banano-blog: January 2011

A few weeks ago I thought to myself,’ life here is settling down, we’re getting into a pattern-- this is the new normal.’ I wondered if I was just really accustomed to life here, FINALLY, or had the last few weeks simply been devoid of the usual Bocas craziness? Our friends Kevin, Janelle, Larry and Wendy were here from Minnesota and things were pretty mellow. But, reality to the rescue-- no more had that thought entered my mind, than I got called to the scene of a guy who walked into a door and broke his nose. A few days later a surfer got chopped in the forearm with a surfboard fin. And the day after that the neighboring village lost 4 houses to a flash fire. No one was hurt, but 3 families lost all of their belongings and are now sleeping with their neighbors.
The next morning, Thursday, I had to go into town for supplies and stopped at the Pirate restaurant on the water for breakfast. I almost laughed out loud at one section of the breakfast menu, well represented by the entry “bacon, french fries, toast, and butter.” (No, the section was not titled “everything you want to eat but hardly ever do).” Anyway, I thought, ‘what the heck” and ordered the above. It came with a fried egg, so I did have some protein with my fat and salt. It was quite delicious -- I ate it all and enjoyed it immensely. I wasn't hungry for the rest of the day!

So, who are Clyde and Vern? They are our new acquaintances from a tiny island about a 10 minute boat ride from here. We headed down there today to check out an old house boat that we were thinking of buying to convert into a floating office for the marina. The house boat was tied off in front of this island where Clyde and Vern each have their own humble abodes. They are both Vietnam vets, one from Reno and the other from San Francisco. Clyde moved here 6 years ago, bringing along his hot air balloon, a Cessna 182 airplane, parachutes, and a welding shop. He survived being run over by a speed boat last year while he was snorkeling and has some big scars to prove it. Vern arrived a year after Clyde and built himself a nice little open air house. He lives in his speedo- who needs clothes? (He says he goes through about 12 speedos a year). Clyde and Vern offered us a nice visit and a cool glass of water. They have some big stories and a very beautiful place, in the jungle and on the water. We’ll be going back for another visit soon.

My neighbor and friend, Sue, and I-- last night at her house

The view from Vern's house, across the mangroves

a self-peeling banana
at Clyde and Vern's

When we got back to the resort we headed to the marina, whose residents were having a fish taco feed to raise money to help the native village that had the fire. The tacos were of smoked fresh fish. There was live music and even a juggler! His name is Ray and his boat is anchored outside the marina. When he got back from Viet Nam in 1971 there were very few street performers in San Francisco and Ray made street performance into a true art form. He made his living as a street juggler there for over 30 years. Today he performed for us and it was a real treat. He started with flaming torches and ended with 12 pound bowling balls. How’s that for an upper body workout?

Here is a little bonus, in case you're looking
for a nice dip to take to a party. Our cupboards
were pretty bare yesterday and we needed to take an
appetizer to a party last night-- here is what we came

Ray juggling bowling balls

up with: Thai Curry Tuna Dip-

3 cans albacore tuna in water, drained and flaked with a fork

1 onion, very finely chopped

1. t each cumin and curry powder

1 t. red Thai curry paste

1/2-2/3 c. mayonnaise

2 T. freshly squeezed lime juice

Mash it all together to make a creamy dip. Serve with rice

crackers and raw vegies. Yummm.

“As we now at 8:50 pm finish our work day (15 hours today), we both looked at each other and said “How bizarre!!” How Bizarre-- wasn’t that a Robert Palmer tune? (I am gaga over Robert Palmer-- in fact I should go to Itunes and get some of his music, but I don’t have time right now)!!

This has been the week from hell and the week from somewhere else (not quite heaven) all at the same time. First of all, let me say that it has been raining all week, except for about 6 hours. Of course, I don’t stay up all night counting the hours that it doesn’t rain, so I am not sure about the absolute truth of that statement, but suffice it to say that my impression, and I am sure the impression of our guests, is that the ark had better arrive soon because The Rains are here.”

Well, I wrote the above on a dark rainy night between Christmas and New Years—the no man’s land of resorts. That week was something else AND it was also very rewarding because we actually handled it and had some amazing teamwork happening. We started every day around 6 a and the latest we finished was 11:30 pm on New Year’s Eve, just in time to ring in the new year. So, we survived our first resort holiday and it was hard and it was also pretty cool.

Here we are several weeks later and I am finally getting back to write my blog. Bonnie and Sylvia arrived on January 2, and Tim and Tara and Addie came on the 9^th and they all left today. We had a wonderful time together, despite off and on rain. They especially enjoyed Turtle Beach, the cave tour and the zipline canopy tour. We spent lots of time just being together and cooking and talking. It was a wonderful time and we will miss them! But… more guests soon to arrive- tomorrow, in fact!

Again, we look at each other and say “how bizarre”- our lives, so different than they were last year at this time. And it’s ok, it’s fine, in fact. We are doing just fine. Maybe bizarre suits us better than we thought.