July | 2012 | Rule #2: Don't Die.

Archive | July, 2012

Another 2 weeks without internet…

We are finding that our lives in Panama are actually quite uneventful. Other than sitting at a bar and watching the London 2012 Opening Ceremonies on the beach in the middle of a serious storm, nothing exciting has occured in the past week. We finally finished our part in the bathroom tiling project and we added in a nice mosaic where we ran out of tile. It looks awesome and draws attention away from the ridiculously unbalanced shower handles, so that is always a plus. They ended up hiring some locals to finish the pan for us, which is really good since we don’t really know all the intracacies of working with cement in a shower that stays at 90 degrees all day long. Before we left the Azuero Península we helped an Aussie install some fancy windows in his new beach house, which is absolutely awesome!

We said our goodbyes and then transferred to 5 buses to arrive in Lost and Found. This little gem is a recent addition to the Gringo Trail, and it’s tucked up in the mountains in the middle of nowhere. It’s super remote and, yes, it does not have internet. We met with one of the owners last night and are now committed to work in the middle of the jungle for two weeks where we will be bartenders, check in and check out staff, and work on various projects that need to be done. We again however are located in the middle of nowhere, very far from internet! It seems like a trend in Panama… Good news is that the owner and staff are so endearingly awkward the time will fly by!

We are looking forward to a trip to Bocas del Toro next weekend, where we will again have Internet access (without having to hitch hike 45 minutes down a mountain). We’ll (hopefully) update with pictures and news from our adventures then.

Tags: Azuero Peninsula, Bocas del Toro, de viajes, Lost and Found, Ojo de Agua, Panama, Playa Venao

Comments 5 Comments
Categories Our Travel Stories, Panama
Author H

Two Girls and a Trowel: staying plum, flush, and true

24 Jul

What have we been doing for these past two weeks you may ask?! Well, we have been tiling a bathroom in the middle of the country of course!

After meeting Gordon, our southern gentleman, we were assigned the task to create a bathroom that is plum flush and true. This may seem like an easy task to those who tile in the US but we are currently in Panama and walls here aren’t what you call straight; they have bumps indents and crookedness to them! On top of the wall straightness issue, the owner decided to paint his concrete walls while building the house which then demanded that we spend three days sandblasting and etching in marks in order to keep the tiles floating against gravity on the walls.

After the demolition days where over we went straight into the tile work. We spent hours making the tiles float where they needed to float and sink where they needed to sink. This was a bit stressful as all of us are perfectionists and it seemed completely rational for us to spend three hours placing three tiles on the wall!

After making some headway our boss came into the bathroom right before we placed the last row of tiles and said he wanted a rock wall in between the last two rows. We were both ecstatic and quickly moved his idea into the works. In the future we now know why a rock wall will cost $1000+ for installation in the US! Imagine placing rocks into concrete that then starts dripping down the walls and all you can do is shove concrete up a wall constantly hoping that the rocks you placed are in their correct location because you can no longer see them! It was fun and turned out beautiful but man it was an intense time…

We are finally wrapping the job up today which includes grouting the rest of the joints and laying the shower pan of concrete and rocks. We have come up with a company name thanks to our Alabama sweetheart: Two girls and a trowel! Expect shirts soon 🙂

Tomorrow may be a day of travel or a day of installing windows for an Aussie!?