Home...final reflections

Well, for better or for worse, I'm back in the U.S., working for a living again. It's good to see my cat, and my friends, and be in one place again for awhile.  But I really miss speaking and hearing Spanish, and, as we all know, vacation is better than real life, even if real life is good.

I learned a lot and thought about some interesting things during the trip.  First, it seems to me that there's probably a happy medium between the intensity and materialism of life in the US, and the laid-back less-than-materialistic life of many parts of Costa Rica and Panama.  "Pura Vida", indeed!  But I also heard several people I met talk about how people were too laid back, to the point that they were unmotivated to work, to see new things, to change their communities for the better.  I think we could all learn to strike a balance.

I also learned, or maybe re-learned?, that tourism can be both good and bad.  Costa Rica, for example, provides its citizens with an array of services: health care (for oneself and one's family members, including parents), housing assistance if needed, public education, free or very inexpensive universities.  One day in class, we were asking our teacher what taxes in the country are like.  "Oh, we don't pay very many taxes," our teacher replied, "only 9% of our salary to pay into the health care system."  Income taxes?  only on the top 2% of income earners.  Sales tax?  Nope, only on restaurant food.  So how then, do you have so many services?  We in the U.S. pay over 30% in income taxes alone, and we have no health care and very expensive universities. Easy:  tourism.   Tourism can also help people learn about each other's countries.  Then again, wealthy foreigners have perhaps more influence than they should.  Cloud forests in Panama are being sold for gated communities.  Hotels hosting visitors who expect air conditioning and internet are using more energy than buildings in those communities ever used to, all while claiming "eco-tourism."  Again, there's a balance here.

Thanks for following me on my travels!

Y en espanol:

Bueno, para bien o para mal, estoy de vuelta en los EE.UU., trabajar para vivir de nuevo. Es bueno ver a mi gato y mis amigos, y estar en un uno lugar  por un tiempo. Pero me extraño hablar y escuchar español, y, como todos sabemos, de vacaciones es mejor que la vida real, aunque la vida real es bueno.

Aprendí mucho y pensé en algunas cosas interesantes durante el viaje. Primero, me parece a mí que es probable que haya un término medio entre la intensidad y el materialismo de la vida en los EE.UU., y la vida relajada menos-que-materialista de muchas partes de Costa Rica y Panamá. "Pura Vida", de hecho! Pero también he oído a varias personas que conocí hablar de cómo la gente puede ser demasiado relejada, hasta el punto de que estaban desmotivados para trabajar, para ver cosas nuevas, para cambiar sus comunidades para mejor. Creo que todos podemos aprender a encontrar el equilibrio.

También aprendí, o tal vez aprendi otra vez?, que el turismo puede ser tanto bueno como malo. Costa Rica, por ejemplo, ofrece a sus ciudadanos con una variedad de servicios: atención médica (para uno mismo y los miembros de la familia, incluidos los padres), asistencia de vivienda si es necesario, la educación pública, las universidades gratuitas o muy económicas. Un día, en clase, preguntamos a nuestro maestra de los impuestos en el país.  "Oh, no pagamos impuestos muy muchos", respondió nuestra maestra ", sólo el 9% de nuestro sueldo para pagar en el sistema de atención de salud". Impuesto a la renta? Sólo en el 2% de los perceptores de ingresos. Impuesto sobre las ventas? No, sólo en la comida del restaurante. Entonces, ¿cómo, pues, tiene tantos servicios? Nosotros en los EE.UU. paga más del 30% en impuestos sobre la renta solamente, y no tenemos un sistema de atención de salud y tenemos universidades muy caros. Fácil: el turismo. El turismo también puede ayudar a las personas a aprender acerca del otro países. Por otra parte, los extranjeros ricos tienen una influencia tal vez más de lo debido. Los bosques nubosos en Panamá se están vendiendo para comunidades cerradas. Hoteles alojamiento de visitantes que se esperan de aire acondicionado y internet usan más energía de los edificios en esas comunidades han utilizado en el pasado, mientras afirmaba "eco-turismo". Una vez más, hay un equilibrio.

