Sunday Afternoon in Isla Colon

Saturday morning 3:30 am – cant sleep – too warm in shack – roosters being loud. Cool out on the porch. We have accomplished much since we arrived. The tank platforms are built and set on concrete footings; half of the PVC rain gutters are up on the edges of the pavilion roof, the first flush system has been built and tested, the frames and corrugated zinc have been cut and are ready to go up later today, the sand and gravel for the biofilters has been prepped and washed and is ready to load into the containers, water samples for microbiology have been gathered and incubated. Earlier today Anna and Tom joined a local volleyball game despite not speaking Spanish – Bravo for them. I/we continue to observe the social and political structural interactions between several of the main characters, principally Ambrosio, the”political” chief and Ramon, the “go-to” tech guy for problem solving. It is not an outright power struggle but each has a certain seniority in the community and each wields a certain clout. Ambrosio carries a large ring of keys, has access to buildings and use the chain saw like a plastic surgeon; Ramon is the man you call when you need to anything mechanically difficult done – not only does he have the tools, he has the applied “know how” and problem solving skills. On our side of things we have Kyle who had previously been the student project lead and has worked with his dad in construction – really knows what he is doing. This years lead is Jesse who has done and admirable job of organizing and keeping the project on track – whats amazing is that Jesse is not and engineer but a computer science major. He is assisted by Tom who has done a great job on the details including our travel and lodgings.

The days are long – without electricity we are governed by the natural cycle of the available daylight. We get up just before 7am and “wash up” as best we can. There is no point putting on clean clothes. The work is muddy and within an hour we are drenched and covered in it. During the heavy rains on Thursday we used the fallout from the field drainage pipe to wash off our shoes and hands. The mud is so thick that it will suck a sneaker off a foot. I call it “Vietnam”. We pretty much forgo breakfast, just some water or sweetened water concoction nd off to the site. We have been working with a pretty steady crew of 4 – 5 men from the community including Daniel, Remillio (Heinz), Bartolome and Oliver, as well as big help from Ambrosio and Ramon. For the process of hanging the rainwater collection gutters Ambrosio built a ladder out of sapplings nailed together with cross pieces. WE work until noon then break for an hour – go back to the shack, clean up a bit, dry off a bit and get a light lunch. Today, Abrosio’s wife had baked coconut rolls so Scott and I sat on the deck tearing into them topping the bread with a combination of smuckers grape jelly and “Killing Me Mon” hot sauce that we picked up in Isla Colon. It was surprisingly delicious, plus we were hungry. In the afternoon we went back to work on cleaning the interior of the 600 gallon tanks with bleach – we did this by mixing a 5 – 1 bleach solution, pouring it into the tanks, sealing them and getting some of the local kids to help us push them across the field. Just like field day in grammar school. Afterwards, while Daniel and Remillio cut corrugated zinc panels (the side walls for the tanks, we were cutting some of the heavy timbers for its frame. Oliver was doing the bulk of the cutting, with me helping by moving the heavy 4x 4 around for him to cut. To help steady the lumber I bribed the kids to sit on the loose end by let them  take turns using my iPod and Bose headphones. When the wood was being pulled out I yelled “Arriba”; when a new board was in place I bawled “Buttaccas a la madera”. They howled with laughter over that, and really dug listening to the tunes, a combination of Jimmy Webb, Eric Clapton and Genes. The other thing the kids get a real rise out of is touching the hairs that are on my upper back and neck; the locals are relatively sparse on body hair so I am kind of new and exotic to them. It is fodder for lots of jokes and bantering. Speaking of which, Scott and I have proven to be boon companions with complimentary and overlapping skills. And sick senses of humor. I think our younger team members are either put off by our frequent laughter, think us coarse and ill-mannered, or consider us just plain crazy. We are literally laughing and joking from dawn until dusk. Well, battery is fading here – I will try to scrounge some more charge and continue later.

Saturday evening – 6pm. We are doing amazingly well. We have hit all our milestones and are right on target. The gutters are hung and the first tank is up and connected; the first biosand filter is complete and functional. I have tended to another laceration but this did not require sutures – the sun shower has been very useful for cleaning feet and this was a foot wound. The rest of the tasks include caulking the PVC gutter connections, placing the second tank, hooking up the first flush system and hanging the corrugated zinc sheathing.

Scott heads home tomorrow so I will take the water taxi with him back to Isla Colon and see him off, and while there pick up some needed hardware. We should finish on time. So far I have worn the same cutoff tee, the same shorts and the same socks and sneakers since Wednesday. Aside from the sun shower, no real showers and Number 6 talc only goes so far.  Scott has proven to be an invaluable companion and mentor in too many ways to name and I will miss him for the two days he will be gone. We have spent the past 6 days working hard and laughing harder. He has made Panama one big-ass road trip for a couple of old geezers. I can’t begin to imagine what the students think of us. WE can best sum the whole thing up as “EWB-Panama; mud, blood and Ramon”! I’ll explain later.