"I left my heart..."

Today I returned to UTP.

Returning to work after a vacation always a shock. And after an idyllic one such as the one I just had with David, it's even more of a shock.

It was great seeing friends.

It was great catching up.

But a big piece of my heart went back with David, back to Oakland if not San Francisco, and it's hard to concentrate when that happens.

Which is probably why I didn't post yesterday.

Today, the ache is still there, but it's more manageable.  And there's a lot to do to get ready to go off to Chiriqui and the Ngobe-Bugle people with Lydia on Thursday.  So, putting one foot in front of the other, and one thought and one word and so on, I will prepare and go and learn.

My heart will always be with David, but not all of it.  Part of it is right here with me, helping me have the strength and courage to do what needs to be done.

Ciao!

Boo hoo!

David left to return home today.

Boo hoo!

I miss him already!

So I spent some time to search the web to see if there is anything about tapirs spraying.

And it turns out there is.

(from http://imgur.com/Bjmi7)

Apparently, others have also been sprayed - some on video even.  You can check them out on YouTube for yourself, by searching on "Tapir pee" - just be aware that there are a number of other tapir videos there that might not be acceptable to your children.  Or your parents.  Or maybe even you.

Golden frogs and golden showers

Today was a fabulous day - even though it's David's last day in Panama <sniffle>

Rogelio took us to El Valle de Anton.  He picked us up at O'dark:30 (aka 8 am), still in his cast since the doctor delayed taking it off by a week.  He was understandably annoyed.

We sped off on the Pan American Highway, crossing the Centennial Bridge and then heading off into the countryside.  There were a lot of billboards that are now "Disponible" (for rent) - recently vacated by the political parties, although there are also a lot of flags and other signs that remain.  It seemed from an unscientific view that many - even most - of these were for Jose Domingo Arias of the Cambio Democrático, or  CD Party.  This is the party that would have been heir to the current government and that even included the current President's wife as Arias' Vice Presidential running mate.  I mentioned this to Rogelio who said that complaints about this had recently aired on TV.

I hadn't really noticed how many new developments there are just outside Panama City - or how many properties are for sale even without new development.  It's kind of insane.  In other places - like Colorado for instance - development has spoiled many special places and homes have often remained vacant or unsold.  It is too bad that this appears to be happening here in Panama, although it is certainly understandable that people want to live in these lovely places.

We turned off on the road to El Valle and twisted and turned our way up to the lip of the ancient (and extinct) volcano that encircles El Valle.

This way!

It claims to be the only inhabited volcano and it is the only remaining place that the incredibly rare (actually critically endangered) Panamanian Golden Frogs live.  Or lived.

Although it is hard to see,
the yellowish blob on the
right is a Golden Frog

Although Golden Frogs have extremely toxic skin to protect themselves, they are threatened by both habitat destruction and, more importantly, by a fungal infection that has all but wiped the species out in the wild.  They are now kept in captivity to protect them from this fungus.  Unfortunately, they cannot be reintroduced into the wild at this time because there is no cure for the fungus that remains rampant in the wild.

Luckily, captive populations, including in El Valle, are thriving.  The San Diego zoo also has a Golden Frog Conservation Program which both breeds the amphibians and also sends money to Panama to assist them in their conservation efforts.  In addition, the Houston Zoo has provided money to fund the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center.  We were able to see this elusive animal at El Nispero Zoo and Botanical Garden.

Other frogs and toads (actually the Golden "Frog" is a toad) included these fellows:

A green poison dart frog whose
skin is so toxic it will kill you if you touch it
(although apparently, poison dart frogs
in captivity are less toxic due to diets that
don't include the things that make them
toxic in the wild)

This sleepy fellow was sitting
on a leaf.  Many of the others
were hidden or in places that
didn't lend themselves to
photography.

The center also has a number of plants for sale.  There were many that were simply gorgeous.

The organization uses the proceeds from the sale of these plants to help support that entire enterprise.


In addition to plants for sale, the organization also grafts different plants together to create interesting and unusual results.

There are also many birds.  I quickly lost count of them and forgot their names but I took photos for my birding friends.  For instance, look at the following beauties.

 Many, even most of them are not native to Panama, instead coming from China, like the Golden Pheasant on the right,  India, like the peacocks - here in full display, although in neither case did their display appear to be working for them as the peahens simply milled around them, totally ignoring them, and Africa, like the ostrich below.