Gracias por seguirme en mis viajes!

Crazy small world...

I have written about small world moments in previous posts, but yesterday took the cake.

Dan and I went on a day tour to the towns of Portobello and Colon, on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal. Portabello has ruins of forts from the Gold Rush era, and a church with a black figure of Christ with a lot of legend tied to it ( http://www.coloncity.com/blackchrist.html). Near Colon, we visited the observation center for the Canal expansion work- pretty impressive. We traveled to these places by van, but to return, the tour included a scenic train ride back to Panama City, along the Canal.

So there we are, standing on the train platform, when a guy comes up to us to ask if we knew where a bathroom was. I was so focused on a) communicating, and b) helping a man in need of a toilet, that it wasn't until he had walked away that I thought: that man looks a lot like Tony D'Souza! When he and his girlfriend were next to us again, I asked, and it was him! Tony and I met  volunteering around the Bay Area years ago, and he and his girlfriend Karen live in Manhattan now. How random and cool to run into them on the train platform, in Colon, Panama!! It was fun to catch up during the train ride and dinner after.

The relative benefits of civilization vs. remoteness

Between spending three days in a beach town without internet and three subsequent busy days in Panama City, I have been remiss in posting. But, having spent three days in said beach town and three subsequent days in Panama City, I am now well-prepared both to report on the week's highlights and to compare the relative benefits of being in a tiny but beautiful remote town with those of a big cosmopolitan city.

Days 1 through 3: Santa Catalina

Highlights: ocean front cabin, spectacular scenery, horseback riding on the beach, surviving the boat ride to Coiba Island, seeing a sea turtle while snorkeling!!

Benefits: See highlights. Relaxation. Plus, we ate at the same restaurant each night- at the camp/hotel- which means no complicated decision-making or long transit times, and the abilitty to get to know the staff.

Drawbacks: No internet...i.e., no basketball scores! We were also very far from groceries, coffee shops, pharmacies, and medical care. One morning, Martin our guide told us if we walked to town, "about 1km", we could have a coffee at a nice cafe by the water. So off we went. We walked, and walked, and walked. Much farther than 1 km later, we reached the...well, town, I guess, but there was no coffee shop to be found. Nor was there sunscreen to be bought.  Nothing to be found, really, except surfboard rentals, a bar created by placing some benches under a tarp, a few homes, and a mini super with noodles and cleaning supplies. More seriously, a girl in our group got sick with a very high fever on Day 2. It would have taken 3 1/2 hours for a doctor to get to her. Since her fever had subsided somewhat by the morning, she decided to wait until we got to Panama City to see a doctor. Original diagnosis: "something related to Dengue"! Even though a subsequent hospital visit refuted this...she's ok and treated with drugs now...it was super scary to be so far from services.


Days 4-6: Panama City

Highlights: Seeing a huge cruise ship go through the Panama Canal, riding in a small boat IN the canal, seeing white-faced monkeys, randomly running into an old friend! (More on this next post!)

Benefits: a variety of food, a variety of people, easy access to medical care, treated water, shopping, internet everywhere.

Drawbacks: Striking income inequality,minor but present safety concerns, traffic.

I think civilization, especially civilization this close to white-faced monkeys!, wins in a close contest.

 

"Napa Valley" of Coffee

Boquete, in the highlands of the Chiriqui province of Panama, is called (perhaps by tourism campaigns?) the "Napa Valley" of coffee. Yesterday, we put this to the test! Our day started with a (really excellent) tour of a coffee farm, factory, and roasting center, followed by a tasting of three different roasts. Note, I didn't drink coffee at all before coming to Central America, but I was pretty excited about the tour. :) We learned that Panama doesn't produce a large amount of coffee, but growing conditions are excellent, and several brands have won international awards. Of the roasts we tasted, I liked the Latin Roast the best. I also found out that this company (Cafe Ruiz) makes a "natural" coffee, which is dried with the fruit still around the coffee bean, resulting in sweeter coffee. It wasn't quite ready to try as of today, but I'm going to look for that type of coffee at home! Mmm...

