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Hello from Bastimentos Panama !

Well.... We have a little over one week left here before returning to the states . I need to have some medical test done on my heart before my next adventure .Been feeling a little poorly at times and just need to make sure the ticker is still working correctly .

The time has passed very quickly . I sincerely hope you have enjoyed my little daily log on life on a remote island .I sure have enjoyed sharing it with you .:smile:I hope you were not to bored .

We plan to return on Sept 1st for 1 1/2 months . Lots of family will be joining us on that trip . If you are in the nieghborhood or comtemplating a trip to Panama , please stop by . WE love it here . I can assure you a once in a lifetime experience ,if you come with a open mind .

My wife has helpped arrange many trips to Panama ,so you see more than just the average tourist does . We do it to promote the country at no cost so if you are coming this way we will be glad to make reconmendations so you have a incredible trip . It comes also at a much lower price than the tourist usually end up paying .We have learned that there are 2 prices in Panama . Local and Gringo ,, I perfer local .I am pretty sure I can make this a once in a lifetime experience if you come with a open mind to see the beauty and culture of this country .:flowers::clap:
 
groomerguyNWO said:
I can't speak for everyone else here but I've sure enjoyed your reports from panama. You still going to Haiti?
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Yes , But I need to get checked out by my heart Doctor before I go . The Rebuilding project has been extended out for a full year so I figure I have some room to adjust . It sucks getting old at times . My mind is more willing than my body is at times .
 
Well ....Today broke clear and hot with no rain . I think every fickin No-See-Em in Panama parked his sorry ass at my place just waiting for a chance to bite me . Tomorrow morning this whole 12 acres get sprayed with bug poison .
I am now sporting a swollen eyelid from one of the lousy bastards . I do not ever remember being bit this much . We finally just gave completely up and moved inside for the day .

Hopefully tomorrow we can go to the mainland and buy more chickens . The weather was just too bad to attempt a crossing on Saturday . I know well enough not to question my boat driver when he says it is to dangerous .

They say the No-see-ems live and breed in the crab holes and that is a problem with the kids and dogs/cat/geese/ chickens . We cannot use the bait for fear one of the animals will eat it .
 
:doh:Well, the day broke clear so we headed for the mainland to buy chickens . We ended up with a young crazy cab driver that did his best to kill us . His favorite trick was to kick the gear shift into neutral and let her coast going downhill .....long downhills . Now normally I don't have a problem with this if you have 4 working brakes on the car . One for each wheel .We had one wheel with brakes . He would really start picking up speed , hit the brake hard and crank the steering wheel hard to the right to offset the pulling action of the left side brake as we sprung sideways .
I was fortunate enough to be sitting in the front seat so I could yell " OH GOD" and send out the alert to the ones in the back to hang on :sad::doh:.


The really neat part was when we arrived at the feed store to get chickens and he hopped out to refill the master cylinder with brake fluid .
 
Guys like him are why they have so many crosses and piles of stones along the roads down there! Saw lots of them when we toured the volcanos in Guatemala. Plus they overload every vehicle on the road. Saw buses with folks and their chickens strapped on the side and on the roof and inside was wall to wall.
 
BigAl said:
:doh:Well, the day broke clear so we headed for the mainland to buy chickens . We ended up with a young crazy cab driver that did his best to kill us . His favorite trick was to kick the gear shift into neutral and let her coast going downhill .....long downhills . Now normally I don't have a problem with this if you have 4 working brakes on the car . One for each wheel .We had one wheel with brakes . He would really start picking up speed , hit the brake hard and crank the steering wheel hard to the right to offset the pulling action of the left side brake as we sprung sideways .
I was fortunate enough to be sitting in the front seat so I could yell " OH GOD" and send out the alert to the ones in the back to hang on :sad::doh:.


The really neat part was when we arrived at the feed store to get chickens and he hopped out to refill the master cylinder with brake fluid .
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BigAl, he was probably just doing it to scare the hell outta ya. Bet he was having a blast. Was there goats in the road? Weaving through the goats coasting downhill separetas the men from the boys. Least he had one brake and knew where to put the brake fluid.
 
Hey! My other half of my post got eaten ???


Anyway ....as I was saying..
Even the chickens got car sick on the return to the boat ,
We now have around 400 in various stages of growth . I got between the feeder tray and a stampeding herd of hungry chickens today and I swear eveyone of them tried to peck me as they went by , My wife saw the whole thing and asked me why I started "Break Dancing" for the chickens . Thats ok . I love chicken .... they are delicious.

Also picked up about 500 22cal pellets and tonight I plan to put a serious hurt on a bunch of CRABS sorry asses . Nothing like drinking with a loaded gun to give the gringo's a bad name down here .

After the 2 1/2 months down here the states might be a little boring for me . I think I might just disconnect 3 brakes on the old car .
 
mak2 said:
BigAl, he was probably just doing it to scare the hell outta ya. .
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He did a preety good job . I even had a little surprize in my undies later .

No goats that I am aware of , of course the Telephone poles looked like a picket fence we were going so fast .

