The ministry here has been keeping us very busy. I have about 3 studies in the works. There's also a couple that has been here 3 months that are leaving soon. The have over 15 studies that need to be taken care of. Although our primary goal is to find English speaking people, we try to cover the entirety of the islands. We talk to Spanish speaking people the best we can while we're searching for English speaking ones. Lot's of work to do! Panamanian's put a very high value on the Bible. They respect it. And clearly see the benefit of it. They're not distracted by illusory possesions, and fast-paced life.
Yesterday was definitely a highlight for me. Kelly, Liz and I decided to make it an extra long day. We had started a very long road last week and needed to finish it. So, we got on our bikes and started our trek. I'll take a brief moment to tell you about my bike. It's a beach cruiser, and a boys bike at that. I'm certain the whole village has seen every pair of underwear I brought trying to get on and off of that thing. Skirts + bikes should not be an equation. This bike has no gears, it's just one speed, the brakes are nearly non-existent, and the chain falls off on average every 3 minutes. All of these factors make riding through the jungle a challenge. Patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue. I repeat that to myself many times over. Anywho, back to yesterday. This road is a crushed stone road that leads you from one side straight through the middle to the other side of Colon Island. You travel through dense rain forest, around sharp corners and up and down steep hills. We were surrounded by palm trees, banana trees, bamboo shoots, huge trees with canopies spanning nearly 100 feet that have long tarzan ropes hanging from them, the deep howling of monkeys, countless birds chirping. A ways down the road I saw a dirt path that went off into the jungle. Excellent. We walked down the path into vibrant green, completely untouched by humans. The air was so wet, like it was raining without gravity. Just little drops of water floating all around you. We even spotted a sloth! His cute, furry, mangy body glided over the tree branch as he took such slow, steady steps.
Most of the people down this road are indigenous. One family we met lived in this little tiny wood hut, probably 20 square feet. When we arrived all the little kids came running out to greet us, 9 of them! Birth control? Not so much. They ranged in age from roughly 4-15. Their father couldn't read so Liz and Kelly read to him from the Bible and one of the magazines. I was out on the street with all of the adorable, bright-smiled kids. They huddled around me giggling. Unfortunately, I couldn't communicate with them very well not knowing much spanish. But, I learned all of their names. The oldest girl Teresa which she made sure I pronounced Terrrrrrrrrrrresa... yeah, I have to work on the r rolling a wee bit. I remembered I had some stickers in my bag with me, so all of their darkly tanned, soft hands had furry pigs, goats, chickens, and sponge-bob square pants faces on them when we left. They were thrilled!
I also met a very nice older man down that road. He speaks english. When I talked to him about a peaceful world he said "wouldn't that get boring?" I told him "Many people would think so. But, think of all the beautiful places to explore and visit. I've only been here a few weeks and have barely touched the surface. Or all the people to meet. I could spend years getting to know you and you're just one person out of 7 billion alive!" He said "Yes, yes, I agree with you. I don't believe it would be boring either. I was just testing you to see if you really believed it." Before we left he asked "What church are you from?" We told him we are Jehovah's Witnesses. He said "I thought Jehovah's Witnesses. You know why? Because all of these years, the only people that come all this way out here to share good news from the Bible are Jehovah's Witnesses." I've now committed myself to riding all the way out there regularly.
We finally reached the other side of the island 4 hours later. It was 5:30 at this point and the sun goes down at 6:30. The darkness fell very fast on our ride back. Complete darkness, intimidating darkness. We made it half way back when finally a big bus passed that agreed to tie our bikes to the roof and bring us the rest of the way into town. From Bocas we jump on a small water taxi to head back to the island we're currently living on. And then a half hour hike up through more jungle to our house. An exhausting, but highly rewarding day.
Exploring the islands themselves, we've come across beautiful white sand beaches. A cemetery with an open grave exposing an entire skeleton. Bugs of all sorts, too many to list.
