Peace Corps Blog Panama

Those terrifying screams? That´s just their way of saying ´Hello´

We are presently preparing for our departure from Panama, but before our time here comes to an end (and with it the bright hot white light of goodness that is panablog), we absolutely must share with you one of the keystones of Panamanian culture: the ¨salomar.¨

Graham Greene published a memoir about a series of trips he took to Panama around the time of the signing of the Carter-Torrijos Canal Treaty, and noted that everywhere he went he saw men ¨barking¨ at one another. When he asked the country´s leader Gen. Omar Torrijos about the phenomenon, Torrijos informed that it was not barking but ¨traditional peasant singing.¨ The Panamanians call it the salomar. And it´s probably best if I let this video (which was posted on YouTube by another volunteer) do the explaining:

I think Omar Torrijos was a stand up guy and all, but, frankly, I find his application of the word ¨singing¨ awfully generous. Mostly because the first time we heard people doing it we thought we were about to be attacked. Songs generally don´t have that effect on me. Anyway, now we´ve learned that salomaring is something of an art form, and that each town has two or three salomar champs who are often called upon for entertainment (alcohol is almost always involved). They even hold salomaring competitions. Which, of course, are broadcast over the radio:

I tell you what, Panama: I don´t think we´re going to be able to find anything like that on the dial at home.

panablog´s great Panamanian road trip!

Where were we…oh, yes! With Costa Rica safely in the rear view, we turned our attentions to acquainting the parents Reed/Westhoff with the gem of Central America: Panama!

Although we´d left our birding buddies behind on the Rich Coast, that didn´t mean our quest for feathered friends was finished. So we headed to Los Quetzales Lodge and Spa in Cerro Punta, Chiriqui, named for the Resplendent Quetzal (a bird) that lives in the surrounding rain forests.

We found the rain forest to be quite nice, albeit a bit rainy.

Anyway, we didn´t end up seeing a Quetzal. But we did see, like, seven different kinds of hummingbirds. No pictures, I´m afraid, because hummingbirds are too intense to be captured by a camera.

But soon enough it was time to move on, and head back to our site so we could introduce our Panamanian friends to Julia´s parents. The fact that the wind was blowing steadily at about 45 miles an hour and it was raining when we arrived may have left Norm and Cathy a bit underwhelmed by the area´s natural beauty. But the weather didn´t stop the townsfolk from showing up in force for Julia´s mom´s big birthday bash.

(Please note Cathy´s party dress, a garment typical to the Ngobe people who are native to our region)

After the morning cake feed, we set our sites on the Cup of Gold: Panama City. We headed to Casco Antigua, the oldest section of the city, dating back to…a long time ago, and enjoyed the views. Here´s the Reed/Westhoff family on the promenade.

And Julia and her mom taking in the sunset.

And a picture of some building that looked kind of cool.

Anyway, we had Cathy´s birthday dinner at a place called Manolo Caracol (which receives a panablog recommendation rating of high-to-quite-high) and then hit the hay in anticipation of the final event of the parental visit: a trip to Ella Drua, an Embera native site an hour and a half north of the city.

Here´s the thing about the Embera: they like birds. When we got there, they performed some traditional dances for us, each named after a bird. Here, for example, is ¨The Pelican.¨

They also incorporate birds into their art, like this mask, stunningly modeled by Julia´s dad:

Julia and I also sat for the application of the Embera´s traditional body art. I was a li´l worried because I´d always heard that getting tattooed was an exquisitely painful experience…

But then they told me that it was just a dye that would disappear in a week or two, and that the leaf they use to apply the paint shouldn´t hurt at all. At which point I realized that the searing pain I was experiencing must have been in my head.

So that about did it. We said our sad goodbyes at the airport, and headed back to our site, where we will wait quite anxiously for the arrival of our trip home in October when we will see the parents Reed/Westhoff again. It was an amazing trip. In conclusion, if I had to summarize it in one word, the word would be: birds.

panablog´s great Costa Rican vacation!

