Deborahmjenkins's Weblog

Bocas del Toro

deborahmjenkins — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 03:19:19 +0000

Sunrise at the Panama Airport! Beautiful, but do I really need to be there so early for a 45 minute flight? That is the way it is in Panama! All the flights to local areas are VERY early! Coming and going, so I just had to be ready and this sight was a treat! I headed off to Bocas Del Toro in the north-eastern corner of Panama very near Costa Rica for a three day weekend. The name comes from a tale I heard several times so I will share it with you. It is said that when Christopher Columbus landed in Bocas in 1502, he was near a huge rock. When the waves would hit the rock, it sounded like a bull roaring so, Columbus named the islands the “mouth of the bull.” How is that for a little folklore?
Bocas is actually a collection of islands plus “the dark land”, land on the mainland. The plane flew directly to one island and then, I immediately took a boat to yet a smaller island called Isla Cristobal. Incredibly beautiful, covered by jungle and surrounded by ocean. The only way around was boat! Boat taxi, boat canoes, kayaks, and lots of sail boats. I saw all kinds of birds and animals and my memory has a whole new stash of evening sounds to fill my dreams.
There were more Europeans, Americans, and Canadians here than anywhere else in Panama that I have visited. There was also a lot more English being spoken. On one of the tours I took, I met students from Switzerland, a couple from South Africa, me, and teachers from South Korea. Pretty eclectic group! The weather was as unpredictable as everyone told me it would be. I arrived in the rain and left in the rain and had everything from sunshine to thunder and lighting in between. The plane touched down in a little town called Bocas Town. It is mainly one main street with a few sides ones to go along with the flow of the shore. Funky is the best way to describe it. Lots of wooden structures painted purple, pink, green, yellow, you name it! There are some new hotels that looked pretty nice and everyone said there were quite a few good restaurants popping up. I did not stay in town but I did visited this little grocery store called Super Gourmet. They had some great food so I bought some to take with me to “my island.” At first glance, the town people reminded me of some of the little towns in Colorado-people that are from everywhere and trying really hard NOT to get old.

My little “house” was up on top of a hill. It was located between two others filled with the owners on one side (retired folks from California) and another long-term renter couple that is building a house around the shore line, from Utah. The first afternoon was spent sailing on their sail boat. Hard life!

My second day was spent on a day tour of the highlights of Bocas. First, we went to see the dolphins in Dolphins Bay. They did not let us down!

They danced and swam around all the boats for quite a while. I never tire of seeing such beautiful animals moving through the water effortlessly and with such grace!
Next, on to snorkeling on the coral reefs that surround all the islands here. We went to a place called Hospital Point. It got it’s name because at the turn of the century there was a hospital here that was built by a banana farmer to protect his workers from the tropical diseases that were abundant then. In the 20′s, the bananas got fungus that wiped them all out and the plantation closed down and with it, the hospital. You can just jump in and start looking. Lots of pretty stuff AND a few little jelly fish about five inches in length and little pink fringes. Pretty to look at, but they did sting a little if they touched. I got a little bit on my arm, but it passed in about an hour.
Lunch was spent on a little floating restaurant which was fun and then, off again to Red Frog Beach.

We came across these little critters on the leaves and on the wooden bridges criss-crossing the little cove where we parked the boat and where we had to walk to get to a beautiful beach. They were about 1 inch in length. The only scary thing about this beautiful place was the likely hood of rip-tides. There were signs everywhere with warnings however, two young Americans had been caught in the tide and died within the last six months. (25 and 18 years old!) The beach had the biggest waves I have seen in Panama and is known for its surfing certain times of the year. The wild life did not disappoint either!

I have no idea what this is, but it was just gorgeous!

These are the “berries” from the palm trees. They collect these and stuff them into bottles, add water, let it sit for awhile, and then drink it. No, I did not try it yet!

I thought this guy was so cool looking! He flipped his one over-grown claw menacingly while backing away as quickly as he could! To top it off, he was only about 1 inch long.

This is Red Frog Beach. Looks pretty tame, but don’t let that fool you! The waves could come flying in! This is the view from up on the mountain.

The next day was spent enjoying my island by kayaking for a few hours, snorkeling by Hospital Point,and then, off to eat lunch (by boat of course) to a wonder little restaurant that is owned by an Austrian couple. They serve dinner on Friday and brunch on Sunday. The food was fabulous. The only way there was by boat and the parking lot was crowded with beautiful sailboats.

The grounds were stunning, lined by the jungle and filled in with palms, orchids, bananas, you name it. Even a friendly, neighborhood sloth!

“My” little place was one of those places that should have been shared with someone. It was stunning, the sounds at night and during the day teased the quiet; the smells from the wild orchids, the sea, and the assortment of flowering bushes treated me to a different scent each time the wind shifted; the colors spread a rainbows of hues across the pallet of the sky, land, and sea; the feel of the black mud sucking my feet down was a totally new feeling and I KNOW that it would have made an incredible mask for my face!
Here is a red bamboo that I thought was exceptional!

This was own private little deck. The little, stilted house had one bedroom, a beautiful little kitchen (I cooked great fish one night!), a little sala, and my deck that surrounded the house on all four sides. It was screened in so no worries for the mosquitos. The little “no see’ems was enough. I came home with at least 100 of those little itchy bites!

I was pretty happy all in all!

Buenos Noches!

El Valle- the mountains of Panama

deborahmjenkins — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 03:17:05 +0000

This is the Chorro El Macho, one of the many waterfalls we hiked by on our way up the mountain in El Valle. It is a very pleasant mountain town about 1 1/2 hours by bus from Cuidad del Ninos this weekend with one of the other volunteers from Taiwan. During the week, rumors are that there are a few hundred people that actually live here, but the village swells each weekend with tourists, especially if it sweltering in the city. One cool fact about El Valle is that it is actually built in the crater of an extinct volcano! about 600 meters above sea level, but that really does make it quite a bit cooler. Many of the plants and animals are different as well.
When we arrived around 11:00 am, we hit the road hiking! Up the mountain, to try to get to the top of the head of the sleeping indian.

