I went to the bank and withdrew money from the ATM. I chose “other amount” and entered $600.

The machine dispensed $500 and gave me a receipt indicating that my account was debited for $600. I was advised that I should go to the bank as soon as it opened to initiate a dispute. Without howler monkeys screaming at me at the break of dawn I sleep a bit later. I figured I would go to the pharmacy and buy an alarm clock. Walter suggested that I just buy a cell phone as it would probably cost the same.

In line behind me was a young Antillean man who engaged me in conversation. He informed me that he had a boat and could take me out if I so desired. The cost? “The cost of gas and a little money for my time.” He entered his phone number into my phone and we went by the power plant to check out his boat. It seemed sea worthy, a seven meter center console glass panga.

The next day he called me and asked if I wanted to go out. I indicated that a trip to Salt Creek seemed to be in order and 1/2 an hour later he was on the dock behind my apartment. We headed over to the Marina. He pumped in 25 gallons of gas and 2 pints of oil for his outboard two stroke engine.

Sombra then told me that I needed to pay the attendant.
“Sombra, I agreed to pay for the gas we used, not to fuel your boat for the week.”

“But we had an agreement.”

“I only want the boat for one day, a trip to Salt Creek and back is about 6 gallons.”

“You can have the boat tomorrow.”

“I don’t want the boat tomorrow.”

“How am I going to pay for this gas?”

“I hope you are good at sucking dick… good luck.”

Then I walked to the Cosmic Crab and caught a water taxi back.

Click on the title to see the pictures, or scroll to bottom to see the slide show.

I was supposed to go to visit Chuck Stephen’s property on the South eastern end of Isla Bastimentos.

I showed up at Janpan, his boat touring company at 10:00 as agreed. He said that he had to go tend to a stranded boat and asked if I wanted to go with him. We walked back to my apartment building and took the door next to my unit which leads to the dock outside my kitchen window. He has a 30′ glass 115 Horsepower four stroke Suzuki 3 blade shuttle boat docked there.

We stopped by Janpan, picked up some gas and Manuel, my driver (I can’t call them captain, sorry) from yesterday and we headed out. Eight people on a small boat transferred onto the boat I was on. Chuck took the helm of the other boat and the driver of that boat became the driver of the boat I was on. I just joined the tour.

Heather and Erika hail from Vancouver.
Martin and Dan live close to Washington D.C. either Virginia or Maryland.
Kristi and Graham also live close to Washington D.C either Virginia or Maryland whichever state Martin and Dan don’t live in.

??? and ??? came from New Zealand via the U.K.

The first stop was Dolphin Bay nestled between and island and clumps of mangrove. The jellyfish were plentiful. Dolphins frequently surfaced a non playful, “Hey I’m just coming up for air.”

Dolphin Bay
It was actually kind of boring as I have seen hundreds of dolphins, but my fellow boat passengers found it exciting. I tried to get them into the old pre fireworks warm up “Ohhhhhhh, Ahhhh.” Erika noticed that one of the boat drivers would take off at high speed, throwing up a wake and then stop and the dolphins would jump. I convinced our driver to drive three times in a circle around the clump of boats and throw a wake. The boats in the middle rocked but nobody seemed to care as now a few dolphins breached.

Next we stopped off at a restaurant and the driver explained to Martin, the only Spanish speaking passenger what was happening. The interpretation was we were going to order food but take it with us. But that wasn’t right, we were going to order food and not eat it and not take it with us. Yup they needed hours of advance notice to feed 9 people.

??? Island

We then proceeded to “Parque Nacional Marino Isla Bastimentos”. Very interesting as this was on a different island. It was very small, I walked the whole perimeter in half an hour and didn’t see anything much more than crystal clear blue water, pristine white sand beaches, lots of sandpipers, a few gulls and skink or gecko. When I returned to what I believed to be the starting point there was no evidence of my fellow passengers. I walked past the spot and back to where I thought we were dropped off and Janpan II was now offshore. I approached the unattended cooler on the shore, extracted my water and took a good long swig.

