San Blas
Jarek
Sun 1 Jun 2003 17:49
Hannibal, his wife ,Eneida, and son, Chean(?), are visiting every day.
Sometimes, they bring some other children with them. Hannibal is a "sahila".
He can write and read in Spanish and Kuna and also understand some English.
They live in a pueblo at Rio Diablo and are tending coconut and banana trees
in Cayos Holandes. We are amigos by now. They borrow our fishing spear
almost every day and bring it in the afternoon, usually with a gift of some
fish or fruits. When I mentioned that we were running out of water, he took
our five gallon container and brought it full, refusing any payment. We are
amigos, he explained.
Then, a big rain came and we collected more water so we are OK.
Three big motorboats have arrived and anchored by Quinquindup, a little
island which I think is the prettiest around here. Judging from the radio
conversations, skippers are Panamanians, with some foreign guests(?) aboard.
A bit of noisy dinghy rides around and a not-so-quiet partying until late at
night with powerful spotlights illuminating the island. Question: why so
often we have to numb our senses with booze upon arriving to such beautiful
places. Is it too much for us to bear?
A few days ago we had two charter boats rafting in the main anchorage. I was
visiting Tom and then, Sig for a few hours late afternoon there. Charterers
started partying rather quietly and they kept music at moderate volume.
Bill, who was leaving next day, was burning his plastic and paper trash on
Isla Redonda. A charter boat skipper brought his two huge garbage bags.
Having been assured that no glass or metal cans were in there, Bill agreed
to take care of it. It appeared that more than half of the garbage war just
that: glass and metal. Bill, an ex-cop, handled the problem quietly and
efficiently - the garbage went back to the charter boats. Well, the next
afternoon I saw the same boats anchored in the middle of Cayos Holandes. We
can only guess what happened to the garbage.
Cayos Holandes are moderately littered, mostly with plastic. Whenever we
burn our trash, we try to collect some old stuff and burn it together. We
might be already out powered, though. Kunas, apparently busy with their
everyday life, do not seem to pay attention to the problem.
Saturday, May 31.
On Thursday, about noon, reality hit me hard: an acute food poisoning. I did
not have a proper medication. Bouts of diarrhea and vomiting coming every
10 -15 minutes were sapping my vital energy very rapidly. About one thirty I
knew it would not go away by itself and hailed on VHF the fellow cruisers
anchored on the other side of the island. They gathered their resources and
three of them, Sandy, Sig and Tom arrived in a dinghy some 20 minutes later.
Right on time. While discussing the options, I was barely able to follow the
conversation. Nobody had exactly right medication, but Sandy, a
veterinarian, had a pertinent animal remedy - a strong adsorbent, anyway. I
quickly took two pills, was given four more to take in the evening and in
the morning, and Sig showed Przemek how to make the anti-dehydration remedy.
They also decided, that if I did not get any better by four o'clock, Tom,
whose boat was the fastest, would take me to a clinic on the mainland.
Fortunately, there was no need to run to the clinic even though I was
extremely weak. All my body was hurting but I was able to doze off many
times during the night, sipping the anti-dehydration fluid when awake. On
Friday morning I was able to hail my medical response team and tell them I
was getting OK. I was still very weak, though, so in the afternoon I checked
my pulse. Sure enough, my atrial fibrillation was there. By that time, I was
eating light food so was able to take all the necessary medications. Today,
the fibrillation is gone and I am already strong enough to do my breathing
treatment and move unhurriedly around the boat. What a terrible experience.
What a fantastic community! Sig came to visit in the morning and also say
good by - "Mary T" is leaving tomorrow. Hannibal and family brought some
lobsters. They are leaving for their pueblo at Rio Diablo tomorrow. I gave
Eneida a set of four coffee mugs decorated with International Code flags and
she seemed to be very pleased. What a nice people.
Przemek, who ate exactly the same food, had no problem whatsoever. An
accident or my old age? I will surely supplement my medical cabinet properly
in Panama City.
Sunday, June 1.
I am almost OK and my breathing did not deteriorated much. Life is getting
back to normal.