La India Dormida is a section of the mountains that circle the town, and with a little imagination, looks like a sleeping woman! The hike was about 3 hours long and, I can tell you it was up in the mountains with a cool breeze and all that, but WRONG! We are still in the tropics and by the time we reached the top we were wet all over from sweat! I am going to be so clean inside and out from sweating this summer! The most wonderful part of the hike was that we did not encounter any other folks on the whole hike except right at the bottom! It had been raining solid for the previous two days so the waterfalls were full and flowing in every direction. You can swim at the bottom of some of them which looked like a lot of fun but we did not stop. The plants here are spectacular-we may have some of the same ones at home, but the colors here are so alive!

This is a wonderful example of the colors! This plant was taller than me!
Near the bottom of the hike, we came across the La Piedra Pintada. It is a huge boulder with hieroglyphics. No one is sure what all the squiggly designs carved (not painted) mean or even who made them. Everyone warned us about the little boys that hang out on the side and, for some money, will share their theory!

By the time we returned to the Cabanas Potosi, it was dark and cool! The first kind of cool I have felt since arriving. The fireflies were out in force which is always fun to watch. We hung out on the porch in the hammock and talked for quite a while because it just felt great! MISTAKE! We should have gone to bed when we could have. The landlord had offered us ear plugs earlier, but we had not understood that at all times of the night there would be some kind of noise! FIRST, other guests just enjoying themselves outside too-no big deal. About 12:00- MIDNIGHT- a disco about a mile away turned up the music. I swear they were right next door it was so loud. They continued until around 3 or 4:00 THEN, the toucans started singing and they were even louder. Cool, but not at 5:00 in the morning. THEN, the roosters! YIKES! needless to say we did not sleep much.
Here is a great picture of one of the parrots outside the door and a sloth!

I thought he was so cute!
We proceeded in the morning to see how much more we could walk. We made our way to a little zoo called El Nispero. It is actually a plant nursery with a lot of birds, mainly, in small cages, but beautiful examples of what lives in the forests. It is also the home of the rana dorado-golden frogs! They were SO amazing! The El Valle amphibian Center, is supported by the Houston Zoo and houses about 40 endangered species. What a treat to spend time here.
Here are a few pictures of some of the most beautiful birds!

There were also these huge looking rats, capybaras, eating corn so loudly that I could hear them quite a ways before I saw them. Also Geoffroy’s tamarin=he was so ugly that he was cute! and a few different species of monkeys. My favorite? The golden frogs!

Their bodies are about two to three inches long plus their long, spindly legs. I thought they were plastic until they started moving. Unbelievable! Seeing them was worth the whole trip!
This was the sign outside the frog shelter. I thought it was pretty cool!

On the way out of town we had to do a little shopping at the outdoor central market and then we headed back to Cuidad del Ninos for another week of working with the boys.
Until next time, hasta luego!

Panama Viejo

deborahmjenkins — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 23:51:56 +0000

Panama City was founded over 500 years ago-the first Spanish City on the Pacific coast! All that is left now are these stone ruins. The pirate Henry Morgan burned it down during a battle in 1671. Henry Morgan, his mighty crew, and the King of Spain were all after the gold, silver, and anything else of any value and his plan was to leave nothing behind. They traveled overland, first sacking any of the cities on the Caribbean side and then, trudged through the jungle until he came upon the city. The natives actually did not put up too much of a fight at the last minute. How do I know? I visited the very nice museum that is now located right at the entrance to the ruins that had a great explanation of the city’s past.
This picture is of the cathedral tower that was located in the middle of the town. It was quite a trading center, even back then! There were traders from all over the world including Italy, Spain (of course), and even Asia. The other structures were convents (there were several) and homes of the richer citizens. most of the regular folk and worker’s homes were made of wood and were burned. Right down the road from this site is the site of a slave trading station. I did not make it there because this site comes right up against one of the most crime infested neighborhoods in Panama City so I did not stray too far from the path!

This is the largest cathedrals from one of the convents. They have started, in the last 20 years or so, to really clean up the ruins and build supports for the stones that are wearing. They have built a teak floor in this cathedral, being mindful that it can be removed without hurting any of the original building. They have also built a cover for the roof to help protect it that way as well. During certain times of the year, they have concerts inside. I would have loved to have been able to attend one of those!

This was taken from one of the windows in the cathedral. I love comparing the old and new Panama!

Just another arty picture! Having a little fun!

I took this from up inside the tower. They have rebuilt the stairs inside and you can go all the up to the top! A beautiful view of the city! It was built where it is as a defense for the city. You can see into the jungle and way out to sea from the top. There was also a bell in the tower but is long gone. Too bad it did not do them any good up against Henry Morgan! He took everything except one gold altar. They had painted it brown to look like wood and he overlooked it! It has now been moved to the Gulf side of the country. I loved this picture because it shows just how green this country is. Sometimes, especially out in the country, it looks like the land is covered with a fresh, bright green velvet robe!

We saw these little birds up in the tree eating some lunch! That brown mass is the home for insects and the birds were having a feast! Only one ate at a time-looking out for each other, I think! Maybe they know the story about the pirates too!

Just to prove I was here! There are no ropes, or lawyers in this country so you can actually get up close and personal to the ruins. Pretty fun!
Well, until next time! Hasta Luego!
By the way, it is roaring rain right now! I do mean roaring-my roof is tin!

Lake Gatun One of the largest man-made lakes in the world!

deborahmjenkins — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 01:57:39 +0000

This is one of a thousand tiny little off-shoots from Lago Gatun. The lake itself, is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world and it is where the water is collected and held for use in the Panama Canal. On the bottom of this lake are whole trains, cities, and trees that were left there during the construction of the canal. The water is quite murky and mysterious which adds to the ambiance of the jungle that surrounds it!

