Blogs from Santiago, Colón, Panama, Central America Caribbean

==English version below== Onze eerste 2 weken in Casa ISHQ zitten er al op , we doen er zeker nog een weekje bij. De locatie is uniek, 's morgens ontbijten we met de Caraibische zee aan onze voeten. Ook onze gastheer Carlos Leonardo is uniek, volgens zijn profiel spreekt hij ongeveer 16 talen. Wij kunnen dat helaas niet controleren. Hier komen we in contact met andere vrijwilligers met elk hun eigen verhaal. Hannah is een tekentalent, zie onze profielfoto. Ze is 25, geboren in Botswana en al 7 jaar aan het reizen. Wanneer wij onze sandalen inruilen voor wandelschoenen loopt zij nog steeds blootvoets. Geweldig. Het Internet is niet altijd even goed maar zoals je ziet op de foto heeft ze zo haar eigen manier om berichten sneller te laten doorgaan. De deal is dat we ... read more

…and then we woke up and there was this huge double rainbow in the sky. We followed it to where it ended on an island where there were no clouds, no rain, and the sun was shining bright. We hiked up the pristine mountain and along the way discovered an indigenous tribe that had never come into contact with the modern world. They served us the most amazing Christmas dinner (even though they, of course, didn’t know it was Christmas). Then they led us down to the beach where there just happened to be scuba gear waiting for us. We geared up and dropped down into the crystal clear turquoise waters. We saw giant rays, purple octopus, and then a Whale Shark! We followed the Whale Shark to a Mermaid village where the Mermaids welcomed us ... read more

OK..not really a lot of moving around since we last blogged. We did, however, decide that we liked Santa Fe so much we wanted to stay for a while (or forever?). We managed to find a house for rent. It is a fantastic little 3 bedroom house with no hot water, but...it has an indoor flush toilet! It is very quiet and nestled back from the road. The only bad thing we have discovered is the chitras (sand fleas). They come out about 4 pm and last until around 7 pm. We are beginning to wonder what it is like to not itch! We are surrounded by orange, lime, manderine and mango trees and several other plants that we can eat or make cocktails with. If only they would have left us some chickens, we would ... read more

We woke up early and traveled North to the town of San Francisco. The health fair last year was held at the school in San Francisco. They used the facility to treat around 7,000 Guaymis Indians. This year the health fair took place in Sante Fe which is further north and therefore closer to the bulk of the indians the health fair served. The health fair took place a couple of weeks before we arrived and it sounds as though it was another exciting event. They served even more people than the previous year. The school that hosted the health fair last year also serves meals for a large portion of the surronding area. In many cases it is the only nutrious food the children recieve. They serve around 800 people a day. They took us ... read more