Day 9

Well day 9 Thursday, it started like any other day. This week after we got the workers the chain saw and met them at the entrance they started up the mountain and we told them to leave the women to carry the food up while Justo and I went to get the food for the day. Let’s see: today it was chicken necks again for $.55/lb, a littlebeans and rice, and some Kool-Aid and 2 lbs of sugar. The Kool-Aid she mixes in a bucket and the guys like the treat.

Koolaid by the bucket

Koolaid is always better from bamboo

We decided to add two more bridges bringing the total up to 9. I sure had no idea we would already have 9 bridges before we had gotten 400 meters into this but they look good and add some nice detail. Now I hope the handrails turn out as well. I mentioned to Justo to have the crew also get the palm posts for the handrail because I would like to get some installed tomorrow and he conveyed the message. We have been cleaning up the front a lot from where a large tree had fallen down and have almost removed all the debris laying the largest logs in the mud at the entry to form a base for the bridge. I told Justo to tell Celestino I wanted to make a bench and to make it right at his little lagoon. So Celestino grabbed the chain saw and a couple of the Indians and wandered off in the jungle to look for the perfect bench. When he came back he had a 4’ piece of wabo a very hard and durable wood and two forks from the wabo tree. This is going to be interesting as I have never thought of making a bench this way. I started watching as they sunk one of the wabo trunks in the rocky ground. Having buried and tamped the first post they showed me how it would go by laying the slab between the forks. I nodded thinking this was going to look good. The second post worked fairly well at first; then they started putting the other hole for the post too far away so I had them move it closer - then they set it after having to dig and chip away at the rocky soil and tamped it down. Well now the problem was it didn’t line up with the other fork. He was about to pull it up and start over when I told him to just hold the slab in the one fork and butt it into the other. I took a nail from my pocket and marked the other post grabbing the chain saw I cut the other post just below the fork but still had a post to rest the other side of the bench on. It really turned out good and we finished up just about at the end of the day. I got my camera and had Celestino and his wife sit on the bench and took their picture. I started laughing pretty quickly as I then watched every one take turns sitting on the bench trying it out to get their pictures taken. They would take their time and sit there and smile while the other would patiently wait their turn. Life is good!!

The start of the bench

Setting the Wabo fork in the ground

The first on the bench

Its a family affair

All and all a good day and I talked to Lyn and she is on her way to Punta Pena to leave from there to go to Changuinola in the morning to get some paper work for the title picked up. I can’t wait to show her what I have been playing in the jungle doing - hope she likes it.

Justo inspecting

Eric in the jungle

Where you want this now?

The keeper of the jungle