Panama Hats, Made in Ecuador

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I'm officially two months behind schedule. It's a good thing there are no due dates in this project. Although I'm now home and safe and happily going about my normal student life, it is still important to me to finish off this blog and explain the rest of my trip. I want to complete this little project and round out this record.

Staying in real time for a moment longer: today my first travel column was published in my university newspaper. I'll be writing a biweekly column this year called "It's a wild world..." about culture and diversity and travel and multiculturalism. I have also written a two-part article about my adventures this summer that has appeared in the same newspaper. I'm really enjoying that forum and have had a lot of positive response, even from International students here who know more than I do about what I'm talking about. It has been lovely.

So where was I? Panama. I loved Panama. From my pen-and-paper travel journal July 5th: "Panama City at first glance is way nicer than I had thought it would be. I got up in the middle of the night, really, to be at the airport on time for intense scrutiny that including passing through a newfangled 'see-through-your-clothes' machine to get out of Colombia." I arrived in the city very early in the day and decided to take the 25 cent "chicken bus" into town, which was a bit of an adventure and a much more authentic experience than opting for a taxi.

The joke goes that Panama City is a lot like Miami - only there's more English spoken. I expected to find an Americanized, global city full of skyscrapers where you can live in air conditioned comfort 24 hours a day. That is part of the city, but there is also a very significant cultural diversity and Caribbean influence. You may be able to use U.S. dollars everywhere, but you certainly can't get a real impression of the city with only English. This is a place to live like a local and enjoy it!

My time in the city included a visit to the canal, of course, a sneaked swim in a hotel pool (it was over 35 degrees - can you really blame us?) a great hostel with hammocks, shopping in the consumer capital of the continent, a visit to a beautiful natural park and two sloth sightings, a jaunt down the Amador causeway and a stroll through the old town. This is a city of contrasts and I would love to spend more time here learning about them but I pressed onwards. Onwards to paradise.

The San Blas Islands. I had first heard about them from my Kiwi trekking mates in Peru and at the time, didn't think that I would be heading this direction. Luckily, things changed. The "comarcas," administered with great autonomy by the Kuna Yala indigenous group, is a collection of more than 365 Caribbean islands. Some of the atolls are populated and others feature only white sand, a couple of palm trees and some tropical fish splashing around. I am not sure that I really quite believed that the Rainbow Fish from the storybooks was real until I saw a school of them flitting around a sunken ship. These pristine beaches offer unbeatable snorkeling and scuba diving, more relaxation than just about anybody needs and even the opportunity to live as part of a unique culture.

I loved my time living with a family of Kunas, jetting out to the uninhabited islands during the day and returning to the populated island town of Carti to sleep. The people were welcoming and friendly, perhaps because but they have not been interacting with tourists for too long. It is a difficult balance to strike for them as they want to preserve their paradise but also to earn money from foreigners. I heard when I was there that only recently did the locals stop using coconuts for currency. Although children now go to school in Spanish, I could not communicate with most of the older people. The beauty of the islands was immeasurable and it was impossible not to feel at peace there. I can only hope that it is not destroyed as more and more guide books pick up on the spot and the Kuna try to adapt to the new industry of tourism. So many of the places I have been on this trip are incredibly fragile and I constantly wrestle with the fact that my presence harms natural beauty even as I am reveling in that same beauty.

Returning to what we think of as "civilization" - the city once more with its proper showers, telephones, Internet, roads, vehicles and distinct lack of sand, I decided to hurry up to Costa Rica and meet my parents one last time in our trips. I had to miss out on the North of Panama but I know I will return here some day soon, and hopefully go back to the San Blas archipelago also to say Hello to my Kuna family again.

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Comments

[madre]

how about those hats?
I bet you're jealous that you did not don an authentic Panama Hat. Mine sits on my dresser to remind me of our trip and to start planning another anew. Adios Chica and thanks for the blog!

[John Hays]

Thanks for taking us with you.
Your travels have been a joy to read about. Your writing has painted great pictures in our minds. We are very impressed by your courage and sense of adventure. We think you are destined for great things. Would you be willing to share the link to your school paper so we can read your travel column. Lots of love, Uncle John and Aunt Jean

[Carole Leah]

San Blas
The islands sound out-of-this world. Glad to hear you are writing for the newspaper. Great experience and good for the ole' resume. Well done. I can't help thinking how much I sound like an old codger reading my own comments. Trying to think of something witty, but it isn't coming out. The islands really do sound phenomenal. Will you be in San Miguel this Christmas? What about to NM for Aunt Pat and Uncle Kent's reunion? I'm planting small bugs in Lance's pillow to convince him while he is sleeping that it would be a good family trip this year. We'll see....

[jazzemmy]

Thank you so much for all of your positive comments throughout this journey. The link for the Aquinian International section is http://www.theaquinian.net/category/international but unfortunately that only gets you to the article I wrote. My column doesn't seem to be up yet. I wasn't so pleased with the article when it went through the editing process (typos put in, rearranged to be just a bit off...) but I am very proud of the column so hopefully if you check back you can see that too! Sending lots of love Westward.

[jazzemmy]

Absolutely, I'm coming down South this Christmas. I'm super excited to see family who I can't actually remember or maybe have never met (not you guys, of course!) The San Blas Islands made me tongue-tied too - they were just beautiful beyond words. Please do come to New Mexico! I'd so love to see you.