Fast forward to December 2007, when I went to Coiba National Park with Tina and Carwyn via Santa Catalina. I asked the scuba guys if they knew a gringo named Javier who might have bought land in Santa Catalina 13 years ago, and they did! So once back in Sta. Catalina, I asked around and found Javier's house, right in the center of town - and there was Javier! We were in a major rush to get cleaned up and catch the last bus out that night that might or might not be running so we just had a few minutes to catch up. In short, Javier has been living the good life in Santa Catalina (with some time in Santiago) all these years, including living off the land/sea as a subsistence fisherman for 6 years. He's now married to a lovely local woman named Kenia and they have 2 sweet kids. And he looks pretty much the same! They built a sweet house in the center of town that they rent out and have recently started running ecotours to Coiba - check out the Casa Kenia website. Well, we were lucky and caught the bus - and the bus driver didn't mind stopping outside Javier's house so Tina could document our Javier sighting:
Kenia, Javier, Connor & KirstenIn February our friends Jamie & Summer came to visit. And what they really wanted to do was go to Coiba. What could we say - no?? Especially since John hadn't been, and we only have 4 more months here... So we e-mailed Javier to see if he could set up a trip on short notice. Javier was able to accommodate us. The five of us (Summer, Jamie, John, Kirsten & Connor) spent 3 days/2 nights in Coiba with Javier. It was great - great snorkling, some excellent hikes, a flock of scarlet macaws - and time to catch up with Jav. We'll post pix soon!
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