The Family Comes to Panama

My mom, dad, and Myles were my first visitors in Panama! They were here the first week in March during Myles and my mom's spring break. I decided to head out of site a few days before the family arrived in Panama City, as I haven't left my province (Chiriqui) since I arrived to my site in October. I haven't left Chiriqui because it has everything I could possibly need - mountains, a beautiful beach, and the city of David, which is much cheaper than Panama City. The first night my friend Chris and I travelled back to our training community (5.5 hour bus ride) to visit our host families. The host families are already hosting another group of Peace Corps trainees, so I slightly felt like I had been replaced, but it was really nice to catch up with Carmen and Manuel.

The next day, Chris and I took a bus (6 hours) to visit our friend Monique in the Darien region (province closest to Colombia). Her Embera indigenous community is only accessible by dugout canoe on a mud-brown river, so I partook in my first boating experience in Panama. The Embera indigenous people are very different from the Ngabes - much more outgoing, and less conservatively dressed. I learned that they also bathe differently - we all crouched on the steps of the dock area of the fast-moving river and lathered up, in plain view of almost her entire community. And there were 4 of us gringos in the river, so believe me, everyone was watching. It made me feel lucky to have my stream with privacy in my site!

The next day I headed back to Panama City to meet up with my family. That night we ate dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Miraflores Locks, and it was absolutely stunning to see the lock compartments open and close, with gigantic boats passing through. As we were taking pictures of the boats, we could see the sailors on the boats taking pictures of the Miraflores Canal as well. Imagine finally reaching the Panama Canal after months of pure ocean travel!

On Sunday, we drove east to Island Boca Chica in Chiriqui province, on the Pacific coast. The drive was a particularly long haul because of several checkpoints due to the ongoing Carnaval activities. The next day, we took a boat to go snorkelling in a few white sand coves. My friend Jake joined us in the afternoon for some exploration of the island and the discovery of dozens of howler monkeys in trees! The monkeys weren't afraid of us, probably because there are no predators on the island.

Next, we headed up into the mountains of Cerro Punta where I spent Thanksgiving last year. I am officially acclimated to Panama - I was so, so cold that night (it dipped into the 60s perhaps?) and we even had a fire going! We took a beautiful hike up into the jungle and luckily it was a lot less muddy than last time I was there.

The best part of the vacation for me was when we all stayed in my new house in my community for 3 nights. First of all, it was really nice to be in site and have somebody to talk to about interesting things all of the time. Myles and my dad helped me out with several projects – for one, I now have a swing and thus my yard is the playground attraction for kids from all around. I took them to visit both of my host families, who have been asking me questions about my family since day one and were so excited to meet them. Myles made some solid friendships with a few 9 year old boys, who still visit me daily to ask when Ismael is coming back.

The last night before they flew out of Panama City, we camped out on a beach on the Pacific side. My mom buried our valuables in the sand under the tarp, and besides the cows that almost stampeded us, it was a tranquil last night.

My mom kindly uploaded the photos from the trip for everyone's enjoyment: https://picasaweb.google.com/chris.mchugh.purington/PanamaMarch2011 Overall, it was a great vacation and my community keeps asking when my family is coming back.