Cousins & Carnavales!

This is the story of one of the wildest parties I have ever attended. The best part of it all: I got to share this incredible Panamanian fiesta with 2 awesome cousins of mine. Only a few days after my immediate family finished their trip here (a story that still needs to be told…) I got a message from Jeff (my cousin), asking what I would think about him and Susie (other cousin) coming to visit in February. Yes, Please! (Head's up - almost all of these photos were taken by Susie, without them this blog wouldn't be the same. Thank you Susie!)

So happy these two came to visit! 

So the planning began, and next thing I knew they were on their way here. Susie is a natural planner who loves to take full advantage of her limited time off of work to travel. Jeff works as a flight attendant, and can travel the world for stupid cheap (I won’t tell you how cheap because it will just make you mad) – and as such is very flexible. Perfect combo for making the most of a week in a foreign country.

Primos en Panama City

The week they happened to have available to come see me turned out to be the same week as Carnaval – so I knew some crazy shenanigans were in order. Supposedly, only one other country celebrates Carnaval with more fanfare and hooplah... Brazil. Maybe you've heard of it? ;) For those that need a tiny Carnaval explanation – it’s basically the same thing as Mardi Gras, but it’s celebrated for 4 days beginning on Saturday (in some cases even earlier) instead of just on Fat Tuesday. It ends on Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. Basically it's seen as a chance to get all your sins and reckless abandon out of your system before behaving reverently for the 40 days leading up to Easter. If you need more than that – Google it. The point is, Panamanians like to party. And at this point in the year, they go all out.

It's bout to get CRAY

Panamanians do it differently than other countries though, incorporating something known as “Culecos” into the day-time celebrations. Basically these are giant trucks filled with water, parked in the streets with people spraying water through a fire hose on a mass of dancing, happy people. In addition to this, everyone that owns a water gun (every kid in Panama) brings it out to soak their friends. Sounds Awesome right?? It WAS. But first let me explain how I got us there.

Staying dry is not an option!

So although Susie planned basically every other detail of their journey (major props to her), my job was to figure out how we were going to celebrate Carnaval while they were here. Naturally, I asked my roommates and co-workers for advice on where to go, what to expect, etc. While chatting with my boss Heidi, we decided the best strategy would be for me to go with Jeff and Susie to Penonomé – the local capital of the Coclé province (El Valle is also in this province), which is known for some of the wilder Carnaval parties in the country. The tradition of celebrating Carnaval actually began in the towns and cities of the interior provinces, not in Panama city. As a result, the parties there are the craziest. Most importantly, it wasn’t too far away – only about 1.5 hrs in a bus. 

From the blue dot (El Valle) to Penonomé – that’s like 1 cm, not far at all! 

The trickiest part of the whole plan to go to Penonomé would be finding a place to stay. So I sent out a couple couchsurfing requests, and waited with crossed fingers. The next morning, my wishes came true – but in a way I hadn't even imagined. At work, Heidi told me her husband Edgardo (co-founder of EVACC – major frog saver and all-around bad ass) wanted to take us to Penonomé for Carnaval to make sure we had a good time and stayed safe. He could drive us there and he had a friend in town who’s house we could stay at, and he’d accompany us to the festivals to make sure we did it right. JACKPOT!!!! Planning done.

The Carnaval Crew

So when Susie and Jeff finally arrived in El Valle, I was beyond excited. So was the entire country – well those that enjoy Carnaval that is. Obviously not everyone is a partier - some Panamanians don’t even leave their houses during Carnaval and others flee the country to avoid the mayhem that ensues during these 4 days. But we were headed right for the thick of it J

Hey, no fun allowed! 

The first night Jeff and Susie spent in El Valle, we headed out to dinner at Zapote – my favorite local pizza joint with my roommate Diana, so she could practice her English y mis primos pueden practicar Español. We caught up on all the wild adventures they’d already had in the city, taught them some fun useful cultural phrases (Rakataka = ghetto, Ayy a la vida = oh my god, goodness gracious, good grief, etc) and demonstrated to Diana what a southern accent was. After dinner we headed to the supermarket to stock up on beers, since we would be leaving town early in the morning. 

Dining out with Diana

Early in the morning turned out to be closer to noon, since Edgardo had a fair amount of errands and things to take care of before we left town. This worked out fine for us though, since it gave us time to charge our phones/cameras, while enjoying some coffee and delicious pumpkin bread at my friend Erin’s Butterfly café. 

Polariod Selfie at Bodhi hostel

Once Edgardo showed up, we stocked up on more beer and ice (Always be prepared) and hit the road. On the drive Edgardo explained to us a bit more about the traditions behind Carnaval, our plans for the day, etc. We wound through steep mountain roads to get to Penonomé the “back way” – avoiding the traffic of the Inter-Americana Highway. 

