I am trying to fix up an abandoned resort in Bocas. I watch the property and get to use the lovely place. A brief inspection indicated that neglect and theft had exact a large toll. I was expecting to do some minor woordworking, painting and groundskeeping. I discovered that the place has been ransacked. A washing machine, a dryer and a refrigerator and yes, a sink had been stolen from the laundry room.
The kitchen door suffered from termites and having a panel kicked. Batteries at $500 apiece were all dead Over a dozen them. Thousands of feet of building wire that tied the place together had been stolen. A water pump was missing. Three generators that don't work. Two golf carts that had given up the ghost to the jungle. Inverters stolen. Three 1000 gallon water tanks were carried off with nobody seeing a thing.
Hmm, after this discovery I decided to resume my initial task for the day which was to empty the vinyl pool and reattach the liner. I recruited a couple friends some spur of the moment recruits from the Indian Neighbors. The tools for the task where shlepped a long ill maintained overgrown gravel path with weeds over three feet tall. Could be some very dangerous snakes hiding in that overgrowth. A big generator was wired to a battery charger that was wired to a 12 volt bilge pump that was rated at 1000 gallons an hour. Due to the lift from depth of the pool it was probably making 50. Plan B, 20 gallon buckets were found and the workers got in the filthy water and filled them with probably half that and threw the 80 pound buckets out of the 10 foot pool hundreds of times, never slowing. I sat in the shade and drank water. I was getting tired just watching.
The liner was put in place and a shop vac hose secured under the liner and duct taped into position thats how you pull a vinyl liner tight. An hour later the kid was still lying by the side of the pool in the hot sun. "What's he doing there?" Holding the liner hose. Oh, got. We jammed a broomstick next to the hose, tilted it back and taped in position. The kid went back to macheting the lawn.
The older man, Gin had built the resort. We chatted late into the night while eating copious amounts of meat, served ala Chris. Chris grills huge fillets and cuts them into giant junks and then unceremoniously presents a bloody paper plate piled with meat and invites his guests to help themselves. No cutlery or dishes are offered, he just picks up giant piece after giant and eats them with his fingers expecting guests to do the same. Side dishes could potatoes, boiled or mashed with sauteed veggies. Still no cutlery.
We talked late into the night with Gin who I had discovered by eating at restaurant at the mouth of the river to the resort. His wife runs the place and serves large quantities of excellent for $6 to $7 a plate. He provided the generator and embarassedly ask for $20 for his days labor. The kid got the standard rate of $12.
The kitchen door suffered from termites and having a panel kicked. Batteries at $500 apiece were all dead Over a dozen them. Thousands of feet of building wire that tied the place together had been stolen. A water pump was missing. Three generators that don't work. Two golf carts that had given up the ghost to the jungle. Inverters stolen. Three 1000 gallon water tanks were carried off with nobody seeing a thing.
Hmm, after this discovery I decided to resume my initial task for the day which was to empty the vinyl pool and reattach the liner. I recruited a couple friends some spur of the moment recruits from the Indian Neighbors. The tools for the task where shlepped a long ill maintained overgrown gravel path with weeds over three feet tall. Could be some very dangerous snakes hiding in that overgrowth. A big generator was wired to a battery charger that was wired to a 12 volt bilge pump that was rated at 1000 gallons an hour. Due to the lift from depth of the pool it was probably making 50. Plan B, 20 gallon buckets were found and the workers got in the filthy water and filled them with probably half that and threw the 80 pound buckets out of the 10 foot pool hundreds of times, never slowing. I sat in the shade and drank water. I was getting tired just watching.
The liner was put in place and a shop vac hose secured under the liner and duct taped into position thats how you pull a vinyl liner tight. An hour later the kid was still lying by the side of the pool in the hot sun. "What's he doing there?" Holding the liner hose. Oh, got. We jammed a broomstick next to the hose, tilted it back and taped in position. The kid went back to macheting the lawn.
The older man, Gin had built the resort. We chatted late into the night while eating copious amounts of meat, served ala Chris. Chris grills huge fillets and cuts them into giant junks and then unceremoniously presents a bloody paper plate piled with meat and invites his guests to help themselves. No cutlery or dishes are offered, he just picks up giant piece after giant and eats them with his fingers expecting guests to do the same. Side dishes could potatoes, boiled or mashed with sauteed veggies. Still no cutlery.
We talked late into the night with Gin who I had discovered by eating at restaurant at the mouth of the river to the resort. His wife runs the place and serves large quantities of excellent for $6 to $7 a plate. He provided the generator and embarassedly ask for $20 for his days labor. The kid got the standard rate of $12.
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