so the downpour has us running scared! we packed up our meager belongings and hopped the bus to david to crash at limon´s cousins xiomada´s casa. after a beautiful downhill through bamboo forests, trees and cows and a tipical panamanian meal our friends norielle and rosiri picked us up and took us to his house across the costa rican border. we are putting building the house in volcan on hold until the rain lets up. that night norielle´s son drove us all to golfito, san cudo bay where he has a huge beach house and bar-restaurant. it was pouring intermittently there as well so we made the best of it and walked to the point to explore and buy fresh corvina (white fish). rosiri fried it up with platanos from a nearby tree and we devoured it with habanero salsa. limon managed to knock down about 20 pipas (coconuts) for fresh ice cold agua di pipa....mmmm. we drove with them to the point burica a long point that is half panama and half costa rica, through a small town called limones =). it is miles and miles of gorgeous tropical beach and small fishing villages. we saw hundreds of young tuna jumping in a feeding frenzy while a young pescador threw net again and again to catch some. we passed through many pueblos and a huge petrol station with chinese, korean and american tankers that mocked the coastline with their girth (so gross).
a panamanian couple was stuck in the sand and we offered the help of the 4x4. once we had successfully pulled them back to packed sand we climbed the hill to continue the drive and saw them drive right back down the beach to find themselves stuck once again...our next stop was a couple friend of theirs who had recently lost their two sons in a land slide. we saw their new house very sullen and secluded in the middle of a farm and continued on to their old house. half the roof was gone and two of the back rooms were filled with sand, the walls destroyed. one room was perfectly intact- where the parents had been sleeping at 4am when the rain brought the hillside down last december. they managed to pull the oldest son who was stuck up to his waist in sand to safety but tragically the others were buried too deep. you could see the loss of only 4 months on their faces. and seeing the wrecked house was deeply moving. they were only one month away from moving into their new home. so sad.
after this we went to a greecian style (all blue and white, very santorini) hotel right on the sand! so many rooms and boats to use- a good destination for a group- who´s down? the rooms were crazy and had huge full grown crocodile skins on the wall as well as taxidermied turtles. limon says they may have been leatherbacks. in the trees near the beach we saw a group of monkeys with many babies, not howlers but definately howling, limon is really getting good at this mock call.
on our way back that night we came to a screetching hault as norielle avoided a sloth who had fallen from a tree onto the ground and broken his arm. limon and norielle grabbed a small fallen tree and helped him climb up back onto the nearest big tree, he was moving very slowly and painfully, using his teeth as a 4th appendage, but we think he will survive! so lucky we came along most people here would have either run him over or taken him home to make soup! a few miles before that we came across a black and red striped snake which we had run over.
that night we went to the bar and later took a long walk down the peaceful playa with a full moon to guide us. our soccer game got rough and we all ended up swimming in the ocean of gulfo dolce fully clothed!!!
on sunday we all piled in again and were off to a beautiful river that is a long rocky crevass. we swam and had a picnic, limon saw a black squirrel. that evening we took a long rocky unpaved road up to boquete, the back way, passing by the local hot springs in caldera (definately taking the bus back up here)!
boquete is strange and very americanized but sits in gorgeous, pristine valley at the top of the mountains. we could see volcan baru the whole time, it the preferred entry point for hiking the volcan, and the whole pacific side of the country. they have white water rafting excursions, a pizzeria and coffee shops.
my favorite stores so far were 3 ice stores in a row that had no ice and an internet cafe with no internet! now we´re off to guabito to fix up the little house limon bought from his aunt. buena suerte!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
monday 5/4 the downpour
today was like a dream! we went around to the local woodmills with 5 youngsters all family and collect madera gratis (free wood). there are many within a 5 block radius and whatever they dont use they burn in huge piles (very sad a wasteful). they take huge trees and cut them down to make little boxes for transporting vegetables as this is the place where everything is grown and sent around the country. its a ridiculous procedure and i'm sure they burn the boxes when they get where they're going. we had a wheelbarrow and got so much we ended up constructing a "wood plane" and kent and four of the boys carried the load on two of the larger pieces of wood. it was hysterical to watch lots of yelling, laughing and small pieces falling off repeatedly.
to top it all off when we were en route to the land (a twenty min walk) the torrential rain started at noon right on queue. they say the first of may the rain starts and it comes everyday at noon and its true- bizarre! we were all soaked to the bone, and the wood too. we didnt give up though we kept on truckin' until we made it to the land and started to construct a casita. we had a hammer and nails and the boys and kent made a floor while fanny and her brother set up a tarp with the bigger pieces of wood. we tied string to the trees and when the piso (floor) was built slid it under the tarp and all sat down to have a nice lunch.