You know now , After 5 Rum & cokes it just don't seem that scary anymore .....:unsure:
 
About 100% humidity and 90 degrees today. You can sweat today if you think too much .
Was working on the new stairs for the boat landing and gave up around noontime . The wood I am using is called Nespero. It is the hardset ,most dense wood I have ever worked with . It will sink if dropped in water .One 2x12 -8 feet long weighes close to 100 pounds!!I tried to power plane it with my hand held Makita Planer and busted two blades in a matter of seconds .You do not even think about trying to nail this wood when dry . Everything has to be predrilled for nails or screws .
I figure , with luck I may get done tomorrow . It is very slow going . You can break or twist off a drill bit if you try to drill to quick .These stairs are 3 feet wide and nine feet long . It will wiegh over 1000 pounds when finished !!!

All the new chicks look great !! Yesterday ,I was very impressed as Juan and Genaro were working with the new chicks . One little chick had gotten itself caught under the water feeder and I thought it was dead .I really thought it had broke its neck . Juan and Genaro started working on the little guy like they were trained para medics .They turned and rolled its neck and said it was not broken . I could not believe how gentle they were .
Juan started blowing fresh air in its beak while Genaro ran to get sugar water . They stood there gently dipping its beak in the water and blowing air on it . In a few minutes they had that little chick standing on its own again . Genaro grabbed a small box and added two other chicks to it and placed the injured chick in with them .He told me the closness and the warmth from the other chicks would help . This morning I cannot tell which chick was in trouble as all 3 look healthy and great .I will name it "Lucky" and all 3 will head over to the egg laying pen to live out their lives as egg producers .

After observing their dedication and care I believe I made a excellent choice in deciding to put Juan and Genaro in charge of the Chicken ranch. The birds are healthy and getting big !

At first, Genaro was worried about selling enough chickens to make the business work . Now he is worry he will not be able to stay up with all the orders he is recieving. Welcome to the life of a businessman . He is going to learn alot !!!:w00t2:
 
Wife walked through the living room a little while ago , carrying my pellet gun , and said she was going to go shoot crabs . Now we been married damn near 20 years and I never seen her even carry a rifle .I thought she hated guns??? I asked if she knew how to load it and she just smiled and said yes . She started shooting crabs like she has done it everyday of her life . She is one heck of a shot ???????!!!. We got shot crabs laying everywhere . I asked her where she learned to do that and told me "Summer Camp" ....:unsure: All these years and I just learned something new .
 
Ok , The sun came out and its about a zillion degrees and 100% humidity . I love it . I am walking with sweat in my shoes !:sad:Been trying to build a new set of boat landing steps for 2 days now . I will finish in the morning , The Nespero that I am using is so hard everything has to be predrilled . I snapped my last drill bit about half way through my project and ended up going to the other island to buy more bits .

Out in front of the store is this little food cart with fried foods that a Cuban fella fixes as you wait. I love his fried Banana Chips with hot sauce . Anyway he had a whole platter of fried Chicken so I got a piece not expecting much ....OMG !!!:clap::clap::clap:This is without a doubt the best fried chicken I have ever eaten . I have no idea what spices he uses ,but I would kill to find out .Why is it , I always find these great little places ,just before I leave the islands ???:unsure::sad:

Anyway .... Steps are all cut ,predrilled and ready to assemble . They weigh too much to move in one piece so the guys will move them out to the dock ,one piece at a time and I will go swimming and assemble them.


Ladies and Gentlemen ,,,, I do believe its time for a Rum & Coke . I am not always honest about how much I really drink ,but tonight a ice cold drink sounds really good ,,,so screw the doctors orders .....:whistling::clap:
 
Finished my last project so its goof off time until we head to Panama City on Tuesday . I think I may go fishing tommorrow but today my hammock has my name all over it and I think I am headed that way for the next couple hours .

Have loss a few of the new chicks so Genaro has them downstairs under a heat lamp trying to keep from losing anymore .

Siesta time
 
Siesta!? that does sound good indeed. Siesta and a nice hammock ....now that paradise. :thumb:

...now I gots to go mow grass. It finally stopped raining so I'm hoping it's dried up enough to mow. Do you have to mow grass down there Al?
 
Doc said:
Siesta!? that does sound good indeed. Siesta and a nice hammock ....now that paradise. :thumb:

...now I gots to go mow grass. It finally stopped raining so I'm hoping it's dried up enough to mow. Do you have to mow grass down there Al?
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To be honest I do not mow it myself , but we have just under 12 acres that the caretakers and gardener maintains . 3 acres are in lawn and it is all cut with a machete to a very fine finish . The other 9 is jungle and it is also chopped of undergrowth with a machete.I pretty much have 2 men working non stop with their machetes while the others work on flowers and keeping the beach raked .
 
