Cambutal

Cambutal, Los Santos, Panama

Playing Dominos with the Tonosi locals

It is quite an interesting culture here in Cambutal. The people are friendly in the bars where it’s custom to pay for a lot of beer rounds. It is a place where cowboys thrive, where the men ritually howl the traditional ‘ahwuuha’ and play the accordion, where Kuna Mayans spearfish for cambute (conch) and langosta (lobster), where the horses sneak out of their farms at night to mingle, where howler monkeys can be heard near and far, and where the locals enjoy the Pacific Ocean which overlooks tall hills and rain forest. It is a beautiful place.

Cambutal is named after Cambute

Erasmo beautifully playing his acordion

But like any beautiful place, it has its problems too…  

One concern is the amount of trash that is washed up on the beaches daily. There is no organized effort to clean it up. Worse yet is that the majority of the locals are accustomed to robbing sea-turtle nests for food and for a few dollars. However, some local kids and families do join in the beach cleanups and night searches for sea-turtles. They are learning how to take care of their land and the wildlife of their home, which is indeed promising. With more education the new generation can stop this unpopular tradition of huevero (egg robbing)…but not without resistance from the close-knit community and cultural ties. 

If a local kid wants to learn how to surf they may be met with negative criticism from their family (who would rather their kids aspire to be cowboys or fishermen). I can count on one hand the number of local surfers here…and only one is a Panamanian professional surfer and local of Cambutal: Gonzalo Gonzalez.

Gonzalo Gonzalez at 411

There are a small handful of full-time Gringos here (surprisingly, some in their late 20s who have come to build, own and manage restaurants, hotels and coffee shops). What seems to keep most of them here is the surf as well as the slow-pace lifestyle. Only travelers who have time to venture off the beaten path come to Cambutal for the awesome “411” point. Slowly though, Cambutal is becoming a tourist destination in the dry season.

It will be interesting to see how Cambutal pans out in the next couple of decades as more tourism shapes the economy here. As it was for me in El Tunco, El Salvador, I am a bit afraid to see the changes happen and how the people transition into it. I hope it does not lose its culture but does embrace some of the more modern views - like the importance of taking care of their beaches, their wildlife and to gain an appreciation of the laid-back surf culture.

“It’s a part of the culture”

Los Santos

Although I have this sort of love-hate relationship with the area, I have indeed enjoyed my time in Cambutal. I went to a wedding, a Los Santos religious ceremony, a discoteca, a going-away party and a toddler’s birthday party. I went boating, fishing, surfing, body-boarding, kayaking, horse-back racing on the beach and rain-forest, cow-tipping (joke!), saw whales from afar, enjoyed yoga sessions with some new friends and relaxed by a waterfall. I got to help build two sanctuaries for baby turtles, organize a local beach clean-up, and play mid-wife for one mother sea-turtle, in particular, as she delivered 116 eggs. 

We caught 2 Tuna, 1 Mackerel and a Needle fish 

Kiki

Toward the end of my time in Cambutal, I started to grieve for I found I had become attached to a dog that had labeled me “her human” . She goes by the name “Kiki”. Kiki went everywhere with us…she was always my fellow compañera. I had a hard time saying goodbye to her as she slept on the floor of my room…I cried almost as hard as the rain fell to the Earth the day I left.

I also became fond of a local guy – he being the person who I shared most of my free time with. It took me time to come to terms with the fact that I had to go and put our time together to rest. But, I am happy to have made a new friend in the world and I wish him all the best of “luck” on his journey…speaking of luck, a small grasshopper found me the morning I was preparing to leave Cambutal – it closely watched me while I ate my breakfast. I smiled and thought of the words that my new friend had spoken on numerous occasions in regards to his beliefs: “if it finds you, it means you have good luck”. J

Just as a last but special note about Cambutal – it sparkles! In the day time much of the black sand shines in the sunlight. But it is at night when Cambutal comes to life – in nature that is. There are fireflies galore that glimmer above the landscape. If you look up you will experience the universe – the Milky Way is in full view, there are more twinkling stars than I thought possible and shimmering shooting stars take off every few minutes. And if you are brave enough to swim in the ocean at night your presence will light up and glow from the iridescent plankton that swim just below the surface. It is very magical! 

