Sinovia gave us a great walking tour of Sarigua National Park.

The activity started early (6:50 a.m.) to avoid the anticipated high temps. It was warm everyday, but nothing we had not anticipated - actually the humidity was quite manageable every day except possibly our day near Colon on the Caribbean side.

The other fear we had going in was mosquitos. It’s hard to believe, but in 15 days all over the country, we NEVER saw a mosquito! Panama has maybe 3 localized cases of malaria each year and it’s been 40 years since the last yellow fever case. Where did we get all those fears?

Roberto called his friend Sinovia, and we picked him up at his home so he could guide us through the Sarigua National Park.

This is an unlikely national park since almost all the trees which once covered these 20,000 acres were cut down hundreds of years ago. It is one of the most important Pre-Columbian sites (part of it was a fishing village 11,000 years ago!) It is also the site of the earliest farming community in Panama. Then the denuded plains were used as a dumping site for multiple civilizations. Sarigua, the scrub forest, is a stark reminder of what not to do - a teaching moment for the world. Amazing!

Our next stop was to visit a potter named Samuel(?). Skilled hands with self-processed and fired clay, he belongs to a potter’s union which gives him access to mid-level jobbers in the wholesale pottery business.

Next, we were divided into groups, had wads of money thrust into our hands and turned loose at the fruit market in central Chitré. With not much Spanish and our vendors with not much English, we somehow were able to return with the goods listed on our shopping list…and some change for Roberto. Off to a home-hosted lunch with Belkis and her family.

We had little information about what was to take place this afternoon, but none were disappointed. We quickly got to work in groups, flattening plantains for frying, cutting fruit for a massive communal salad and other meal prep duties under the massive trees in Belkis back yard. Her 14 year-old son and her mother-in-law helped and supervised our labor. A fabulous meal ensued along with lots of laughs and conversation.

After a quick clean-up and rearrangement of the chairs, Belkis and her husband, William, gave us a “stitch-by-stitch” description of how to make the traditional pollera dress that we saw modeled on the steps back in Casco Viejo. This is their primary source of income. These dresses go for north of $8,000 each. Yikes!

On the way back to the hotel, Roberto offered a surprise stop. Speculation ran high that it must be ice cream. It was even better - we got to see Pancho and his young traditional dance students. Wow!

It goes without saying that this was another long, exciting and enjoyable day. But wait…there’s more tomorrow!

One of the five temperate forests of Panama, this scrub forest is just beginning to recover from centuries of abuse.

A pair of yellow-crowned parrots fly over Sarigua.

Volunteer cotton plants.

Not much wildlife in Sarigua, but this unfortunate wasp followed me into the bus.

Cactus and small grass are the start of regrowth.

Except for bits of glass and trash that has percolated up from layers of former civilizations, this is pretty much how the whole Park looks. Note the volcanic rock that must have blasted hundreds of miles from Volcano Baru where our journey began.

Leaving Sarigua, suddenly the landscape took on a more familiar tone. I love this photo…

Samuel(?) the potter pinches up the start of a tall pot as a demo. When he asked for questions, I had two: “Who was Brenda, and how was he going to fix the cracked pots next to me?” He was momentarily stumped and then laughed and said an assistant had a girlfriend named Brenda, and he would just fill the cracks with new clay. I let the Brenda answer go, but this is low fire clay, indeed (under 400° F) if he can fix cracks by just adding clay to dry cracks…

Examples of his work waiting to be fired. I can’t tell if that’s a picture of the Virgin Mary or Brenda behind the parrots.

A working man’s tools. How many pots to you suppose he has made in his lifetime so far? I really liked this guy.

The potter’s parrot in the back of his studio.

Top: His very crude, wood-fired kiln. Below: A couple of shots of the downtown wiring efforts in Chitré.

A male and female great-tailed grackle.

David, the plantain masher.

Val, José 1, Cathy and Mary get serious about chopping fruit and returning it to the watermelon bowl for serving.

Carole prepares the vegetable salad.

Our hostess, Belkis, shows off the drawings from a subcontractor used to begin the embroidery process for the commissioned pollera dress.

William holds photos of some finished polleras.

William was a long-haul truck driver who was laid off and has been taught by Belkis to do the intricate multi-spool weaving of the brightly colored bands that separate the rows of embroidery or appliqué used in the pollera.

The finished bands.

Just in case you’ve forgotten what the finished traditional dress looks like…

Balu and Shirley secretly slipped away, and under Belkis’ guidance reappeared in traditional Panamanian costume. Right: Belkis, William and their son.

No fear of freezing, all of Belkis’ plumbing can be serviced from outside the house!

The trip home surprise which wasn’t ice cream began with this monster tree, a kapok, and gorgeous foliage.

These two sweeties greeted us as we got off the bus.

Roberto introduced Pancho and gave the background about how he and O.A.T. were doing their best to preserve traditional Panamanian dance with the youth of the area.