Water problems

We tried to fill the new reserve water tank today. It filled well. But, a few minutes later the tank toppled over!

foundation not level and/or firm enough

Let’s start at the beginning…

One of the challenges of living in Panama is that services we take for granted in Europe and largely in the US too, are not available 24/7. The internet via fibreoptics is the exception - that’s super reliable! We had onle 2outages in more than 2 years. It is faster and better than the internet connection my family has in rural Austria!

Well, electricity and water are a totally different story!

The water association that supplies the hostal sends water only every morning from about 6 to about 10. If you want to have water during the other hours of the day, you need to have a reserve water tank. And, if that tank is not placed about 2 m (7 ft) above the highest shower head, you also need a pump.

We had 2 such tanks installed, with a combined volume of about 2,100 liters (600 gallons). And we had a pump installed as well.

During the high season we had at times 15+ guests staying with us, plus us two, and 2 workers. It turned out, the capacity of these tanks was not enough! Every evening the tanks were empty, and during the night there was no water for the toilets or the sinks.

So we replaced the 1100 liter tank with a 1700 liter one, and tried to find space for more tanks. Instead of only the swimming pool tank, we placed two more drinking water tanks next to the pool, and created an involved system of tubes from and to where the original water supply was connected to the system in the house.

Tank farm - pool tank, plus two reserve water tanks

Reserve tanks on and under platform, pool tank to the left

With that, I thought, we should be ready for the next main season…

It’s the low season right now, and we have only one guest. So the original 1000 liter tank was quite sufficient. But, yesterday, our neighbor told us, that power company cut the power supply to the association’s water turbine! Apparently, they didn’t pay the electricity bill for 3 months! Today would be the last time we would receive water, until that situation is cleared up!

So we got up early this morning and started filling all our reserve tanks. 5400 liters (1400 gallons)! That should keep us hydrated for a week or so. Hopefully they will have figured out a solution to get the water flowing again by then!

Well, once the first tank was filled, it toppled over!🤦‍♂️ 1,700 kg leaning against the washing machine and the drain pipe from the second floor! 😫

Luckily, the other big tank wasn’t full yet, so I was able to find a way to pump the water from the damaged tank into the other one. Phew! But 1700 liters less in reserve… 🤷‍♂️😩

Let’s see if the damaged tank is salvageable. First, i need to put a concrete slap, to ensure nothing is moving anymore, then try to straighten out the tank’s side, and probably also adjust the tubing as the level has changed… 

There I was, thinking I would retire and have an easy life! 😝 Instead I ended up getting sucked into building two homes, and operating a hostal, plus helping run a restaurant! 🤦‍♂️🤪🤷‍♂️

Well, one day, maybe, retirement hits me too… 👍😊👍

About sustainability and environmental impact of Hostal/Homestay Un Mundo

When designing and building our Hostal/Homestay Un Mundo in Santa Catalina, Soná, Veraguas, Panama I had sustainability and environmental impact in the forefront of my mind. 

there’s only 1 world. we have only 1 planet to live on. we’re only 1 people. let’s all work together, not against each other!

Hostalworld, which is one of the booking site on which we are listed, sent an email today encouraging their partners to think more about these topics. The recommendations they gave are good, yet only a small part of what we tried to do here. I thought I write a little bit about these topics various ways we made sustainability and impact a driving and deciding factor…

They also did some research comparing hostals with hotels, and found, based on their estimates, that hotels have 4 times as much of a negative impact. This report can be found here. The exact number, of course, is dependent on the quality of the estimates. But, it’s pretty obvious that if the average persons per room (and bathroom) is higher, the per bed amount of material and energy used for construction is smaller, and operations and maintenance of that space is less involved as well.

In our case, though, we applied a building style and used materials during construction that have a much better sustainability score than the typical or average construction.

Here some aspects:

* We don’t use concrete walls, but wood - concrete is a very strong CO2 source. Also, concrete soaks up the heat of the sun, turning rooms into baking ovens. Wood, on the other hand, acts as an insulation!

* Our walls are not solid, but are mostly thin lattice with quite wide gaps. There’s always a breeze in the room. And the cool night air can easily enter the room. To protect against mosquitoes we wrapped the whole house in insect screens.

