First on the agenda was a trip to the hamlet of Los Ceibos. We had to descend 1000 ft to get there, but Heather was getting stronger by the day and was well up to the task. The picacho had been worked on by a bulldozer, and trucks could actually go down the steep hill for the first time in years. Since it was the dry season, however, there was so much loose dirt and gravel that no one could go back up. Luckily the road crews had carved out a different road leading from Los Ceibos back to civilization, so that trucks could go down one way and back up another.
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| El Picacho |
Three boys from Chepo accompanied us, and we picked up one more in Los Ceibos. Of course they wanted to go to the swimming hole, and we were happy to go with them.
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| Kevin, Dorian, Ollie and Eri |
While we were there, a woman we know passed by carrying firewood, and Steve volunteered to carry it up to her house, using the traditional motete to carry the load. She was pretty tired, and was glad to let him.
The boys entertained themselves during the entire day by catching cicadas. The device they used was quite simple. They cut a plastic bottle in half and pushed it up at the cicada. Once the bug was caught in the narrow neck of the bottle, it couldn’t open its wings and it was trapped. By the end of the day they had over a dozen of the critters in their backpacks.
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| Dorian shows off his catch |
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| Kevin hunts for more cicadas |
Unfortunately March is burning month. The farmers here feel that the best way to prepare the soil for planting is to burn off all of the vegetation. After three months with no rain, the fires spread rapidly, often going out of the desired areas.
On Sunday we went to the town of El Toro, the site of Heather’s accident back in November. She broke one vertebra and her wrist getting out of a pickup truck. We stopped at the house where Heather spent an agonized hour and a half lying on a wooden bench, waiting for the ambulance to come. Here is a photo of the family who lives there.
Everyone in town was happy to see that not only had she recovered, but that she was in shape to hike again.
We had arranged with a number of students from the Chepo school who live near El Toro to meet us at the swimming hole there for one final outing with the Baileys. They were excited to share their river spot with us, and almost twenty people were there.
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| Heather and Jakelin |
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| Triple jump! |
One student came on horseback. It was a very hot day, and the horse enjoyed the water even more than we did.
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| Francisco lets his horse cool off in the stream |
That same evening we invited the neighborhood children to our house for a farewell party. The early arrivals made bracelets from little rubber bands that Heather brought from the US.
When all of the children were there, we sat in a big circle and each person recounted their favorite memory of playing at the Bailey house. Heather's favorite was reading books to children on the porch. Steve's was "porch sliding", swinging back and forth on the rope with the porch floor wet.
Then it was time to give out games and books. Each child put their name in a hat. When their name came up, they chose a game or toy to take home. We had two more rounds, giving out children’s books in Spanish.
The kids show off their winnings:
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| Kevin, Ollie, Dorian and Meicol |
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| Macyuris, Yohannys, Carolina and Didian |
On Monday and Tuesday Heather and Teacher Omar gave talks on dental health to all of the primary grades (K-6). Each child went home with a new toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss. Heather had been planning this for some time, and took advantage of her final days in Chepo.
On Wednesday, our second to last day in Chepo, we made one final trip to the local swimming hole. José (grade 2) and his friend Juan David (grade 3) made the trip on the family horse. Note that the saddle is actually a mat of woven straw.
Heather poses with her swimming buddies.
On Thursday, it was our final day in Chepo. They had another going away party for us, this time in the center of town. Various people spoke, and then our host mother Odilia played the accordion.
Steve sang his décima, the traditional Panamanian song, for a second time, while his friend Emigdio played the guitar.
Then came the sale of the Bailey household possessions. They were priced to move. Tables were marked for $1.00, 50 cents, a quarter, and a free table. Anyone who bought an item got one thing for free. We gave out numbers and made people go in order in an attempt to avoid chaos, but we were only partially successful. In the end, all items went and everyone had a memento of our time there.
Finally the food was ready and everyone was fed. Teachers and community members pitched in to serve the food.
It was an emotionally draining day as we said goodbye to our friends from Chepo, and we were exhausted as we drove out of town after the party. These two years have been a very rewarding time for us in Chepo, and we were sad to leave.
We are now tourists in Panama until April 16th, when we return to the US!
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