while they we frantically hammering and running around i took the bike and flew down the hill in the pouring rain to get cokes and sandwiches, and some cookies as a treat! the disk brakes were so wet i couldnt stop and was nearly clobbered by a taxi (the drivers here are merciless!) but i safely returned after being laughed at by every passing local carrying or riding their bikes with umbrellas (paraguas). the boys were all shivering and wet as wet can be but we had a great time and returned to our casas after another ten min walk for sopa caliente. (hot chicken soup)
to top it all off when we were en route to the land (a twenty min walk) the torrential rain started at noon right on queue. they say the first of may the rain starts and it comes everyday at noon and its true- bizarre! we were all soaked to the bone, and the wood too. we didnt give up though we kept on truckin' until we made it to the land and started to construct a casita. we had a hammer and nails and the boys and kent made a floor while fanny and her brother set up a tarp with the bigger pieces of wood. we tied string to the trees and when the piso (floor) was built slid it under the tarp and all sat down to have a nice lunch.
while they we frantically hammering and running around i took the bike and flew down the hill in the pouring rain to get cokes and sandwiches, and some cookies as a treat! the disk brakes were so wet i couldnt stop and was nearly clobbered by a taxi (the drivers here are merciless!) but i safely returned after being laughed at by every passing local carrying or riding their bikes with umbrellas (paraguas). the boys were all shivering and wet as wet can be but we had a great time and returned to our casas after another ten min walk for sopa caliente. (hot chicken soup)
friday before the big election
we rose at the crack of dawn again but no work today! we all piled in the little truck (literally 4 of us in the back it's covered with a metal cage and tarp kinda crazy...) and drove to la frontera. the final frontier as you cross into coasta rica! we stayed at an amzing huge pool with three different pools and a 20 ft waterslide. it's arelis' birthday 35. she's guilermo's wife and they are just wonderful! we partied and swam and ate ceviche and huge shrimp and had a yard of beer thats 4ft tall! There are only two types of beer here Atlas and Panama and they're only 4% so the locals don't get too crazy and are sure to go to work the next day. We were technically still in Panama but could walk across the street to the super (market) or the little stores and be in costa rica. There they have two different types of beer Imperial and something else and they're 5% because the Costa Ricans like to get crazy! HaHa!
We tried to find bicycles or at least parts to construct bikes but they we sooo expensive! Damn shoulda brought our bikes even though it woulda been a pain in the ass! $450 just for a frame and whole bikes starting at $650- I'm talking crappy chinese mountain bikes to boot!
We went for lunch to a family friend's house in costa rica which is entirely made of wood and open- beautiful! they have their own pigs, cows and chickens, wild iguanas and a pet crocodile. Chichi, kent's prima, is gifting us a baby cow to use for milk and will reclaim it when it's older to mate. I don't really want a cow, especially for beef but milk and dung will be cool. Good for the chickens! after rice, beans and freshly slaughtered and roasted beef we ate the pie i made for arelis' bday of salsamoras and avenas (oats, i love it my name is everywhere). really more of a crisp- with fresh vanilla ice cream....mmmmmm.
sunday is the big presidential election between balbina (one of noriega's old girlfriends) and martinelli. they do it on sunday so everyone has the day off and will vote, they have very supersticious beliefs that if they dont vote something very bad will happen. and they dont sell any liquor or beer from friday afternoon through monday at noon so the people wont get too drunk on their holiday and not vote. needless to say thursday everyone was buying cases and cases...haha. kent called it prohibition!
we laid low because everyone gets so crazy- you think america has bad bipartisan politics- you should see this! both candidtates are pretty equally corrupt and environmental issues are at the forefront. one huge issue in this area is big payoffs by americans in boquete (little america) to build a road through the dense international park La Amistad to Volcan to cut their drive from one hour to 20 min. very sad let's hope the new president shuts this down! there are a suprising amount of expats and retirees here and they're not the cream of america's crop- that's for sure!
we're gonna lay low and i plan on making beet (remolacha) soup! pink pink you stink!
We tried to find bicycles or at least parts to construct bikes but they we sooo expensive! Damn shoulda brought our bikes even though it woulda been a pain in the ass! $450 just for a frame and whole bikes starting at $650- I'm talking crappy chinese mountain bikes to boot!
We went for lunch to a family friend's house in costa rica which is entirely made of wood and open- beautiful! they have their own pigs, cows and chickens, wild iguanas and a pet crocodile. Chichi, kent's prima, is gifting us a baby cow to use for milk and will reclaim it when it's older to mate. I don't really want a cow, especially for beef but milk and dung will be cool. Good for the chickens! after rice, beans and freshly slaughtered and roasted beef we ate the pie i made for arelis' bday of salsamoras and avenas (oats, i love it my name is everywhere). really more of a crisp- with fresh vanilla ice cream....mmmmmm.
sunday is the big presidential election between balbina (one of noriega's old girlfriends) and martinelli. they do it on sunday so everyone has the day off and will vote, they have very supersticious beliefs that if they dont vote something very bad will happen. and they dont sell any liquor or beer from friday afternoon through monday at noon so the people wont get too drunk on their holiday and not vote. needless to say thursday everyone was buying cases and cases...haha. kent called it prohibition!
