 |
| Carrying "puercas" (literally "sows" but here meaning sacks of vegetables) |
 |
| Ngabe-Bugle wares - necklaces and gowns |
 |
| Guardhouse |
 |
| Aris and her Dad |
 |
| Three of Aris' nieces |
 |
| Hot, hot, hot (104 F) |
 |
| Along the road |
 |
| Entering David, Panama's second largest city |
 |
| In David |
 |
| Ngäbe-Buglé woman in David |
 |
| In David |
 |
| Swimming! |
 |
| Aris' Dad |
 |
| Swimming pose |
 |
| Yum! A fresh mango at the river side |
 |
| Pouring rain |
 Now it's only 28 C (83 F) |
 |
| Back in David |
 |
| High school buddies! |
Hola! Today was a most amazing and wonderful day!
Aris picked me up at 5 am (!) and we headed out of town, only to hit a huge traffic jam caused by a spectacularly horrible accident. 3 cars all crushed. From what we could tell, no one died, but that is a miracle for sure. After this, the rest of the trip was blessedly without incident or accident. We drove through the province of Cocle (sorry I can't get accents) and then Veraguas, where we passed two of the 3 schools we visited with her class a couple of weeks ago. Then we crossed over into Chiriqui and it really seemed like a whole new level of beauty.
We stopped at a Ngäbe-Buglé stall and bought a dress (me) and necklaces (Aris and me) We then hurried on to get to David, where she grew up and where her father and some of her siblings still live.
And what a lovely lovely family she has! Of course, knowing Aris, this isn't surprising, but it's wonderful even so. I felt so welcomed! I love this family!
We had lunch at an open air restaurant which was lovely. But it was hotter than stink (40C) so we hurried off to the river where Aris and her family swam while I took photos. We hightailed it back to the cars when it started to pour! My first experience of tropical rain - but definitely not my last!
Tonight, a bunch of Aris' friends from high school stopped by - to her surprise. It was such fun to watch them - old friends who were clearly enjoying being together. They regaled each other with old and new stories and the warmth of their bond was apparent.
I'm now at a hotel in David where I'll stay tonight. I'm totally exhausted from the early hour of departure (made even more dramatic by my late bedtime - I wasn't in bed until midnight!) and the heat.
Buenas noches!
