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!