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 The law was revoked in 1946 and citizenship was restored.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.