Red Frog Beach Adventure

Lunch at Starfish Beach

Bird Islands, Boca del Drago, Panama

A quick recap of the week.  We didn't make it to Rana Azul on Sunday due to the water system going kapoot.  But Lester, being Mr. Fixit bought new parts in Bocas on Monday (where we treated ourselves to a nice lunch out at the Buena Vista Restaurant) and had it up and running by late afternoon on Monday. Tuesday was a laundry and game day (and stormy) and Wednesday we went to Red Frog Beach over on Bastimentos island.  What a great day.  We had the usual storm but it was timed perfectly for arriving just after our hike to the beach where there was a nice little restaurant/bar in which we could while away some time with rum and cokes until the weather cleared.  It did.  Carol and Frank played in the surf and us old folks cheered them on.  We did see a red frog, by the way.


Thursday we went back to the neighbors cacao farm and gardens, but this time with Carol and Frank.  Such a beautiful property.  It's for sale.  But not any where close to our budget.


Yesterday (Friday) we went to Starfish Beach on the other end of Isla Colon from Bocas del Toro. We took our boat into town and left it there.  Then we took a mini bus across to Boca del Drago.  From there we took a boat with a young captain ( He appeared to be about 12) across to the Bird Islands and then on to Starfish Beach.  Soon after we arrived so did the storm.  Fortunately there was another beach restaurant/bar where we could wait it out.  So we had the best lunches, fish and lobster, rice and cole slaw and deep fried plantain slices.  Yummy!  I plan to post some pictures from these outings.  That is the plan.  Let's see what happens.


I do need to talk about the ant episode though.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, we were overrun with ants one evening and did some major spraying to try to get rid of them.  Well, as it turns out, according to our cacao farm neighbors, those were army ants and what we were supposed to do was just leave and let them take over.  The neighbors said they will just go through the house cleaning up any crumbs they find, leaving you with a clean slate.  Then they move on!  Of course, they could be putting me on.  I've had that happen before and passed on incorrect information to others with an air of authority.  So, if any of you are ever here, you may want to check out the army ant story before moving out of the house.  That would include you, Nancy!






















  

Not long ago we had a troop of howler monkeys right outside our back door.  Then we were surrounded by a pod of dolphins one day on the way to town.  Late yesterday afternoon, right after dinner we were attacked by a swarm of ants.  


It started with a line of ants coming up the post out on the balcony by the table. It was an alarming number of ants and they started traveling along the railings.  But Lester grabbed a can of spray and went after them and we thought that was it.  Then Carol went in the house and said "There are ants in here too!" and they were everywhere, on the floor, on the walls.  We used our second can of spray and Lester went down to the supply room and got something else to put in a sprayer to go after ants.  Finally it was under control but not before we all were  awash in bug spray.  The weird thing is that today we find no evidence of ants.  Not even dead ones! Weird!
\Carol and Frank are here! Yesterday we went for a hike and today we are going to Rana Azul.  

Today was Dolphin Day!  And it happened by accident.  The accident being that yesterday when we went into Bocas for grocery shopping day, I accidentally left some of the groceries at the Gourmet Store.  And, of course, they were the very things I most needed to get ready for our friends who are coming on Friday.  The eggs to make a cake, the chicken breast to bake (while baking the cake) and cut up for a stir fry.  Also the hamburger and ground pork for our first night dinner of tacos and the lunch meat for our hike on Saturday.  Well, you can imagine, I was not a happy camper!  


I did call the store where they confirmed that they were aware of my items being left and that they would hold them for me until the next day.  This morning it stormed.  Not just a little rain but big time storming.  So, I thought, well so much for that.  We can't go today.  But then about noon it cleared up and you would never have guessed that it had ever been otherwise.  So we set out for Bocas in Cricket and got about halfway across Dolphin Bay when the dolphins began to surface around us.  (We have been across that way many times but this has never happened before.)  It was wonderful and so the grocery accident thing turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  There they were putting on a great performance for us!What a  special day!

An update:  Sunday we went to Rana Azul for lunch and to celebrate Father's Day.  Well, of course, Lester is not my father but someone had to celebrate with him!  Anyway, we only stayed for one drink and lunch and as we were leaving someone asked us about going so soon and my answer was that the first time we came I was sick all afternoon, the second time I was drunk, and now this third time I wanted to leave while I still had some dignity left.  But my feeling is I will be most remembered for the times when there was no dignity in the picture. Oh well!