The way of life is very simple here. The average Panamanian earns $1.25/hr and works extremely hard for that. They live off the land. My diet has mainly been rice, lentils, eggs and bananas in all different combinations. Rice and eggs, lentils and rice, eggs and lentils, you get the idea... it's nourishment, that's all that matters. The water is sourced by what falls from the sky mainly. That is when rain falls from the sky.
6 nights ago our rain water tank went dry. Of course it rained every day we got here until the tank went dry. Since, not one drop. So our relaxing, outdoor shower with an ocean view has been out of order. I haven't showered in 5 days. Who knew anti-bacterial wipes could be so refreshing? We have a small barrel of water that we've been able to use for washing dishes and things and dumping some over our hair. Without that we'd really be in trouble. It's all about the adventure, so I'm embracing the dirt!
Saturday we leave to Boquete, Panama for about 5 days to hike Volcan Baru. The volcano stands a little over 11,000 feet high.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
The Grand Entry
San Jose, Costa Rica, is where we spent our first two nights in Central America. An adorable hostel by the name of Hostel 1110. San Jose however, is an armpit of a city. Dirty, chaotic, loud, lacking of charm and character. I was eager to get out of the hustle and bustle into the beauty of the country.
Friday proved to be the outlet into unmatched beauty. We boarded a bus in San Jose at 9 am. This was our transportation to the Panama border. We were told it would be around an 8 hour trip. Of course the port-o-potty door would have a ¨not in service¨ sign hanging on it... good thing we sweat a lot. The bus departed the unfiltered urban air into the lush rainforest which smelled of refreshing dew and pure earth. The kind of air you wish you had lungs the size of five gallon buckets for since breathing it in feels that amazing. We traveled in and out of dense green foliage, through small villages filled with little wood huts, banana plantations, coffee fields, and through tunnels carved into mountains. This bus also doubled as the area´s Fedex truck, stopping to pick up bags of goods along the way and delivering them to overjoyed locals. Kelly and I rode pretty much the entire way in honor of dogs, with our heads sticking out of the window. It was worth every bit of debris in my eye, all of my now dirt clogged pores and my extra red right arm.
At the Panama border you have to walk over a nearly delapidated bridge about 200 feet long and a good 100 feet above a river. The metal is rusting through and the wood boards have about 6 inches inbetween each one, which forces you to look down. The bridge is just wide enough for semi trucks to travel across, and not so comfortingly, those travel across at the same time as pedestrians. Just a wee bit of a blood pressure rising experience. Little did we know we were supposed to get our passports stamped on the Costa Rican side before walking across that bridge, so we ended up going through the same hair raising experience 3 times. Yikes!
At this point we boarded a small van busting at the seams with sweaty people to a City called Almirante. Here is where you board the boat to the islands of Bocas Del Toro. It was perfect. Emerald green islands speckled throughout the crystal clear water with a faint orange sky as the backdrop.
From the main city Bocas you take an even smaller wood boat to Isla Bastimentos, our current home. The house we´re living in is called Up In The Hill. Quite literally, it is very far up a hill. At this point it was a little after 8 pm. I brought a backpacking backpack and an old-school rectangle suitcase, Liz has her backpacking backpack and a large duffle bag, and Kelly has a backpacking backpack and a regular size backpack. Liz and I were extremely jealous of Kelly at this point. The trail to our house starts with make shift sidewalk that is very steep, imagine a regular staircase without the stairs, just paved over. That's how steep it is. This ¨sidewalk¨ lasted for about 10 minutes and then it´s uphill straight through the middle of a jungle, through mud, over tree roots, surrounded by night monkey´s, sloths and lots of bugs. This part of the hike that's supposed to take 25 minutes took us a good 45 as we were carrying everything but the kitchen sink up there with us. Stupid Americans. I´ve never been so sweaty in my life! My neck felt like I had been sprayed with watered down jelly, disgusting, exactly. Liz ended up sacrificing her duffle to the side of the trail a little ways up, which the police were not so happily gaurding for her when she returned.