Today was just too nice of a day to be wasted working so I went fishing on the ocean side of the Island . Right off the bat , I caught a nice 3-4 pound rock fish ( think Grouper) . We followed that up with a bunch of grunts and Yellow tail Jacks :clap:. Genaro is smoking them as we speak . Life will be damn good tomorrow. I might have to go back out in the morning and try my luck again .
 
bczoom said:
So, tell me... Are they harsh like cheap Mexican weed or are they smooth like a good Cuban cigar? How do you roll them? :whistling:
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Smart ass ! You get the room on the hot side of the house when you finally get your sorry butt down here . I'll sweat that smart mouth right off your face .:yum::smile:
 
I had told Genaro to be ready to go a 7 AM to catch more fish . Its 10AM and I am just now getting ready to go . Right on time !:clap::clap: You see Time has no meaning in Panama :unsure:. I have learned that in 10 years of coming down .
Unless I add the words "ON the dot" time means nothings . I could show up tomorrow and everyone would be happy just to go fishing .

Take off your watch and throw it away . When I retired my watch came off my wrist and I have not wore one since .
 
Knock 'em dead Al. I'll be thinking about you while I mow and trim 12 acres in preparation for a graduation party.

P.S. If you catch any Red Snapper, I'd pay big bucks to have some shipped here on dry ice or however it's shipped. For some reason my favorite fish is Red Snapper fried (yeah, I know...) in peanut oil. If I were a horse, I'd maim myself by eating too much if I had enough available.
 
Red Snapper is cheap enough down here ,but I don't know any way to get it to the states fresh . Its a two day trip .Why not just come down and eat all you want ?? A full Red Snapper meal runs about$6.50 .... call it $7 with a ice cold beer .
I think the cafes pay about $1.50 a pound for it fresh from the fishermen . Many times I had seen the fishermen bringing in big buckets full of snapper . They go on the front side of the island to catch them . My boat is a little small for that ,as it is only 22' .
We are now looking at a new center console 24 ' that will be equipped for serious off shore fishing . I'll probably buy it next year .
 

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:clap:Went off fishing this afternoon and kicked the shit outta them again . Actually I did not kick the shit out of anything but Everyone else got into the Yellow Tail Jacks and caught quite a few .:sad:

The boys will eat good tonight . We still have smoked fish from yesterday so we gave it all to the family .

Beat the rain storm by about 10 minutes ,getting back in . In 1 hour I bet we have had over a inch of rain . Its crazy outside .

This was my last fishing trip on this trip to Panama . I can hardly wait to go again . Wife loves to fish and is better at it than I am .
We will spend the next two days closing up the house and getting ready to leave . 2 1/2 months flew by too quickly :sad::sad:.
 
So what really is the toughest fish in the sea ?? A shark ? Killer whale? Sting Ray ?

Nope , Its this little guy . He is called a Puffer fish and blows out his head and upper body to look tough . That is all he does ,but Man you gotta give him credit for trying ....:yum::yum::yum:
 

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Puffers used orun in the Chesapeake most years. When they were available, they were cheap and abundant. My kids used to love them. The local ones are around 6-8 inches long. We deep fried them, and the kids would eat them by holding the tail. Called them popsicle fish.
 
Good Morning from the land of HOT !!!:biggrin:

Its Sunday and the boys have taken the boat and their familys and headed off to Church . Today will be spent closing down the house for the next 4 months until our return .
Ever wonder how to shut down a place long term ?

1. Clean Bar-b-que and store away
2.All patio furniture brought inside
3. All plants on deck go downstairs outside
4. Pull down all hummingbird feeders.
5. Strip all the beds
6. unplug every electric device incase of direct lighting hit
7. Shut down gas Refrigators and clean out.
8.Cover all furniture in canvas
9.Wash everything and put away
10. put Mothballs in all drawers ( Keeps all bugs away)
11.Pull swim ladder and store
12. Spray entire house (inside & out )with ant spray
13. Top off solar batterys and equalize
14 Disconnect every breaker to isolate lighting strikes
15. Add bleach to rain water tanks to serilize system . Pull filters
16. Shut down wind turbine
17. Give all food to locals .
18 . Remove batterys from all flashlites and water heater .
19. Disconnect Propane and store tanks , Plug all open connections lines to keep wasp out .
20. Make list of items to bring back on next visit
21. Take down Internet antenna
22.Discuss and decide on any new landscaping with caretaker that needs to be done while you are gone .
23. Be prepared to have tears in your eyes as you tell the 2 caretakers and their familys goodbye . This is the hardest part and its usually a damn quiet ride back in the airplane on the first return leg of our jouney.
24. Pray to God that he may give you another chance to return again soon .

Theres more , but this is the main stuff we do each time . On our return the house is completely cleaned inside and out before we arrive . WE hire a house keeper to have the beds made and house opened so it is ready when we arrive .
 
Hope you have a pleasant trip back to the states. I have really enjoyed the stories and pics while you were down there. Nice to have locals you can trust to watch after things while you are away.:flowers:
 
muleman said:
Hope you have a pleasant trip back to the states. I have really enjoyed the stories and pics while you were down there. Nice to have locals you can trust to watch after things while you are away.:flowers:
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Oh I think we will . I am too fat to be comfortable in coach so we charge everything on our credit card to gain free miles and upgrade whenever we come down . Panama City will be nice to be in for a day . We will hit our favorite eating spots and then its a 9 hour flight to San Francisco by way of Miami .
Next Tuesday should find me in Idaho for 3 days before I return to California for my next adventure .

No rest for the wicked . as they say
 
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