* Roofs in Panama are mostly made of sheet metal. Ever touched some metal that was laying in the sun for a while? It gets very quickly very hot! If the roof touches the concrete all that heat gets absorbed and stored by the concrete. We have the roof far removed from concrete. Although the mansard apartment gets very hot during the day, by 18:00 it’s already cooled down enough to be comfortable again. And during the night I need a sheet to cover because it’s too cold without it!

* Our wood was resourced at the closest sawmill, which gets its wood from the forest behind their house. With that the transportation distances for the wood was minimal.

all the wood is sourced locally or repurposed

* We use only local wood (except the doors, which are prefabricated, made of pine, and transported). For walls that can get wet from the rain we use teak. For other purposes we used whatever type the sawmill had available that day.

* While we bought lots of normal boards, too, we also used many “chapones” - these are the first pieces of wood sawed off a log. They are rounded and with bark. Usually, these boards are discarded. We removed the bark, and cut lattice from them, with which we built the side walls. That wood, thus, is not rotting putting the carbon in the form of CO2 back into the atmosphere, instead the carbon stays bound as wood in our walls.

* Virtually all other hotels and hostals in the area need air conditioning to achieve a comfortable sleeping environment. We don’t need a/c - thus, our electricity bill is around 40$/month, instead of 300$ or more.

* The high humidity in the air causes mold and mildew, if there’s no air is not moving. Usually, people fight this by using harsh chemicals frequently on all surfaces. By having a very airy wall design, the air is always moving, so we do not need to apply such chemicals - which is healthier for the inhabitants and better for the environment, too.

large windows add to the breeziness of the rooms

long time no post…

 I haven’t written anything in a long while! I guess, it was just too busy a time, the last few months…

With mid December the rainy season came to an end, and with the dry season came the season for tourists. On the northern hemisphere, this is the cold time, and many people flock to the tropics to avoid the ice and snow. 

By mid January we had our first dormitory, two of the toilets and one of the showers ready, so we decided to try to put it on Hostalworld and AirBnB. 

curtains to add privacy

very rustic, but functional

Whao! We very quickly got many guests! And, what is even more exciting, many of them extended several days beyond what they booked!

Even though we still were working on the second, larger dormitory, and there was a lot of dust and materials between the entrance to the floor and the ready dormitory, the feedback we received was very positive. 

upstairs are dormitories, downstairs a private room and dormitory for workers and volunteers

I tried to build in a way that allows us to get by without air condition and that folks are not locked away and isolated from the world. There are big spaces between the lattice that make up the wall on one side, and on the other side there’s more window than wall. We wrapped the whole house in mosquito netting, to ensure that no insects crawl around the people while sleeping. Still, there’s a breeze in the room all the time, and in the night the cool, fresh air fills the room. 

It all was an experiment. I am happy it worked out well! Most of our guests appreciate the design a lot. You can hear the sounds of the night like in a tent, but with the comfort of a real bed…

Having many guests in the hostal, often many guests also in the evenings at the restaurant, and continuing the work at the hostal, driving to the 2 1/2 hr away Santiago to find materials for the construction and ingredients for the restaurant, it was a super busy time!

There’s much more to talk about! I guess, I’ll write some more posts later…

sunset at the village beach

For now: greetings from lovely Santa Catalina, Soná, Veraguas, Panamá…

rain, rain, rain - this time in Panama!

Well, rainy season it is! The last week and a half we had A LOT of rain. When we came back from Chiriquí we found the restaurant flooded. After driving most of the day, we spent the evening cleaning out the flood.

the soil in the dining terrace floor already told the story

the space with the bar is the lowes part of the house - today a pool, a muddy one

The same night, it flooded again!

And finally, on Saturday, it came down in buckets again - this time in the evening while we were there, so I could see where and how the water got into the restaurant. We worked all evening: Iris made 14 pizzas, thankfully all but 2 were to-go orders. My trusted worker Wilvert and me tried to broom out and scoop up the water as it came inside.

On Monday, we increased the height of the separating wall all around, and dug little trenches to entice the water to take other routes than to flood the restaurant.

Wilvert, next to our piece of ingenuity… 🤪

Well, today, it’s coming down again in buckets! 

The view from the front terrace at the hostal

So glad we have worked on the restaurant already! It would definitely be flooded again with all that rain!

The little riverbed we cut into the terrace floor here at the hostal works, too. Through it, the water that comes down the hill in the back of the house is leaving without causing damage.