This picture was taken about 7:00am and the air was incredibly calm! Everything was just waking up-including me! I had gotten up at 5:00-yes, that is me that got up!- and called a taxi-in spanish- made my way to the little park in the center of Chorrera to meet the two cooks that were going to be cooking lunch on the tour I went on. I know, sounds complicated, because everything here is! We met to ride in a chiva to La Mendoza. What is a chiva you ask? It is a covered pick-up truck that seats about 20 in the back. Another adventure just in this ride alone! We went along the back roads of La Chorrera, where I had not been – and headed out into the countryside.

The campo is really quite beautiful! Cows, horses, you name it. I felt like I was in one of those old movies in Argentina, with the original cowboys! As the chiva continued down the road, we picked up a bunch of teachers, I could tell by their uniforms and conversations, then, a bunch of students on their way to school, then some farmers, and lastly, a few construction workers that entered the back complete with their drills and equipment. It was getting pretty tight until we finally, came upon a school and almost everyone hopped out! To get the chiva to stop, someone just reached out and pounded on the roof!
We finally reached the lake and we were the last three to get out. We waited for about 20 minutes and along came a boat to pick us up and we rode in the boat for about 15 minutes into the lake. It is HUGE and totally surrounded and intermingled by jungle! Remember, it has been 100 years since the canal was built and there has been plenty of time to grow. I thought it was simply breath-taking! Every shade of green that is on this earth was there!
We reached our destination-a floating houseboat complete with 5 rooms if someone has the time to stay overnight! I wish I did! We were there for literally 20 minutes and along came a family of 4 from Virginia, a family of about 12 from Jamaica, and a group of about 15 Girl Guides from Ontario, Canada. A nice, mixed group of people. The Jamaicans went fishing for peacock bass (some people have caught up to 90 in one hour!) They only caught about 20 but were happy! The girl guides took a trip in a boat with a motor, and the family and I headed off in kayaks. We went for about three hours back into the little streams that meander through the jungle. We saw monkeys, iguanas, birds, and BLUE huge butterflies! They are so big that when they fly, with each up swing of their wings they fall a little and then, with the down swing of their wings they go back up. They literally flitter around in the sky! I loved watching them! Many of the iguanas would dive into the water when they sensed us close by. The splashes were noisy and big! One of them ran down the branches of a tree and literally dived into the water making a belly-splash! About 2 hours into our paddle, we came upon a waterfall. We were able to stop and take a swim. They do not recommend swimming just anywhere in the lake because it has quite a few crocodiles. We saw a couple of little ones sunning themselves on floating logs.

I, of course, had to take a little swim and climb up on the waterfall. The water was not as warm as the ocean but quite pleasant.

We wound our way back to the boat for a wonderful lunch of traditional Panamanian foods and then, headed back out in kayaks towards another waterfall and a trip through a very narrow passageway. It was so narrow that some of the canoes almost got stuck! On the way to the waterfall, we came across white-faced capuchins (monkeys) Howler monkeys, a huge iguana eating lunch, some absolutely beautiful birds, and orchids everywhere! The air with a wonderful, fresh scent!

This is one of the little capuchins that was hanging out in a tree just above me. He seemed as curious about me as I was of him.

He was looking for more food! The iguanas here are such brilliant colors. Different from the ones in Mexico and even Costa Rico.

This was one of about 10 up in a tree. They were eating lunch as we happened by. We spotted them because of all the leaves falling out of the tree. We must have watched them for about 10 minutes. It definitely did not have the feel of peering into a cage at a zoo!

This guy was standing in some floating plants, again eating lunch. When he opened his wings, the tips of all his wing and tail feathers were a silverish color.

This bad guy was collected off the front of the boat by the owner about 4 years ago. He seemed pretty used to being held by a lot of strangers.

I got to climb this little waterfall and then jump into the water below. The splash was enough fun that I just had to do it twice!
The day ended with a return trip on the boat, back on the chiva, through the countryside picking up different people and letting them off again, and finally, walking home to Cuidad del Ninos. I have discovered this great little place that makes batidas (they are a kind of natural fruit smoothy that are oh so tasty and cheap!) so, of course, to end this great day, I just had to stop and buy a pina one!

Hasta luego!

San Blas-The Home of the Kuna Indians

deborahmjenkins — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 22:26:17 +0000

Welcome to San Blas! The home of the Kuna Nation. They are one of the six individual indigenous tribes in Panama. They have their own government as well as participating in the larger government of Panama. Many of their cities are located on tiny islands near the eastern coast of Panama, hugging Columbia. One of the many things I liked about these shy, yet kind hosts were that they are my size! Very short-including the men. The children are very tiny. I would see a child and think they were at least 4 to 5 years younger than they actually were!
Let these pictures speak for themselves!

From the plane, flying in, this is some of what I saw!

First Impressions!
I was stepping back in time and into a totally different world! Not at all what I expected! I thought of endless, white beaches with lapping waves, a drink in my hand, a little music in the background. You know what I mean? Well…I think I got something even better! The plane touched down on several different islands no bigger than two football fields long. Each runway truly was the entire island! On the third touch down, it was my stop, Playa Chico. Corn fields tucked into the wild jungle, one hundred men lined up wacking back the jungle from the runway AND then, I am greeted by Amador Torres. The owner of my little accomodations. So “just trusting” works again and off we go. What a kind, soft spoken man he turns out to be. The hotel is called Obannoed Nega Dupbir. To get there is yet another adventure all in itself. Jumping off a plane that has approximately twenty passengers and directly to a canoe (with a motor) me and Amador and a young boy who, I found out later, had caught a ride from the island to sell his bananas. We were off in one direction and everyone else in another. Oops, should I worry? Not yet! The mantra “Another place and time” kept repeating in my brain! Adventure! This isn’t Colorado anymore! It gets better! About thirty minutes later, we arrive at the island that is about the size of three football fields and the home to a few hundred people. The homes are simple, made of bamboo, braided sticks and palm leaves for the roofs and some of the walls. (By the way, most of these dry, bamboo huts had a fire roaring on the inside!) A few cement buildings for the center of the pueblo and the school. My hotel is actually partly cement as well. A good storm and this entire place is history! The shopping district,school and two churches and the pier make up the center of the island. I am learning that if a building is painted blue, then it is a government building!

