Discovering the history and culture of Panama Day 4

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Hotel Cubita provided generous breakfast buffet each day with many different options. Over the three days we stayed here I had scrambled eggs and flavored drinkable yogurts. I tasted beef jerky, liver and onions, heart, sausages, runny oatmeal and terrible breads. the guava jam was very good but interestingly the other jam-like options were very grainy and had way too much sugar. Panamanians love their sugar.

The hotel/resort has a spa next to the pool and a small grocery store, gift shop and florist within walking distance. It appears that many weddings and meetings take place here. We all enjoyed watching the slow and graceful entrances of beautifully gowned women and handsome young men as they approached the courtyard for a wedding. On another day several of us spoke to teachers as they broke from a meeting of local educators. The Hotel Cubita seems to be the regional center for conferences, meetings and weddings.

Today, skipping the large hotel buffet breakfast, we left at 7AM in the cool of the morning for Sarigua National Park, one of 14 National Parks in Panama. Sarigua is a desert the name of which oddly means salt and water. We learned this was once the site of an ancient civilization. Located not far from the coast, we were told that long ago people harvested salt here, likely some of the 42 indigenous tribes that called this region home. Sarigua is one of Panama’s most important pre-Columbian sites. Archaeologists believe that the area hosted a fishing village 11,000 years ago making it the oldest known human settlement in Panama. This is also the site of Panama’s earliest known farming community which existed some 1,500 years ago. Ironic for the area’s current dry conditions.

Sarigua is located in Panama’s “Dry Arch” (an area that receives less rainfall than most of Panama). This once rich farmland is now mostly desert. Sand blows across a bone-dry landscape where dry coastal forests and mangroves had thrived. During the 20th century most of the vegetation was chopped down and burned to make way for farms but now not much is alive here. With average temperatures in the high 90s and little rainfall it is no wonder this is the current condition. Some people, including the OAT tour people, call this a tropical desert, an oxymoron for sure but according to many Panamanians this description is laughable.

We followed our National Park guide Cenovio Vega who lives with his extended family in cramped trailer like homes inside the park. They have running water but no electricity. As we began our walk we observed that some of the deciduous trees had leafed out while others were still bare. On our tour Cenovio told us the bare deciduous trees loose leaves because of evaportransperation instead of cold. Thorny Acacia shrubs were growing along the desert edge and we could see the symbiotic relationship this plant had with ants. Cotton balls clung to scattered shrubs where this once farmland produced such things. On our walk we found many shell mounds, detritus from previous civilizations. As we were walking on the sandy desert floor Cenovio pointed out the recent foot prints and tail trail of a crocodile. Thankfully it was midmorning and crocodiles are considered to be nocturnal, but how recent were these prints?

Large, heavy volcanic rocks like the mochi marbles we saw in Utah were scattered about the desert floor and nearby we found a combination of petrified wood and cactus. As we were leaving the desert, climbing over the now rocky, now red sandy path to the water and our bus, I took notes on the birds I had seen including the Great Kiskadee or Social Martin, a Green Emerald Hummingbird and numerous noisy Yellow Crowned Parrots that frequently took flight amongst the remaining trees. There was life in this arid part of Panama, if you stopped to look for it.

Abdiel told us President Varela of Panama and his family have a sugar cane plantation near here where the family has produced Ron Abuelo rum for three generations. With his interest in this farm and rum production, the president made sure there were improvements to roads in this province. Why didn’t we get a Ron Abuelo Rum Tour on this itinerary? Sigh. On our tour bus we passed a few small vegetable farms, cotton plantations and cattle roaming the dry fields, most struggling to survive on little water. Live neem tree fences, visible from the road, are cleverly used as a natural mosquito repellent and provide shade for the cattle roaming the dry landscape. This area is indeed rural and as there is no bus system children must ride their bikes 30-40 minutes in the heat or torrential rains to school. Finished with our morning tour we returned to the Cubita Hotel before breakfast closed at 10AM to enjoy a hearty meal after our walk in the desert.