Marlene, Me, Chocolate and Kiki

Reef

Garam, Moses, Marlene, Reef and Gonzalo

My drinking buddies

Grupo para Conservacion de las Tortugas Marina Desarrollo Turistico Y el Sector Agropecuario de Cambutal (Tortuagro) – (Sea-Turtle Conservation Group)

Digging up last years turtle eggs

The hardest working woman I know! Gracias para todos, Yaquelin!

In October, 2010 the Tortuagro Volunteer Group of Cambutal was initiated to watch over and “rescue” the baby sea turtles on four local beaches (Horcones, Punta Blanca, La Cuchilla, Morro de Puerco). Each year since opening the group has saved more nests than the previous year. And in 2013, they are happy to be building two new viveros (sanctuaries) for future hatchlings to peacefully mature in refuge. 

Marlene and I were blessed with sea-turtle bracelets from these 2 lovely ladies. I'll never take it off! 

Building a new vivero

Prepping the garden

Security watch for the new vivero

Digging up the palm trees too close to the second vivero

Chocolate guarding the vivero from poachers

Beautiful people volunteering their time

However, since the group does not have sufficient funds or volunteers they cannot successfully watch over each beach at this time. And as I mentioned previously, the locals make it almost impossible for the group to find untouched nests. Not even has random police escorts on the night searches stopped hueveros from robbing the innocent and un-hatched babies. Sometimes they come by horse with their flashlights and trash-bags and sometimes by foot in numbers of two…either way, you can be sure they come searching each night.

Records: In 2010, Tortuagro saved 20 nests for an approximate total of 1000 babies. In 2011, they saved 90 nests for an approximate total of 8000 babies. In 2012, 150 nests were saved for an exact total of 12,456 babies.

 Help is needed: *governmental assistance (conservation laws and regulations), *grant funding, *volunteers, *educators to teach about conservation and wildlife to the locals and children, and *police involvement for arrests/fines for poachers. For more information on how you can help please reach Yaquelin Vasquez at +507-6264-1936, by email at yaqui2525@hotmail.com or cambutaltortugas@hotmail.com, and on Facebook at “Tortugas Cambutal”.

                           Cambutal Community Beach Clean-Up      

Marlene and I organized a beach clean-up which took place on July 21st. Kent, Gonzalo, Marlene and I provided the financial donations for supplies and lunch. I want to thank the 30 or so volunteers (locals, foreign residents, students and volunteers from Fundacion Tortuguias) for taking part in the clean-up. A total of 30 trash bags were filled! Also, a huge thank you to Yaquelin for preparing lunch for all of us!

 Cambutal Photographs

Photos by Marlene Krug Pitcher

Photos by me

Panamanian Recipes

1.      Hojalda: Ingredients: ½ teaspoon Salt, 28oz flour, 28grms baking powder, ½ cup butter, cooking oil.

Hint: add sugar or honey as a topping

Steps: mix the ingredients until it becomes doughy. Take a small handful of the dough and flatten it a circle shape with your hands. Throw it in the frying pan and take out when golden brown. Enjoy. 

Hojaldas

1.      Tomales: Ingredients 1 (stuffing): combine grounded corn, salt, garlic and celantro

Ingredients 2 (meat): combine bite sized pieces of chicken/pork, tomatoes, salt, garlic and celantro

Ingredients 3 (salsa): combine onion, tomato, tomato paste and salt

Ingredient 4 (wrap): boil banana leafs for 15 minutes in water

Banana leaves

Cultural Barrier

I tried to bake a cake from scratch one day and got confused as to why Yaquelin’s oven only went to 200 degrees. We struggled to understand each other as I explained the cake needed to be at 350 degrees to cook properly. Finally, my German friend, Marlene, pointed out that the oven is in Celsius, not Fahrenheit.  Oh boy, did I feel stupid…We all had a good laugh at that one. Looks like I only needed the oven to be 176 degrees C. 

