One of the most difficult tasks, beside laundry, is provisioning. There are no restaurants to speak of, so virtually all cooking is done aboard. Ulus[small canoes]or larger pangas come by with fruits, veggies, eggs,sometimes bread (kuna bread is like hot dog buns, only 1/3 the size), and the odd chicken complete with head and feet (but minus feathers). Many more ulus come by trying to sell the ever-present mola or kids begging for candy, magazines or whatever. It seems the food ulus come in inverse proportion to how much you already have aboard. In other words, if you don't need anything, they're here every day. If you're out of everything, you don't see one for a week or more. There's no regular schedule, so you're afraid not to "over-buy" for fear you'll be out before you see one again. I'm virtually out of everything fresh, at the moment, and not a veggie boat is sight! The towns the pangas come from have nothing in the "stores" they represent (and I use the term store very loosely, ...I guess the Kuna don't eat what we eat, so the supplies come directly out to the cruising boats. When they do come alongside our boat, what they have left depends on where they've been first, in other anchorages and in ours. If you're the last boat, too bad for you. Some boats have pretty good stuff, but some make it a chore to decide if what's left is almost in a salvageable condition and close to worth the money to you...for fear you won't see another for a long time. Every time we buy from an ulu, we're spending $20 to $30 since the prices are at a premium with the captive audience with nowhere else to go.
Now, about the hike. Yesterday, we all went off on this "river tour" and "little" hike to a Kuna village. Well, the river part of it lasted 15 mins. We left at 8 am and were supposed to return by 1 or 1:30...NOOOOOOO, back at 5!!! You do the math!! Sit back with a glass of something while I regale you with my story. Backtracking...The day before the hike when we arrived here, in the Robeson group (where the "tour" was to begin), since we hadn't found any bread anywhere, and all the bananas were going rotten, I was busy baking banana bread and had 2 loaves of bread ready to go in the oven. Coming into the anchorage, we stupidly came in at the wrong entrance and bottomed out...thankfully, we didn't ground entirely and managed to plow through. The computer charts were wrong, and we followed those without comparing to the book. We were also coming in at the wrong time of day, without the sun behind us, when you can't see the shallows...both things we know we shouldn't do...more lessons re-learned!! Back to my story, Anchor finally down, bread in the oven, George (on SV Southern Belle, and arranging the trip) calls to say there is a hike info meeting ashore. I can't go because I'm up to my eyeballs in baking, so the guys attend. They come back with the timing info and the fact it is a flat walk, not a real hike. You know me, I'm not much of a hiker (remember, princess wannabe) so I was reluctant to go along, but after being badgered, I said yes. It DID seem like the perfect hike for a non-hiker. That night, it couldn't have rained any harder!! We got up, next morning, had a quick bowl of granola. Threw in a bottle of water each, and a granola bar, sunscreen and bug repellant, and set off. Remember, we were to be back by 1 or 1:30. The ulu ride to the river was at least 30 minutes, then 15 up the little river, and then HELL was entered (for a wannabe princess)!!! In all fairness, the walk would not have been so terrible without the previous night's rain. Much of the path was now a mud hole that eventually sucked the soles off my sandals...I'm not kidding, here!!! But I'm getting ahead of myself. The first part of the trail was off-and-on mucky, with a plank bridge over a stream...I don't like those sorts of things so not a good sign!! Then, we hit a VERY LONG, one mile, overgrown airstrip, built by the US during the 2nd world war. Also big puddles and muck. By the time we've crossed this, we've given up trying to walk around the muck or puddles. I'm thinking, on the airstrip, what will this be like coming back. It's still early and we have cloud cover. Once the clouds burn off, and the humidity sets in...ouch!! However, I'm committed now and there's no turning back. There are 8 of us, plus "guides". I can't actually back out and risk embarrassing the rest of my family! Besides, I'd have had to go back and sit in the canoe, alone...for what turned out to be 6 or 7 more hours!!
Finally, we reach the shade of a banana plantation at the end of the runway. The humidity is higher, but the shade is nice. I refuse to think about the bugs and snakes lurking just off?? the path. We continue on and into the jungle...over tree roots, through more muck, and over a couple more streams. One stream gully has 2 railroad tracks across it, with a space between them. The tracks droop down in the middle! OH, MY GOD!! It's a one person only thing, so you're on your own. You don't want to know what I'm thinking here, and it would be censored anyway!! Thankfully, there is a mucky path leading down to the stream, and back up the other side. I trudge down and back up and continue along...notice the word "merrily" is missing here! Shortly after this, I feel even more suction, in the muck, than usual. And it seems to continue after I'm out of the muck as well. I look down, but can't see anything attached to my sandal, so more trudging. A couple more steps, and my entire sole falls off my hardly used Teva sandals!! George has string, so we tie it up (too far into this to return) and continue on. Within 10 minutes, the same with the other sandal!! More string and off we go again. On we trudge...next bridge-- 3 small, slippery, varying diameter logs...I struggle across in my tied together sandals, baby step by baby step! Now, I'm getting sores where the string is rubbing on my arch, as well as where all the straps are rubbing my feet. I've worn these before, but not for awhile. In fact, none of us has worn shoes at all for quite awhile. I stupidly decided not to wear my usual ones as I didn't think they'd make it! On and on we go...the hike alone ends up being over 2 hours!! It was flat, but by this time all that was lost on me. After trudging through another river (where my sandal soles would fold back in half or would fill up with water and want to float downstream, taking me too), we finally arrive at the Kuna village, which is much like every other village we've seen except it wasn't on an island. The tour there, and in the village was really quite poor as the guide really had no information to impart along the way and, in fact, the fellow at the back of the line (the fellow who ran the motor in the boat ride) was much more informative. Since I'd fallen to the back of the pack, and Ralph with me, we had the better tour from him.
After wandering around the village (paying $2 each to visit), leaving a bunch of pencils at the school, some of the group having had a swim in the river ( I didn't want to lose the moleskin I'd begged from George), and eating patacones (fried plantain) and sardines...MMMMMMM...another $2, we headed back over the long trek. It was unbelievably hot and humid, but not so mucky. We almost ran out of gas in the ulu on the way back from the river and were covered in salt water as the wind was on the beam. My feet, today, have huge sores and, to top it all off, I dropped a huge jar of peanut butter on my right foot while making the only thing I could think of for dinner. So, I have a cut from that and the toe is all black and blue. That explains why I'm not doing the laundry today. However, since we had no time to do dishes, yesterday, that's my job today...so 2 days worth of dishes to do.
Just had a news flash from Southern Belle...Melinda had 3 ticks and George had 2. I've just checked what I can see...I have one on my forearm...they're tiny, but just the same !@#@%^&***!!!! How many more can I NOT see??
2 hour intermission...Boys back, going to try another river as didn't find the right one...check for ticks...Greg found one on his own, I find one on Ralph, he finds one more on me!!!
So, ask me how much fun I've been having in the last couple of days!! Greg said he had a great time, Ralph says it was a good experience, but he wouldn't do it again...well, you know what I think!!
