Hikes, hammocks and house-sitting
Trip Start
Aug 18, 2009
1
7
39
Trip End
Feb 05, 2010
Boquete, Panama
Friday, September 4, 2009
So what have we been up to?? Well, Monday a Rebecca, Heath, Robb, Sophia (GHA's web designer from England who lives here permanently now), Steve (American marine biologist living here doing research and conservation) and me headed down to the west coast of Panama to a group of islands just off the coast of David in hopes of rescuing turtle eggs. Carter stayed behind with a soar throat we feared might turn into strep :( We missed her on the trip, but luckily it hasn't turned into strep!
We had no idea what to expect from this overnight trip to an uninhabited island to search for turtle eggs except that it would require A LOT of walking. We hopped on a boat stocked with all the necessary provisions one may need to pull an all-nighter in the middle of nowhere: fresh fish, lychees, grapefruits, a positive attitude, and lots and lots of beer! Now, I shouldn't say that island was completely uninhibited..there were a few thatched huts and one main "house" which consisted of some bamboo thrown together to create a platform that held 5 or 6 hammocks and a small kitchen. Apparently if you build a house and live on a island for a certain amount of time you automatically become the owner of that land. So this old man, who was so generous to let us crash his hut, grows all of his own food in the back- corn, yucca and green beans- and fishes everyday for his protein. Pretty astounding.
After a home cooked meal of fresh fried fish and rice, we rested up for a few hours and headed out to hopefully see the turtles around midnight. The boat ride to the neighboring island that held the turtle eggs included an eerily invigorating ride through the mangroves. If you've never seen a mangrove it's quite spooky, especially in the middle of the night! Mangroves are trees that have an incredible root system- it almost grows like ivy, intertwining with other mangrove trees to create this highly complex root system that is home to lots of creepy crawly things, like boa constrictors, vipers and alligators (oh my!)...we didn't see any, thank god! Just knowing they were out there somewhere was enough for me.
We were let off at the far end of the beach around 130 and started our trek that was supposed to last 2 1/2 hours..little did we know that it would be 2 1/2 hours in Panamanian time...which translates into 4 1/2 to 5 hours! Every 30 minutes the locals who escorted us would say "it's just another 30minutes..it's right around the bend...just another 30 minutes..and another, and another.." you get the point. Unfortunately we did not find any turtle eggs to save and the only turtle that we saw had already run into a poacher that night so all that was left was an empty, sad shell. It's illegal to kill turtles because they are endangered, and let's face it, it's just plain mean, and there has been a problem with one particular poacher on this island for quite some time. He kills the turtle, takes the eggs and the meat and sells it for about 65-70 bucks. It's really disheartening and you can only do so much about it. He's been caught a few times, but all that entails is him paying a fine and heading back out to do his dirty work. Quite sickening. It put a damper on the overall mood of the group, but we still aprpeciated the experience. Just being on the beach in the middle of the night was fun- I don't think I've ever seen so many stars- not to mention shooting stars!
After walking about 12 to 14 miles, we finally found the boat around 5 am..the sun was coming up and we were all struggling to keep our eyes open I was pretty sure there was going to be a fight over the hammocks when we returned to the hut! But at the same time, I think any of us could have slept anywhere at that point- in fact, Robb fell asleep walking on the beach and tripped over a log! Now that's some serious sleep deprivation! We got about 5 hours of much needed sleep and packed up around 1230 to head back to David. When we returned to the dock, we got word that a local news station wanted to interview us in regards to the poached turtle we found. They showed up, did their interview (which aired that night!) and we were finally on our way back to Boquete. Carter was feeling better when we returned, thankfully!
That night we were invited to Jill and Terry's, friends of Robb's from when he first arrived in Boquete about 2 years ago. They're from Florida and live just up the road on the golf course right behind our hostel. They have an 8 year old boy named Shane who is extremely smart and so much fun to be around! We ate some home made wings (we even ate the bleu cheese dressing!) and had a great time getting to know them. In fact, they are heading to Bocas del Toro for a month starting next week and offered us a house sitting gig- and we accepted! So Carter, Rebeca and I are moving in next week! Carter will be here through the 15th, then she's heading back to the states :( Lucky for you all- you get to have her back! And Rebecca and I will stay through the first or second week of October. Robb is excited to have the 3 of us volunteer on a more permanent basis and has talked to each of us about individual projects for GHA. And since I'll be saving on a place to stay, I've decided to take some Spanish classes while in town..habla espanol?? Si! (well soon enough anyways).
We went for a hike (FINALLY! and it didn't rain!) Wednesday on a trail just outside of town in a national park. It was steep and slippery but it was amazing. At one point we were so high up that we were literally in the clouds! We rewarded ourselves with a home cooked meal and ice cream when we returned to town. And we also took matters into our own hands at the hostel, and hung a much needed hammock by the stream...and damn, it's comfortable!
Yesterday, surprisingly not sore from the previous days hike, we walked up to a local coffee shop called Cafe Ruiz. This area is covered in coffee plantation and produces some of the best coffee in the world, and the Ruiz family is the most well-known in Boquete. We met Mr. Ruiz himself!
Our plan now is to head to Panama City for a couple of days before house-sitting starts..see the canal etc etc. Other than that, if you need us, you know where to find us!! Love you lots and lots and lots!
Ciao!
