Playa Drago - A Day at the Beach

My hammock at Playa Drago

It’s not all work here in Panama. Sunday, I took my first beach day on Isla Colon (aka Bocas). It’s a 30 minutes bus ride from Changuinola to Almirante, when I catch the high speed boat (launcha) to the island. I get the “senior” discount, so it’s $3.50 instead of the normal $5. The boat service is really

Bocas Town waterfront - lots of boat traffic

well run and punctual. The sad part of the trip is the awful pollution and poverty of the harbor basin, before passing the huge Chiquita shipping dock and heading out into the clear waters of the bay.

Along the route, we pass Isla Cristobal – Christopher Columbus (aka Cristobal Colon) left his name all 

A local wooden boat

over this area. Lots of local wooden boats, carved from a single tree are out fishing, enduring the wakes of all the passing speed boats. Arriving in Bocas town is a treat – I feel like I’m back in the Bahamas or Virgin Islands. The harbor is full of derelict boats and some mega-yachts. Buildings on the waterfront are colorful, with Colonial architecture. The downtown area is very touristy, with craft shops, restaurants and hotels jam backed together. TONS of European back-packers wander the streets.

Touristy downtown - crafts and hostels

At the park, I caught the bus that runs up the center of the island to Playa Drago. The ride is stark contrast to the tourism of town. We passed small outlying houses and villages and vast bamboo forests. I couldn’t help but notice many well structures (occupational hazard) and learned that the government built the wells and distribution system just 5 years ago, in response to a water crisis on the island. The current tourism boom is taxing even this large system. The rich folks, hotels and businesses are getting priority as they can pay the skyrocketing fees, while the poor folks still struggle. Sewage is an even bigger problem. All new construction and older hotels with 15 or more rooms are required to operate their own private sewage treatment plants.

Shuttle boats to Playa Estrella

Arriving at Playa Drago all that vanished from mind. The gorgeous turquoise water and waves took my mind well out of gear. I chatted with the boat drivers who take tourists to the famous Playa Estrella and got my body immersed in sea water ASAP. I snorkeled out to the reef which was loaded with tropical fish. 

The point break in distance is on the Changuinola peninsula
about 5 miles from my apartment

Unfortunately, the hurricane that came through this part of the Caribbean stirred up the bottom sand, which has yet to settle out. So no decent photos.

Lucky for me.... it was SUNDAY !!

The only restaurant was serving Rondon – a fish chowder with coconut milk base. Absolutely delicious, washed down with a Miller beer. Then headed for a hammock slung under a palm tree for a short nap.

Refreshed and relaxed, I boarded the return bus, speed boat and bus back to Changuinola. I think I’m going to like exploring ALL the beaches of the Bocas archipelago.

Another tranquil beach on the leeward side of Drago Point

La Gloria

The school is just as neat and landscaped as the rest of the village

My second water system evaluation was in La Gloria, another pristinely scenic village of about 600 tucked back off the main highway from Changuinola to Almirante. The only shuttle service is a mini van from Chang to La Gloria. I had a nice chat with Daryl, who owns the van and has a surprising sense of keeping a regular schedule – every 2 hours to the minute.

Pro sized grass futball (soccer) field at town center

This village has a HUGE grass soccer field at its center. I couldn’t help but think of all the food crops that could be grown there, but that’s my priority, not theirs. I met Ventura, the Water Committee Fiscal (auditor) at his house across from the beautifully landscaped school. Lots of 

Almost postcard material - a very clean village

civic pride in this village – not a hint of trash anywhere. His wife had made some hush-puppy-like balls,  with bits of meat inside and boiled some water for me – very sweet.

The Grand Plan - right now only the small tank and
one spring are operational

He showed me the Grand Plan for a greatly expanded water system. They are certainly looking years ahead. They have barely enough water for the 110 homes now on the system, but there are many other folks who would like to get service. In actuality , most are already getting water from a neighbor with a connection. This combined with several small leaks in the supply line and wasteful usage practices puts a strain on their existing infrastructure. I did water tests, which showed almost bottled water quality at his tap, though I can’t test for bacteria or parasites – unlikely since the system is well sealed.

We hiked up to the 5,000 gallon tank, which acts more like a conduit 

They cut me a hiking stick which is really helpful
on steep inclines and jumping stones in rivers

than storage, as water is used as fast as it comes in, except at night. Even then, he says water flows in the middle of the night. Likely due to open taps and leaks. The tank was clean, except for some gravel in the tank bottom, accumulated from years since the last cleaning. Then a brisk climb on a steep uphill trek to the spring that feeds the system. I measured the flow at about 10 – 12 GPM, which should be more than adequate for 110 homes.

