The Decision

Sometimes making a decision is a breeze. The assessment clear; the answer easy. Other sometimes choices  are not so quickly found.  They  cause me to twist and turn in the night, ruminate,  angst over everyone  who will be affected by  the outcome.  Our decision to depart Cerro Velero  early was one of these sorts of life crossroads.  Not one arrived at quickly; in no way taken lightly.   

Many friends and family  have written wanting “the scoop.” What caused  us to make such a drastic  turnaround in our winter plans? The answers are not simple. I choose not to delve into the details, only to say there were many disappointments for both Norm and I. Life here  at Cerro Velero  is not what we expected. This is not meant to be  a reflection on Panama, or the Bay of Dolphins. I’m certain it is paradise for those more hardy then we.

 

This morning I sit on the veranda, drink my coffee and listen to the rain. I savor the cool breeze respite, and know full well by afternoon a river of sweat will once again run between my breasts and a swarm of chitras will buzz around my ankles. However,  I choose to only dwell the best parts – the view, the sweet dogs, and the wonderful  neighbor next door, and let the hard and disappointments go. This morning, if even for only this one morning, it truly is….

just  another day in paradise, 

Nancy

RAINFOREST CHRISTMAS

The life lesson for Christmas day for us is to be gracious. We were invited by a complete stranger, Cynde, to attend the Christmas of all the "neighbors' in both loops of Dolphin Bay.  We spent the afternoon with folks from all over the world, had a wonderful time, and were reminded how important it is to always be gracious. I hope we will always extend ourselves, as Cynde did,  to those who are alone on the holidays, as well as alone in life.

After a delicious meal of roast turkey and roast pork coupled with  loads and loads of potlucked  salads and sides, we had a fun gift exchange where you could "steal" anyone's gift previously opened. Lots of teasing and good fun! Norm and I ended up with lovely gifts. (See the sidebar) After everyone enjoyed a choice of at least a dozen deserts we each climbed into our respective dingeys and motored on home.

We were grateful for Cynde for the invitation and for not having to sit home alone and eat our beans n rice on Christmas day. Plus, after the party, we were able to reach mom and most of our kids by Skype!  It was a Merry Christmas.

The coconut oil Mary gave us seems to be warding off the nasty chitras. Very few new bug bites! YAY!  Please keep all positive thoughts, prayers, and energy coming our way that it continues and that the "Army Ants don't show up! Now THAT is another story... for another day.

Just another day in paradise.

Norm and Nancy

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. ~ Calvin Coolidge

LOST

I always feel that these “adventure “ Norm and I go on are intended to teach, or reteach, life lessons. The lesson for the day  is “Be helpful.”

I promised to tell the story of our Maiden voyage into Bocas with Cricket. Somehow, after the fact, it seems less dramatic than it did when it was happening, but here’s the story:

 

The little boat still wasn’t running quite like she should and wouldn’t get up on plane. We didn’t trust her enough to do more than motor around the little bay below, but, it was time for the checkup on the new engine and we hoped, Ray, the mechanic, could shed some light as to why she seemed so under-powered.

 

 Christmas Eve and we had an early morning appointment for Crickett so we got up and  checked the weather reports. They all showed “possibly scattered showers, but no significant winds expected for the day.”  A good day to boat into Bocas!  But of course the “scattered rain showers” began shortly after we departed and lasted the entire hour ride into town. We arrived in Bocas dripping wet, but we were grateful  there was hardly any wind out there in the open sea.

 

We expected Crickett would only be with the mechanic an hour or two, so we met Samantha, a former house sitter at Cerro Velero, for coffee, then did a bit of shopping including buying our new “Christmas hammock. ”

 Then checked back in with Ray.  We hoped to head home before early afternoon as that is when the wind begins to blow around here. But, it was not going well.  The gizmo Ray needed to adjust wasn’t co-operating and he was not a happy camper. 

 

So, next we   dawdled over lunch at a lovely café overlooking the water, and  walked about town some more, but Crickett still wasn’t ready when we returned to the boathouse.

We wandered some more and Norm made friends with the local diesel delivery guy at the town’s power plant. They “talked” diesel engines with me translating which is really a joke if you know how little Spanish I can actually speak.

