A year ago today I was repacking my bag for the umpteenth time wondering where my one way ticket would take me. To France, Spain and beyond. Tonight I sit under the stars and a bright moon in a bay on a boat. Today's events I couldn't have foreseen even from yesterday's vantage point. When I woke up this morning I thought I would be going on a trip nearby then waiting to welcome the new house sitters. As the saying goes "If you want to make god laugh, make plans."
Jenn and I have been housesitting for just over two months now. We've had hiccups but it hasn't deterred us from loving the house and our time here in Bocas del Toro. There was one week where we had no boat, no fridge and no internet. We still don't have a boat, our internet is not great but the fridge is on the mend. Its problem seems to be a matter of cleaning the back pipes out regularly from all the bugs that lodge themselves in the back. It's a propane fridge, the first one I've seen but they are very popular here. (A $6.40USD tank of propane lasts about 12 days)
Today I came inland (we're also boat sitting) and walking up the steps at 6:30am heard the Genny running. We hardly ever run the generator because we monitor our power and do laundry on days that are rich in sunlight. We unplug everything when we're not using it so there's no phantom charge and we don't use a lot of water so the water pump doesn't have to work hard and use up the power. As I was walking up the steps I thought maybe Jenn had been keen and started a load of laundry so we could hang it before we left for our day trip and it would be dry for the new house sitters.
That was not the case. A lot of learning happened today. Apparently the house wanted to make sure we learned a lot more about water pressure systems, batteries, generators and the whole system and how it works together. Sometime in the night a switch that is activated by a pressure gauge on a water system stopped working. Instead of turning off the pump kept going sucking so much power that our displays were angry with a red light indicating power was getting dangerously low. Having recently been told the damage that can happen to batteries when depleted we were anxious (to say the least). We called next door to Carl and Mary for advice and to cancel our trip.
I wont bore you with all the other things I learned but after being very sad to leave the day before Jenn and I are ready to embark on other adventures. If only the new house sitters had shown up! I've been a little bummed that the new house sitters aren't as chatty as I would have liked. Particularly after waiting all day and receiving a message just before sundown that they were only in Panama City. I've only had a very short chat two days ago with the newcomers, my favorite question so far was: "Are there bugs?"
To which I replied "yes, it's not a sealed house. There are lizards, geckos and the very occasional scorpion"
I looked up at Jenn and asked "I don't have to mention the cockroaches that are the size of your hand right? Those fall under 'bugs'?"
At least they don't bite or bother, they just hang out on the walls really.
So it's been a really tiring day and I've enjoyed recalling where I was last September 24th. So many new faces, places, changes and learning's. So many airplane rides, boating lessons and land exploration. If you walk out your front door, not sure where you'll end up some interesting things will happen. I guess that one way ticket was just what I needed to see the world of possibilities.
Spoiler alert: I'll be living on a boat!
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