We knew it would happen: after four months in site, we feel quite acclimated and comfortable in Panama. And there is nothing more antithetical to hard-core peace spreading than comfort. So we were going to need something to shake us up. That´s why when Julia´s parents proposed that we meet up with them in Costa Rica for a few days, we jumped at the chance. Doesn´t seem like there´s anything that could get us more riled up for another 20-plus months of peace spreading than...

...a trip to the most ¨biologically intense place on earth.¨

After seven lovely bus rides, each more charming that the last, we arrived at the Estero Azul Lodge on the Osa Peninsula. It´s owned by an American ex-pat named Gary who has demonstrated tastes for 1.) stories about run-ins with Latin American law enforcement officials, and 2.) keeping exotic animals on the premises.

For example, he rehabilitates white-faced Capuchin monkeys, which then hang around the lodge. Sasha, the lodge´s hostess/waitress/general-information giver told us that if we stuck up our hands when a monkey was above us in the tree, it would hop down and sit on our heads. Boy was that tempting. But then she told us that the monkeys ¨could smell fear, just like dogs,¨ and if we thought there was a chance we might scream, we should abstain, because the monkeys would ¨go crazy.¨ Considering this is what the monkeys looked like normally...:

...we decided to take a pass on seeing their crazy face.

Gary also keeps a crocodile in the lodge´s beautiful Spanish fountain:

I asked Sasha if she had any advice about the crocodile. She said not to touch it. Seems like a smart kid. Good head on her shoulders.

Anyway, after a night at the Estero Azul, we bid Gary and the gang adieu, and headed over to the La Paloma resort, where we were to spend a biologically intense five nights. I mean, this place is so intense that you don't even have to leave the clubhouse to get into some serious nature. Several sloths live in the area, and you can see them from the lodge´s deck:

Sloths are totally extreme. I only had to crouch motionlessly in the bushes for seven hours before I was able to capture this totally rad action shot of the sloth scratching its head:

Randall, our extremely intense biological intensity expert, told us that it was sloth mating season. I asked him how long it takes the sloths to have sex, the physical act of love. ¨Two hours, and that´s just copulation -- no other mating rituals.¨ Respect, sloths. Respect.

Anyway, the main draw of La Paloma, besides its ridonkulous cabins, is its proximity to several great parks, first among them Parque National Corcovado. I asked one of the waiters at the hotel what we could expect from Corcovado. ¨It´s just very...intense,¨ he said. ¨The hike is just very...strong.¨ Sounded like what we were looking for. Randall took us there on day two, and it did not disappoint. We saw a pack of howler monkeys:

And a pack of spider monkeys:

Randall told me that spider monkeys are the largest non-human primate in Latin America. Hate to call you out, bro´, but you might want to check your facts.

Even some of the plants, not typically considered intense or extreme, proved interesting. For example, look at how intelligently God designed this plant, with a curvy stem so that every leaf gets maximum light exposure.

We were very lucky to have three avid birders as traveling companions, because Costa Rica has one of the most diverse concentrations of bird species in the world. As such, we all spent plenty of time straining our necks trying to spot the White-Necked puff bird, or the Red-Naped Tanager:

With the help of the Birds of Costa Rica field guide...:

...we've started our life lists. Magnificent Frigatebird? Check -- and SO much better than the Great Frigatebird. Great Potoo in the cryptic position? You´d better believe it. We even saw a Baltimore Oriole, which is not, as I´d always assumed, strictly confined to the city limits of Baltimore.

However, the fact that we didn´t lay eyes on a Violaceous Trogon left all of us feeling a li´l down. I know. I know. It's tough.

Anydoodle, after five nights of biological intensity, we were pretty exhausted, and ready to head on to leg two of the trip - through Panama. It feels good to be back and get a chance to show Julia´s parents around...especially considering the following:

Randall the Mandall told us that there´s one place on earth that could challenge Costa Rica for biological intensity: Panama.