Today was a packed day of learning, exploration and discovery. We started the day at our hotel with breakfast and buddies. We have 4 students and a teacher from New Mexico with us as part of our tour and all of the kids have started making friends. While there are many things to learn from the people of Panama, when you are on a group tour, there are also things that you can learn about the people with you!
Panama Viejo was our first stop of the morning. This archeological site is also a world heritage site and is known as the first settlement city of the Spanish. Students discussed Panama as a trade route, the potential benefits and dangers that this site had for the Spanish, as well as the impacts this settlement had on the indigenous people of Panama. Gabo sent us on a scavenger hunt in the museum where students learned about trade routes, jewelry and clothing of the time, social life and structures of classes based off of the Spaniards, mestizos, and slaves. There were also discussions on how religion caused clashes but was represented with beauty through burials and ceremonies. Students walked through the ruins, visited the museum, and then discovered fun trees and animals outside!
After visiting Panama Viejo, we were blessed with an opportunity to go to the Biomuseo, a museum devoted to celebrating, appreciating and recognizing the diversity of plants and animals in Panama. The building was designed by Frank Gerry, an architect known for designing the Guggenheim and others. This building was designed as a tree with the columns as the trunks, the beams as the branches, and the roofs as the leaves. This building was closed for the last year and a half due to the Pandemic and groups have just recently been allowed back in. Students watched a video about all types of ecosystems and then walked through millions of years of time to show the evolution of animals, as well as those that are endangered or extinct. The conservation efforts of this museum are outstanding and the kids learned a lot! Exhibits touched on animals and biodiversity, but they also taught about conservation and things we can be doing to make sure more of the environment is protected through conservation.
For lunch we stopped at Niko’s Cafe. This restaurant is a buffet-style restaurant full of various flavors of Panama. We have several picky eaters in our group, but I did witness everyone try something. There were dishes with fish, chicken, pork, shrimp and more! Check out the images below to see what the students picked. They were able to order and pay using a few Spanish words. This was also a stop for an ATM machine for anyone who felt they needed more funds. Students successfully navigated getting money from the machine! This may seem simple to many of the adults reading this blog, but to put things into perspective, many of these kids have only used an ATM once… and it was a test run in the week prior to taking the trip. This ATM has questions in multiple languages, asks what type of account they have AND they have to remember the PIN number from a week ago. It is a PROCESS and one of the life skills that I love watching them learn.
After Niko’s Restaurant, we went to visit Casco Viejo. This is the “old” Panama. Students saw the difference in three areas: Panama City (skyscrapers, banks, traffic and taxis), the outskirts of Panama City (areas where the wealth is not as evenly distributed and resources are not as widely available), and Casco Viejo (the historical part of Panama). We looked at buildings with French, Spanish, and influence from the U.S. Students also learned about gentrification. We were able to visit a Catholics cathedral and students were able to see the gold leaf used in most Latin American church decor. This cathedral was the place where Pope Francis previously visited on his trip to Panama to attend the Catholic Youth Summit in a previous year. We discussed the current political situation, saw where the President of Panama works, and did quite a bit of souvenir shopping. Souvenir shopping offers lessons in fiscal responsibility, thinking of others, time management, and sense of direction. And you thought we just went to Panama to see the monkeys! Ha!
I almost forgot to mention that Gabo and Adilene played a trick on our bus driver Rafin. Adilene called him from the pay phone and told him that we left her and she was lost. This was all planned and our bus driver has a heart of gold. These guides really will go way above and beyond for our kids and it is outstanding!
After a wonderful day with Gabo and Rafa, we had a debriefing of the day, spent an hour in the hotel pool, journaled about our days, and went to bed! This trip is going amazingly well. I love our guides, our itinerary, and most of all, I love these kiddos!
Here are the quotes from today:
“Mrs. Potter you said to wear semi-cute. I only do full-cute.”
“No séis.”
“That’s an iguana!”
“You should give me Potter points because I attempted to be lost.”
“Those are wasps, we should probably move back a bit.”
“I was stuck in the elevator and didn’t have a key.”
“What is that thing on your head?”
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