Rain runoff from hill no longer floods the house

River bed crossing the terrace

On the other side of the property, another river develops from the runoff of the other hill. Also running down in an orderly fashion. Yeay! Just on the bottom of the property we might need to provide more guidance, I guess…

Surrounded by water… 😝

When you don’t have to worry about flooding, it is actually a very beautiful thing! Soothing sounds, feeling of being protected and safe - I could watch and listen to the rain for hours! Yet, it rains like this only for 1/2 hour, then quiets down for a few hours, before the next downpour…

Our Hostal Un Mundo is getting close to be ready…

Slowly, step by step, the hostal in Santa Catalina is getting further and further ahead. Yeay!

We finished tiling the kitchen a few days ago. Iris is now grouting the last little areas. Then applying the sealer, and the kitchen and dining room is ready. 

Iris the chef is also an expert in grouting by now!

My dear friend Nancy had bequested her dining table to me, and it came from the US with the container with my household goods in September.

our first guests at breakfast

I’m still working on a rustic bench, built from rough-sawn teak and cedro wood. My tablesaw and other tools came with my household goods, too. It feels so nice to be able to work with wood again!

The dorm room is also ready. I built the beds, we bought the mattresses and carried them home on the roof-rack, and Iris put the sheets and towels… 

It is a rather small space, but mattresses are good ones, and sheets, too.

We hope folks will enjoy our hospitality

We are ready for guests. Only the outside needs to still be worked on. But, that will get done in time as well…

A few days ago, I noticed a young couple in front of the restaurant, with their backbags at their feet. It was already late at night, and they appeared not to know where to go. I went outside to chat a little with them. Turned out, my impression was right - they where stranded without accommodations. They had a tent, but to find a spot to put it up in the night is rather difficult. So I offered them to stay with us for the night. 

Our first guests

They were very glad and we got a chance experience how it feels to have people stay in our home. We had a wonderful time with them! 

They reaffirmed for me that the idea and concept is good and needed:

Hostal Un Mundo

One World - One Planet - One people

A meeting-spot for open minded, caring spirits from all over the planet!

The trouble with local real estate

 There are two types of houses that are available in Panama, based on what I found when searching:

Homes built for locals, and homes built for foreigners.

The homes built for locals are quite affordable - but there's a reason for that: the quality standards and designs are not really up to what a typical foreigner would find acceptable.

Today I encountered one of the very typical problems also in Iris' house: the toilet drains tend to get clogged. I can't count how many local toilets I visited where signs of "Don't throw toilet paper into the toilet" are tell-tales of this issue!

I had installed a toilet a while ago - a provisorium. We didn't have running water yet, but we simply refilled the toilet-tank from a bucket after flushing. No problem...

The toiled drain in the other bathroom was plugged with some crumpled up cement bag - originally, so no debris falls into the pipe and causes problems later on. Lately, also to avoid gases from the septic system to come up through open hole.

Well, after tiling the whole bathroom, and grouting most of it, as well, I got ready to install the toilet here, too. Trying to remove the paper was very hard. It seemed to be soaked, and had lost any cohesion! Once I finally got the paper removed, to my great surprise, I found a "soup" sitting in the toilet-drain.  (Explains the moist paper plug! Yuck! 😝)

Soup sitting in drain is an unpleasant surprise in many ways

Apparently, the self-proclaimed "specialist" had glued the pipes together with a inclination instead of a declination! So, part of what was flushed down on the one bathroom, ended up flowing down the pipe to the other bathroom!

I have encountered many problems already in this house, and fixed them, or found a work around. But, how the heck, am I supposed to fix this one?!?!

I decided to break the finished tile-floor again, and using the jackhammer, open the concrete floor, and see if maybe the pipe can be lifted a little bit. 

Well, obviously, that didn't work out! A 1cm (1/2") pipe is a little flexible. But a 10cm (4") pipe doesn't move a mm on such a short length!

3 hours of work to dig out that pipe again

It looks, as if the pipe is forking off the pipe of the other bathroom, using a Y piece. And, 30cm after the Y and 60 cm before the end where the toilet is going to be sitting, the foundation of the wall between the bathrooms is fixating that pipe. It is in the wrong position for good! Cast in concrete, literally!