 Leaving El Valle via the "scenic route"

When we arrived in Penonome – we went to the house of Edgardo’s buddy, Ricardo, where we would be setting up camp for the next two nights. Ricardo and his wife have very recently welcomed a brand new baby into the world, so in order to avoid disturbing their peace and quiet our plan was to stay in tents behind their house. I got very excited (admittedly more than necessary) when I saw that one of the tents Edgardo brought for us to sleep in was an old-school green Eureka tent, the same one I used to camp in once a month for many years while growing up as a Boy Scout. They don’t make these things anymore (inner old man speaking) – so this was a nostalgic bonus.

Happy Campers

Once we polished off a couple cold beers and got to know our hosts a bit, changed into our bathing suits, slathered on some sunscreen, and mentally prepared ourselves with yet another beer… it was time for Carnaval craziness. Ricardo gave us a lift right into the heart of the madness, our heavy cooler stocked with a wide variety of Panamanian brews riding behind us in the truck bed.

We made it!

We disembarked and made our way into the soaked streets, Jeff and I carrying the cooler. Once inside the gated-off area, the cooler was lifted above our heads so that we could squeeeeze through the masses to find ourselves in a decent spot. All the while yelling, drinking, laughing and carryin' on :D

Bienvenidos a Carnaval!

Those around us gave us an extra centimeter of space since I don’t think they trusted two gringos with a heavy cooler full of beer on their heads not to accidentally drop it, and all of its ice cold contents, on their heads. Luckily for everyone, this didn't happen. 

Squeezing through the crowd

Eventually we found a spot we liked, set down the cooler, and spent the rest of the afternoon getting sprayed by water, taking photos, dancing (on and off the cooler), and of course drinking. That’s what Carnaval is all about! 

The more, the merrier!

Thanks to Edgardo and Ricardo, we found ourselves smack dab in the middle of a true Panamanian celebration. So Panamanian in fact, that we were the only gringos in the entire sea of people. This made me very happy, since I’d much rather surround myself with locals as opposed to other foreigners while traveling – helps ya really get a true taste of the native flavor.

Susie's view from on top of the Culecos! Can you spot the gringos? ;)

Why drink only one beer when you have two hands??

Ayy a la vida - whitest award: won!

The madness carried on until about 4 pm, at which point the water was shut off and everyone pretty much headed home for a while to eat dinner, change, and prepare for the night time festivities. So we did exactly that. Edgardo called Ricardo who kindly came to pick us up and took us back to his place, where we dried off, cleaned up, and told stories of the insanity we’d been a part of.

Jeff found a friend on our way home

Riding back, in the back

 Once in dry clothes, I helped Ricardo cook a typical Panamanian meal using some of the skills I've picked up since living here.  Later we all sat down around the table together as one big happy family, blessed the food, and dug in. During the meal prep, lots of baby photos were taken and smiles were abundant.

Proud mama with her beautiful baby

Full to the brim with a delicious meal, we relaxed (napped) and let our bodies digest the healthy mix of sun, water, beer and grub for a while. Once the sun set and the food comas wore off, we rallied, put on some presentable outfits, and headed back into town in Ricardo’s truck to celebrate some more. 

Siesta time

The night celebrations were centered around a massive parade, featuring extravagantly dressed beautiful Reinas (queens) that rode on massive intricately decorated floats, full marching bands, and all sorts of wild costumes. Even most of the kids got into costume!

Mini Minnie

It was certainly a sight to behold. We payed a small entrance fee to gain access to a huge open air disco club that had massive balconies overlooking the streets, where we were able to get great views of the parade below.

The balcony admittance was totally worth the extra bucks, since we avoided having to fight to see over anyone’s head to get a glimpse of the action and the bar was only a few feet away.  We spent the rest of the evening watching the parade, dancing in the disco, and taking ridiculous selfies.

Cheesin'

Much, much later in the evening, we took a taxi back to Ricardo’s place, climbed into our tents/hammocks and crashed. In what seemed like a blink of an eye – I woke up around 8 am to the sound of Ricardo shaking my tent and telling me “Ya las cerevezas estan frias!” (Beers are cold!) I grunted, laughed, and rolled over while telling him I'd be there a bit later. I managed to rest another half hour or so before the sun became positively unbearable and forced me out of the tent.

A "Dude, where's my car?" moment

When I got up, Ricardo was busy in the kitchen whipping up a batch of Hojaldras (yummy Panamanian fried dough breakfast treat) and a huge pan of scrambled eggs. Around 9:30 or so we all gathered around the breakfast table for a friendly family meal and more story sharing. 

Yummo!