 

OK, he's not exactly a beauty,
but he sure was friendly

 The parrots and hawks were native to Panama, however.  There were also many other lovely lorikeets and parrots, including Scarlet Macaws and Blue & Gold Macaws, who were too shy for photos.

And then there were the animals.  Monkeys and an ocelot (who insisted on continuing to snooze while whipping his tail in annoyance at the kids' noise) and others.

 


And then there was the tapir.

As we stood admiring the tapir, it came over as if to greet us.  But it quickly turned its back on us and sprayed David.  Whether it was threatened by him, or jealous of him (although I'm not sure that says anything good about either of us) or marking him as his own, or something else, he gave David a rather stinky "Golden Shower"!

Shocked, as you can imagine, but thinking quickly (of course!), David ripped off the sprayed shirt so it would not smell up the rest of his clothes.  The guide told him to wash it in the small waterfall leading from the Wishing Pond.  I'm pretty sure we both were wishing that the tapir had remained uninterested and had quietly stayed on the other side of the cage.  I would gladly have foregone a photo to avoid this rather nasty experience.

There were still a few opportunities for photos of us and of the guide.

We bid adieu to the guide and headed to the Craft Market.  There, we saw (but resisted) many interesting and beautiful things.  And many uninteresting and ugly things too.  We were well able to resist because we are definitely "Over-Stuffed" at home.  It was good to remember, as David mentioned to me (and as I had already thought), we had just gotten rid of many similar things - like wooden bowls and platters and tchotchkes.

There were some local pastries and candies however.  David got some yummy cookies and I got milk candies for my colleagues at work.  It started to sprinkle just as we got back into the car.

And then it started to rain in earnest.  Big, fat drops fell increasingly fast and, after a few minutes of driving around the area, we decided to head homewards.

David, who slept very little last night, fell asleep almost immediately as the car swayed from side to side as Rogelio drove up to and along the rim of the volcano and then down the other side.

When we arrived home, David washed his shirt by hand, and then we washed it along with the regular clothes.  And luckily, the entire load didn't become "Tapir-ized"!  

Videos from Panama (mostly rain!)

Leaving Ukupseni Village on Thursday afternoon by boat gives an impression of the size of the village.

