House sitting

My friend Steve asked me to house-sit for him for several months so I gave notice at the coffee farm, and moved into Steve's place in Sta. Lucia. While watching his house for him, I had a few duties to take care of. I watered his coffee tree nursery, and drove water/supplies to his worker on the farm Steve is developing at the base of Volcan Baru. I used Steve's ancient Land Rover to haul the water...I have never owned a manual trans vehicle, so my stick skills were lacking. After a week or so, I got the hang of it. His truck (named "Lola") was like driving a farm tractor. You have to hold in the glow plug switch for 30 seconds to start it, and you turn it off by pulling out a knob. The drive to the farm is very steep, but this vehicle is like a tank and super fun to drive.





Steve's worker is a Ngobe-Bugle Indian and lives in a tarp lean-to with one of his wives and a son on the farm. One day, I arrived with water and the worker explained the gash on his forehead as being from falling two nights prior. He told me he had four beers. I asked him how four beers could possibly make him fall and then he admitted that he had also been drinking "guaro" - a homemade sugar cane-distilled alcohol similar to moonshine...it varies in potency but usually is as strong as gasoline. He explained that when he woke up, he had 24 messages on his phone from "Dios" telling him not to drink anymore, so he was now on the wagon. He was also bitten by a tree viper the week before and Steve asked to see it. The worker had buried it in a hole and dug it up to show Steve. When Steve asked why he buried it, he was told that the Indians believe that you need to bury snakes after they bite you so they can't hurt you later in life..??


So, Steve's plans changed entirely, and he no longer needed me to house sit. I started looking for places to rent since my place on the coffee farm had already been rented. I wasn't having much luck, and then my friend Kirt called me up out of the blue and asked if I could house-sit for him, which would begin on the same day Steve returned. What luck! I gladly accepted. Kirt's place is beautiful, with river access and lots of space, pool, totally different climate zone (more animals), and just a nice change of pace. Right after I moved in, I noticed one of the dogs on the property looked sick. He had lost a lot of weight and wasn't walking correctly. I drove him to the vet and she didn't think he had much of a chance. This was unsettling news for the poor dog, and for the thought the family pet might die on my watch. The dog seemed to be doing a little better on a new diet, pain meds, and antibiotics, but a few days later, his condition suddenly became much worse. I consulted with some friends of mine who are dog breeders and they recommended I take some last-ditch efforts. I bought a saline drip kit, and injectable pain meds because the dog was not eating/drinking. He was severely dehydrated, so I injected fluids under his hide. The pain meds made him more responsive. Despite best efforts, the poor guy died the next morning, seemingly peacefully. I notified the family who were obviously sad. There are a couple of Rots here as well, and they seem very healthy.

The river here is really cool. It's a half hour steep hike down into the canyon until reaching several nice waterfalls and swimming holes. I take one of the dogs with me when I go.