Manglar Walking Path

I have been going on a short run/walk every morning and loving it. The marina property stretches up from the water to include a little inland pond and surrounding hill. There is a nice rock and concrete path that starts in the mangroves, circles through a lime tree orchard and up a steep hill that has a nice view of the property and even the Rio Dulce bridge in the distance. If you blow up the pic below, you can make out a few masts in the distance and a small part of the bridge beyond that. The pond can also be seen at the bottom of the hill.

I love meeting anyone who seems willing to chat and teach me about the area. Ernesto and Antonio were taking a break from raking up the endless dead foliage in the field. They wanted to know where I was from and if I was staying on a boat or local hotel. I wanted to know if I could somewhere cross their fence to the Tijax property next door, making for an even more interesting walking path. Antonio lead me over closer to the fence line to point out the road to Tijax, in sight but with no means to access without doubling back and going through town. While we stood there chatting, he reached up and pulled some leaves from a tree, smelt them and motioned for me to do the same. They had a peppery scent. He explained that they are good to crush and put in coffee. He called them “hoyas de pimiento” (pepper leaves) but I am researching to see if they might be Mexican bay leaves. Still a little uncertain.

These are a little easier to identify. We buy them by the bagful and just about every drink and meal gets its little squirt of lime.

There is a little rain everyday. Our mechanic, Horathio, called the mist coming down “chippy chippy.” He is a very friendly guy who we have enjoyed getting to know even though we are less happy that every single motor on this boat has some current issue needing attention. His English is very good but there is still some lost in translation moments like the message below Randall received yesterday.

Lucky for us, bomb is short for “bomba” which is a water pump. Honestly not sure if this was autocorrect issue or shorthand. Anyway, if anyone ever does have a real bomb to bring over, it’s nice to imagine they will ask if you are there first and not waste time bombing a deserted boat.