Robyn Sagal- First Day

Learning about Panama through articles, guest speakers, and videos does not do this country justice. Even within one day of being here, I feel that experiencing the culture of a country is a much better way to learn about it. The language barrier is tough, considering I speak very little spanish. I never realized how difficult that could really be until I was immersed in Spanish. 

Today was a perfect day in my opinion. This would be disregarding the bus almost rolling backwards, a spider crawling near me on the canoe, and falling into a hole while walking back from the restaurant. The bus ride there was very eye opening. I loved driving farther away from the city and seeing the beautiful scenery. The mountains were really incredible, and something I rarely get to see. It was very sad though, seeing all the trash lining the roads. I feel as if the natives take the scenery for granted, throwing trash all over the ground as opposed to using trash cans. During the drive I also noticed the poverty, with shacks and tiny living quarters all around. Once we arrived at the river, the first thing I noticed was a hurt dog. This dog was only using three of its legs, not putting any weight on the fourth leg. I felt so bad and just wanted to help it. Knowing that there was nothing I could do at that moment, I continued on to the canoes. These canoes were very large and motorized, which I thought was really neat. The canoe ride itself was one of my favorite parts of the day. The weather was absolutely perfect and the scenery was breathtaking. I could have stayed on that canoe for hours and I would have been happy. 

Our first stop was a waterfall that we hiked to. We all went for a swim and had a great time. After that, we boarded the canoes again and rode to the Embera village. We were greeted with music played on homemade instruments. One of the instruments was a turtle shell, which I found fascinating. We were told all about their culture and traditions, some of which we had learned in class. It was very interesting hearing their dialect, having it being translated into spanish, and then again into english. I appreciated the english translation very much. Afterwards, we were made a traditional lunch which included fresh tilapia and fried plantains. There was also a variety of fruit, including pineapple which tasted incredible. The entire meal altogether was very tasty. We learned that the children learn how to make their crafts at the age of 10. This made me realize how much tourism is a part of their life, and now they are raising their children in the industry. I think it's really sad that they need to rely on tourism in order to survive. I feel as though their culture has been made into a tourist attraction and a job. While at their village, we were given the opportunity to purchase handmade crafts and get tattoos. The tattoos are kind of like henna tattoos, and it seemed as though everyone knew how to make them. Each one was different and you never knew what you were going to get. I saw little children doing these tattoos, which made me go back to my realization that the children are raised into the tourism industry. A native dance was performed and then some of our group joined in as well. It was very entertaining and I enjoyed it a lot. After that it was time to go, and I didn't want to leave. The children were adorable and the village was a really beautiful place to be. The canoe ride back was still as enjoyable as the ride there, and I tried to take in every bit of it. 

There was the ride home and a little time at the hostal, but then we went to dinner. We ate at a place called Pencas which was about a 20 minute walk from the hostal. The food was excellent and I loved the atmosphere there. It definitely catered to travelers, but I still enjoyed it a lot. On the walk back I ended up falling into a shallow hole, but I didn't get hurt. It was quite the site though. While walking, we also noticed a massive concert going on, which will be going on again tomorrow. I would really like to go but I'm not sure if I'll be able to. I'm really excited about tomorrow, with the opportunity for zip-lining and going in hot springs! Overall, I am loving this trip so far and cannot wait to experience everything else.