Before long, it was time for Round 2! By noon we were back in Ricardo’s truck, heading back to the familiar chaos of geting sprayed down with hoses, dancing wildly, and emptying our cooler full of beers all over again. 

Round 2 Babay!

Annnnd, Weeeee're Baaaaack!

Our second day, Tuesday, was the final day of Carnaval – so there was a bit more going on than the day before. On top of one of the culecos there were about 7 or 8 chicas throwing T-shirts, sun glasses and even tiny airplane liquor bottles out into the crowd. Needless to say, we all scrambled to snag a free souvenir/drink! 

Who wants a T-shirt?! 

I moved through the ocean of jumping Panamanians to find myself just on the outer edge of the T-shirt girl’s throwing distance. I leaped up to snag a knotted blue T-shirt and then just for fun, caught a second one only a minute later. The folks around me weren't too happy when I snagged the second one and told me to get out of there. Don't blame em!

T-shirt tossing twins!

So I laughed and obeyed, bringing the goodies back to the cooler, where Edgardo and Jeff had also stashed the shirts they caught. Edgardo deviously discovered that a T-shirt soaked in ice-cold cooler water made for an excellent tool to unsuspectingly soak Susie, and eventually all of us haha.

Primo Photo!

Now for a rather hilarious testament to just how crazy Carnaval is - something that an outsider would otherwise never realize.  Among all these soaked masses of people, there are pretty much no (read: absolutely none) easily accessible public bathrooms. This is not your typical American event with long lines and rank port-a-potties (Bonnarooo!). So what to do when you’re drinking all day, tightly packed in a mob of people, and surrounded by flowing water?? Simple – Pee your pants! Hahaa!

Water, water everywhere... but nowhere to pee

But seriously. When nature called we shamelessly answered and then waved our arms madly begging to be rinsed off. After all, we were wearing bathing suits so with a quick rinse... it's all good.  Trying to find a side street or corner to pee in was not an option, since cops could potentially fine you for this, as Edgardo warned us. Not worth it! Once you get over the initial awkwardness of this, it was actually pretty nice to be able to freely relieve yourself. How often is that socially acceptable?! Gotta take advantage of times like these.   If you find yourself in a similar situation, I would definitely recommend it ;) 

Peeing your pants, it's the cool thing to do!

Unfortunately, this day was also marred with a serious bummer. At one point Jeff and I were on the hunt for more free T-shirts and sunglasses, when suddenly he grabbed me and thrust his wrist in my face. “Dude, where’s my GoPro?!” Panicked, I immediately began to scan the beer can littered street. Warned by everyone not to take anything of value into Carnaval – Jeff and Susie both insisted on bringing their waterproof cameras and wearing them tightly around their wrist in order to document the debauchery. 

Hooray for water-proof cameras!

Thankful that they made this choice, I left my camera at home, and with it any sense of responsibility. Sadly, at some point while jumping up and down, Jeff’s camera must have snapped off of his wristband. Although we told everyone around to help us look for it (and they did!) it never showed up. We suspect some crummy, good-for-nothing, person (que maldito!) found it and rapidly disappeared. Edgardo rushed to get the police involved, and people were frisked – but no camera. L Please take a moment to recognize the grief this caused.

A second of sadness ;-(

But, in true Jeff style – he chose to look on the bright-side of life and appreciated how many of the surrounding locals rushed to come to our aid. We hugged it out and reminded ourselves that it was just a camera – the important thing was that we were fine and still in the midst of an incredible celebration. So we turned our frowns upside-down, took lots more photos with Susie’s camera, and carried on! 

Love this guy, his attitude, and that #hat

All too soon, the final day of Culecos was over and we began to make our way out of the thick of it. While munching on some street foods and sitting on the side of the road waiting to head back to the house, we saw some of the souvenir girls leaving the scene and heading our way. Acting quickly, Susie and Jeff chatted up these good lookin' ladies and we got them to take a bunch of photos with us. Fun times.

Locos!

Back at Ricardo’s house, we had another delicious dinner and spent more time relaxing. Soon after dinner though, Ricardo and his wife had to head out of town – since he needed to be at work in a different city early the next morning. So they left Edgardo with a key, and we took liberty of the shower and hammock to rest and rinse off before repeating another night out to watch the final parade of Carnaval. 

Rinsing off with an ice-cold T-shirt

We got a late start that last night thanks to some naps lasting longer than others (ahem, Jeff) – but around 9 pm or so we started walking towards town and eventually got a taxi to stop and pick us up. We caught the tail end of the parade, but saw many different things than the night before – including some crazy dudes with huge angry artistic masks that looked like something out of the Temple of Doom, as well as a bunch of high-stepping horses. 

