Eric's Journal Day 13

Entrance shot 1

Trail Photo 2

Trail Photo 3

Trail Photo 4

Trail Photo 5

Hey guys we are down to the last 3 days I am going to show you on the next three posts three sections of the trails sure will add some extra pics too enjoy .


Two days left to work on Punta Linda and today Justo and I got them started and went to pick up the necessary meat for lunch. Today it was 8lbs of ribs and with an orange juice I bought the bill at the china market was $8.45. Justo and I were going to go to the agricultural school and give the professor the 800 - 2lb planting bags I got and the seeds we bought in Boquete - an assortment of vegetables. We have three types of peppers, squash, corn, flowers, onions, and carrots. The students are supposed to fill the bags with soil and get the plants started then when they are ready we are going to get the kids up to PL and have them plant them and of course we are going to feed the students too. I have been realizing the last few days that the kids are going to need a place to plant them. I can’t expect them to clear the brush and grass and till the soil then plant all the vegetables. So now Justo and I are on a look out for a good place to start a garden and the one thing we realized too is we are going to need some type of fencing to keep the animals from eating our crops. That will be something for me to work on while I have a break from working with the Indians. Justo said he needed to mail a letter to David and could I take him to the china market next to the Texaco. This particular China market is more of a restaurant and a bus stop. The way the mail is sent here is you just give it to a bus driver that is going to where you want and then he drops it off at the bus terminal - you then call the people you are sending the letter to and they go to the bus station and pick it up. The whole process costs $2 and the letter is in David in 3 hours. It really isn’t a bad system and the nice thing is you don’t get junk mail when you have no mailbox.

We went up to PL to check on the progress that seems okay so far. I talked to Justo about wanting to check on the progress towards the top along the creek so we took off on a stroll heading to the top. I purposely stopped at each bench to take it all in. We followed the trail to the barbed wire fence Justo had told me about where the guys had stopped progress. When we got to the fence I looked ahead and saw that it had been cleared so we proceeded onwards - the trail wasn’t bad for while then it got close to the creek and started getting steeper. I thought we might have found the easy path. We then heard some noise and chopping ahead. When we hollered they stopped and came to us. It was Celestino and two of his guys so Justo asked him how it was ahead and he said it was getting very steep. We turned around to head back down and they followed. I haven’t given up on finding the easy route. We did explore another route and Celestino had two guys chopping on that one as well.

Justo and I then took the route they had cleared the other to the bamboo. It wasn’t a bad route and tied into other routes that we had been making. The paths are almost like a maze the way they start end and never join. Maybe with a big piece of string I will try and tie this thing up by Friday. We headed on down and in just a few seconds more the silent lunch alarm must gone off cause all of a sudden they all appeared on their way to lunch. I can say one thing to be honest they do seem to enjoy the midday meal.

Shortly after snapping a few candid pictures I even got three guys to do the hear no evil see no evil speak no evil pose (that was fun) the lunch was over and the rain started to come down. They all headed out to work without giving it another thought. I was scrambling to make sure that I had nothing out that could get ruined in the rain and pulling under the tarp what I did have. By this time I was soaked and Justo was as well, I really didn’t want him to get wet since he had told me before that it some times made him sick. After about 15 minutes Justo just took off to check the guys working and I stayed under the tarp for about another 20 until Justo reappeared and the rain started to let up some. We then started walking the trails checking on the water flow, in most places it wasn’t bad but we found a couple that needed some more rock and attention to the ditches. Just about the time we got the farthest from the tarp the rain opened up again. Panama! It really didn’t feel bad since it was the same temperature as the air and it even seemed to refreshing but I was soaked to the bone. I can tell the work is starting to take a toll on me. I am getting a lot sleepier earlier and am feeling exhausted, guess I know how a mountain goat feels now. The day ended much like most although again they didn’t make it down to the van till after 4. That is a lot better than the first day when we where sitting at the truck at 3:15. Tomorrow I am going to try and stress putting rock down and finishing the rails and if possible put some rails on the trail to the bamboo. Justo said he needed to wish me luck in getting it all done.

Trail Photo 6

Trail Photo 7

Trail Photo 8

Trail Photo 9

Trail Photo 10

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Week 3 - Day 12 of Eric's Journal

For those who have recently started reading our blog, this is currently Eric's journal of building Punta Linda Eco Adventure Park and Canopy Tour in Punta Pena, Bocas Del Toro, Panama

We are really starting to polish this job the rails are going as well as I could have hoped and it’s good to see the crew catching on. When I pulled up this morning Justo and 6 of the Indians were there.

