Columbia and Panama

In Santa Marta Columbia I took a trip into the mountains to a coffee plantation.  The plantation and processing equipment are more than 100 years old and the couple who run it were delightful.  However, they make very little money on coffee these days and it’s become difficult to find workers willing to hand-pick coffee beans.  This will likely be the last generation to grow coffee.  In fact they have already begun a transition to growing corn.  How sad.  

Very pretty up in the mountains. We took an hour or so walk out to one of the waterfalls that supply pristine water to the farm amidst large stands of bamboo. 

As a non-coffee drinker, when coffee was served I was provided with a bottle of their self-produced beer.  Pretty good too.

From Colon Panama I was off to visit one of the 7 indigenous Indian tribes who reside in the country. In many ways, this tribe of Embera Indians still live as they did years ago, but they had to reinvent themselves when their land was designated as a national park.  Now living in Chagres National Park, the Indians were no longer able to hunt, clear land and maintain other traditions necessary to their way of life.  So, they became master weavers of grasses making beautiful bowls, plates and masks as well as carvings and jewelry. 

The children are educated by a teacher sent to the village by the government and some have even gone off to college in hopes of becoming better advocates for the village when seeking government funding and services. 

Some of the clothing worn when we were there was ceremonial.  I was told that when there are no guests they wear less than what we saw with women wearing only a sarong.  They do, however, dress in more conventional clothing when leaving the village to go into town.

Today we went through the Panama Canal.  It was my third time to transit the canal and my 4^th time in Panama (the first being a land trip when I saw the canal from a local’s perspective and from the air as I flew to the other side of the country).  The water is brown these days due to the dredging for the new canal which runs parallel to this one.   It was to have opened by now but they’re having issues with leaks.  Seems to me that they were better at mixing cement 100 years ago then they are today…  I posted a photo of the locks on FB last year... won't bore you with all of that this time :).

We now have a day at sea before stopping in Costa Rica.