 

Finally, around 3Pm, just as another “occasional shower” was starting up (not that it mattered because once you’re dripping wet you actually can’t get any wetter) and with Ray telling us Crickett wasn’t going to get any more power because the engine is simply too small for the boat, we collected Crickett and headed back to the house. The wind became to gust up a bit, but still not too ominously. However the fog was rolling in. It was very difficult to see the landmarks we needed to know when to take the cut into the mangroves to get back into the Bay of Dolphins. One mangrove looked just like another!   (Sorry no photos here as we were too busy just trying to get home!)

Soon we realized we really had no idea where to turn. At the same time noticed we were boating in only a couple feet of water!  Yikes! Norm quickly killed the engine, and as I shouted “Bring ‘er up, Bring ‘er up, Bring ‘er up!”  We hit the reef underneath. Double YIKES for both the motor and the reef!  Luckily we had one oar in the boat, so Norm was able to shove us off and paddle backwards toward deeper water.  Remember that the fog is getting thicker and, oh did I mention that it’s raining hard now? 

We evaluated our situation and decided to swallow pride and ask for help rather than possibly get into an even more serious situation. We called our angel neighbors, Mary & Carl who jumped into their boat and came flying to the rescue!  Mary instructed us to go out farther as it would make it easier for them to see us than if we stayed  close to shore. ( Which is a bit scary when you consider the rain, the fog and the little engine that really has no business being out in the open water? Triple YIKES! ) Mary confessed later that due to the fog they  had trouble finding us, but find us they did they did, and were we ever happy to see them speeding up in the distance!

We followed them home, exhausted from the ordeal, but grateful to have such wonderful folks living next door who have more than gone out of their way to welcome us here in Dolphin Bay.  We were never in any actual danger, however, it would have been pitch dark in one more hour…….. And  this story would very well have had a very different ending.

 

Just another day in paradise!  LOL

 

Norm & Nancy

Hogar San Vicente de Paul

Nancy had a delightful day in town with our neighbor, Mary who spearheaded a lap quilt making project for the residents of the local home for old folks who have no family to care for them.

The men and women alike seemed joy-filled over their gifts and by the attention. Nancy's never had her hand kissed so many times in one day. These Panama men do have a certain charm --even the old codgers!

Norm stayed home, read in the hammock and counted his bug bites. The buggers are HORRIBLE here!....But the fresh pineapple is good : )

Felix Navidad,

Norm & Nancy

Peace, Joy & Love from the Jungle

We began theday working on the kaput refrigerator and we think (keeping all digits crossed)Norm has it fixed!  He found the manual,read up on it (propane refer), then took my toothbrush and super cleaned a tiny screen over the top of the burner flame. Then he leveled it to the finest degree in both directions, and it seems to be working, albeit, not getting cold enough to make ice yet.  My teeth, on the other hand, taste like soot.  HaHa

 

Next we tookthe pooches for a tromp around the property. Check out our boots!  They’re the best for slogging around in the rainforest since it rains every night and the ground stays pretty mushy. Also,I don’t think a fer de lance could bite through the rubber.

 

 

Next we took Crickett out for another gentle ride. We’re still logging her first 10 hours onthe new engine. She’s still not running all the rmp’s she’s supposed to, butshe sounds better. We rode out to Landfall, the sailboat in our keep, and spent two hours taking turns pumping out the bilge with a foot pump. Tomorrow we’re hoping to MacGyver something to cover her her front hatch as that’s where she’staking on water with every rain.  The secondthing we did was begin to clean. I won’t get in to what sad condition she is in;only say that she’s been without sailors too long in an extremely humidclimate. We’ll be scrubbing on her our entire three month stay, I’m certain. It’s very sad to see her in such a state.

 

We’re settling into a nice rhythm: work in the morning; read, rest and relax in theafternoon.  Life is good. No, life is grand!

Joy, Peace& Love from the Jungle,

Norm &Nancy

Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard

A Parrot is a Parrot is a Parrot

We're not certain, these may be "Mealy Parrots," but, then again they may be Red Loreds. It's hard to identify the little details from the veranda, but this is one of the morning sites we catch over coffee just as day is breaking. It's moments like this that make the refrigerator's inablility to make ice seem worth the inconvenience.

 

Nancy took a tumble going down the steep stairs to the water and fell - face-first - into a barb-wire fence that contains a neighbor’s small herd of cows. Luckily, nothing was seriously damaged – neither the fence nor Nancy’s face, but Norm has added another nickname to the litany of nicknames he has for her –Scarface.