My first walk through the pueblo felt like a National Geographic magazine and I was the insert! There was one main dirt path, swept each morning, down the center, with individual simple homes and stores (looking very much like another bamboo hut except for the sign by the door or window announcing what they had for sale) twisting around each other this way and that. The children were playing, banging from the man repairing a roof, singing from a radio, chatting from small groups of women and children gathered and sewing were the sounds that floated out from the walls. The total experience seemed to weave together to create a hum that WAS the village. I was timid to take pictures but-of course- the children were happy to pose and they came running. I happened upon a group of women sewing molas and asked if I could take their pictures and they agreed. The older woman was so cute, in Kuna,I think she said, “Just a minute.” and she disappeared into her house. About two minutes later, she reappeared, dressed traditionally!

Every woman-I really do mean every woman from about 12 on up, sewed all the time! In the alleys between the houses, in chairs or on logs, you name it. I asked my host and he said the girls begin learning how to make molas starting at about 5 years old. It is also taught in the schools in the cities during “cultural” classes. They are truly a unique art form!
More views of the pueblo.

Then, off to the only little beach on the island, remember it is a volcanic island! The edges truly were hard, jagged volcanic rocks! It was just a wade away from the little hotel. I snorkeled for a bit-a few small fish, sea urchins galore! little turtles! When I returned to the beach a gaggle of about eight young boys had joined me. I found out later this is THEIR place to play! They quickly stripped to nothing and began to perform a minimum of 100 back flips each! They were jumping off a boat that was turned over, off pieces of coral, a truck of a piece of drift wood-you name it and they flipped off of it! Nothing scared them! One decided to see how many flips he could do in a row and proceeded to flip right into the water for two more. Their little bodies were total muscles. Three decided to go swimming and came up with a red starfish! Next up-the long jump! From one stick to the other! They were pretty good at that too! I asked how old they were (mind you they spoke Kuna for their first language and they looked somewhere between 7 and 11) They were all 10-14. I am getting a little better at guessing ages. Around noon, I returned to the hotel for lunch. It was all things that I have never had, but it was quite tasty-vegtables that I guarantee you can not buy at Safeway and the fruit=incredibly tasty! Some kind of chewy fish, a potato like vegetable that Amador told me came from a tree, fresh pina juice! During lunch, Amador told me about his three sons-they are all attending university on the mainland. Agriculture, technical systems, and medicine. He went to college for three years in Cuba. He was in Havana but never got to see Fidel! He shared stories about different guests that have stayed with his family (all this was in spanish so who knows if I really got it straight!) one guy from the Smithsonian Institute studying the Kuna language, stayed for two years! Just recently a young man and his novia stay for six nights from Spain, he had a group of women from Portugal and then a family of Chinese (they liked hot tea at all meals and he was so surprised!) While we were eating lunch, two big barges tied up to the main dock-one from Columbia and another from the town of Colon. Then a police boat, then something else-it was quite a busy place for awhile. The barges were bringing supplies for the island-everything from rice and flour to soap and radios.
The water seems to be in everybody’s blood. Everyone has a canoe or two! They are hallowed out from logs and fit two, maybe three people in them. The fishermen are constantly moving around in the water. On Sunday afternoon, many of the teenagers were just playing in them! When the island is as small as this one is, and the ocean as large as it is, they just extend their play into another realm! One older fisherman was paddling by and Amador told me he was his father-in-law and he was 87! He looked great! A little while later, right beside where I was sitting, a man comes up in a canoe to what looked like a bamboo cage going down into the water, and he dumped in about 7 HUGE crabs and a bunch of lobsters! I learned later that the “gentlemen’s club” next door, another little bamboo house that had nothing in it but a scale and a table made from bamboo, was actually the collecting spot on the island for crabs and lobsters. Then, they are sold to anyone that wants to buy them. The fishermen are then paid. In the evenings, there was a radio, turned up very loudly, with a soccer game going and a few tables of dominoes. By the way, even though they are up and about by 5:30, they play dominoes until the wee hours of the night!

It had been drizzling for awhile so I cuddled down into a hammock and fell asleep for about three hours! I never do that! It was one of those sleeps that was so deep that, even when I tried and was conscious of thinking I should wake, I could not! The sound of the waves under me, the rain above me, the chorus of a few birds, and I was gone!
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you what the little three-walled structures located around the island, over the water were. You guessed it! The bathrooms.
Just a few memories to share quickly:
1. Watching young boys (5 and 6) collecting little sardines off the jetties in a net.
2. The dinner stories from Amador-his brother is a farmer on the mainland and he sees panthers, tigers, ranas, sapos, boas, you name it!
3. Noreiga Crabs. These are huge, red crabs that they call Noreigas!
4. Playing a Jenga type game with the coral that washed up on shore. I got better at it!
5. The industriousness of the people! Everyone is doing something all the time! Sewing, weaving baskets, collecting stuff from the jungle, collecting sardines, fishing, getting water, and enjoying each other’s company while they do it!
On Monday,the motor on the boat reared alive-or as much as a small skiff might putter to life- and off we headed across the waterway to the mainland. In a quick, 15 minutes, we were among a small group of working dug-out canoes. Each was loaded with different gems of the jumgle-coconuts, bananas, bamboo, and baskets of leaves and spices. The trail was a well-used, slippery, reddish muddy path crowded on both sides by plants of every possible variety. Amador was an incredible guide-he could stop at just about any plant and explain its natural medicinal uses taught to him by his grandfather. This one for memory, another for arthritis, a small wonderfully smelling one for the stomach and kidneys. One special one-it smelled like lavender but without any flowers, was for the babies. He knew the names just by smelling them and looking at the leaves. I was so impressed. At the end of the trail, about a 45 minute walk in the steamy jungle, we came up the pueblo’s cemetery. Each famiy has a ittle structure all their own-a little A-framed, low roof, dirt floored structure. Inside are small mounds of dirt signifying each grave. On top of the mounds are little tokens of the person-a clay pot, herbs, little canoes. When the women visit the graves-usually on Sundays and Wednesdays-they burn a mixture of charcoal and seeds to remember the soul by and to help them on their way to heaven. We came upon a few graves that had little canoes on them too. Amador told me (mind you in Spanish so who knows what I missed!) that when a fisherman dies (and all the men are fishermen!) The women put the charcoal and seeds into the canoe and send them out on the river. The most amazing feeling came over me while I was there-I did not feel weary about being among so many dead-and SO MANY CHILDREN-I felt instead the closeness and dependence these women have with their families. A sad fact about the Kuna women, however, is the fact that many marry (within the family) by 12 and have 5 children by the time they are 20 and each child may have a different father. Several of the boys at Cuidad del Ninos are Kunas.

