Taming the jungle

Taming the jungle was quite a feat. The guys acquired and rigged up a boat before any work could begin as they needed transportation to and from the property. Jim and Jay first had to build a dock and clear a portion of the grounds before ANYTHING else could be done. The service dock was built while Jay and Jim stayed on Isla Colon and Cayo Nancy and traveled to and from the property. During such time they also acquired a second piece of land adjacent to the first piece. They built a small raised platform with a metal roof (to catch rainwater) as their home for some time to come. The Rancho housed a propane refrigerator, a propane stove, a sink, water storage, and enough space for two one man tents. Down below the platform they built an open air shower with one of the best views in the Caribbean Ocean. Notice – there were no formal facilities which meant hiking into the woods with an orthopedic potty seat and a shovel when there was business to be addressed.

Approximately every six weeks in the beginning and quickly changing to every eight weeks we would see each other. In between we would talk on the phone once or twice a week and exchange emails on the same intervals. Over time the emails stopped as when the guys traveled to town they had too much to do to wait for a computer to sit down and write. The lodge’s location is out of reach of cell phones without an external antennae so all calls were made to and from Bocas Town until such time as the guys acquired and installed an antennae. Even with the antennae the coverage was spotty so communication ran along the same lines.