Picture

We then returned to the restaurant and ordered our meals, by our names and were promptly served. The fried plantain needed a little spicing up more than the tabasco like picante they had at the table so I returned to the ordering counter and struggled with “Necesito salsa muy caliente”. I was handed a plastic bottle that smelled like habanero salsa. Now things were cooking. I slathered my plantain and said “now that is more like it.” Marti picked up the bottle and I said “careful, that’s hot.” He put some on his plantain and his eyes lit up and he broke out in a mild sweat. His friend Dan, at the end of the table asked for someone to pass the salad dressing. The only thing that could pass for salad dressing on the table was vinegar and oil and it was directly in front of him. I picked up the habanero salsa and said “Do you mean this?” Martin winked at me and gave me a big grin. So, I passed it down. He doused his lettuce with it and took a bite and said “SHIT!” It wasn’t that hot, he took it in stride.

Next we went snorkelling in some pretty strong current. The boat had a lot of noobs, I was the only certified diver on the boat. The snorkels were pretty gross, there were green and black life forms on the mouth pieces of some of them. After you dive down here you should really Clorox those things. The two girls from Vancouver were going to be trouble, Heather wore a life vest that didn’t come close to fitting her and Kristi went out without a mask or a snorkel or a vest. Not much you can see without a mask.

I think I was the only person capable of swimming against the current to the boat. Why the boat wasn’t drifting with us I don’t understand, it wasn’t anchored. I stuck with the Kristi as she was drifting far from the boat and had no life jacket. The others seemed like strong swimmers or had life jackets on. I told her, “just relax, you’re in salt water you won’t sink.” Then I made her float face down with my mask on. By this time we had drifted past all the coral. I signalled for the boat to come get us, we all got aboard and agreed it was pretty cool.

Hospital Point

We took a vote on whether we should try to snorkel again at Hospital Point
and reached a consensus that would should go despite the fact that it was described as “profundo” (deep). We pulled within 15 meters of shore at Hospital point and it was awesome. You could snorkel in 2 feet of water as the water was so calm. Coral went from above the water to about 3 meters and then there was a “wall” divers parlance for an underwater cliff.

Everybody had a spectacular time at Hospital Point. This was not as dramatic as seeing sharks, morays, octupuses, barracuda, and big grouper but it was relaxing and very pretty.

About 4:30 we headed back to port, said our goodbyes and went our respective ways.

Mouse over the slide show to see the controls.

November 1.

I went to breakfast today at the Cosmic Crab. Everybody raves about the dinner. The breakfast was quite disappointing. The tabouleh is Moroccan style, all bulgar wheat with a hint of parsley. They also had some noodle salads and some deviled eggs. The omelette was completely uninspired. They had about 8 types of pastries I didn’t try.

It was quite a let down as everyone raves about their dinners.

I checked out the Gringo houses and the depressing Indian dwellings with trash all over the place.

I was supposed to go to visit Chuck Stephen’s property on the South eastern end of Isla Bastimentos [SHOW MAP]. I showed up at Janpan, his boat touring company at 10:00 as agreed. He said that he had to go tend to a stranded boat and asked if I wanted to go with him. We walked back to my apartment building and took the door next to my unit which leads to the dock outside my kitchen window. He has a 30′ glass 150 four stroke shuttle boat docked there.

We stopped by Janpan, picked up some gas and Manuel, my driver (I can’t call them captain, sorry) from yesterday and we headed out. Eight people on a small boat transferred onto the boat I was on. Chuck took the helm of the other boat and the driver of that boat became the driver of the boat I was on. I just joined the tour.

The first stop was Dolphin Bay nestled between and island and clumps of mangrove. The jellyfish were plentiful. Dolphins frequently surfaced a non playful, “Hey I’m just coming up for air.” It was actually kind of boring as I have seen hundreds of dolphins, but my fellow boat passengers found it very exciting. I tried to get them into the old pre fireworks warm up “Ohhhhhhh, Ahhhh.” One of the boat drivers would take off at high speed, throwing up a wake and then stop and the dolphins would jump. I convinced our driver to drive three times in a circle around the clump of boats and throw a wake. The boats in the middle rocked but nobody seemed to care as now the dolphins began to fully breach.