From there, we headed to our own private, white sand island! It was about the size of my front yard,complete with palm trees and flowers!

It had its own reef so I got to snorkel again. The coral was beautiful with yellow, green, purple, striped, skinny, you name it, fish. At the edge of the reef, it went straight down. It probably would have been a fun place to dive. The water was pristine.
The afternoon was filled with another jungle walk on an island a little larger than the one earlier. The mangroves kissed the water on all sides leaving small white beaches exposed for the turtles to lay their eggs. An iguana greeted us before he zoomed off into the jungle. Again, every plant was named and its use announced. There were edible plants, plants to rub on your skin, spices, building materials, everything to help sustain an entire population without ever going to a store! I felt like Robinson Crusoe cutting through the jungle. We followed the beach for a ways and then headed back through the mangroves to search for more signs of iguanas and plants. We came upon one plant that was loaded with these perfectly round pink fruits (bigger than a berry but not as big as a plum) and we ate several. Amador filled his pockets to take them home because his wife cooks with them. He told me that in about a month, all the children and women would come here and harvest all the fruit and make jellies out of them.
Our next stop was another island that was surrounded by mangroves as well. This one had even thicker undergrowth and was loaded with mosquitos! These were the first mosquitos I had seen and FELT!! The call them “no sees” because they are so small. Needless to say, we did not stay too long.

My impressions? A self sustaining people, proud of their heritage and language, fighting to stay alive in a world that is competing for both their children and their land. The Kuna government has outlawed anyone owning any of the land that is not a Kuna and even then, they must be approved. This was an experience that I will not soon forget and I am so grateful I was able to go. I am also proud of myself for going alone! I never felt scared but, at times, I did wonder what was going to happen next!
Here are some pictures of the curious, happy children!

If you look closely, you will see the little one has one hand that is very deformed. One of the boys also had deformed eyes and another was an albino. The albino children are called “moon children” and are considered very special. This is due to the interfamily marriages.

Hasta luego!

Casco Viejo

deborahmjenkins — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 02:01:58 +0000

This is a fantastic, cheap, “disco on wheels” called a Panamanian bus. It only cost 25 cents to get just about anywhere in the city. It isn’t as easy as it seems though. There are no maps anywhere or signs that might hint that a particular place is a bus stop. I just have to ask and that is difficult for me because everyone answers SO fast. Every bus only goes from the terminal to a destination, stopping along the way in a million little places, and then back to the terminal. There are only about 7 or 8 routes, but one can certainly get around! They are old converted school buses with the original seats! When it rains, everyone puts the windows up and it is stifling! The inside is just about as decorative as the outside. The one last night had disco lights! You can actually buy little models of the buses and they are all painted as well. Each one is unique and COLORFUL.

Casco Viejo was originally built by the Spanish after Sir Henry Morgan plundered the city on the Caribe side and they decided to move the city to the Pacific side. It is build up on a rocky peninsula that can only be reached by sea at high tide. Originally, it was surrounded by a high wall as well, but there are only remnants of that still standing. Today, this section of the city is a mix of colonial architecture, cobblestone strees and ethnic blends. Most of the buildings are run-down, still lived in, and smell a lot like fish! There has been a huge effort of late to re-do a lot of the old architecture and artists, restaurants, and up-scale bars and ice cream shops have begun to move in. The blend is really very pleasant to the eyes! The ice cream is amazing! There REALLY is an ice cream store in every block of this little city.
We started out walking near the Plaza de la Independence. There is a huge, beautiful church at one end-brown bricks in the middle bookended on each end with white towers. I think there may be bells in the top of each of the towers. There was a market going on so, of course, we had to stop and take a look. It was my first up-close and personal look at a REAL panama hat(and they really are THAT cool), molas (made by the San Blas indians) and trinkets galore!

We were walking around and one of the boys from Cuidad del Ninos came running up. His mother is a Kuna Indian and was there to sell her molas. The molas are hand-stitched, absolutely beautiful pieces of art. The fabrics are so colorful and the animals could almost leap off the material. They layer the different fabrics and stitch each layer with tiny, perfectly spaced stitches. Each one takes several days to make. Traditionally, they sew them on to the women’s shirts.

This sign was on the side of one of the stores. I thought it was great. What makes a Panama hat so great? You can totally flatten it out, roll it up, and stick it in your pocket. Then, just as easily, open it back up and it looks great again. No worse for the wear. They come in mostly natural colors too, which I think gives them a wonderful look. I tried several on but haven’t decided on which to buy yet. The original ones that you see on the older men have a smaller brim and they fold the front of the hat up. Their ears are still protected from the sun as is the back of their necks, but their face is totally exposed.