Monday, Lester went out to the sailboat to try to get it going. But the batteries are dead and can not be recharged.Today we went to Bocas with a carefully prepared shopping list (friends Carol and Frank are coming on Friday) and after we got back discovered that all meat and eggs, perishables, etc.  were left in store.  I called and .yes, they have them and will save them for us.  So back to Bocas tomorrow. But that's okay so long as the weather is as nice as it is today.  Just beautiful out there.  Well, beautiful and hot too.


The man came about repairing the dock this morning.  I e-mailed his quote to the owner and am waiting for a reply.  Hoping she okays it as the dock is about to collapse in the water and then the repair would be even more.  There is not enough money in household fund so will have to pay it and be reimbursed but need an okay first.


Ian Usher, the author, is leaving for three months on Thursday, one month in England with his family and then 2 months in the Yukon with his girlfriend.  We met his house sitter who just flew in today.  A young guy named Cameron.  I saw him in almost every store I went into today.  Nice young man!  We'll have to have him over before we leave.

A few of the many flowers we saw on recent hike. The first is a Torch Ginger, the second is yet to be identified and the third is bamboo orchid

What an exciting couple of days!  Late yesterday afternoon we heard some strange noises out back and walked around the deck to that side only to find a troop of howler monkeys cavorting about in the trees right there.  We grabbed cameras and got some shots and had a very entertaining time watching them jumping from limb to limb and hanging from their tails.  They spent today here as well.  We thought they left this morning but there they were again tonight.  The former house sitters came over and were a bit put out as they were here for 7 months and all that time hoped for a visit like this but it never happened.  Just confirmed what we already knew.  We're special! Ha!.  

Cacao Farm Tour - Seeds Inside Chocolate Pod

Here it is another Sunday.  The weeks are going by quickly.  We went for our weekly shopping in Bocas on Tuesday and ran into some people we   knew who invited us to another potluck on Thursday night.  Since there was a full moon we went out across the bay in our little boat and enjoyed the evening.  I should mention here that the boat, Cricket, has acquired a nickname that the expats use frequently when referring to her.  They call it Tippycanoe.  And I guess it isn't quite as substantial as others here but is okay so long as the weather is good.  We have repeatedly been advised not to take it out in bad weather though and we think that might be wise.  


On Friday we went over to the neighbors, Dave and Linda's place.  It is close but we have to take the boat over as there is no trail.  Anyway, they are the chocolate growers and there are tours there frequently. People come, not just to see the cacao trees, but also because their gardens are so beautiful! Les took some pictures but they don't begin to show the plants, flowers, pools, etc.  They have been there 15 years and so much work has gone into that place!  Will try to post a few pictures.  But they won't do it justice! We plan to go back when Carol and Frank are here so may get more pictures then.


We planned to go with them on Saturday to a Garden Club meeting but Saturday turned into one of those days when nothing goes as planned.  I was sure Linda said to come over at 9:15 but Les was sure it was 8:45.  I could not call her to check because the telephone was dead and needed to be charged. So we went down to our boathouse early (because our dock is falling down, can't be picked up here.)but the boat battery was dead.  So Les got the kayak in the water and had such a time getting into it and got so wet that, as he said, he might as well have swum over to their dock to tell them we were not going.  Then he kayaked out to the sailboat to retrieve the battery cable he had been using with one of the generators (which he had recently repaired and taken out there in the boat to charge batteries out there) and I went back up the hill.  By the time I got to the house it had started to pour and we had a regular monsoon that lasted about three hours with Les stuck on the sailboat waiting it out. The rain came down so hard we had a whiteout.  Could not see anything!  Then, of course, he had to bring the battery up the hill and charge it with this generator up here as he could not get the generator off the boat and bring it back in the kayak.  Well, the day just continued in that manner.  But today is another day and so far everything is going well.  Knock on wood!