Next we stopped off at a restaurant and the driver explained to Martin, the only Spanish speaking passenger what was happening. The interpretation was we were going to order food but take it with us. But that wasn’t right, we were going to order food and not eat it and not take it with us. Yup they needed hours of advance notice to feed 9 people.

We then proceeded to “Parque Nacional Marino Isla Bastimentos”. Very interesting as this was on a different island. It was very small, I walked the whole perimeter in half an hour and didn’t see anything much more than crystal clear blue water, pristine white sand beaches, lots of sandpipers, a few gulls and skink or gecko. When I returned to what I believed to be the starting point there was no evidence of my fellow passengers. I walked past the spot and back to where I thought we were dropped off and Janpan II was now offshore. I approached the unattended cooler on the shore, extracted my water and took a good long swig.

We then returned to the restaurant and ordered our meals, by our names and were promptly served. The fried plantain needed a little spicing up more than the tabasco like picante they had at the table so I returned to the ordering counter and struggled with “Necesito salsa muy caliente”. I was handed a plastic bottle that smelled like habenaro salsa. Now things were cooking. I slathered my plantain and said “now that is more like it.” Martin, the guy who was translating picked up the bottle and I said “careful, that’s hot.” He put some on his plantain and his eyes lit up and he broke out in a mild sweat. His friend Dan, at the end of the table asked for someone to pass the salad dressing. The only thing that could pass for salad dressing on the table was vinegar and oil and it was directly in front of him. I picked up the habenaro salsa and said “Do you mean this?” Martin winked at me and gave me a big grin. So, I passed it down. He doused his lettuce with it and took a bite and said “SHIT!” It wasn’t that hot, he took it in stride.

Next we went snorkelling in some pretty strong current. The boat had a lot of nubes. The snorkels were pretty gross, there were green and black life forms on the mouth pieces of some of them. After you dive down here you should really clorox those things. The two girls from Vancouver were going to be trouble, one wore a life vest that didn’t come close to fitting her and the other went out without a mask or a snorkel. Not much you can see without a mask.

I think I was the only person capable of swimming against the current to the boat. Why the boat wasn’t drifting with us I don’t understand, it wasn’t anchored. I stuck with the Canadian girl who had no life jacket, the others seemed like strong swimmers or had life jackets on. I told her, “just relax, you’re in salt water you won’t sink.” Then I made her float face down with the mask on. By this time we had drifted past all the coral. I signalled for the boat to come get us, we all got aboard and agreed it was pretty cool.

We took a vote on whether we should try to snorkel again at Hospital Point and reached a concensus that would should go despite the fact that it was described as “profundo” (deep). We pulled within 15 meters of shore at Hospital point and it was awesome. You could snorkel in 2 feet of water as the water was so calm. Coral went from above the water to about 3 meters and then there was a “wall” divers parlance for an underwater cliff.

Everybody had a spectacular time at Hospital Point. This was not as dramatic as seeing sharks, morays, octupuses, barracuda, and big grouper but it was relaxing and very pretty.

About 4:30 we headed back to port, said our goodbyes and went our respective ways.

Click on Title to see photos or scroll down to see slide show.

November 1.

This afternoon I went down to Jampan [PICS] run by Chuck Stephens and his wife Wanda. I told him I had to get off this island and related what happened last night. He knew all about it; he lives right above me. Small world. He suggested I go to the“Garden of Eden”. He had a boat leaving in 10 minutes. Since I’d lost my Tilley (and yes I will moan about that until I get a replacement) I had to run off to get some sunblock. We dropped 3 people off at a nearby resort and 2 people at Red Frog Beach, We picked up a couple at that spot and took off for parts unknown. Despite having been told 3 times before we left that he was to take me to the Garden of Eden the driver had no idea where it was. We stopped off at a “Dive Hostel” a house on stilts without even a catwalk to the land. The driver asked the man who came to the dock where the Garden of Eden was. The man went to his computer looked it up on the internet, made a phone call and pointed out the directions. We took off and the driver tried to go right past the place. There was only one building around and it had a big sign that said “Garden of Eden” so I was pretty sure we found the right spot.