I’ll be back to do some training of the Committee, but left him some homework – fixing all the small leaks and finding out just how many folks are really using the system. We may wind up tapping an additional spring (they have 3 nearby), if they need it. But, then again, they may not need the extra water for now.

The only nasty item is that the drainage ditches also double
as open sewers - not nice, Though after a heavy rain they
flush everything to the river

I’m beginning to feel the uncomfortable position I’m in for the moment. Usually, I find a project and work on it until it’s done. But here, I need to wait until all the site visits are done to figure where to “best” spend my time. I certainly won’t be able to do construction in all 17 sites, so I’ll be disappointing some folks. I’ve tried to be clear about that. But, they see a very interest old Gringo and figure help is guaranteed.

Futball Mania

I heard a loud cheer come up from the lobby, where a group was watching “the game”. About 10 minutes later “the game” was over and more cheering, only louder, Then horns started blowing all over town and continued for about an hour , here in Changuinola, Panama. They were joined by police and ambulance sirens. Celebrating Panama's 2-1 victory over neighbor and arch-rival Costa Rica in World Cup qualifying play.
I'm told it's a really big deal for 2 reasons : 1) The Costa Rican border is only about 15 miles from here and 2) this will be the first time ever that Panama will be in the World Cup finals.
Personally, I have no interest in this, but I have to say it was exciting to see the ridiculous joy this victory has caused around here that night. And it spilled over to the next day.....

As someone who cares nothing about soccer or the World Cup, it has still been curiously fascinating to watch the local response to the Panamanian futball victory over Costa Rica last night.

The celebration continues today with the news on the TV at the restaurant locked into pure sports, as though nothing else is happening in the world. They replay the final goal over and over and every time they do, a cheer goes up from the patrons. Cars and trucks continue to pass by waving Panamanian flags and honking horns. How much longer can they continue to revel in this ??

More significantly for me, I showed up for a meeting this morning with two officials from Ministry of Health and was told neither was coming in today. As though it was totally understandable and acceptable. I was told to see if they come in tomorrow and try to reschedule then.

On the positive side, there is certainly an elevated mood and lots of smiling faces around town today. “Buenos Dias” greetings have an extra weight to them.

I guess I just don’t understand sports mania in any of its odd forms.

Junquito – First Contact

The plan for my current Peace Corps assignment is to visit about 15 small villages in the Bocas del Toro region and evaluate the condition of their water systems and their water committees. I’ll then prioritize for greatest need and biggest bang for buck and facilitate repairs, upgrades and trainings.

Junquito, a village of about 200 people in 42 houses, about 15 miles from Changuinola and 2 miles off the main road was my first visit. No electricity, but a small water system. The folks (and I) have two options for access – a small van that makes 3 trips a day into the village or riding the Changuinola Coaster and walking the 2 miles in or out. Due to my impatience and desire to smell the roses, I chose the hikes. water test equipment

Mi tocayo - another Goyo !!

Surprisingly, the entire access road is paved and in great condition. Dense jungle towers overhead on all sides, with cacao (chocolate), coffee, bananas, plantains, coconuts, papayas and breadfruit growing all around. There are crayfish in the river and access to fishing on the other side of the main highway. Hard to go hungry here.

I quickly located Carlos, the water committee treasurer and with two other community members, toured the system. We first used the water testing materials I brought to test water quality – everything looked good, except I have no facility for testing bacteria or parasites. They get their water from two nearby springs, since the lovely river that runs through town is too contaminated to use.

2008 Peace Corps spring box still in great shape

The first spring is captured in a spring box built by a PC volunteer in 2008 and is still working beautifully. Its storage tank is in fair shape with only a small leak and is kept nice and clean, but never disinfected. The second spring is not so good. The site of the spring has shifted and the old spring box is useless. The water now emerges from the ground about 50 feet away and needs a new spring box to contain it. But, same good news on its water tank. The distribution lines are in good shape, considering their age.

New spring box needed to avoid contamination

The village barely gets enough water for drinking, cooking and bathing, so laundry is done in the river. Few houses have elected to bring their water connection into the home. Most just have an outdoor spigot and carry water into the house for drinking and cooking. They do bucket baths by the spigots – not a healthy practice.

The few large solar panels in the village are used for TV and satellite dishes. Smaller units power lights and charge cell phones. About half of the adults work for The Company (Chiquita). Others fish in the lagoon, just the other side of the main highway.

Most of the homes are quite nice and clean
except for the pigs living on the ground floor

The water committee is new. The old committee, in power for over 10 years, was thought to be corrupt and untrustworthy. The new group is trying to do overdue maintenance, but is having trouble collecting monthly water payments - $1 per month per household. I’ll certainly be doing some training to assist them and hopefully construct a new spring box.