Blogs from Chiriquí, Panama, Central America Caribbean - page 24

Back in beautiful Boquete to fulfill one of our trips missions, volunteer work!! After talking to the owner of Spanish by the River in Boquete, while out in Bocas, we decided to head back in this direction to teach English at an after school program called Casa Esperanza, and for Adam to take some Spanish classes. Casa Esperanza is a program that serves the indigenous Ngobe Bugle population of Panama. It is an after school program for children who may otherwise be unable to attend school due to insufficient family funds. It was set up to decrease the level of child labor in Panama, and allow these amazing kids the chance to get an education. The program provides transportation to and from school, home, and Casa Esperanza. They offer classes in health, psychology, government, and ... read more

Aamulla Bocasissa pakattiin kamat ja tyhjennettiin jääkaappi. Jätettiin jääkaappiin yksi hirveän makuinen limu ja yksi olut, joka ei päässyt olutvertailussa palkintokorokkeille. Mukaan tuli kuitenkin pullo Daigiria ja Guiness-olut. Meillä oli jo muutenkin paljon kannettavaa, mutta periaatteesta päätettiin roudata vielä juomatkin mukaan. Aamupala syötyämme (vakkaripaikassa), mentiin venailemaan venetaksia Almiranteen. Siellä otettiin dollarin maksava taksi bussipysäkille, josta lähtisi bussi Davidiin, päälle neljän tunnin päähän etelään päin. Matka meni erittäin kivuttomasti vaikka kuski ajoikin välillä kuin mielipuoli. Kellon ollessa jo tarpeeksi, päätettiin nukkua yö Davidissa sen sijaan, että matkaisimme kohteeseemme Boca Bravaan. Ei etsiskelty liikoja hotelleja vaan hypättiin taksiin suuntimana Purple House Hostel. Paikka oli nimensä veroinen: kaikki oli liilaa, jopa omistajan vaa... read more

Three of us, including myself, collapsed into bed by 10 PM the previous night - the others went out, but they slept in the next morning while the three of us early-birds went to Mass. This priest was wonderfully clear in his speech, so I could actually understand everything he said (the Mass was in Spanish). After another stop for coffee and banana pancakes (are you noticing a pattern here?), we bid our long adios to our hostess (she tends to go off on tangents), and split our group. Myself, Paige, and Carmel saved $100 each and took the long, long bus ride back instead of flying in the “plane,” which Katrina told me is more like a hang-glider. After riding from Boquete to David, we waited for our David-Panama bus. Luckily that is one of ... read more

Today we got up at 6 to meet the van at 7 AM outside our hostel. We had signed up the previous day with Panama Rafters to be taken on a white water trip down the Chiriqui Viejo river. After a two-hour drive (the river runs along the Costa Rica-Panama border), we arrived at our starting destination. We slide down the hillside to get to the river, with our guides (two boat leaders, one guide-in-training, and one local girl who had rafted this river before) pushing and maneuvering the rafts down the hill. We set out on our 17 km ride in two boats, one guide, three girls, and one trainee in each. Lee, Katrina, and I named ours “Team Tíburon” (shark, which was also related to an inside joke that’s not worth explaining). I voted ... read more

Relaxing morning buying souvenir t-shirts and hand-woven bags (to carry all of the stuff my backpack no longer wanted to consume). Then off back to Almirante to try and figure out how to catch a bus to the province of Chiriqui, specifically Boquete, where we were going to meet three other IP friends. After a winding taxi ride through the town (unnecessarily long, with the driver trying to convince us to pay over $60 for him to drive us directly to Boquete), we waited at a restaurant for a bus that could take us to the closest big town hub, the city of David. Small van to David, but with air-conditioning and some of the prettiest views I’ve ever seen. We curved through the heart of the country, around mountains and through stretches of land and ... read more