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Local Boat
These are carved in one piece from local cedar or laurel trees. They can last for 30 years. Up til about 3 years ago, they were the main boat here, but now all the tours and water taxis use fiberglass boats. Most of the big trees are gone, so few of these are being made now...Wednesday we took a boat trip to the mainland and visited friends' property there and then went snorkeling. Unfortunately, we hit a big rainstorm even though we'd waited for couple of hours for it to pass...it's warm enough here, even in the rain, for getting soaked to be an OK experience!
Their property is beautiful...off the grid and waterfront backing up to jungle covered hills.
The snorkeling was great again. We saw a small white and grey ray, three squid, and many fish and much coral.
Thursday morning was even rainier...so we spent time reading and on the internet, taking care of hotel reservations, school stuff (for Lynn), and of course, the travelblog!
In the afternoon when the rain stopped, we took a water taxi to the nearby island of Bastimentos. We ate lunch at Roots, a good restaurant built over the water, and then went to look up the man who was going to take us out in his boat the next day. The village has a paved sidewalk running through it, with houses on both sides. There chickens, dogs and kids everywhere. People speak the Caribe dialect rather than Spanish (it's similar to Caye Caulker
in this way). We found Roberto's house and made arrangements to visit an indigenous village and snorkel the next day. We then walked up to the top of the hill overlooking the village, where the cementary is located. We had hoped to hike to a beach on the other side, but were warned it was too muddy after the rains.
On Friday as planned, we hired a boat to take us to a small indigenous village on a more remote island and then on to more snorkeling..our last time! When we arrived at the island, we were greeted by a group of children. I bought a few bracelets from a local woman, and then we visited the school. There are about 150 people in the area and there are 50 children from kindergarten to fifth grade! I met with one of the two teachers, saw a classroom, listened to the children name some parts of the face in English, and do multiplication. Panama now has two official languages: Spanish and English. The kids start out in Spanish and then learn more English in about 4th grade. These children also speak their native language besides!
When we got back
from the trip, we visited the Smithsonian Institute here on the island, where the focus of research is coral reefs. They give tours on Fridays.
Tomorrow we fly to Panama City for a few days, and then home..
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Steve
non-member comment
Thanks!
As your trip comes to a close, I want to thank you for the great log and photos. Felt like I was there with you, but from the comfort of my own home... What a wonderful time you've had - a trip to remember forever! Thanks again for including me on your e-mail list! Love, SC