isla de solentiname

12/03/15

Today is my fathers's birthday. He would be 98 today.

It continues to rain. Abnorman weather conditions. Like the rest of the world. I have recovered from my slump. I have been able to breathe at night for the past couple of nights and my sinuses are starting tyo recover. My thoughts have started to clear as well. I notice there are alot of peopple here with stuffed noses. The rain has stopped. It doesn't seem to rain as long as in El Castillo where it poured the day I was there.

I am on an island in the archipelago Solentiname. There are many islands. This one has about 400 inhabitants. The biggest island. A slow boat ride from San Carlos on the coast. I am staying in a little bungalow behind the house and little store of the owners. It is quiet and serene. On a tree covered hill. The water is visible in the distance. I can hear the grackles and other birds. My view is of fruit trees and the main path in front. A pig wanders by. A hen with her chicks.

The dueña tells me that an American volunteer has just suddenly died of a heart attack. She had been living here with her husband part of the year for the past 5 years working with a local NGO doing education. She was 53. The death was announced just as I came to the island. Perhaps that accounts for the incredible stillness when I arrived. She will be buried here later today. She had no history of heart disease.

All the ideas, projects, worries, aspirations - gone in a flash. Food for thought.