Three people were departing, escorted by a women. I said “Helena, I presume.” To which she replied “You must be Jim. Chuck called. Those people have a flight in 1/2 an hour.” Ouch. It’s possible, but not likely. We walked up the hill to a combined eating area / bar / game room where I met her husband Robert. The place was immaculate. There are only three rental rooms and there are 2 house keepers, Migala and a girl who just started today Kalmia ?????.

I just sat at the bar and talked with Robert and Helena for hours, the boat wasn’t coming back until 7:00. I mentioned that I liked snakes and Robert said “Migala, can you show Jim the boa constrictor?” We walked down a well kept path and in the plantain tree next to the staff housing quarters was a small boa, probably born in the spring.

We chatted about everything from building construction (Robert is a semi-retired builder), tools, moving, Bocas, guns, shooting. The most interesting was the fact that these very personable people never leave the two acre island. It’s beautiful but not enough room for my restless legs. I need to get at least 3 or 4 miles of walking or 12 miles of bike riding in a day or I’ll go crazy. They have people that go to David, buy the food and liquor and drinks they need for themselves and guests and deliver it all the way to the house. Robert said that he doesn’t get lonely, the guests usually want to talk.

Then Woody, their pet toucan came for a visit, they showed me their red frogs which they have in a terrarium. I fed their “pet snapper”. I took the table scraps down to the front dock with the two girls, stamped my feet and they all showed up. Then I emptied the bucket of vegetable scraps they had accumulated and the fish ate it up, potatoes, onions and all. Pre-stuffed snapper.

The boat came in and we said our good byes. This would be an absolutely wonderful place to stay. Just catch the water taxis to take you to Red Frog Beach or one of the many other interesting places in the vicinity when you want to stretch your legs.

I’d love to go back for a lazy afternoon chat. Let’s see if I get invited.

Mouse over to display controls.

just called the company again because of the internet speed, should be solved by Monday or Tuesday.

How is the meat ?
Jim September 18 at 10:42am
Not bad, beats anything at the local supers. I’ve just had the sausage (chicken?) and half the tenderloin, tasty but tougher than I would have expected for a tenderloin.
Saskia September 21 at 12:23pm
Jim, could you please check the water-level in the black outside water-tank ?
That seemed to be the problem, my pump doesn’t turn on anymore.
If the water level goes too low, please let me know or open the valve so it can fill up the tank again and after we close it again.
Thanks.

I’m off to Bri Bri now and you should have 2 MB internet by tomorrow or latest the day after.
Jim September 21 at 1:19pm
I’m good for a day or two.
Saskia September 21 at 3:49pm
ok, just open the valve before the pump runs dry and then close the valve again when its full.
Oh, and BTW… tomorrow supposedly no electricity from 8 to 12:30.
Internet should be good by tomorrow, took me ages there but tonight my ICE-friend will also come and check on it.
Jim September 21 at 3:37pm
Fuck me in the ass with a stick. BTW? Well, I guess I’ll just have to walk the beach and work after dark.

Power was out all morning. I got two hours of work in before it went out and then ran on batteries for 2 hours.
I left to get some lunch. Came back and I now have 2mb/sec internet connection.

What am I doing with this awesome speed?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkZsSydzQjM

Spotcheck Billy got down on his hands and knees
He said “Hey mama, Hey let me check your oil all right?”
She said “No, no honey, not tonight
Comeback Monday, comeback Tuesday, then I might.”
I said Juanita, my sweet Jaunita, what are you up to?
My Juanita
I said Jaunita, my sweet taquita, what are you up to?
My Juanita

Don’t want nobody who won’t dive for dimes
Don’t want no speedballs ’cause I might die tryin’
Throw me a line, throw me a line
‘Cause there’s a fat man in the bathtub with the blues
I hear you moan, I hear you moan, I hear you moan