Getting the fire going

I counted forward and backward and still got the same number then Celestino informed Justo that the others had headed up to PL already. After we left and were dropping off the chain saw, the rice and beans; Justo and I went to the store to pick up the meat. Today we bought chicken feet and I watched as Justo told Celestinos wife to cut off the toenails this time. You just have to smile when you see these things happen - life is so good. After we dropped off the food I told Justo to make sure at lunch to count heads, forks, or plates to make sure we had 12 workers up there he nodded and agreed.

Any one seen my feet?

Most of my day was spent with the two Indians who had been doing the rails, I didn’t want to change who I was using since I had invested so much time to see that they finally understood but I never had left them totally to themselves without supervision. We also started chopping some more trails up towards the top and Justo had them chop and widen a trail he had made to get to the bamboo. The trail reaching higher following the stream was really going well and they had the right idea as they started chopping through some dense jungle. They were making sure they didn’t just chop everything with a machete so some of the paths are almost like tunnels walking through. They continued to chop along the creek until they hit a barbed wire fence.

Then, not sure what to do they stopped and I never had a free moment to make it back up to where they had hit the fence to check the situation out. I assured Justo that the fence was probably an old fence some previous owner had put up there to contain the cattle so tomorrow I will check it and make sure. Then I can have them continue onwards and upwards. One thing I noticed that only one of the Indians wears a watch but its amazing that at exactly 12 the guys showed up for lunch. I have no idea how they do that! Maybe they check the shadow on the tree or something. Well at lunch Justo did a head count and there were 12 plates and forks and they all got eaten so I guess I had all my Indians.

Fresh Bamboo handrails scraped and sanded

The trails are becoming so solid and smooth but I told Justo that I really wanted to make it to the top so we could get over the ridge to the other side. Most of the birds to be seen are not in the jungle but in the fringes where the jungle meets the open areas. We are still a long way from making it to the other side but pleased that the paths look as good as they do. I can’t believe I keep saying how good the paths look you all just have to come out and see it for yourselves. I spotted another sloth near the entrance I think it is the same one as we saw two days ago. I even saw a pileated woodpecker today. I heard this unusual sound and asked Justo and he told me what it was and then I actually saw it. It was huge and looked just like woody woodpecker. One thing I don’t remember seeing any humming birds today. I am sure they were probably there but just didn’t notice them since I was working so hard on the rails and steps. Remind me to take time to see the birds. Today everyone was working on the trails, rails, and steps and so involved in it that Justo and I checked the time and it was actually 3:45 so quickly! These where the guys I was just talking about 2 minutes ago always knowing what time it was. I guess they either need to get recalibrated for quitting time or they are enjoying what they are doing.

Jewels of beading water capture the light

One interesting thing happened today was I was working with the Indians later in the day on the rails on the upper side. I was trying to speak to them in Spanish and they wanted to know what the word was in English. I was blown away! Here are guys whose main language is Noble Bugle dialect, some of them speak a little Spanish and they are trying to learn English. I am so disappointed that in the United States our educational system doesn’t stress learning different languages. Over the years I have wished that I had a better handle on languages like people from so many other non English speaking countries where it is typical to always know at least two or more.

Tomorrow Justo and I are going to get the Indians started then go to the agricultural school and drop off 800 plant bags for the students and a large variety of seed we bought. Every thing from carrots to peppers, from zucchini to flowers, we already had Celestino plant all the seeds from one papaya all over PL. I have no idea where he planted them but I will once they start to grow. One of the things I need to put some thought into soon is where to start a garden. It’s really hard to pin down an area when you are still in the developing stage. I am hoping when we find that easy way up to the top of PL on the other side to the large areas of open spaces we will find the perfect spot. I am really going to push the guys some more tomorrow on the exploration of new trails since it seems like the paths and trails we do have are coming along so great.

A crossroad in a bugs life

I had better close this journal down because the sun comes up early in PL and the Indians even earlier. We have a lot to do or let me rephrase that - a lot I want to do whether or not it gets done is another matter. But that’s Panama and to be honest I am truly enjoying their attitude on life.