Panama is the southern most country in the North American continent. In Panama they speak Spanish. Our Aunt speaks English and Spanish and was able to help us alot of the time, but it could be difficult to get around and get things done not knowing the language very well. Fortunately the people were very patient with us.
Panama is a very narrow country so we were able to visit both the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean during our trip.
The Pacific Ocean is a much bigger ocean and is less broken up by land, so the waves were a lot bigger here.
We were able to go to an island just out in the Atlantic Ocean. The waters were much calmer there.
Panama has many different animals than we see in New York. A favorite was the sloth, we were able to see several of them.
One was actually moving and crossing the road to try to find a female sloth.
We also saw pretty blue butterflies, toucans, crocodiles, a jaguar, raccoons, iguanas, and a cougar. We saw the butterflies and iguanas and little capybara around when we were hiking, the other animals are native to panama but we saw them in a zoo.
We were able to learn a little bit about the Panama culture. One day we went to go visit an Indigenous Tribe. Their ancestors were in Panama before Europeans came. They used to farm, but where they were living was turned into a national park and they were not allowed to farm there anymore, so they turned to tourism to provide for themselves and allow themselves to continue to live on their tribal land.
Their homes and buildings are made with palm fronds layered over each other to form the roofs.
They dye plants with plants that give off colors to weave bowls and plates.
They also hand made these birds and hand carved this sloth slingshot that Joshua got.
We also watched a tribal dance called the Toucan Dance.
Another day we went to a Museum to see some more Panama Culture. We saw these traditional dresses. They take 6 months to a year to make and cost $5000 to $10000 to make because each one is unique and very detailed. We saw some people wearing the traditional dress because while we were there Panama was celebrating their Independence from Columbia. They have two Independence Days one from Columbia November 3rd and from Spain on November 28th.
We also got to watch some traditional dancing from Panama.
We also got to enjoy the beauty of Panama. We took a Surrey Ride by the ocean at sunset.
We spent some time in the mountains and saw this beautiful view.
We hiked up a mountain near the city saw the Panama flag and a poisonous caterpillar.
We also had to take a boat to visit the tribe. Afterwards the guide said that he would take us to a waterfall. The river became to shallow for the boat, so we hiked barefoot near and through a stream in the jungle to find the waterfall. It was beautiful and tough on the feet.
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