Billy got so sad, dejected, put on his hat and start to run
Runnin’ down the street yellin’ at the top of his lungs
All I want in this life of mine is some good clean fun
All I want in this life and time is some hit and run

I said Juanita, my sweet Jaunita, what are you up to?
My Jaunita
I said Jaunita, my sweet taquita, what are you up to?
My Juanita

Put my money in your meter baby so it won’t run down
But you caught me in a squeeze play on the cheesy side of town
Throw me a dime, throw me a line
‘Cause there’s a fat man in the bathtub with the blues
I hear you moan, I hear you moan, I hear you moan

[11:15:04] Lucy_Pat: It is with a heart full of hope and trust in you that
I write you this letter to seek your help in the
context below. My name is Lucy Pat
from Republic of Sierra Leone.
Since my late father death during the war in my country i have to ran to Accra Ghana to save my dear life in the Bujumbura camp .

I am contacting you to kindly assist me locate a
lucrative business in your country into which you can
assist me invest the sum of( 3.2 United States
Dollars) left in the bank by my late father.
I was in my second year in the university in my country studying medicine before i stop because of the war.
i have decided to contact you for this assistance
after going through your profile, and i am
believing/trusting that you must surely assist
me,hence it will be of benefit to you once you
accepted to assist me.with your assistance i will offer you 15%

I will tell you more about me and also the amount i
will offer you for your kind assistance once I heard through my email address lucypat@rocketmail.com

Thanks and remain blessed as i await your positive
response.
Yours sincerely,
Lucy Pat
[11:16:15] me: 3.2 dollars won’t buy a hamburger
[11:17:02] Lucy_Pat: ok
[11:17:17] me: try 3.2 million dollars
[11:18:23] Lucy_Pat: 3.2millons dollars
[11:18:57] me: Oh well then. Is this US Dollars?
[11:19:07] Lucy_Pat: yes
[11:19:18] me: And how was this money earned?
[11:19:54] … Are you looking for dividends or appreciation?
[11:20:15] Lucy_Pat: it was earned by my late father
[11:20:42] … my late father was gold and diamond dealer
[11:21:06] me: And is currently in money market funds or certificates of deposit?
[11:21:27] Lucy_Pat: yes i have it with me
[11:21:37] … the deposit certificate
[11:23:13] me: good, I’d love to help you, please send me a check for $3,200 dollars in US Funds .1% of the amount indicated I and I can assist you in transfering the money.
[11:23:45] Lucy_Pat: how?
[11:23:57] me: how to send the check?
[11:24:00] Lucy_Pat: where do i get the money to send for u
[11:24:17] me: You have 3.2 million dollars right?
[11:24:31] Lucy_Pat: you are out of your mind
[11:24:43] … the money is in the bank
[11:24:53] … and you are telling me to send u money
[11:25:09] me: what do you want me to do?
[11:26:35] Lucy_Pat: is to help me contact the bank first
[11:27:04] me: The bank in which you have three dollars and 20 cents?
[11:27:23] Lucy_Pat: yes
[11:28:17] me: i suggest that you go to your account officer and say “Hey, I’m the rich bastard with $3.20 in your account. Take care of me right the fuck now.”
[11:28:45] Lucy_Pat: i can see u are not serioues
[11:28:57] me: You are a fucking idiot.
[11:29:54] Lucy_Pat: ok
[11:29:57] … thanks
[11:29:59] … bye

Copy and Paste

You want fresh content? You think I have nothing better to do than blog?

Here’s a facebook thread.