I finished off the tour by having an iced mocha ("not real coffee", but that's fine with me :) ), then we had sandwiches at a lovely cafe, and then went on a guided hike in Volcan Baru national park. We were in search of the elusive Quetzal bird (at least I was!), which we didn't find, but we did hike to a nice waterfall.

Heading to Santa Catalina today, where there is no internet...more in a few days!

Much better vibes in Panama

Well, we made it to Panama, by crossing the border on foot over an old railroad bridge, with several big holes in it. We are now in Bocas Del Toro, which has a MUCH better vibe than Puerto Viejo!  Children play in the park at dusk, locals eat in the restaurants, and the adorable old lady who ran my favorite shop spoke to me only in Spanish. We visited two different beaches, on two different islands in the archipelago, both absolutely spectacular. Tomorrow, we leave here for Boquete, in the mountains.

Y en espanol:
Bueno, hemos llegado en Panama, por crucer en pie a traves de un puente viejo de ferrocarril, con algunas huecos grandes. Ya estamos a Bocas del Toro, que tiene un sentido mucho mejor que Puerto Viejo! Los niños juegan en el parque al atardecer, la gente local comer en los restaurantes, y la vieja linda que trabaja en mi tienda favorita hablo conmigo solo en espanol. Visitamos dos playas, en dos islas de la archipiélago, ambas absolutamente espectacular. Manana, salimos por Boquete, en las montanas.

Caribbean Vibes

For two days now, we have been in Puerto Viejo, CR, on the Caribbean coast about an hour north of the Panamanian border. We have done some fun things-- yesterday we met a chocolate maker and I held a baby monkey at the wildlife rehabilitation center!-- but I'll be glad to move on. I've heard people say they really like the vibe here, but something (or things) about it feels weird to me. The skies are often overcast, with lots of rain showers. Like at Pacuare beach where I volunteered, there are very few sea birds, contributing to a sense of desolation. There is a lot of crime, which has limited the activities we've done here.  There's a drug culture and problem. The locals are fighting with the government over control over the local Cahuita National Park. Overall, it feels like a town desperately trying to get tourist business, given the limited other economic options in this area, and I feel like as a result, there are very few authentic interactions between locals and visitors. I don't like that rift feeling.
So this morning, we leave for Panama! We'll still be in the Caribbean, but hopefully with better vibes. More soon.

 

Dan is here!

Dan arrived safely yesterday! Today we went to a beautiful tourist trap of a place in the mountains near San Jose, where we saw lots of cool animals (but in cages :( ) and hiked a short trail past a waterfall. I admit I did enjoy having a toucan sit on my arm, though!  We also met the rest of our Panama tour group tonight...seems like an interesting mix of young beer lovers and well-traveled pensive types. Stay tuned as my perceptions of people get more refined! Interestingly, we are the only Americans. Tomorrow morning we leave for Puerto Viejo, on the southeast coast of CR- back in the Caribbean, but this time with electricity. :)
Y en espanol:
Dan llego seguro ayer! Hoy fuimos a un lugar bonito (para atrapar las turistas) donde vimos muchos animales tuanis (pero en jaulas :( ) y dimos una caminataa un sendero corte a una catarata. Sin embargo, admito que me gusta tener una sentada toucan en el brazo!
Tambien conicimos los otras en nuestra grupo de excursion a Panama esta noche...parece.un grupo interesante con jovens que le gusta cerveza y tipos pensivos y bien viajados. Preste atención ya que mis percepciones de la gente consigue más refinado. Manana por la manana salimos por Puerto Viejo, otra vez al Caribe, pero esta vez con electricidad! :)