 

We’ve found the area to be every bit as wild and wonderful as we expected; we’ve also found more challenges than expected. We found lots of things broken in the house.  Not unlike a sailboat, maintenance is a constant activity when living in the rainforest. The sabotaging of Crickett is the one that affects us the most. The guys think they got her all dried out. We’re taking her gingerly around the bay now, but not brave enough to try more open water until the mechanic in town signs off on her. We’ve got to finish getting 10 hours on the new motor before that can happen.  Norm met with him today when we were in town with our wonderful neighbors, Mary & Carl.  They’re a couple of retired sailboat cruisers who settled here after spending many years aboard their sailboar. They’ve certainly been a Godsend to us in many ways. We feel like we’ve got a couple of guardian angels watching over us!

“Our dogs”, Indy (Independence) and Gelly (Magellan) are charming as well as excellent watchdogs.  They are aptly named. Indy is just that – independent as all get all. Gelly likes to run off and get lost. (well, not actually lost, but off to the neighbors on the other side of the property)  She’s the explorer!  Very sweet pooches both of them... We each already have a favorite and I’ll let you guess which is which. 

And speaking of all the “old dogs,” check out how they each -- all three -- spend a warm afternoon! (Pix on the sidebar)  I think siesta may become a new way of life!

Jungle Love,

Norm & Nancy

 “I like animals. I like natural history. The travel bit is not the important bit. The travel bit is what you have to do in order to go and look at animals.” – David Attenborough

 

 

 

A WHIRLWIND ORIENTATION !

Alerted by email, we already knew that Crickett was non-operational again. What we didn’t know was that the problem was sabatage. A thief in the night had siphoned off gasoline and replaced it with saltwater. This problem has kept Norm and Charles busy the past couple of days, but as you see, from the picture below, they’ve managed to get her fairly dried out, and at least running (albeit not perfectly).  Norm is in his realm as this place certainly requires a MacGyver mindset.  The challenges are many; the rewards great!

The house sitters, Rosy & Charles,who we are replacing, were on the dock to meet us when we arrived by water taxi from the mainland. They assisted us up the 105 steps to the house -- us and all our luggage and provisions. THANK GOD!  I’m certain that climb will get a bit easier every day, but the first couple of treks nearly put me into ventricular tachycardia. Obviously, I didn’t do nearly enough stairs climbing in my walks to prepare for this trip J

Rosy & Charles, a bright young couple from the UK, began their six month sabbatical from jobs in the UK by spending six weeks here at Cerro Velero before they take off to crew aboard a sailboat , then backpack around Central America. Both are very adventurous, bright and knowledgeable. They’ve been a pleasure to have here for our introduction to this place. We’ll miss them, I’m sure, when they leave tomorrow.

Introduction to all the mechanics and logistics of keeping an off-grid home in the rainforest running smoothly has been a tad overwhelming but both Norm and I are feeling a bit more relaxed this morning and feel confident we can handle the challenges ahead.  Challenges? Well, we expect they will be many and I’m sure if you follow along on my blog you’ll hear about each, but I tell you the morning view from the deck truly makes every bit of bother this place might be worthwhile. More to follow as the adventure unfolds.

Norm & Nancy

Ps -- and, as you can see they were successful kin geting our little "water car" going. She's not perfect yet, but we have full confidence that with a bit of fine turning she'll be in great shape. She's due back to the mechanics who installed the new motor in another 5 hours, so we'll be very careful, go very slow and not travel very far from "home" until then.

Today's Favorite Memory - BALBOA YACHT CLUB

We arrived Panama without a hitch. Well only the tiny hitch of the shuttle not picking us up at the airport. It's funny how accustomed we've gotten to small things like that going awry when traveling.  What would have seemed monumental (and scary) 20 years ago gets barely a nod from us today!  We are learning.

This is our view from the balcony overlooking Balboa Yacht Club which is not nearly as glamorous as it sounds. We sailed in here eight eight ago with friends, Janet & Joe Ohl on their sailboat, Cabiri, just days after that infamous night spent rounding Punta Mala.  Some of you may remember that story...."the night as dark as the devil's own colon!"  LOL 

We'll be up early in the morning to catch the bitty plane on to Bocas del Toro. Thanks to the Internet we've been alerted that Cricket isn't running again. It's seems someone put watch in the gas tank. Dang!  Looks like Norm will get to begin on day one using his McGuyre  skills!  Keep all digits crossed for us please!