Saskia wants to go to the beach….. aaaahhh… damn rain !
11 hours ago · Comment · Like / Unlike
me Not a sky in the clouds
11 hours ago · Delete
Saskia
Jim, remember the veggie and meat order today ? I’ll call you in let’s say 2 hours
11 hours ago
me
Somebody is jealous about you / us. I didn’t know if I should have come and join you guys at the club last night.
Good god woman you almost knocked me off my bike with the salutation. I left home without my machete.
11 hours ago · Delete
Saskia
jealous about ME ?? Nope… But of course you should have joined us. Thought you were too late for a date the speed you went by.
11 hours ago
Saskia
So, who’s jealous about you or me or you and me ??
10 hours ago
me
I’ll avoid the question and email you my produce and meat order. We’ll all have dinner when she comes down. In the mean time, don’t tell anybody about about the fact the I am running a home for wayward girls here.
10 hours ago · Delete
me
I need two ping pong paddles, some fur liners for handcuffs, 4′ of latex tubing, 40′ of silk ribbon,
two pulleys and a squeegee. Should I go to Bribri or Limon?
10 hours ago · Delete
Saskia
oh, so it’s somebody from YOUR part… that makes sense, haha. When she comes down… down… so, you are up on the hill an she comes down ? That makes her live where ?
And of course I won’t tell anybody anything…
10 hours ago
me
We’ll keep everything private and post it on Facebook. Discretion is important.
10 hours ago · Delete
Saskia
Ping-Pong ?? Fur-liners ? I know a good sex-shop in San Jose.. ha ha ha. San Pedro Mall… But you have to ask for permission to enter the back room. Don’t know why they brought ME there… Mrs. Innocent.
10 hours ago
Saskia
Exactly… Facebook is THE place for it… total discretion guaranteed.
10 hours ago
me
I think the black girl at the Pizzeria thinks that I am the father of your child.
She’s cute and her husband seems ok, he doesn’t speak a word of english.
10 hours ago · Delete
Saskia
Which Pizzeria ? Wow, now I have already 4 Dad’s for my child, great…
The 17 year old, the internet-technician, you and the real Dad… what about Tacho, you think he’s a candidate as well ?
10 hours ago
me
Oh god, I’ve been here less than two weeks and Tacho is cheating on me. What hell is wrong with people here?
10 hours ago · Delete
me
Which Pizzeria? First one north of here. I don’t know the name.
10 hours ago · Delete
Saskia
well, they are “life-enjoyers”… Tacho likes to share. What the heck you think happenes when I leave him alone with Yerri ? And the party is on when his wife comes down.
10 hours ago
me
You probably heard me laugh from here.
10 hours ago · Delete
Saskia
The one across the beach ? Or the one right behind the bridge before the supermarket ?
10 hours ago
Saskia
oh, that was you ? ;o)
10 hours ago
me
cheese order cheese I was hoping for camembert, roquefurt, brie and stilton
10 hours ago · Delete
me
I’ll be there in a minute.
10 hours ago · Delete
Saskia
and there comes Tacho….
9 hours agoFrom

The electricity went out three times today.
8:30 – 8:32
8:35 – 9:30
19:00 – 19:01

Yesterday it went out 8:00 – 8:02

Tuesday it was out from 8:00 until 12:00

I work on my laptop, with all my code and my unit test databases on the laptop so I don’t need the internet to get work done. I have battery power for a couple of hours. The phone works when the electricity is out, so with a small UPS I could keep connected, by powering up the ADSL modem.

It was interesting watching the guys reconnect the sections, there is a bar that connects the bottom of some pineapple shaped units on two sides of a pole. Connecting the bar in the slot completes the circuit, just like those old time frankenstein electrical switches (like the main for my house). Some tico with a 40′ fiberglass pole tries to get the end of the pole into a little whole in the bar and then push it up to complete the switch. It reminds me of those tools the nuns used on the upper louvered windows. It’s actually a whole lot safer than riding up there on a bucket of a service crane, and trust me, there are not a lot of those down here.
Wiring

Don’t expect to find grounded outlets. If you find one, it probably isn’t grounded anyway.

Shower heads with 220 volt 60 amp service, with the wire connected by electrical tape are common. That kind of power could support my entire frigging house with 12 tons of cooling, 2 refrigerators, a freezer, a washer and a dryer all running at the same time. It’s highly efficient, hot water on demand. Most of the energy used in hot water heaters is wasted keeping the tank warm.

The apartment I rented in La Fortuna had a non waterproof wall fixture, the kind you would buy at a Loews for $29 mounted on the wall of the shower with the top half half and inch from the wall at the height of the shower head.