Panama Farm Life Nov 16, 2024
Eye of newt, toe of frog... no, scratch that. Head of bat and kidney of rat. Our farm cats are fierce hunters. Almost daily we find pieces of...things... and that starts a game between Gary and I. What is THAT? And what animal did it come from? Gary's veterinary and research career makes the ID fairly easy. My ability to ID, not so sharp.
The last week or so has been a real challenge living on the side of this mountain. The forecasted deluge came in fast and furious. Locally, foot bridges have been swept away, sections of the roads have washed down the slopes, trees have fallen across power lines and brought them down, homes have flooded and the coffee beans are drowning on the trees.
Damage and hardships are felt all through Panama. Pieces are missing from the main highway along the route from Panama City to the west side, where we live, and on through to Costa Rica. This rain event is something very unusual especially at this time of year. Friends who have lived here for over 20 years don't recall this much water falling from the skies in this short period of time. The President of Panama has declared an emergency status for our region. It will take some time for the country to recover once the rain stops falling. We hope that will be in the next few days.
We are fortunate in that, to date, no major damage has occurred to any of the structures on our farm. Our pastures are a mess and need to be terraced and replanted with new top soil and grass. The horse stall bedding will need to be completely dug out and replaced with materials that offer a drier base. All of the metal fencing, gates and rails on the farm will need to be cleaned and repainted. Thankfully, the permanent fix to the roof of the barn is performing well. No more water streaming in to threaten the batteries and solar equipment.
January will bring much drier weather and we will set to work. I make note of what is to be done by our contractor and what is to be done with general labor from around the area. Many indigenous families have suffered with this weather and they welcome any work. At a labor rate of $15.00 per day we are glad to have their help and to help support their families.
We return from a trip to David stocking up on provisions from PriceSmart and a few other stores. I step out of the car and grab some of the groceries to carry into the house. Something by the front door catches my eye. My mind immediately starts to sort through the possibilities. Here in the tropics, the possibilities are...huge. What sort of thing crawls up to the front door and dies right in front of it? It is small, very dark brown, almost black. Fuzzy but slick. A very strange shape. Something stringy trailing from one side. Grocercies are successfully delivered to the kitchen and I return for a closer look. Gary yells. He finds the remains of a rat in the driveway. The head is missing. I don't look. The size of the rats here are just like the huge range of possibilities for 'what is that?'.
The car has just a few things left to bring inside so after vigorous hand washing I go to finish. Something pinkish and shiny is glistening at me from the side of the driveway. It is too big to have belonged to the small bat. I call Gary to inspect. THAT is a kidney. From the rat. Why did the cats not eat the kidney? Gary answers very matter of factly..the kidney tastes like urine. Oh. Sorting. I did not ask how he knew that. A burst of heavy rain. The kidney floats away and disappears into the open rain drain.
The work on the new villa has been slow. Rain delays. Heck...just getting up the road to our house is a delay. Potholes are bigger and some of the neighbors have taken to tossing in rocks, broken tiles, cardboard, styrofoam...you name it. If you can name it. I drive over the stuff very carefully. Disposable stuff here is different than the disposable stuff in your neighborhood. Guaranteed. The local bochinche (gossip) is that the government has appropriated millions of dollars to repair all the damage from the heavy rains. Well, maybe the major thoroughfares. Local neighborhood roads...likely not.
But...there may be hope. The Motta family has a compound in our area. Motta owns the parent company of Copa Airlines as well as other ventures. The property is just across the road from us. The same area where one of our friends just lost their house and AirBnB units in a gradual mudslide attributed to all the rain. We are hopeful that Sr. Motta may participate in the repair of the roads. Well, let's think smaller...at least, perhaps, influence the municipal services that do the road repairs. 2 degrees of separation...Gary's nephew is managing a commercial project for the Motta family. In Costa Rica. Maybe the right word in the right ear over the right beer...
Once Lilly begins hunting on the farm as her mother and grandmother do, I will be checking under the covers before I get into bed. For sure! At least the cats leave their treasures at the front door. For now.
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