The contrast between the old and the new is dramatic. You can see the well groomed flowers and the beautiful iron work right along side the ancient wooden doors and broken windows. I actually liked the old, carved doors. They had such personality. I hope they attempt to save as much of this architecture as possible as they start to remodel more and more of the properties. We came around one corner, right at the end of one of the streets where they meet the ocean, and a group of kids were playing baseball on a cemented basketball court while another group was-of course- kicking around a soccer ball. Soccer balls are the MUST accessory of every boy in this country!

The graffiti is something to behold. I was told that many artists actually come here trying to find a place to put their idea on a wall somewhere. You can see they are actually signed! Any where there is something to paint on, they do. I especially liked the fish. This particular artist had painted about 10 different scenes down this entire block.

We walked down to the end of the point and we could see the Puente de las Americas. This is the car/bus/truck bridge that is built at the mouth of the canal. It is famous because, after the canal was built, it is what connects North American with South America. To get from La Chorrera to Panama City, we have to cross the bridge. You can always see a ton of ships floating out in the ocean waiting for their turn to go through the canal. It is really pretty amazing!

This is the view of Panama City that we saw from the end as well. This city really does have an absolutely beautiful skyline. The French Embassy is located here as well. It is a small blue and white ornate house. In front of it is a beautiful public park and right in the middle is a tower with a rooster on top. The rooster is facing France. It reminded me of the Chianti rooster of Italy.

The rooster stoods with the same proud posture that a Frenchman might if you don’t know the right french words!

The two young women I am with are the two volunteers from Taiwan. One of them has been here for almost a year and will stay for one more. The other just got here three months ago and will stay the year. They went to the same university and knew each other already. They are both computer people. They teach a class to the older boys in the mornings and then, are the IT department for the rest of the day. They have such a great attitude. Smiles, jokes, and ideas are always a part of their day. They invited me over to their little “house” for a snack last Friday and we spoke Spanish and English (they are both amazing!) and they spoke Mandarin-oh well. That left me out. They are here because there are so few jobs available in Taiwan right now. This will give them a great experience and will hopefully help them get a job when they get back. If they were working in Taiwan, they would only get ten days off for the year and that includes the national holidays. They said they wanted to travel a little bit before they got tied down to five or six days a week and then, the only holiday is New Years with their families. They said that that was not a choice in Taiwan! Mama and daddy DEMAND their presence! They may go back via some other country, if possible. Neither of them are especially anxious to go back and get married or start a family yet. I am so glad they are here because they keep me from being nearly as lonely!
This week? Work, walking, studying, and adding more to this blog about the boys. I am learning so much about the incredible stories of these young boys. Stay tuned for the next chapter!

Afternoon at Parque de metropolitan

deborahmjenkins — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 02:51:51 +0000

This is the NEW way to the highway! Last week when I went to Santa Clara, I just walked right up to the highway to get a bus. Today, I started my day stepping carefully across this crazy, UN-inspected road bridge! Thank goodness it had not been raining yet and it was not too slippery! It was actually a little reminder of gymnastic days only now I am the one on the balance beam now!
Well, after that the day went incredibly well! I arrived at the Terminal in Panama City and walked right out and got a taxi that charged just what they said he would in my book and off to the Parque de Metropolitan we went. It was actually less than five minutes away. It is a protected piece of the rain forest right inside the city. The Panamanian government has set aside land on either side of the canal (all the way across the country) to protect the forest as well as provide a water shed for the city and the canal.
As I entered the park, a park warden greeted me and I actually understood about 75% of what he said. I was pretty impressed with myself. I started off down the path. Here is a picture. It was drizzling so the rain drops bounced off one leaf and on to the other. The splattering was fun to watch as well as catch.

I had not been walking for more than two or three minutes when I looked up and noticed leaves moving and little tiny tails curling around the branches above me. There were two little tito monos! Little monkeys with white faces. They were different than the ones in Costa Rico-these guys are even smaller and the white fur frames their little eyes. I think I could have watched them for half an hour! They could have watched me too! We were equally as curious (I think they thought I might have some food) and the giggles just kept coming.

This was as good a picture as I could get. Oh, I forgot to say that I did not see another person for at least the first hour I was there! Just me, the rain, the forest, and the animals. Pretty amazing.
I soon learned that I could not walk forever with my head in the sky (The guide books say that most everything of interest is UP!) so, I had to start looking at the ground. It was just as interesting! It was loaded with carpenter ants!

If you look close you can see a red ant carrying a huge piece of leaf! The army went on, one after the other, for about 20-25 feet! I finally found their holes at the top of a hill. The holes weren’t nearly as impressive as I had expected, but I would not want to get them mad at me. They would probably carry me away too!
The rain forest was filled with swirling leaves, floating branches, huge trees, dripping drops, and slippery mud! Everywhere I looked were greens of every shade. I was in such a different environment than Colorado and truly attempting to soak as much of it up as I could.

If you look really close, in the middle, you will see a red topped bird. His chattering caught my attention to begin with. He looked a lot like a big woodpecker with a frill of bright red feathers.
This is a huge tree that was about half way up the hill. The higher I climbed, the more of these big trees there were.
This is a butterfly that I caught just out of the corner of my eye and then, followed it until it finally settled on the side of a tree. It is one of those that has the dot that looks like an eye. I was pretty amazed at watching it fly-I never could predict which way it might go!

The next few pictures are of the forest. I wish I could describe the sounds with any level of accuracy. It was a constant hum of insects, filled in with the chorus of the song birds, with the rhythm of the monkeys, and then, in the background, the sounds of man and the roads. I paused on the trail, trying to memorize as much of this as I could. The sounds are so different from what I hear at home-just the variety of the pitches and rhythms alone sing a unique song that can only be sung in a place as special as this. href=”http://deborahmjenkins.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/p1070498.jpg”>

This is a mushroom! Really! It was growing on a log right beside the trail. I thought it was beautiful. Such a delicate design and it was perfectly symmetrical.