Our house is the most adorable thing you´ve ever seen in your life! An ex tv producer from Argentina and his wife from Scotland live with their two children in a house not too far from ours. He said 18 years ago he wasn't happy with his life anymore so he moved here and built these houses himself. It's completely self-sustained, solar panels power the electricity, the shower is outside using rain water stored in a tank, and the house itself is made of bamboo and carved timber. It sits under the brightest stars I've seen in my life and has a beautiful veiw of the ocean that lulls us to sleep every night.
We met many of the English speaking Brothers and Sisters today, they're of course wonderful, kind people. Our first day in service will be tomorrow. More updates soon!
Friday proved to be the outlet into unmatched beauty. We boarded a bus in San Jose at 9 am. This was our transportation to the Panama border. We were told it would be around an 8 hour trip. Of course the port-o-potty door would have a ¨not in service¨ sign hanging on it... good thing we sweat a lot. The bus departed the unfiltered urban air into the lush rainforest which smelled of refreshing dew and pure earth. The kind of air you wish you had lungs the size of five gallon buckets for since breathing it in feels that amazing. We traveled in and out of dense green foliage, through small villages filled with little wood huts, banana plantations, coffee fields, and through tunnels carved into mountains. This bus also doubled as the area´s Fedex truck, stopping to pick up bags of goods along the way and delivering them to overjoyed locals. Kelly and I rode pretty much the entire way in honor of dogs, with our heads sticking out of the window. It was worth every bit of debris in my eye, all of my now dirt clogged pores and my extra red right arm.
At the Panama border you have to walk over a nearly delapidated bridge about 200 feet long and a good 100 feet above a river. The metal is rusting through and the wood boards have about 6 inches inbetween each one, which forces you to look down. The bridge is just wide enough for semi trucks to travel across, and not so comfortingly, those travel across at the same time as pedestrians. Just a wee bit of a blood pressure rising experience. Little did we know we were supposed to get our passports stamped on the Costa Rican side before walking across that bridge, so we ended up going through the same hair raising experience 3 times. Yikes!
At this point we boarded a small van busting at the seams with sweaty people to a City called Almirante. Here is where you board the boat to the islands of Bocas Del Toro. It was perfect. Emerald green islands speckled throughout the crystal clear water with a faint orange sky as the backdrop.
From the main city Bocas you take an even smaller wood boat to Isla Bastimentos, our current home. The house we´re living in is called Up In The Hill. Quite literally, it is very far up a hill. At this point it was a little after 8 pm. I brought a backpacking backpack and an old-school rectangle suitcase, Liz has her backpacking backpack and a large duffle bag, and Kelly has a backpacking backpack and a regular size backpack. Liz and I were extremely jealous of Kelly at this point. The trail to our house starts with make shift sidewalk that is very steep, imagine a regular staircase without the stairs, just paved over. That's how steep it is. This ¨sidewalk¨ lasted for about 10 minutes and then it´s uphill straight through the middle of a jungle, through mud, over tree roots, surrounded by night monkey´s, sloths and lots of bugs. This part of the hike that's supposed to take 25 minutes took us a good 45 as we were carrying everything but the kitchen sink up there with us. Stupid Americans. I´ve never been so sweaty in my life! My neck felt like I had been sprayed with watered down jelly, disgusting, exactly. Liz ended up sacrificing her duffle to the side of the trail a little ways up, which the police were not so happily gaurding for her when she returned.
Our house is the most adorable thing you´ve ever seen in your life! An ex tv producer from Argentina and his wife from Scotland live with their two children in a house not too far from ours. He said 18 years ago he wasn't happy with his life anymore so he moved here and built these houses himself. It's completely self-sustained, solar panels power the electricity, the shower is outside using rain water stored in a tank, and the house itself is made of bamboo and carved timber. It sits under the brightest stars I've seen in my life and has a beautiful veiw of the ocean that lulls us to sleep every night.
We met many of the English speaking Brothers and Sisters today, they're of course wonderful, kind people. Our first day in service will be tomorrow. More updates soon!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)