Monster bugs

This "little" creature was walking across a neighbor's driveway when I was visiting. I have never seen a bug this large and will probably be just as happy never seeing another one!!! Not sure if you can tell from the expression on my face but this little creature felt as strange as it looks!

Time to snorkel

May has started out dryer and warmer than April. Although we don't have a temperature gauge we have been checking the online temps in centigrade...this leads us to believe it is in the high 80s and has possibly reached 90 on occasion. What this means in our daily live is...calmer water - perfect for snorkeling, of course!!!

Shopping in Panama

The cost of food, clothing, hardware and most other items including beer seems to be less in Panama than in Costa Rica. You are also more likely to see familiar brands like “Hunts,” “Jif” and “Armour” here than in CR. Plus, we are actually slightly closer to Panama than to Limon (our closest city of any size in Costa Rica). The town we frequent most is called Changuinola – a full blown city with stores of every variety as well as restaurants, a casino, feed store and more. It takes about 45 minutes to get from our house to the border town of Sixaola. There we walk over the Rio Sixaola on an old railroad bridge (see photo) to the town of Guabito and take a bus or taxi a few more miles to Changuinola. Trucks, buses, cars and people all use this bridge to cross. Another more limited shopping choice is the village of Chase. Here there are half-a-dozen variety and electronics stores plus a small bar. To reach this area you drive down several unpaved, unmarked roads to the rivers edge and cross via motorized dugout canoe (see photo).

Waterfalls near BriBri

You can’t see them from the road. There are no signs announcing them. And, as far as I can tell they don’t even have a name. But we were lucky and someone told us to pull into the driveway of a bamboo house on the main road between Hone Creek and BriBri and follow the path. The path was steep but well marked with stairs cut into the mountainside as needed. As we approached we saw 3 places where water rushed over the smooth boulders into a deeper pool below and a couple of kids having a great time diving off the rocks. We walked downstream a little way and looked back at the waterfalls only to discover there was yet a higher falls behind the first set. We hiked up to this one and dove into the clear pool below it. The water was cool, clean and refreshing beneath the spray of the falls. A few more people arrived while we were there bringing the total to less then 10 including us. Our newly discovered waterfalls proved to be a great change of pace from our ocean “beach days” and I am sure we will spend many more warm afternoons playing there. (photos: Lili getting ready to dive into the pool beneath the higher falls and a young boy diving off the rocks at the lower falls).

Freaks of nature

The moth was on our back door and had a 3 inch wing span. Its colors helped it blend in to any wood surface. The strange mushroom was found in the jungle across the street from our house.

Just add water...

People here have told me how easy it is to grow just about anything but I guess I never really appreciated what they were saying…until I saw it for myself. One of the plants in our front yard is a gardenia tree that is about 8-9’ high. The trunk and branches are smooth and leaf-less with clusters of green leaves and beautiful fragrant white flowers at the tops of each branch. One day we found a small “y-shaped” branch and a second single branch – each about 12 inches long on the ground. There were no roots and no green on either – just broken off branches from the mother tree. Rather than throw them out we decided to just stick them in the ground and see what happens. In less than 3 weeks both branches had taken root and sprouted green leaves and continue to grow and flourish. Photos show the mother tree and the branches at about 3 weeks old.

And where does the water come from...

Our water comes to the house by way of a mountain spring, metal barrel and blue hose. As surprising as it seems it is usually quite tasty, clean and reliable. When the water turns muddy or the flow stops, Gordie needs to go up the mountain in the jungle across the street and follow the blue hose to its source to find the culprit. It could be debris that has floated down the creek, a broken hose at some point along the route, or a broken connection at a neighbor’s. The photos show the blue hose along the creek and the barrel that filters and directs the water flow.