So far I have not been able to come up with any idea as to how to fix this problem! The only thing that might make life easier with a constantly clogging toilet, is a cleanout access close to the toilet. So, when the pipe is clogged, it is possible to insert a pressure hose without having to uninstall the toilet each time... So, if no better idea comes to me, I'll be cutting the pipe and inserting a 5cm (2") fork and letting that 5cm pipe lead all the way to the bathroom floor and put a plug on that. Not pretty. But kind of hidden a little by the toilet bowl, so you don't immediately see it, when entering the room. 

How the heck to fix that!?!

Well, we're about to go on another vacation to Austria. The hole will stay there until we get back, and whatever the best idea is going to be by that time, I'll implement...

Now, just to be clear: The issue of incorrect declination of the sewer pipes is a problem as well of many homes that were built for foreigners! One more reason for me to be present all the time and to double check everything while I am having my house built!

This and that, poco a poco

Since we returned to Santa Catalina on Tuesday, it has been a quite productive time. Slowly, step by step, one outstanding task after the other is tackled.

I let me ex brother-in-law inspire me to try to do a little different design with the tiling in the back-room's bathroom. Well, in the mind, it appeared to be not such a big deal. In practice, however... Man! If I had know what I'm getting into with this idea, I would have stayed with the same-old, boring, typical just-slap-them-on design! Turns out I have to cut more than half of all tiles to measure, with various angles. Adding the holes for the water-pipes - aye aye aye! 

Well, today, I didn't do much tiling, though, because the electrician came to finish up the electrical installations. These tasks were weighing heavy on my mind, as I didn't feel I would be able to easily do it myself, should he decide to not come back. Well, he did come back. And he did them all. Yeay!

Hm. Yeay to a degree... It turned out, he didn't install a 10cm x 10cm electrical box, but simply left the conduits end somewhere in the wall. And, he didn't remember where exactly these pipes are. So, he proceeded to use the jackhammer to open the floor along the wall, trying to find them...

Interesting approaches! First he used the steel band that electricians use to pull the wires into the conduit, asking me to try to listen to where about I might here the scratching in the floor. 

Secondly, he proceeded to pour water into the conduit at the breaker-box - hoping that there will be a moist spot, telling us where the pipe might be. after digging around for about 1/2 hour, ruining the floor at a span of about 60 cm along the wall, we noticed a wet spot in the concrete, a few cm further left than where he was digging. So, he dug some more at the new spot, and finally found the tubes. Then he opened the wall to allow for extending the conduits to a height of about 25 cm above the floor, where he created a bigger hole to hold the 10x10 box.

From now on it was all relatively smooth sailing. Pulling the wires, installing the outlets, and done! 

Yeay. He was done! For me the hole mess is left to clean up and fix again! Iris had hired a guy to apply stucco to the walls. Later, I had hired a guy to apply drywall compound on top of the  stucco. And finally another person to sand the hole thing smooth. Finally, I painted the walls with a sealer-primer first, and two coats of paint later. The very expensive, work-intensive wall now had a big gapping cañon! The floor, too, now had a hole in it, that goes all the way to the earth under the concrete slab. I have to fill that hole with slab concrete, then apply topping again, and try to get it all smoothed out again...

So, yes, he was done. But for me the work now just started!!! 🤷‍♂️😩

But, hey, I'm not complaining - at least not too loudly! He did hook up the electrical installation in the back-room with the breaker-box. So now we can use the outlets there, and I can install the light as well... 🤪

Once he left, I was in good spirits, so I glued the tiles I had cut to measure last night. 

Then I decided to fix another problem the electrician created for us: there are no outlets on the terrace! Well, local folks don't have a terrace, and if they do, don't care about electricity out there! "Somebody else might come and steal electricity by plugging in an extension cord! So best not to have outside outlets!"

Well, we want outlets out there!

I opened the outlet box in the living room, that is in the wall to the terrace. From there I drilled a hole to the outside, so I know where to create the hole for the 10x10. Trying to not make a huge hole like the electrician did, I drilled a few priming holes with the hammer drill, then sed the chisel to cut out the hole. See for yourself the difference!

Center hole as pilot drilled from the enter of the outlet box inside 

More pilot holes to outline the hole for the box

with the chisel now "cutting" out the 10x10


inside, the back of the 10x10 box of the inside outlet is visible

Hole is ready

10x10 cm (4x4") outlet box inside

A connector on the inside box, anther on the new outside box, and a tiny piece of conduit to connect them and run the wires from the inside to the outside. One connector needed to be shortened a little bit, so the 10x10 is flush with the outside wall...

