Casa Selva del Mar

On Friday we packed our bags (for real this time) and met Susan and Izzy, our new hosts, at The Reef - one of the docks in Bocas town. While we were there we ran into a guy we sat with on the airplane from Atlanta to Panama City a few weeks ago. We were all trying to figure out where we knew each other from. He's been in the islands the whole time and spending a lot of time with the Pickled Parrot from the looks of it!

It was a stormy morning with lots of rain again but by afternoon the sun was out full force with blue skies and hot temperatures. Our new villa has a kitchen so we stopped in at the gourmet grocery store in town and stocked up on more goodies than we can possibly eat for the next four days! I'm looking forward to doing some cooking again and not having to go eat out every night.

Our villa is on Isla San Cristobal (named for Christopher Columbus, as is Isla Colon). It is the largest island in the archipelago but mostly undeveloped and uninhabited except for native people. It is a 10 or 15 minute boat ride from Bocas and the bay was calm and smooth now that the storm had passed. We were greeted at the dock with great enthusiasm by Susan's three dogs, the maid Marissa and the gardener Alfredo. We all lugged our bags and groceries up a long flight of stairs as the villas are situated on the hill overlooking the bay.

We unpacked and got familiar with our new house. All power here is solar except for a back-up generator that kicks in when the cells are empty during cloudy times. The water is purified rainwater that is collected and stored - I can't imagine that they'd ever have a shortage! It is built up on stilts and has a screened veranda that goes completely around the house. The interior of the house is all open, with slatted doors on all sides that open onto the veranda. There are no true doors or windows in the villa, so it is all open air living with great ventilation. The down side is that we've got a few housemates that we might otherwise choose to live without! The no-see-ums or chitres are small enough to get through the screens and I finally encountered the King Kong of roaches. We are pretty much in the jungle here overlooking the bay so I suppose a few bugs are to be expected.

The weather was great Friday afternoon so we put on our swim gear and took a couple of sea kayaks out into the bay. We paddled along the shore and the mangroves, then came back over the coral reef that is not too far from shore. The wind was just starting to pick up again so we really got a workout on the return trip. Izzy said they had some guests last week that took the kayaks out when it was windy and surfed in on the huge waves - sounds like fun!

We had a do-it-yourself sandwich dinner of fresh tomato, onion, cheeses and smoked salmon along with some fresh limeade margaritas. It seems that things taste extra good after a day in the fresh air and on the water. We went to bed with the sounds of rain on the roof and wind in the palm trees. The cicadas kept up their songs all night long even through the rain and the humming lulled me to sleep. We woke up to some really bizarre sounds, I guess they are bird calls. I wish I could record them and play it back for Uncle Ken, the resident birder in the family, because I'm sure he could identify the critters. It's kind of a whooping, beeping loud call and totally tropical - something you'd expect to hear in the jungle!

Saturday was windy and rainy all day long. I don't know what the air temperature really was but I'm sure it had to be in the 80's. However, Dad & I both were curled up in our hammocks wearing long pants and sweaters. We spent most of the day reading good books, listening to music and puttering in the kitchen. It was the kind of day you always want to have at home, without ever having to think about "Have To's". I don't think we would have been able to enjoy this at the beginning of our trip, though. We needed to learn how to let go a little bit, relax and Just Be. We are so conditioned to Do, Do, Do and Go, Go, Go that it takes awhile to break through and be comfortable with just sitting.

Dad keeps telling me that he's so tickled with how this whole trip has evolved. Somehow we managed to strike just the right balance between planning and letting things set their own course. We have met people and had experiences that could never have happened if we had taken a canned tour or not been willing to deviate from our own schedule. The next few days will be spent contemplating our travels, talking about lessons learned and insights gained. I think we will both come home with a little more wisdom then when we left, and I know we have great experiences to share and savor for years to come!