Possums and People Pleasing

Well, for a Sunday off, I have been working a lot. First of all, there are three different houses that have guests arriving today. Part of what I do is I visit each house prior to check- in to make sure that everything says, “welcome- you are going to have a great time.” First, I want to eliminate unpleasant surprises for guests, such as caymans (small crocodiles) swimming in their pool (only happened once). And even though the house may have been cleaned less than 24 hours ago, you never know if some birds left tokens of their presence on the porch floor, or if a bunch of palm fronds dropped onto the patio, etc. Second, I put out the cushions for the outdoor furniture, make sure everything is in place inside and out, and just make sure the house is inviting and looks and smells clean. It is one way I monitor the performance of my staff. And it makes me feel good to know that things are as nice as we can make them. If the guests are staying for a week or more (or if they are a VIP) I also leave a welcome basket with Abuelo rum, pineapple juice, guava jam, yucca chips, a few other local treats, and some fresh cut flowers. I buy the items once a month and keep them in my kitchen cupboard, put the baskets together with a handwritten note, and cut the flowers along my way. I usually use fresh ginger for bouquets because the flowers are plentiful, very colorful and last for several weeks.

Usually, this pre-rental check is a fun thing for me and takes just 15 minutes to complete. Today- NOT. One of the houses had a funny smell to it. I looked around and sure enough, there were a few small stains on the ceiling of the laundry room, and a very sharp odor, indicating possums in the ceiling. The possums are funny little animals, unlike the big possums in a temperate climate. These little guys are about 5 inches long with longer tails, they hop around like mini kangaroos and can squeeze into surprisingly tiny spaces. And they are not shy around humans. Last year we were here sitting on the veranda looking out at the ocean. Steve had found a big bunch of bananas that day and had left them on the porch floor. While we were sitting there 3 possums hopped across the veranda, right under our feet, to get at the bananas. YIKES!  I do not like rodent- like creatures. I am sure I shrieked loudly. And I do not want any guests have to deal with them. This is a sporadic problem in about 4 villas here-all of them located at the edge of the jungle. We find and plug the entrance hole and then repair the ceiling, but this process takes 3 days or so, therefore not time to complete before the guests arrive. So we upgraded and moved them to a bigger better house at no additional cost to them. We are in the people pleasing business, after all. They come here to vacation and we must do what we can to hold up our end of the deal.

I had a simply wonderful day yesterday.  I went back over to Bahia Roja to check on their plans to rebuild the 3 houses that burned down. Right now those 3 families are doubled up with other families. If they cut wood from the mangrove it will take them several years to rebuild. If we can help them get the building materials they hope to rebuild within 6-9 months. Ideally each house will be ~ 15 x 20 feet, with treated wood flooring and walls (termite proof) and metal roofs—estimated materials cost $5000 each. The Red Frog Foundation hopes to raise $10 k to help them with the cost of materials and transportation. If you can help, please send your tax-deductible contribution to Red Frog Foundation, c/o Joy Clem, Treasurer, 960 Springoak Way, Stockton, California 95209. Put Bahia Roja in the memo line. (Sorry we aren’t set up for online donations).

At the end of my work day, all of the staff got together for a farewell lunch for Magjuly, who is going on maternity leave until the end of May. I cooked Panamanian food for us- sautéed beef, frijoles, rice, beet and potato salad, beer, pineapple juice, and coconut bars for dessert. We met in the crowded little office and had a wonderful time. Most of them have a rather ribald sense of humor and know how to make fun out of nothing (telling stories and jokes that one wouldn’t dare tell at work in the U.S.). I feel very connected to each of them and really enjoy our teamwork—I am very lucky.

Janelis, Licinia, Enilda, Aurelia, Onecimo, Javier, Kadir, me, Magjuly, and Anselmo

I finished the day with a long swim and some body surfing. It was so lovely and warm and relaxing! Steve is at a Subway meeting in Florida until Tuesday so I am "batching" it this weekend.

Well, all for this week. Have a good one, each of you! I know it may be hard to read about fun in the sun when it’s so cold up north, but I have to tell you I DO miss the cold and snow. Think “crisp, invigorating, definite seasons.”  You don’t have nonstop rain or chronic mildew or crocodiles in your hot tub! You are in the most difficult  part of the winter so do remember to do something really fun this week to keep you going!!