Friday, October 7, 2016

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Panama - Day 3

October 4

This is the resort where we will spend 3 nights. It is located in Chitre, one of Panama's oldest settlements in the Azuero Peninsula. 







There is a little chapel at the resort with open wall design.



Today our focus is on the individual entrepreneurs of the community. We visited families that make specialized items based on old traditional craftsmanship that has been handed down over the generations.

Our first visit was to a pottery shop. They use clay from a local river to make various sizes of vases and some decorative pieces.


The vases are made by hand using a pottery wheel operated by the foot. They can average 80 vases per day. The large ones are sold for $1.50 each. 


Jorge tried his hand at making a vase. He needs a lot of practice.



Making a sculpture of a tree trunk and birds. They are then hand painted.



The matriarch of the family was making a chicken and rice dish for a funeral.

From the pottery shop we went to a family owned panaderia (bakery). They use wood fired ovens to bake their breads which gives it a special flavor.



The bread is made by hand.




Next stop was a visit to the Varela Hermanos distillery where the Ron Abuelo brand of rum and Seco Herrerano (a 70 proof alcohol beverage considered the national beverage of Panama) is produced from sugar cane. Over 50,000 tons of sugar cane is used each year for the production. They still use ox drawn carts to carry about 20% of the cane to the distillery. We had a fun ride on the carts along one of the sugar cane fields.





We then had lunch at the distillery and learned about the process of making rum from molasses. 




The rum is stored and aged in used bourbon barrels. There are 18 storage house which each hold 8,000 barrels of rum.



We then had a lesson on the aromas, color, body, and taste of the different ages of rum. It was an experience to try the different rums as I am not a rum drinker. Upon taking a sip of the first 5 year old rum I nearly choked. Found out I probably will not be able to get a job as a taster at the new distilleries in Shelbyville.




I did enjoy the cocktail made with the Seco.

I did receive a certificate that I survived the tasting experience.



Panama - Day 2

October 3

Today we start our travels westward out of Panama City to the Azuero region. We crossed the famous Bridge of Americas over the canal. The bridge is recognized as the joining point of North and South Americas. 



At the western end of the bridge stands a monument honoring the Chinese people of Panama. The Chinese were first brought to Panama in 1852 to help build the transcontinental railroad. Later they would have a major role in the construction of the canal. The Chinese people have had a rough history in Panama. In 1941 the Panamanian government passed a constitutional law that all Chinese descendants, even those born in Panama, would no longer be considered Panamanian citizens and all rights were taken away. The law was revoked in 1946 and citizenship was restored. The monument was dedicated in 2007 in recognition of the contributions the Chinese people have made to the country.




We continued on to the town of Chorrera and visited the home of Edita, a wonderful lady who gave us a cooking lesson on how to make patacones and maduros. Both are made with plantains. Patacones are green plantains sliced in small chunks, fried, smashed flat and then fried again. They are very tasty and make a great snack.






Maduros are made from ripe plantains which are cut diagonally into thin slices and fried once. They are sweeter and often served with a drizzle of honey. Jorge, our program director, frying the maduros.



Enjoying the tasting part.



Next we went into the town of Chorrera where we enjoyed some time talking with locals and especially some of the children. This little girl practiced her English with us by telling us her name, her age, school grade, and subjects she was studying. She was a little shy at first but her mother encouraged her to interact with us.



This little boy was a true camera ham and kept posing to have his picture made. Don't think his sister was as excited.

The town square.



Our next adventure was to ride one of the local busses. We were challenged by Jorge to meet someone on the bus and find out some information about them.


The bus was packed and we were mostly standing in the aisle.


Jorge, blue shirt and hat, barely had room to get in the door.


I was amazed at how friendly the people were. I found several who spoke some English and they happily shared information with me. One lady that couldn't speak English got out her cell phone and began showing me pictures of her family so I shared some with her. I can't imagine if a crammed bus load of Americans were invaded by a group of Spanish speaking people how we would treat them. 

In many instances the bus driver is the owner of the bus, called Red Devils. The busses get this name because most are painted red and it is said the drivers sometimes drive like the devil in order to get to their destination quickly so they can turn around and make another trip. He was very polite and welcoming to our group. 


I think I heard a sigh of relief when we finally got off. If only because everyone else had more room.
Some waved as they drove off.


The country side began to change as we continued our travels to Chitre. Could see more hills and rural settings.



After we got checked into our hotel we went downtown to walk around. Chitre is a small town of about 10,000 people. It has a very charming character with the town square and small shops.




There is a beautiful cathedral, SAN Juan Bautista, in the town.


There was a service going on so we just stepped into the back. I borrowed this photo of the inside from the internet because it was so beautiful I wanted to share.



We had our dinner and retired for the evening.