Used some leftover Romeral to start filling the holes. Once that is dry in two or three days, I might need some more cement, or be able to directly apply the drywall compound... we'll see. The large hole in the floor left open will need more cement later, too...

By now the sun was setting, so I left the rest for tomorrow: installing outlets outside, connecting them to the outlets inside, and adding a switch inside, with which I can turn off the electricity for the outside outlets. Darn! There the neighbors already were rubbing their hands anticipating to steal electricity, and this damn gringo foiled their plan!!!

Well, all in all, it was a productive day again! Electricity all done (aside of the outside outlets which I can do myself), tiling progressed a little, too!

Tomorrow's another day... for today, let me clean up and head ot the restaurant. Maybe there will be guests again today, with whom I can have another of my typical inspiring conversations...

Carriola - the universal building material for everything

 What is the 2 by 4 in the US, that's the carriola here in Panama.

Everything is being build using carriolas. Or, the other way around, carriolas are used to build everything!

At the Hostal Un Mundo it was used for the roof truss (the original purpose of existence for Carriolas). But it also was used for the columns that hold up the roof truss and thus create the second floor of the building, and to stabilize that structure.

Miguel and Brian supporting and securing Delmer (who is on the outside of the roof screwing down the latest sheet of "zinc")

It is being used as platform on real and makeshift scaffolds, as temporary support for zinc (wavey sheetmetal used for roofs) during its installation, as temporary support to lean the ladder against, and similar temporary purposes. 

Iris watching how Fernando is applying the "repello" (concrete plaster) on the outside of the wall - she's trying to learn everything!

Then, we used it for the ramp that leads to the the door of the second floor, to hide/protect the water pipes in the bathroom, and - in  little while - to create the greenhouse for our vegetables. 

Not sure if my design is good, but Delmer thinks it might work. We added a sheet of aluminum as topping, later, and a railing on both sides...

I might use it, also, to build shelving, bunkbeds, maybe even the base for the sink in the kitchen. Who knows what other purposes I might come up with...

Delmer, my trusted carriola, electricity, masonry, and welding specialist (Fernando, a local muchacho who also got some very useful expertise in wall finishing and masonry, in the background)

The idea is derived from U-beams. The simple U beam was enhanced with small lips at the opening of the U. That allows for even more stability, as well as for easier welding on the opening side of the U.

Here's a schemata of the structure:

+----+
|       |
|
|
|
|
|
|       |
+----+

The most common dimensions are 3", 4" and 6". The closed side of the U of 3" carriola is 3" wide (7.5 cm). the walls leading up to the opening of the U are 4 cm, and the lips are about 7 mm. 

Sometimes, if an even stronger beam is needed, two carriolas are welded together like this:

+----++----+                                                        +----+    
|       |  |       |                                                         |       |
|                 |                                                         |+----+
|                 |                                                         ||        |
|                 |       in some special cases like this  |         |
|                 |                                                         |         |
|                 |                                                         |         |
|       |  |       |                                                         |        ||
+----++----+                                                        +----+|
                                                                              |       |
                                                                             +----+

I already bought a welding machine. I guess, within short or long I will have to learn how to weld, too...

Hostal un Mundo

 Originally, Iris planned to rent out rooms in her house to locals. 

The hotels around here need more workers than are available in the village, so many people are commuting here to work. Early in the morning you can see several pickup trucks with the truckbeds full of people arriving. And the early morning busses (arriving at 6:30 and 7:30) are often full, too. The problem, though, is getting back home. The last bus leaves at 5:00, so those who want to (or could and would be needed to) work in the evening would be stuck here, with no place to sleep. 

Iris wanted to fill that need.

However, when trying to find accommodations for our guest-workers from Chiriqui we realized, that there is nothing available for guests on tight budgets as well. Most of the hotels are in the 50 to 140$ per night range. The two hostels in town, that are renting beds in mixed dormitories, are also almost 20$ per bed per night.

So we thought, maybe we can provide a mix of less expensive beds for guest and local workers as well. Even though the house is about 20 min walk from the beach in the village, we think, some backpackers and youngsters might prefer to save a few dollars on the bed and walk, rather than paying premium prices for 15 min closer to the beach... 

We'll see... For now, we're thinking (hoping) that between locals and thrifty foreigners, we're going to be able to have enough business to have the house pay for itself over time...

With the change in plans for the purposing, the floorplan of the upstairs changed as well. And the ideas about the landscaping around the house too.

