Soaking. Wet.
I woke up at 1am again, and after tossing and turning for a bit I got up and walked out on deck, to sit and soak up our beautiful surroundings. It was a full moon and the marina was so still. It’s interesting to listen to the difference between day and night here…during the day, parrots fly noisily overhead, toucans made the sound of someone smashing two rocks together, pangas and dinghies work their way in and out of the marina, people are chatting as they work on their boats, and last night, not a sound was heard. The silence was thick like the humidity, almost as if a sleeping spell had been cast over Red Frog Marina, and I was the only one awake to witness it. It was beautiful. I loved knowing that below deck my children (6 of the 11!) were tucked in and sleeping peacefully.
I finally fell asleep about an hour before I had to wake up, and I awoke to heavy thunder and lightning. I cooked a big pot of oatmeal for everyone for breakfast, and we prepared to head into Bocas to see if the starter was done being repaired.
The water taxi ride in was a blast and a half! The panga pounded down against big waves and rain drenched everyone on board, so that by the time we reached Bocas, none of us had a dry spot on us. There was flooding down the streets as sheets of rain kept coming down, and that is how it continued for the entire 3 hours we were there, as well as for several hours after we returned to the marina.
The first thing we did was walk the little flooded path past the witches house to the mechanic, to find that he had fixed the starter. He told me it was going to be $85 for parts and service.
I told him we would go to the ATM which was about a mile away and withdraw the cash and be right back. People were standing under shelters along the street and the creatures and I made our way to the bank out in the open since we were already drenched. We got some funny stares. For those who know me, you know that I LOVE puddles. I had so much fun jumping and splashing in them, kicking water up to the creatures and running through them all along the streets. A stray dog came to play with me and as I ran through puddles, he ran along side and jumped around with excitement. We had so much fun together!
We got the starter, picked up the groceries we needed and then sat down together and ate pizza.
At one point we saw a life guard walking down the street, so I told the creatures that it was raining so hard, they even needed life guards to make sure no one drowned in the streets 🙂
The water taxi ride back to the marina was freezing! We had already been soaked for 3 hours and the rain felt like hail against our skin as we sped across the water, and the first thing we all did back at the boat was change into something dry and warm. I wore leggings and one of Danny’s big t-shirts. Leggings in Panama! Jude then made 2 big bowls of popped corn while I made a big pot of caramel, and we all enjoyed caramel corn this afternoon. At one point, Dennis, the fix it man stopped by to finish working on a hose in the head, and we sent him home with some caramel corn. It didn’t take long for word to get out in the marina, and before we knew it, the assistant manager was knocking on the boat saying his wife saw caramel corn walking past and was wondering if we had extra. We gave them a bowl and then in order to keep peace, took a bowl over to the manager too!
Finally now the rain has stopped and night has once again brought with it a peaceful stillness. It’s been a beautiful day and I am so grateful for rain, and the wondrous puddles it leaves behind.
I am also grateful for the news Danny shared with me today…it looks like if all goes well, he’ll be home on the 3rd! What a magical reunion that will be!
Adventures of a Tribe 