Once I got to the top of the hill, I could see the Pacific Ocean and the opening of the Canal. The Canal is everything to the people here! They talk about the rain because it provides the water to run the canal. They talk about the ships because they PAY to go through the canal.(It is their oil) They talk about the jobs because only Panamanians can work most of the jobs. It truly is the life blood of this country. The islands you see are some of the islands people can get to by ferry. There are beaches, hotels on some, and places to walk. Some are totally empty except the animals!

This is me in the forest. A navy guy and his girlfriend were walking by to try to see the Canal from up on high. He is stationed on a ship that goes up and down the coast from Mexico to Chili. He said it was pretty boring but sure beat other deployments! He also told me that his ship will probably NEVER go through the Canal. I thought that was strange. Well,
Hasta luego!

Tipico baile – traditional dancing

deborahmjenkins — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 01:59:11 +0000

The director of Cuidad del Ninos invited this local group of dancers to come and perform for us tonight. The children absolutely loved it! The masks were unbelievable. I think they were paper mache. The dance told a story of the different animals on earth fighting the devil. The church has a huge influence on everything here including the entertainment. The dancers were young men.

The swirling skirts were made of about 30 to 40 satiny scarfs with bells sewed to the bottom of each. As they shuffled their feet, each step ended with a sharp click of the heel keeping a wonderfully even rhythm for the dance. The cloth wrapped legs seemed very hot to me as I sat in the stands just watching!

About half way through the dance I could not tell if the kids liked my camera or the dance better! They love seeing themselves just like children all over this world. Each of the animals would come towards the front of the dance, skipping and rearing their heads grunting sounds to scare the children. They loved it! The accordian and steady beat of a single drum provided the music. At the one end, a woman had her computer open and was skyping the dance to someone. That was pretty cool to see.

When I saw these masks I immediately thought of Amy and Gilbert and their great mask wall. I will keep my eyes open and see what I can find!

The devil is just about to be conquered! The diablo had an iguana mask on. I thought that was a little strange but maybe they know something I don’t!

When the dancer bobbed their heads just the tiniest bit, the masks swayed and seemed to be alive. They would swing their arms and come close to the kids. By the end, they were jumping around and trying to keep the rhythm of the drum beat with their bare feet.
I am continuing my studying each morning and again in the evenings. I have found a few web sites that are great. I am moving on to the verbs which will probably take the rest of my time here! I found a list of 500! Wish me luck. I am going to start with the ones I think I will use the most and that are as regular as I can find!
tomorrow I have been invited to a TGIF with two of the volunteers from Taiwan because they want to practice their english. Should be fun.

All in a day’s work!

deborahmjenkins — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 02:38:25 +0000

See this guy? He is a sapo-frog-that can make a ton of noise all by himself! He chirped all night last night. I mean REALLY loud! I went out this morning to try to find him and there he was, right in the gutter by the door. He was pretty amazing though, if I just moved in the slightest, he would disappear into the tunnel that went under the porch. Ugly, huh? He had cute eyes and a very long tongue. They told me they like to come where the lights are at night because the insects come too. Makes sense. He is not here tonight, gracias de dios!
I think I am getting the hang of my days. I discover every year that what makes me happy is some kind of a schedule. Sounds like a teacher, doesn’t it? Well, so be it. I have made myself a little bit of one. I get up when I wake up. That is really a nice part of this summer! Fix myself some breakfast, because I have missed the one for the students. So far I just cut up a piece of fruit and have a cup of tea. Then, I sit on the porch and watch stuff and pretend to study for about two hours. I really am learning a lot and much quicker than I thought I could. Lunch is between 11:30-12:30. Usually rice and beans and something else. Today was something that was kind of pink and mushy so I decided to skip the “meat” and just ate the rice and beans. The beans are lentils of some kind BUT they have not been yellow yet! Actually, not too bad! Then I go to Cassita uno to begin tutoring. I really like the kids because they are between 5 and about 8. Today I even helped with science, writing, and reading in spanish! They actually understood what I was saying. They can be pretty stubborn but they don’t know me yet! I can sit right there with them for as long as it takes. I stay there until just about 3:00. Then off to cassitas 4 and 6. In these cassitas are six students that have scholarships to bilingual schools with lots of English. It is nice to help them. The scholarships are provided by a church and there are nine in all. The directors select the students that they think will put in the extra work that it will take. In each of the cassitas there are boys that have pretty low IQs as well and they have a teacher that comes to work with small groups of those kids to help them catch up, if it is possible. This work ends around 5:00. Dinner is between 5 and 6. Tutoring for the older boys starts again around 7:00 and goes to 8 or 9 depending on how much homework they have. Then, I have been walking around to try to get some exercise. I have to stay on the grounds so I go round and round. Not so interesting but at least it isn’t so hot! Then???? Study of course. I try to get in another hour somewhere in the day. I am watching a little bit of TV now and then and I am proud to say I can actually read some of the words before they change them! I like to have English TV on so I know what I am reading.
I have made a new friend!

His name is PeeWee. That was the name of my childhood doggie! He sits right beside me on the porch while I study. He runs after all the cars and greets everyone. The school has two other dogs that just run free as well. Pee Wee is pretty funny because he only uses three of his legs when he runs. One of the other volunteers told me that there was another dog at the school who actually only had three legs and that dog had taken on PeeWee when he was only a puppy and Pee Wee just started copying! Pretty cute story.

These are termite hills that are just behind my building. They aren’t as big as the ones in Africa, but I am glad they aren’t in my yard! They are everywhere, especially under trees or near plants that give shade.

This is the school’s garden. It is the rainy season here, winter, so they haven’t planted much. These are all cucumbers. In the summer, they plant more. I do believe that the world lives on rice and cucumbers! At least that is what I seem to get fed no matter where I am in the world!