Instead of another kitchen and 3 bedrooms upstairs, we're now thinking of making just one big room, and four toilets plus two showers for guests to share.

Instead of using blocks to build the outside walls, we're planning on using locally sourced wood on the side, and mostly glass on the front and backside.

But, all that will have to wait for now. First, we have to get the downstairs ready!

Progressing nicely with Iris' house

This week, Fernando (a young local man), and Capo (a "guest"-worker from Chiriqui) were working on the stucco of the third outside wall. Unfortunately, we did not have enough "tinta" - a color powder, which is mixed with cement and applied in a thin layer on top of the the freshly installed stucco.

I also learned, that it is important for the stucco to dry sufficiently first, before applying the tinted layer. In our case, it was already very late in the afternoon, and we didn't wait long enough for the stucco to dry. As a result, the grey of the stucco was bleaching into and through the layer of color, leaving the wall blotchy. Fernando - the specialist around this technique - thinks it might be possible, to apply a second layer of tinted cement and get the wall to be looking nice. Let's hope this is true...

Secondly, Capo started working on stairs leading up from the road to our yard. It is fascinating to see what local folks are able to do manually; And how they are able to build something quite beautiful and significant with the simplest means! 

Manually cut out of the earth

While Capo was digging the ground for the stairs, Fernando was working in the house, applying more drywall compound onto the walls, to create an ultra smooth finish, ready for painting later.

Fernando working the walls

Once Capo had the ground ready, the two of them mixed up the concrete - right on the dirt road in front of where the stairs are being built - and started to set the blocks to form the sidewall and steps. 

Public water pipes in the way

While Capo prepared the ground, we realized that two water pipes, which are supplying the neighbors down the road with city water, are running across the stairs. Well, obviously that won't work like that. Our plan is to cut the pipes off, put in detours to run them lower down underneath the stairs. 

Capo with the beginnings of our stairs

Water is currently provided only from about 7 am to about 11:30 am. Outside of these hours, you either have to make do without water, or install a tank.

For our problem it is off course excellent that  the water is tuned off from noon until the next morning every day! With that daily interruption it is easy to perform that work. There's no permit needed - one simply does what needs to be done, and if there's no disruption for the neighbors, nobody is complaining... Fascinating, this place! Everything is improvised, done manually, and so much without permits or involving utilities or governmental offices...

Importing Workers

After 6 months the change in ownership for the land I bought in May still hasn't made it into the registry! Without that, I can't even apply for a building permit! So, on my project, I'm still dead in the water. 

However, my partner had started building before we even met. Step by step, as much as money became available. Given the situation, we decided to first work on her house. At least get it to a point where it is useful.

The local "tradesmen" in Santa Catalina are a mess - and that's not even enough of a word to describe their cunning ways and lack of ability (or willingness) to do reasonably good work! 

My neighbors in Camarón Arriba, however, are actually quite skilled and reliable. So we ask them if they want to help us here in Santa Catalina. We can't put them up in a hotel - these are way too expensive around here! But they are very undemanding, and very interested in making some money.

The first week, Iris' neighbor "rented out" his beds and slept himself in the hammock in the livingroom. But, when at the end of the week his girlfriends little kids came to sleep there, that arrangement didn't work anymore. 

The second week now, they are "living" on the construction site. We got mattresses (which we later will be using ourselves) and put them on top of a sheet of plywood each, which are placed on some blocks to get them off the ground. A barrel with rain water suffices for washing. Iris cooks the meals at her restaurant, and I bring breakfast and lunch to the site. In the evening they come to the restaurant and eat there.

Iris is trying to make nice meals for them. Pizza (which they usually hardly ever allow themselves to afford), fish (which, of course, is much fresher and easier available here in the fishing village, than up on the mountain in Camarón. Also, fresh fruit juices, and every now and then a soda, are not usually on their table at home.

After work, if they stop before sunset, I took them to the beach. And all of us are like little children again, playing in the waves - Santa Catalina apparently is the best location for surfing in Panama! There are lots of young folks from around the world who come here to experience these waves...

All in all, they appear to be happy with the package. 

And we are very happy, too!

Finally, there's somebody who knows what they are doing working on the house! Although the bus-trip and three meals a day add to the overall cost, it still is affordable.  And, as we're now trying to compensate for all the mistakes that were made so far, the overall quality of the construction is improving with the each new step ahead.