Fishing in Olon

We had a chance to watch some local fisherman right outside our apartment on Friday.

They started by dragging their huge net from the beach into the ocean on a small paddle-powered boat. They spread the net out over what looked like about a quarter of a mile. Then, two lines of people standing a quarter mile apart dragged the net in over the course of an hour, slowly meeting in the middle, right in front of our apartment.

As the fishermen finished their work, lots of other people showed up: a ceviche-on-a bike-cart guy and the pescado-motorcycle guy were first to line up, followed by vendors from the local fish market. Others brought nets and some tied ropes around their waists and stuffed their shirts with flopping fish. The whole thing happened without any exchange of money, so I’m not sure whether this was a business venture or just a fun Friday morning fishing trip among friends (have I mentioned that our Spanish is terrible?!). As they wrapped up their work, the men taught Talia how to play fetch with some hungry birds, using the fish that were to small to keep. A lot of excitement on a Friday morning!

Oh, and the other exiting moment this week occurred when a lizard dropped from our ceiling onto Kyla’s desk while she was working. Talia and I were eating lunch in town, but we ran home via the 5 minute commute on the beach so that Talia could help set the lizard free. Later that day, the lizard’s BFF showed up and we had to do another lizard relocation project. I felt a little badly evicting the lizards, given my line of work, but I’m hoping we did right by them.

Pics/videos of lizard and fishing below!Read more