious fix for my new addiction.

Yesterday we met with one of the main guys who showed us our first project, the beach club. Right now the “beach club” looks more like a decrepit old islander gang hideout than a place you’d like to order a smoothie and enjoy the view of the ocean, but that’s why we’re here; to fix it up and make it look awesome. We freely admit we have no experience doing anything like this, but we’ll figure it out. The real test will be to see if Jameson and I can work together without one of us running into the jungle for refuge. It’s actually been really fun to do this together. We’re finding out not only what we’re made individually (I’m a lot tougher than I thought by the way), but also what we’re made of together. We’re discovering we can handle just about anything as long as we’ve got each other.

So we’ve got plenty of work to do on our little island here in Bocas del Toro, actually it’s huge, but yesterday they told us they are sending us to do “research” of some of the tours they offer on neighboring islands so this weekend we’re going out to sea on a catamaran. If you don’t know what a catamaran is, look it up and then tell me! Love you all!

Looks like we made it!

Hey everybody, we’re here and so is all of our stuff. Yesterday was a crazy day that started at about 5:30am. We flew to Houston then to Panama City. When we landed we spotted a Panamanian guy holding up a handwritten sign with our names on it. This was our driver. His car was more like a rickshaw with metal walls than an actual car. There was no rear view mirror and his headlights were barely a glimmer, but he had a TV on the dash playing 50 cent and mix of rap and reggae videos. Nice.

It took about 20 minutes till we could see the buildings of Panama City. The skyscrapers there rival anything they have in Manhattan. We wound through the streets of the city and saw a few familiar chains; Subway, Dunkin’ Doughnuts, Burger King, but everything else was totally foreign until I saw a bright sign shining like a beacon of hope that said Sheraton. Of course he’s taking us to the Sheraton! But the Sheraton came along side us and passed without a pause from the driver. Then in the distance was the familiar red glow of the Marriot. Of course he’s taking us to the Marriott! But again we passed it and headed on toward the outskirts of the city.

Finally we pulled into a tiny round driveway at the Hotel Marbella. It was small, but clean. We dropped off our bags and set off to find food, but we didn’t dare venture too far. The streets smelled like hot garbage and the neon signs for erotic massage told me that this might not be the place to wander. Finally we found a little café and ordered omelets. We went back to the hotel and had a 5-hour nap before we went downstairs the next morning at 4:50am to meet our driver who had told us to meet him there at 5:00. 5:00 came and went, no driver. 5:10… 5:15. We didn’t know the name of the airport or when our flight left. Our fate was totally dependent on this little guy and he never showed. We ended up taking a taxi to the local airport and fortunately our tickets were there waiting for us.

So they told us that most people here speak English, well we must have ran into the 17 people in Panama city that don’t. Our waitress, no English, our driver the same and the hotel personnel ditto. If Jameson didn’t take Spanish in high school, we would still be stuck at the first airport

Anyway we boarded a plane that reminded me of something from an Indiana Jones film and 45 minutes later we landed in Bocas del Toro. Years of watching the discovery channel and perusing through National Geographic mags prepared me well for what I saw there. Lots of brightly colored little shops with locals lounging about on the front walk ways, dirt roads, and palm trees everywhere. Miranda, the resort manager, greeted us and we drove to Main Street. She took us to the local grocery store. Um… unless it’s packaged, I’m pretty sure I won’t be eating anything from there. I wont even go into the meat situation.

Then we got on a boat taxi and crossed the sea to Isla Bastimentos! As the tiny boat taxi slowed toward the dock, we came along side several massive sailboats. Did you know there are people that live on sailboats and just travel the world from marina to marina? What a life! Anyway we got all our bags into a golf cart and drove up to our new home. Right now I’m so exhausted I’m not noticing the cockroach traps with it’s victims lying lifeless beside them or the fact that this place smells like a million moth balls exploded. All I want to do right now is sleep! But we’re off the take a tour of the project. I’ll let you know how it goes, but right now I feel like I’m on an episode of Lost and we have just discovered the Dharma initiative.