About 1/3 of the current island is built on landfill because the Community is running out of room.  Children account for over 60% of the current population of roughly 2000.  The population can swell to 3000 or more during festivals.

~~~~~~~~~

Earlier in my time here, I recorded several intense rainstorms.  The sound and the volume are amazing - and when you think about how much water actually fell, well, they were remarkable storms.  But not all that unusual here in Panama!

Rain in Panama City is fierce and this was my first experience of the effects of sudden downpours on the traffic.  In the first video, we are heading in one direction, and in the second, we are heading the opposite direction at the same spot so you can see it a bit more dramatically.

These 2 videos were taken during a torrential downpour just as we were leaving the UTP Regional Center in David.

This final video is of our driver, Sr. Sanchez, navigating through David following the heavy downpour recorded above on campus.  It was incredibly intense - so intense that it flooded the streets. of David.  (Please forgive the early attempt to show the action out the side window!)

More photos from our tour on Sunday

Casco Viejo and Cinta Costera
from Cerra Ancon

Downtown from Cerra Ancon

Rogelio and David

Panama's flag on Cerra Ancon

The Panama Canal locks just starting to open

The Panama Canal locks starting to open

Locks are more open

Almost open

Locks are all open - here comes the ship!

The bridge of the ship

The mule returning to the top of the locks

A tanker transiting

Careful:  Crocodiles may be present here!

Boats on the dock on the Causeway

Molas

One thing that the Kuna are known for is their molas.  They are made by the women and are worn on the fronts and backs of their blouses.

Molas are handmade using reverse appliqué.  Layers of cloth are sewn together - as many as 7 in some very complex ones - and then the seamstress creates a design by cutting away parts of each layer and then hand-finishing the seams.  The level of skill is astounding.  On ours, the stitches are practically invisible.  Sometimes, molas also include embroidery.

Originally, they were simply geometric shapes.  However now, they include a wide array of designs.  It's amazing that every single one we saw was different.

Here are some that we purchased:

Two love birds (for us)

We bought this for Elba

I bought this to show FCCB because
we are discussing whether to make
stoles for the choir, using 2 molas per stole.
This is actually not a mola per se because the
design is stitched onto the cloth (appliqué), rather than
being done in reverse appliqué.  Still, it is lovely.

San Blas and the Kuna Yala (Tuesday - Friday)

Some background:  The Kuna people live an autonomous area on the northern coast of Panama, called a "Comarca"that includes the San Blas Islands and the adjacent mainland.  There are other Comarcas for other indigenous groups including the Ngobe-Bugle in western Chiriqui and Bocas provinces where I visited with Aris and her class (and family), and others for the Embera Wounaan people in the Darien where Americans are warned against going.  (The Embassy stressed I was NOT to go there)

Kuna Yala in more detail

Provinces and Comarcas

These maps show where Kuna Yala is with relation to other parts of Panama (left), and more detail of the area itself (right).

Tuesday long before dawn (4:30ish), David and I headed to Allbrook Airport, which is the domestic airport, to head up to Kuna Yala in a Twin Otter that looked like it had seen many, many similar flights.  The airport itself lost power several times while we were waiting to board, which did not inspire confidence, but it was dawn when we left, and the power was back on.

We climbed (literally) into the Twin Otter, buckled up, and sped away.  We flew over the UTP campus (I waved at all of you there)  We flew over the countryside and quickly crossed the country, which is about 40 miles across, although since we flew diagonally across the country, it was a 150 mile flight.  And Loud.

Our plane

UTP campus
(my building is the largest one )

Luckily we didn't need this!

It was a clear day most of the way and we got great views of the jungle from above.  Unfortunately, the photos I took didn't come out.

Achutupu airport

In the last few minutes before landing at the first airport, we entered a cluster of big, billowing, puffy clouds which were lovely (but also made for a very bumpy ride)  I'm glad to report that no one needed the "Sic-Sac" pictured to the right.  (That can't be said for the flight that came in yesterday - but more on that later)

Our first stop was at the Achutupu airport (shown to the right)  There, boxes of food and other goods were unloaded by Kuna women, and one person boarded.  David had seen the airstrip from the air and thought that it was abandoned - it definitely felt like we were landing on a remote strip in a very far away place.

We quickly were on our way again.  Flying up the coast, we could see the islands below and the Kuna people out fishing in their dugout canoes, some of which had sails.

Then we landed a second time, this time at Playon Chico where we were getting out.

Unloading at Playon Chico

Once again, Kuna women and men came out to unload food and supplies from the nose of the plane as well as its rear cargo hold.  

 

The airport was slightly bigger than that at Achutupu, abutted a school, and contained a Computer Lab ("Centro de Computacion") that was partially funded by the Yandup Lodge to which we were headed.  

There were also a large number of sticks carved to look like people.  David, the son of the owner of Yandup, told me that there had recently been a number of children who had had seizures.  The churches said that the children were possessed by demons.  The community tried both traditional and Western medicine to treat the problem, but the seizures continued. Finally, they closed the entire community (including the airport) and had another healer come to exorcise the demons.  The carved people were used in this ceremony and have remained there as a sort of "cloud of witnesses" and spirit guides for the community.

