Riddle of the week—

If you bought a package of Planet Pop microwave Chicharrones that was right next to the microwave popcorn, what do you think you would be getting?  Silly me—I thought it was going to be some good salty sweet snack, with a little grease,  like those long skinny doughnuts they make at the state fair. Well, they were greasy and puffy all right.  Chicharrones  are pork rinds!!  Microwaveable pork rinds!! Can you believe it?!?   That qualifies of nasty surprise of the day.  (I did not eat them).

So, here it is 2 days after Christmas. We had a merry unchristmas.  It was a picture perfect day—blue skies and balmy winds and moderate surf.  In between cleaning a rental house and prepping several others to receive guests, we met our friends Maribel and Joe here for lunch and a swim. They came over from Isla Cristobal a half hour away and we hung out at Punta Lava, the beach restaurant. Maribel, who is from Costa Rica, brought some of her favorite Christmas treats—homemade eggnog and a delicious almond shortbread, on a beautiful red ceramic dish (now a lovely soap dish in the bathroom). I prevailed upon her to send me the recipe and here it is—I think you can figure it out.   I found her version to be quite charming!

Maribel’s almond cookies

1/2 cup almonds, quarter-cup sugar, half-cup melted butter, half-spoon almond extract, half-spoon vanilla, one cup 2/3 flour, half-spoon salt.---

how to cook ... smash almonds, add sugar, little butter--very little, mix. add almond extract, add vanilla with flour and salt...mix...to make the mixture...put in plastic bag, put in fridge for 30 minutes...put oven at 350 f, put in cookie maker with butter on base, make into balls and put in, bake for 15-20 minutes until gold color/.

Here is her eggnog recipe:

Heat 2 quarts of whole milk in a saucepan with a cinnamon stick and a little sugar. When almost boiling, remove from heat. Beat two 2 egg yolks in a large bowl and very slowly add the hot milk, while stirring furiously to prevent the egg from cooking in shreds. Put in the refrigerator until cooled, add rum to taste and serve over ice (add a little grated nutmeg if you want).   YUMMY!! Like liquid ice cream.  

Tons of people vacation during the holidays. They pay big bucks to go to resorts and they may even expect it to be perfect and, you guessed it, it isn’t, especially here!!  This is the wild west and if you want perfect go to a 5 star something in Maui or Cancun or somewhere plastic where no one makes mistakes, the weather is the same all of the time, and there is a mono culture of people who are super- organized robots. (Now, that’s a little sarcastic or maybe even defensive, would you say)?!  Anyway, it has been a trying few days and will get more so over the coming week as we totally fill up. We are finding the flaws in our systems—every  single one (and there are more than a few). AND we are learning from each one. (I am learning that I am not cut out to be a resort owner unless I can stay behind the scenes). We are very over stimulated at the moment, so I think it’s time to have a glass of wine and chill out, as they say. OR maybe I’ll try my hand at the eggnog and double the rum!

Happy New Year everyone!!

 



Clarissa, Fany and Malena at the employee Christmas party at Kayukos last Saturday.
We had a DJ and it was loud and crazy.



Ginger plant creating a root structure on the middle of the plant

rain, rain, go away

Steve made it home--that Saturday evening near midnight. It was so exciting to see the light on the mast glide closer and closer and then to finally hear their voices over the water. This photo is the next morning, getting ready to move the boat (Moana Roa, meaning "endless sea") to the other side of the dock. They had quite a trip-- very challenging, lots of wind, rain, 20 foot waves. His crew, Jeff and Dave, stayed here for a few days before heading back to Minnesota and it was fun hearing their stories. They caught a lot of fish, too, so we have some tuna in the freezer. It has  been almost 2 weeks and we have been so busy I haven't had a chance to sit down and blog. We have been getting ready for the high season-- expecting a full house (about 150 guests at one time) over the holidays.We needed to provision for that (buy more sheets, blankets, and such) so we took another trip to David. That means 2 boat ferry rides, a taxi, and a 4 hour bus ride through the mountains and back again, which we did in about 36 hours.

This picture is some boats along the waterway into Almirante. This is banana country and the waterway is also home to a lot of people in small huts over the water and lots of barges that take bananas to other ports.

I include this picture, just because it shows a little about what's going on here at the project. We are doubling the size of the marina and this  worker is putting together the floating platforms on land before they are moved onto the water.

Last night we had a little pre-holiday get together at our house for the "interns". The interns here are young American college grads who are looking for adventure and a chance to gain work skills and prove themselves. (We aren't able to hire any more interns because of Panamanian labor laws). In this group we have a concierge, canopy tour director, two chefs, marina manager, hostel manager, marketing guru, and construction manager.
I just realized I haven't talked about the title of this week's blog- rain!  It has rained almost every day since I got back here and I was starting to get depressed from it!  I spend a lot of my day outside, so rain means wearing a poncho over my clothes and tall rubber boots, and then I end up the day soaking wet and full of mud anyway. So, I am happy to report that the skies cleared at noon today. It was a beautiful afternoon and
I went for a swim before supper.
Finally, I want to recognize today as a special day-- my son, Tim's 30th birthday, and also my granddaughter, Addie's first birthday! Happy birthday you two-- wish we were there to celebrate with you!

sweet Saturday...

because Steve gets back today. He has been sailing our boat here from Grenada for the past two weeks. It sounds like it has been a rough ride and he told me that he has some good stories to tell, so I’ll leave it at that for now. He should get into the marina around 11pm or so. Next  week I will  regale you with tales of waves and wind and who knows what else.

I arrived back on “the project” this past Monday after 2 weeks at home for Thanksgiving with my family and friends—such a wonderful time!   Re-entry into Bocas reality is usually rough and this trip was no exception. I arrived back to the news that a number of vehicles were in the repair shop, which is hard because all of my workers need transportation, not only of themselves but also of their equipment (weed whackers, machetes, mops and buckets, ladders, etc).  Then it started raining and hardly let up until Thursday afternoon--three depressing wet difficult days. Yet there is always something glorious about the rain here. It forces one to realize that rain is just another way to be outside—indeed one can work outside in the rain because it’s so warm, and I even like pruning plants and weeding in the rain. The main inconvenience for me is that you can’t weed whack in the rain because the grass is too slippery and it’s not good for the motor. But the grass grows fast with all the moisture so you have a major problem—you can’t cut the grass while it is raining, but the rain makes the grass grow faster. And you have to keep the grass down in order to keep the bugs at bay (especially scorpions). It also looks tidier. So now I am buying another weed whacker so that I can have two guys whacking away when the sun shines, so to speak.

Now to the pictures of the last few weeks since my last blog:

Addie and Tara

Sylvia and Bonnie

This is Santos, our large equipment operator, in the vehicle I call “T-rex.” Santos  is one of those people who spreads happiness and contentment wherever he goes.

Friday morning I went into town (Bocas, on Isla Colon). I entered the street off the dock and immediately sensed that something was up. There were people all over and an air of excitement, like there was going to be a parade or something. Then I saw the director’s chairs and the cameras. There was a motion picture being filmed on the street in Bocas!! The film is by a German producer and the title, in English, is “Treasure Hunter.”   (somehow, I don’t think it will be up for Best Foreign Film). The guy with the beard and mustache is supposedly a famous actor in Germany.

All for now. I am so excited- Steve just called me on his satellite phone and expects to arrive in the marina in an hour. I feel like a school girl with a crush- need to go spritz on some perfume and get ready to go down to wait on the dock for my husband who has been out at sea!