Panamanian Spanish Lesson 

Quesopa? (Que paso backwards and simply means, “what happened/what’s happening”?)

Dale pue (go then)

At this point I am a translator between English and Spanish speakers. My Spanish has really improved since beginning my travels 3 months ago. But a lot of the time I meet people and I cannot understand a word they are saying to me. It’s funny to see such a discrepancy.

Donate to Educate

The majority of the remaining funds went to the Primary School of Cambutal. A total of $220 was spent on a printer/copier, school supplies and rice/beans for the student’s daily lunch. The director, teachers and students are very appreciative of your support. 

After Paypal taxes were taken out for each donor’s transaction, the total of funds received was $867. Only $42 remains and will go towards buying supplies for my class in Honduras (see travel update). I hope all of donors are happy with where their donations have gone towards in the countries of Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama. Here is the break-down of the donations:

School/Organization Donations Price

K’amawanik School                       3 Blackboards                              $230

Centro Maya Xela                             Scholarship                               $100

Panama School                        School supplies, hardware                   $175

La Mariposa Spanish School                Education Initiatives                  $100

Cambutal School                      Printer, school supplies, food               $220

Total = $825

Remaining = $42

Travel Update

I’ve reached the end of the traveling line for now and did so in 3 months (5 countries in total). It has been a remarkable journey with up’s and down’s, lots of new friends, new sceneries, new adventures and experiences, appreciation for the simple things of life and a lot of sending my positive energy out into the world of Latin America. I explained in one of the last posts that I decided I would backtrack through the countries and see more uncharted territory after my time in Panama. But when I was in Costa Rica for a few days I searched for jobs on the internet. My efforts paid off and I had two English teaching positions offered to me: one in Gracias, Honduras and the other in Puerto Cortez, Honduras. After initially accepting the job in Gracias did I regret my decision and quickly emailed the interviewer back to apologize and turn down the position. Only a day later did I get the email from the director of the school in Puerto Cortez. For many reasons, I knew this choice was the better of the two for me (it’s on the Caribbean coastline and is the direct port to the Bay Islands, Guatemala and Belize).

I am now the 3^rd grade English teacher of Atlantic Bilingual School in Puerto Cortez, Honduras. Classes start August, 20^th. The contract is for 10 months so it looks like I will be in Latin America for over 1 year…and I am very happy with this! I look forward to this new challenge of teaching.

To be continued…

Personal Thoughts and Growth

I am a beach girl which I realize is why I turned down the job in the mountainous city of Gracias. In the future, I would be crazy to move from Florida…the Atlantic coast is my home.

***

I am ready to reap the benefits of independence and have my own place again. It is a pleasure to live with local host-families but I realize it shadows me from my necessary independence. I am ready to cook my own meals and relax in my own space.

***

I’ve traveled for over three months now and have experienced some extraordinary things and met some incredible people. But, I found it lonely at times and this I realize is my own fault. As I left each destination physically, I also left behind every friend that I met in those places…as if severing all ties to what bonded me to that place would keep me emotionally intact. The concept served its purpose well and yet now I find I want to reconnect with a few of those that I originally connected with during my travels. 

***

I’ve decided to let my hair grow the entire time I am traveling and working abroad. It’s a natural symbol of my time of personal growth. I know that it will be at least 13 months (from May, 13’ – June, 14’) with no hair-cuts.

Quote

“Two roads diverge in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference”. Robert Frost

The Happiest Part of Cambutal for Me...

...is that somebody is looking forward to my return!