Looking across the bay with sailboats, Camryka and Landfall in the foreground

A view toward the North (Dave and Linda's boathouse)

A Quiet Day at Cerro Velero

Today Vicente, the gardener, is chopping away with his machete.  He is working near the trail that leads down to the boat.  There are stairs and there is a trail.  I opt for the trail.   Domingo, the fellow from the village who cleans the bottom of the boats is here doing his monthly chore.  We are watching some sailboats crossing the bay.  Looks like they are heading to neighbors house. Those neighbors, Dave and Linda, are cacao growers and he grows and harvests but also makes chocolate there.  Sometimes they have tours.  We plan to go over soon.

Little House in the Jungle

Following a perfect Panamanian path!

Yesterday was the absolute best Panama day yet.  We went for a hike on a property across the bay and it was just amazing.  First I need to tell you about this property.  It was owned by a man named Jim Jackson who also was co-owner  of Fossil Rim Wildlife Reserve in Texas.  It is 100 hectars in size and there are nice, well maintained  trails all around through it.  It has fields of pineapple, banana trees, cacao (chocolate) and many other fruits that we are trying to identify in a book here at Cerro Velero. There are benches along the way to rest and two different residential areas that, now unoccupied, are still maintained.  A shop where they used to make furniture is there and some evidence of possible current work  as well.. Everywhere you look are beautiful (and also yet to be identified) flowers and plants.  In one area there are giant trees with huge buttresses and thick foliage.  Other areas are more open.  Now this is not a park. In fact we saw no one else all day and we wandered around there about 4 hours.  You can only get there by boat but it is a must see while here.
. Jim Jackson passed away a few years ago but his estate or maybe his former partner is still maintaining the place.  He was highly thought of around here as he was trying to develop work for the locals and apparently he was also well known in Texas where he and his partner had a wildlife reserve.  We looked him up on the internet and were impressed with the information on his life.  Anyway, Carol and Frank will love this when they come and  Nancy, you and your husband will really enjoy it too. (The neighbors, Carl and Mary, will show you how to find it.)
Today we went to Bocas ( I'm not ready for Rana Azul again just yet.)  But almost everything over there was closed.  In fact we tied the boat up to our regular spot on the dock by the hardware store and when we came back the gate to that dock was locked.  We had to hire a guy to take us around in his boat to get to ours. So now we are back home just enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon.
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Tomorrow will be a week since my last post so guess I had better catch up. First of all we did go to Rana Azul on Sunday and while I did not have to spend my afternoon in the outhouse, I did manage to have one too many rum and cokes and Thank God people were not dancing on the tables because I probably would have joined them. Let's just say that Les had some trouble getting me in and out of the boat for the trip home.  More than that I do not care to divulge.  
Monday I paid for Sunday.  Fortunately, this is only the third such day of misery in my 72 years.  There was one 45 years ago in Hermiston, Oregon after going to a western dance.  The next one was about 17 or 18 years ago in Mazatlan after an evening at Senor Frog's (where the infamous table dancing occurred.) This will have to have been the last as I couldn't survive another. 


We had planned to go shopping on Tuesday but the weather was so threatening we opted to wait until Wednesday.  By Wednesday we had little choice as our cupboards were pretty bare.  The weather was equally threatening and by the time we made it to Bocas it had begun to make good on that threat.  What a downpour.  And the lightening was so close there was no delay in flash and sound.  They were pretty much simultaneous. Crack/Boom.  WE waited a bit before starting home.


I am beginning to get my cooking under control.  First of all, I am learning to cook somewhat better on a gas stove.  I still find it hard to simmer because all the settings are so high.  But if I stand right there and keep removing the pan in order for everything not to burn or stick or scorch it works okay.  It is nice to have an oven.  We don't have one on Caye Caulker. I baked a cake yesterday and it came out fine.  Also I am having the big meal of the day about 2:00 p.m. That way I am not in the kitchen when the sun is beating in that window about 5:00.  I try to have something simple ready for evening because I will not have lights to cook or clean up by after 6:30.   Still it is more convenient than Caye Caulker because there is a nice double sink and plenty of working space on the counter. I really like that!!


I'm starting to work on finding a few tours so that when Carol and Frank come we'll be able to show them around.  Our neighbor did tell us of a great place to hike across the bay and we explored a little in the boat the other afternoon and found it.  We may go there tomorrow.
In the meantime we are working with some locals to get the bottom of the sailboat cleaned and the dock repaired.  The dock is close to collapsing. 
More later!