At 11:00AM we visited Samuel the hand building potter in the town that is the origin of Panama pottery. He lives in a traditional quincha house. Sam showed us his hand building skills and let a few of us try our hand in this skill. He said most post production pots are sealed inside by cooking the pots with plantain skins giving the pots a high concentration of iron that coats and seals the arsenic in the clay to make it safe to cook but his pots are decorative and not prepped this way for cooking.
After our pottery lesson we visited a shop where the people of this village sell their crafts.

At 1PM Roberto, our bus driver who grew up in Chitre, drove us to a local favorite restaurant of his, Fonda Darmir where we could experience the food from his childhood. As if we were hungry after having breakfast at 10AM. I had delicious fresh Maracuya juice or passion fruit as my beverage choice (now my obsession). Dave and I shared a piece of tough, dry “roasted” chicken, a small portion of mashed potatoes and green salad. I would not say the food was good but my juice was perfect.

After a little siesta back at the hotel, our next adventure (leaving at 3PM) was in Las Tablas, roughly a 30 minute drive from our hotel. We were to visit a local family who make the Pollera, a typical dress that came from Spain and was adopted by the Panamanian people. This costume is now known as “Panama’s National Handmade Dress”. The dresses, with their large sweeping skirts, originally were used to herd chickens. Now Panamanians take great pride in creating Pollera dresses that are used for special occasions such as weddings a major celebrations. We were introduced to this small family concern, the only place where the Polleras are still made by hand. Thirty plus people will work on one dress (they can work piecemeal at their homes) and it can take up to three years to complete a dress with costs running as high as fifteen to twenty thousand dollars each.

Each design is exclusive so there can be no other like it. They are elaborately decorated with embroidery, appliqué or crewel. Sometimes lace trim is imported from Spain to add to the designs. The couple whose house we visited are very passionate about their work. The husband proudly told us he gave up his “macho” job to do the handiwork in the making of the Pollera costumes because this work brought in more money than he could make otherwise. He is in charge of the elaborate trim which, with lightning speed, and wearing a Pirates tee shirt, he happily gave a demonstration winding colorful threads stuck with pearls and pins on a soft wheel form to create the fancy decorations.

Maureen and Jim, a couple in our group, were selected to model these Pollera costumes for us. Maureen was dressed in the Pollera dress and the Tembleques, the traditional detailed flexible hair accessory that is intended to move along with the dress while walking or dancing. Tembleques were made of fish scales, wires, pearls and crystals and were designed to represent flowers such as roses, orchids or animals such a butterflies, hummingbirds or peacocks. Jim, Maureen’s husband joined her in the man’s fancy shirt and they danced to display the movement of these costumes.

We left the Polleras makers and stopped at a rural farm perched atop a hill where we were greeted by beautiful children dressed in miniature versions of the authentic Polleras eagerly waiting to greet us and perform their traditional dances. We left the bus on the road and were led up the hill to the place set aside for their dance. The children’s parents sat proudly watching on the porch of a 150 year old farmhouse. We assembled in a circle of chairs below the farmhouse as the boys and girls ages 3 to 9 danced to recorded music under the direction of their teacher. Each child danced and sang with grace and enthusiasm. After the dances they politely and patiently agreed to be photographed with at least 20 cameras in their faces. And they all knew how to smile, pose and turn on the charm. It was delightful. After posing near their parents they ran under the spreading branches and buttresses of a 180 year old kapok type of tree that shaded the yard where we all joined them for a farewell photo.

After this most enjoyable event we drove into the town of Las Tablas to have dinner at the cute little La Maestra restaurant with colorful paintings inside and out. Dave and I had potato soup, a hamburger with mozzarella and caramelized onions, French fries and finally a delicious passion fruit tart. A great ending to a long day.

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Photos

Sarigua National Park
Panama's Dry Arch

National Park guide Cenovio Vega with our tour guide Abdiel Luis
The dry desert is in the foreground, ocean is not far away in the distance.

These talented and beautiful children were the highlight of our day
We were entertained by the local children dancing in their traditional costumes while their proud families watched from the farmhouse porch.