Wednesday - D2P5

Me and Frank in the sea with the barrels proved to be a big amusement to our colleagues, and by and by, all of them came down to the dock to watch us frolic in the warm waters. I felt like a trainer at Sea World and the barrels were performing dolphins. We eventually were able to get all the glop out to the point that Frank's sharp eyes could detect no residue or irregularity in the sides or bottoms of the barrels. We floated them in to shore and turned them upside down to drain and dry. It was a good feeling to have accomplished at least one discreet task, especially with so many uncertainties hanging over us. We discussed some of these as we headed back to our shack and dried off to get ready for dinner.

Dinner Wednesday was rice and beans, a whole fried fish and my definite favorite, fried plantains or patacones. We dosed it all with a liberal helping of Bocas hot sauce and dug in. I generally do not have much of an appetite in the heat so I donated my fish, head and all, to anyone who wanted it. We relaxed for a while after dinner, discussing the next steps and came up with the game plan for Thursday. It looked like Frank would begin water sampling and testing to determine chlorine demand of island rainwater; Mike, Elizabeth and Marianna would begin assembling the tank stands, Elizabeth and Marianna would also obtain water samples from individual home water tanks for bacterial testing, Tim would go up on the ladder and start figuring out how to reattach the gutters and seal them where they were leaking, and Chip and I would brainstorm a new first flush system. It proved to be an excellent division of labor; also, it was not etched in stone. People came off their appointed task as needed to help others where and when it was required. This would pretty much define the working patterns for the five and half days.

After dinner we returned to the shack. While it had been slightly breezy up on the hill at the restaurant where we ate our dinner, at the fishing shack there was no air movement at all. Stagnant hot air filled our rooms - it really was suffocating. We were tired but not yet ready to sleep. We inventoried our water and found that our supply was beginning to run down. Certainly not critically low, but would benefit from a bit of topping off. Chip, Tim and I had brought portable hand pumped filters and the others were eager to see how they worked so we brought them out and hence began a new EWB-RPI tradition. You have, no doubt, heard of the" Buena Vista Social Club" from Cuba? We are the "Isla Popa Pump Club" from Panama.

These pump systems are common among hikers and campers and are an excellent tool for providing fresh, clean potable water while working in the field. As you can see, the entire set up is small, weighs less than a pound and is contained in a mesh travel bag. It is a silica micropore filter with pore size of 0.2 microns. It can produce a maximal flow of 1 liter per minute (if you try to pump faster than that it cavitates and sucks air around the ring seals).

 

 There are a couple of things I really like about doing it this way. First, we are water -independent. No store? No problems. Also, it means we don't have to transport large amounts of a heavy, yet cheap and available commodity. Pump filtering to generate our own water means we re-use the bottles we came over with so there is a much lower environmental impact (please note, we haul all our refuse off the island when we leave).

Finally, it allows us to be an example in the community we are working in. It tells them"your source water is good, but it is not safe, just by itself." It demonstrates to them that having clean, healthy water requires work and effort and that we are willing to do that ourselves, not just drink from store-bought bottles. There is almost a sly marketing piece going on here: "We have this really good, safe, tasty water - don't you want some?" I noticed that when Ambrosio and Daniel were working along side us and saw us filtering and chlorinating our own water, they would frequently ask for a bottle for their own drinking needs. This conferred prestige and helped put to rest the "chlorine tastes bad myth". In essence, it creates the teachable moment.

In the hot darkness, with headlights and lanterns, we pumped about a dozen liters to augment our supply, then broke the equipment down and settled in for bed. It had been a long first full day.