Bocas Marina
Bocas del Toro, Panama
Life on Emma Jo is kind of quiet these days, with Ole gone and Jan reverting to her normal night-owl schedule, staying up ’til verrrryyy late (or early, depending on your perspective) and rising in mid-to-late morning. The month of March, Bocas del Toro received something on the order of 30 inches of rain, most of it from the first to the 12th. As the boat dried out, Jan turned her thoughts to varnish – the cap rail has for some reason blistered (gee, do you think it might have to do with something like 13 FEET of rain since November????) and the table on the back deck needs some attention. But we’ll need more than just a day or two of dry weather to get anything done.
Sharkey has returned for a visit, and I’ve been spending some nice times with her and “the boys.” We took a Sunday outing over to Bastimentos, an island not far from here with a completely improbable but thoroughly delightful Thai restaurant a 15-minute hike through the jungle away from the community dock. The place was enchanting – just a stilt house built by an American guy and his Thai wife – with a hillside view through the jungle out to the Caribbean. The restaurant might seat ten, and our party took up six of the available spots out on the deck. While we enjoyed rum punches and green chicken curry, we were able to spot mama and baby sloths in two of the nearby trees and watch and listen to parrots “coming home from work” in pairs.
A fellow here on the dock is quite a good guitarist, and has been playing on the occasional Friday night at the Cantina. What with a few gin and tonics, lively and silly conversation, and a double-dog-dare, it seems like I can dredge up some blues vocals once in awhile. I’ve done it twice, now, at the marina, once pretty well (according to the drinking public) and once not so well (according to me AND the guitarist – probably too much effort and not enough liquor). But hey – it keeps me off the streets.
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