Guillermo (Eva's accountant) has a house on this island. But the house does not have electricity or running water yet and although I had always refused to spend a weekend in a summer cottage without electricity and running water in Finland, I wanted to go to this island anyway because I have never before been swimming in the Pacific.
After Guillermo picked me up, I realized how different Germans and Panamanians can be. When a German takes you somewhere, everything is already prepared: food is bought, the gas tank filled and you go directly to the place. Well, Guillermo picked me up at 11 am. Then we went to David to a gym to see the child of a friend of him fighting taekwondo. After that we went to a grocery store and I was supposed to choose the food. Everybody who knows me knows how picky I can get with food. And going to a grocery store alone is hard enough for me. I stand in the aisles forever and try to find out what I might like to eat today or tomorrow. The easiest thing is to just put a plate in front of me and then I might eat something. After shopping, we went to Guillermo's office so that he could check his e-mails, then we changed cars and then we filled the tank of the car. So, at 2 pm we were finally on our way to the coast. After 10 km of gravel road we arrived at a rather broken pier and muddy-looking river water. The boat that was supposed to pick us up wasn't there yet and Guillermo explained that the guy with the boat was always late.
However, by 3 pm we had crossed the river which also inhabits crocodiles and we were at the island. I had a beer, spend some time reading my book in a hammock and then we went for a walk and collected a certain kind of seed which is called ojo de buey (ox eye). You can give it to a friend and that is supposed to bring him/her good luck. Eva has given me one as well and I have about 13 ox eyes to give away. But Guillermo has found many more.
The island is very pretty and the beach would have been all to myself. However, here in Panama it gets dark at 6.30 pm already and the current was so strong that it was impossible to go swimming.
The night was nearing and Guillermo and one of the two guys who live on the island set up a mosquito tent to sleep in. The mosquitoes on this island were horrible; they ate me alive and they did not seem to be too repelled by all that mosquito repellent I had put on my skin. I just hope that Eva was right when she told me that mosquitos here do not transmit malaria. (All the travel guides of Panama say that it is a malaria region.)
The night was hot and short because the cocks starting crowing at 6 am. We slept on the floor and I think I had stolen the camping mat from Guillermo. There was a big bag in the mosquito tent and it included that mat and since I wasn't sure that Guillermo would also sleep ustairs, I just took it because I have too much back trouble already for sleeping on the floor. I also kind of did not realize that I experienced my first two earthquakes over there. The house had a wooden floor and if you run or walk really fast along it, it moves and makes lots of noise. So, when at night I felt something move and heard some noise, I just thought that one of the guys is running around the house. However, as Guillermo told me in the morning it was two small earthquakes.
The next day I was longing for a warm shower, but I wasn't so keen on the jungle shower (water coming down from a big barrel) and since I continued sweating right away, it didn't matter so much after all. However, what I didn't like so much is that I had the feeling that I could never really get my hands clean there. I wash my hands fairly often: after petting the dogs, before and after preparing food, after using the bathroom (of course), after having been outside, after not having them washed for a while... And although they had water and soap there, my hands always seemed to be dirty and sweaty! :-/
On our way back we had to cross the river during low tide which turned out to be a bit difficult. At one point we all had jump into the river and pull the boat through 10 cm high water.
To get to the pier Guillermo always uses his old 4-wheel drive which doesn't have any doors, side mirrors or a rear-view mirror and the tachometer was also broken. I think knowing how fast you drive and to see if somebody is behind you on the highway when you want to change lanes is totally overrated anyway! :-P However, the missing doors were kind of cool because it made you feel like sitting in a convertible although you had a roof. But on our way back to Boquete, those missing doors caused a little uncomfort because it started to rain heavily and the cars driving into the opposite direction splashed all the water into the car on Guillermo's side and he was completely soaked. I found it fairly hillarious and just had to laugh. I didn't really get wet; just a few drops on my legs.
After a weekend on the hot island, I can just say that I like the cool climate of Boquete. There is a reason why it's called the town of the ever-lasting spring!
PS. I made a very funny discovery about different cultures: In Finland there was one species of snake that was poisenous and whenever somebody went for a walk in the wilderness, they would wear gumboots so that a snake wouldn't bite them. Panama has a few species of poisenous snakes and spiders and everybody walks into the wilderness with crocs or sandals; they don't care!
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