These are plants near my building as well and run by the school. The students are given the opportunity to work with agriculture if they would like. The trees are guava trees. The bags are placed over the fruit to protect them from bugs and birds. The other plant has little peppers on it. They really don’t use them here at the school as far as I can tell.

I found out today what the funny odor in the air is-pigs! Puerca! The school uses them for food. They are pretty funny to watch. They make a ton of noise when ever anyone approaches and they start running around and pushing each other. I saw a guy with a rifle tonight so we might have some pork tomorrow. We also have cows here. On Saturday, they are going to take me on a horse to see them. The pond where they drink is full of crocodiles. I hope I get to see one of those.

This is one of those plants that we buy at Wal-Mart and pay $5.99 for it and it is only 7 inches tall! This one, however, is about 10 feet tall! They are everywhere. Beautiful plants line the sidewalks at the school. Too bad we can only have these inside and with a lot of love!

These are two of my favorite pictures for today. The one of the pig is pretty funny. He was the only one that did not run when I came to take pictures. I hope he isn’t the one that got shot! The other is a mushroom that I just saw on my walk. I thought it looked more like a piece of art!
Until later!

La fin de semana de la Santa Clara

deborahmjenkins — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:43:38 +0000

I just returned from a weekend sojourn to the beach at Santa Clara.

I jumped onto a comfortable, air conditioned van for 30 people and headed down the highway for a weekend at the beach. I was shaking in my boots! I picked up the bus standing on the Transamerican highway! Yup! that’s right. You just stand on the highway and stick your arm out and hope a bus will stop and IT DID! $3.00, a comfortable seat, and 90 minutes later and they dropped me off at another place on the highway. That is right-no signs, no nothing. I saw a taxi across the highway and I asked them to take me to the beach, I had the name of a little cabana place and they said, “sure” so I jumped in again. No air conditioning this time. Down the road, it resembled the description in the book so I thought it must be right, and viola! there we were. My room was a cabanas on the side of a hill, a shaped, palm leaf roof and a lock on the door that a two year old could break!

I slept up in loft because the fan up there worked and it was really hot! This is the cabanas I stayed in. They look great on the outside and I thought I had hit the jack pot until I went inside! Only geckos and a few flies. Not too bad really! I slept up in loft because the fan up there worked and it was really hot! The shower was rather cool but it actually felt good. AND at least one of the fans worked! The rain sure does cool things off though. The beach went forever!

AND there was a restaurant with something besides rice and beans. They also had local beer for only $1.25. I found that I like a beer called Panama. Imagine that ! The trip back was a little more exciting! I was feeling nervous but a little more confidence that i get back home. Well….I took off walking back to the highway because there were no taxis. The walk was actually quite nice=no sidewalk but not too many cars either so it worked out just fine. Got to the highway, stuck out my arm and the first two or three buses just zoomed by! Oh…..did I forget and I was suppose to stick out my foot or something??? Began to worry a little. But, lo and behold! The next one stopped and I jumped on. (Getting the picture here?) The little bus was stuffed! No place to sit this time. Oh well….About five minutes later they stopped in the middle of no where and one of the passengers got off and I got his seat, Great. Little did I know that sitting right beside the door meant that everyone who got off would put their bottom right into my face. Definitely a different view of the world this time. I was so hesitant to ask the door guy to tell me when we were near Chorrera so I could get off. I must have practiced the phrase a million times and then, I finally said it and he said, “sure” in spanish but I understood! That made me feel a little more comfortable but then, I had to ask how much the ride would cost and then, not such good luck! The people here can really talk fast! Finally, he said three in English and the girls that were sitting there starting laughing. They had no idea what he was saying. English is definitely not the second language of this country, especially in the country! Well, we come up a hill and he says this is the place. It does NOT look at all like the place! I was expecting them to drop me off in the city but, oh no, right on the highway! I get out with absolutely no idea which way to go. He can tell I don’t know and he points across the highway and waves goodbye! There I am. Standing on the Transamerican highway and I am not even sure which direction to walk so, I just start! I believe I am the luckiest person alive, what do I come up on? A police station with a taxi parked right in front. There is a woman driving who can speak about 10 English words. When I first signal if she is open she shakes her head “no”, but stops anyway. She rolls down the window and asks if I am going to Panama City and, of course, I say Chorrera and then, I say Cuidad del ninos. Oh, si, si, no problema! I thought I had been rescued by an angel. I did not even ask how much it would cost because I didn’t care! She takes me the back way, through a little village, pot holes that could compete with India, and there we are, at Cuidad del Ninos! AND she only charged me $2.00. I would have paid $20.00. I was actually only about a 10 minute walk if I had known where to go. Adventures of this crazy traveler!

This is the beach. It goes on and on! There are places that are pure black! Just beautiful. The rocks are amazing because the water breaks right onto them and the jungle starts right there!
The next pictures are of the fishermen. Santa Clara is a fishing village so it was fun to watch them come in and to fix their nets. The white stuff all around their feet and on the hill are miles of nets.

These are the fishermen bringing in the buckets filled with fish. It is amazing to watch them marching up the beach with the father counting and yelling when to take the next step!

AND because I am a teacher, I went in search of the school in Santa Clara and here is a picture. It is certainly bigger and better supplied than the one in India that I was at but wow! The challenge is definitely there! I will write more about what I am learning about the schools this week.
Just a little fact that I just learned about Panama: there are over 3 million people living here with a little over half of the people living in cities. 10% of the population is of Chinese descent! I was so surprised until I started looking around,plus all of the volunteers here are from either Taiwan or Japan. The rest of the population is 14% are from African descent from Jamaica or Trinidad brought as laborers, 10% are of Spanish descent, 5% are mixed African and Spanish with only 6 % indigenous. 65% are mestizo which means a mix of Spanish and indigenous.