The Float

Once upon a time, Irie was anchored in Nassau, the Bahamas, downwind from a fancy resort. One day, a big yellow floating device turned astray and leisurely bobbed by. Nobody seemed to be on the lookout or on the rescue for it, so we retrieved the float with our boat hook. It smelled like sun tan lotion and was very greasy, but a wash with dish soap took care of that. We cleaned the thing in full view on our trampoline, just in case someone wanted to claim it. We left it there to dry. After realizing what a fun toy we just obtained, we deflated the tube and stored it “up front”, where it eagerly collected mold over the years.

Sometimes, we would notice the sad deflated thing and pull up our nose at its grey color. It sure looked better and more inviting when yellow! But, the other day (windless and extremely hot), while being anchored in the most clear and tempting water, Mark retrieved the big piece of plastic, pumped it up and handed it to me. With all that salt water around, the clean-up was quite easy and minutes later, we had a comfy yellow float hanging off Irie’s stern. Now, we look just like all those charter boats with colorful toys and guests enjoying their time in the tropics.

Yesterday, I dove into the crystal water and climbed onto our clean river tube. Just when I was wondering what the hell I was supposed to do now, a wooden ulu with colorfully dressed women rowed by. I smiled, they smiled. I said “No molas ahorra, gracias!”, even though Mark thought it would be funny if I went through their whole stack of intricately sewn handiworks from my new hangout. But, when they offered some Kuna bread, I couldn’t resist. So, the “baker” came to me and while I was lying on my yellow floating device, I bought eight typical breads for US$1. Now, which charter guest can say they had this cultural experience, scoring fresh bread, while lounging on a river tube?

A new dinghy and a bright yellow float behind Irie
 

Kuna bread makes perfect garlic bread!