we laid low because everyone gets so crazy- you think america has bad bipartisan politics- you should see this! both candidtates are pretty equally corrupt and environmental issues are at the forefront. one huge issue in this area is big payoffs by americans in boquete (little america) to build a road through the dense international park La Amistad to Volcan to cut their drive from one hour to 20 min. very sad let's hope the new president shuts this down! there are a suprising amount of expats and retirees here and they're not the cream of america's crop- that's for sure!
we're gonna lay low and i plan on making beet (remolacha) soup! pink pink you stink!
thursday april 30th, 2008 mountain foraging
Today we hiked 12 miles with Chonga and could barely keep up, it was straight up hill. 2,500 ft climb. we went foraging for salsamoras (like a cross between black and raspberries). delicious. we also found green onions, shallots, cabbage, a ton of parsley, more guava, coffee plants, and so much more. we passed a beautiful house built like my dreams: brick, wood, and terraced beds of soil with everything- beets, carrots, arugula, tomatoes, lettuces, and all the herbs. inside the greenhouse to protect from the wind and give a bit more heat because the climate is mild in the mountains, flowers, herbs, decorative plants. the garden is totally organic and the trabajadero was mixing ash with the cow poop and compost to spread over the beds.
after lunch of rice, beans and hamon we climbed even further through thick grass and berry vines and collected a bucket full. on the descent we walked through pastures of cows and horses and finally 7 hours later back down to the highway. luckily guillermo has a car and we all hopped in and stopped at the super for ice cold agua de pipa and platano chips. a che vida! what a day!
kent said it was the longest day of his life- i agree i am tired and very sore!
after lunch of rice, beans and hamon we climbed even further through thick grass and berry vines and collected a bucket full. on the descent we walked through pastures of cows and horses and finally 7 hours later back down to the highway. luckily guillermo has a car and we all hopped in and stopped at the super for ice cold agua de pipa and platano chips. a che vida! what a day!
kent said it was the longest day of his life- i agree i am tired and very sore!
wed 4/29 first day on the land
the first day on the land and it was a duesy. we planted 30 more trees in addition to our more than 100. ficos. we have a line of pines between us and the guava grove behind us. we plantred the ficos in between the pines and the fence for a wind break. las brisas. they are strong here and when the real crazy wind came this winter all the pines blew over but the ficos stood strong. our other trees are limons, naranjas and aguacates. we have a cane sugar plant and a palm. we also have 100 guayaba from the semillas ( seeds) that blow into our land fromthe plot behind. when the flood comes, during the rainy season when the area floods there is a small creek, wella huge torrent that flows through and errodes a small corner of our land, but this is the coolest part. there is ahuge pine and a few fern trees the neighbor has so we already have shade. when working all day this is crucial. even with a few midday breaks its intense.
we got up at 8 to meet Chonga kent's aunt, 65, to work the land. she knows everyhting there is to know about the area and plants. she showed us what to machete and what to save and helped us plant the ficos. she's amazing with a hoe and a little seco con leche. hehe. the land is covered with strong grass so we had to clean all around the existing and new trees because it the end of the dry season and there's been little water for a while. the trees were planted by Augustine, kent's uncle and with his sudden and trajic death last year we are very lucky any of them survived. They are a beautiful living memorial.
the pines are dry and half dead but will survive and we only lost 3 fruit trees! there's a fallen tree we need to chop up to use for building and a pit of ash they've been having fires in that we can use as carbon for the compost. we're staying at kent's cousins' house, it's gorgeous, near the land and borrowed their bikes for trips to town. our neighbor is giving us water through the pvc pipes kent set up. we plan on digging a well. but for now we can set up a drip system for the trees. when we get back from costa rica we will start building and plant vegetables to start the garden.
my brain is tired from speaking/learning panamanian spanish but this is a great time!
we got up at 8 to meet Chonga kent's aunt, 65, to work the land. she knows everyhting there is to know about the area and plants. she showed us what to machete and what to save and helped us plant the ficos. she's amazing with a hoe and a little seco con leche. hehe. the land is covered with strong grass so we had to clean all around the existing and new trees because it the end of the dry season and there's been little water for a while. the trees were planted by Augustine, kent's uncle and with his sudden and trajic death last year we are very lucky any of them survived. They are a beautiful living memorial.
the pines are dry and half dead but will survive and we only lost 3 fruit trees! there's a fallen tree we need to chop up to use for building and a pit of ash they've been having fires in that we can use as carbon for the compost. we're staying at kent's cousins' house, it's gorgeous, near the land and borrowed their bikes for trips to town. our neighbor is giving us water through the pvc pipes kent set up. we plan on digging a well. but for now we can set up a drip system for the trees. when we get back from costa rica we will start building and plant vegetables to start the garden.
my brain is tired from speaking/learning panamanian spanish but this is a great time!
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