The community is called "Ukupseni."  It is connected to the mainland by a long bridge to make it easier for kids to go to school and for supplies to make their way into the community.  

But because we were heading out to Yandup, we all climbed into a water taxi-like boat, and motored out across the lagoon to our "Island in Paradise."  

Because it was still very early (like 7:30ish), we were served a yummy breakfast, and then repaired to our cottage where we spent much of the rest of the day sleeping in the hammocks on the porch.  It was delightful!  And man, were we sleep-deprived!

This is one of my favorite pictures of David, relaxed and happy.  We got up for lunch, of course, and then retired again to our hammocks.  

It was heavenly!

We had no idea we could sleep SO LONG and still be able to sleep at night!  I think it was a measure of just how tired we have both been these last few months (or perhaps years?)

The bed was also inviting - hung as it was with mosquito netting.  We didn't actually see any mosquitoes until the last night, after a day of rain, but it gave us a sense of security, given the presence of Malaria, Dengue and Yellow Fever in the San Blas Islands (We both had immunization against Yellow Fever and took anti-malarials but there is no prevention for Dengue other than avoiding being bitten)

  

Looking up at the ceiling of the cabin we saw the intricate structure of the cabin, constructed with lashing instead of nails for the most part.  It was breezy because the "windows" were simply grills (with curtains for more privacy)  There were no locks on doors, and no place to sit and write or bead inside.  Outside, there were 2 hammocks and a chair.  

Heaven!

See how relaxed we both look?

Indeed, we were so relaxed and so in need to just having some time together, we extended our stay by a day - so it was 3 days instead of 2.  I asked the manager to send an email to tell Rogelio (Lydia's brother who has been driving us and was to pick us up at the airport on Thursday) and Karla (who was going to pick us up to take us to a party at the Embassy on Thursday evening) that we were going to be delaying our return as well as Dalys deGracia at the Embassy to send our regrets about missing the Gala.  He assured me that he would and then later, that he did.  But unfortunately, his emails never arrived, and as a result, they both waited for us yesterday.  :-(

But this was the only SNAFU.  

The weather on Tuesday was glorious, as it was on Wednesday.  We went to the Kuna village where we learned about Kuna culture on Tuesday, and to the beach to swim and snorkel with the group on Wednesday   It was fabulous.  We were encouraged not to take our cameras to the Community so we left them behind however.  Luckily, we had another opportunity on Thursday afternoon.

   

  

  

Thursday arrived with a huge (!!!!) wind that flipped the hammocks and threatened to blow things like swim suits, towels and pares off the railings of the porch.

Then, the rain started.  Torrential rain that beat down on the roof and washed the porch as it was blown by the wind.

  But that was OK too, because it's lovely to sleep to the accompaniment of wind, rain and ocean.  We didn't sleep in the hammocks, but that was OK because the bed was lovely too.  Ah....  

The air was squally and the wind still strong when, at breakfast, we all watched as the Twin Otter arrived with new guests.  Or at least as it tried to arrive with the new guests.  It circled the airport several times, and aborted a landing - it looked very close to the runway when it abruptly climbed back up.  It swung around and circled some more, but then headed West - returning in a few minutes.  But since it still hadn't cleared up enough to land, it went off East in the direction of Achuputu. 

About an hour later, the plane returned.  By this time, the wind and rain had abated somewhat, and it was able to land - although it still took two passes.  The new guests were thoroughly soaked when they arrived and they told of a very harrowing flight.  The pilot was calm throughout at least.  But I wondered if perhaps the new barf bags in the backs of the seats when we returned today were a result of yesterday's ordeal, for the passengers at least.

Thursday evening, while David read, I went back to the Kuna Community.  

This time, David, the son of the owner, was our guide.  It's great when you see different things differently, and this tour was no exception.

This time, we learned about the Kuna rebellion of 1925 when the Panamanian government tried to suppress the Kuna people and make them "Panamanians" - abolishing their language, religion, and social structures - at least on paper.  Indeed, the Kuna rebellion started from this very village.  The Kunas, aided by the US Government, were eventually able to negotiate a settlement that granted them semi-autonomous status for their region.

Some of the photos from the second trip to the village:

   

    

   

  

We also had one of those "Small World" experiences.  We were sitting next to a lovely couple from New York City the first day.  The woman, Melanie, said she worked in cosmetics.  We mentioned that my wonderful sister-in-law, Teri, works at Coty, and guess what?  Melanie used to work for her!!!!!  All this way away and there's this connection!  

The man, Frenel, is a gifted guy too.  In addition to his "day job" in advertising, he also makes hats.  Really high end gorgeous hats.  Our thoughts immediately turned to our dear friend, John Meegan, in Minneapolis, who is an entrepreneurial tailor and who has a most amazing business dressing the movers and shakers of the world with custom and high end clothing and accessories.  We plan to connect them.

And lest you think that I left my beads at home, think again.  ;-)  I made bracelets for the other guests and the men who work at Yandup, and necklaces for the women who work there.  I gave these the last night.

 

And so it was that this morning, long before the crack of dawn, we took our luggage down to the boat, grabbed a coffee and bread, and said our good-byes to the good people of Yandup.  

I will definitely be back while I am here in Panama, and who knows, David and I may also come back in the future.  It was paradisiacal and an experience that will live in our memories forever.