Couple of Queens

Deviant Duo

As the night aged, I couldn't help but feel a certain subtle sense of sadness among the people, myself included – everyone knew the whole thing was almost over. It would be another year before these streets see this much action again, and lives will quickly resume their normal laid-back pace. Polishing off a few final cervezas, we people-watched a while before taxiing back home to get some much needed rest. After all, I had to get back to work in the morning! 

Cerveza!

So that’s the (rather long, drawn-out) story of Carnaval! To really know what it’s all about, you simply gotta go. See y’all at Carnavales 2016! Until then, Peace OUT! :D

Country Roads, Take me home

The time has almost come for us to leave Sakaerat for good, and I am still having a hard time coming to grips with that reality. I really don’t want to leave, but of course more adventures lie ahead in other places, and so I must continue to explore. I am excited to head off and travel around Southeast Asia for a while, but I am also quite bummed to be saying goodbye to this precious corner of the world and the people here. This place has been not only a marvelous home, but also a source of constant adventure and wonderful times. You never know what you might find while exploring these lush forests. Just peeking into the vaults of their expansive wealth of biodiversity has been richly rewarding. So many times when I've least expected it I have chanced upon something I couldn't of even imagined, such as watching a bat get stuck in a spider web (and then escaping) or a Slow Loris staring at me eye-to-eye. I can only dream about what else I might have discovered if we had a bit more time here.

Whatchu lookin at?

In the spirit of unexpected adventures and saying goodbye, I thought I’d tell a story of a day back in September which involved a series of unforeseen events and a fantastic farewell party. The day before, Taksin had invited us to lunch, mentioning something about a retirement party for one of the workers. None of us thought too much of it, after all we have been invited up to the station for meals many times before. Usually there is a healthy buffet of many different Thai foods, which we will happily devour and then head on our way. This time was different though. It was the first time we were invited up for lunch, instead of dinner. When the time came for us to go, Sheila and the girls weren’t feeling up to it. Sheila decided to keep sleeping, and Sara and Tesco had both just woken up… so they weren’t in the mood for lunch food yet. So Mike and I headed up to the station alone. As we approached the dining hall, I saw a large elaborate stage set up outside. That was the first clue that this was going to be a special event. 

All the Jungle's a stage...

We walked into the main cafeteria to see quaint round tables covered with elegant white table cloths. At each table there was a fancy spread of many different dishes, each prepared with an exquisite attention to detail. I was very impressed, and quite surprised. This was much more extravagant than I had expected. Mike and I sat down with the other members of the snake team and we began to dine like royalty. 

A feast from the east

Not only was there plenty of delicious food, but the beer was free-flowing and ubiquitous. Every time we turned around, an employee would deliver us a few more bottles to the table, despite the fact that we already had quite a few open bottles. At one point I believe we must have had 8 or 9 beer bottles on the table at once. Luckily Mary-Ruth and Chia-Yi joined us not soon after the meal began, so there were plenty of people there to help diminish the seemingly never-ending supply. 

By 1:30 pm or so, most of us were done eating… but the party wasn’t over yet. Beer continued to be delivered while high officials from the Thailand Ministry of Science and Technology (the Thai equivalent of our NSF) stood up to give speeches about how great Sakaerat was for Thailand. They are absolutely right about that, Sakaerat is definitely something that Thailand should be proud of. Every year this place is responsible for teaching thousands of Thai children the importance of nature, a lesson that loses some of its effect when taught in a polluted city such as Bangkok. And then of course there’s the huge amount of scientific research that is carried out here every year by scientists from all over the world. This place is definitely a diamond in the rough. A lot of this success is thanks to the leadership of Taksin and his tireless drive to keep this place up to par with international expectations. In the short time that we have been here, he has instituted many changes in order to improve the quality of life for us and others at the station. A few examples include having an entirely new bathroom built as an addition to our house, replacing old drinking water jugs with actual plumbing and metal water fountains, and installing extremely high speed internet which has made skyping home so much easier. Taksin is an amazing man, and it’s easy to see that he truly loves his job. In fact, he once turned down a promotion to one of the higher positions in the government so that he could continue to remain at Sakaerat instead of having to work a desk job. My kinda guy!

Before and Bath-ter

Anyhow, back to the party. By about 2 pm the formal speeches were winding down, but these guys had another trick up their sleeve… Karaoke! A giant projector screen that was being used earlier to showcase photos of Sakaerat had been transformed into a gigantic Karaoke machine, and the head honcho of the Thai Ministry of Science was leading the charge into la-la land. Everyone loved this spectacle, especially our table… since we had no idea this was coming. A few Thai songs were sung which most people in the audience seemed to recognize and enjoy, and a few more beers were consumed by our table. Around this time Sara showed up, wondering what the heck was taking us so long to eat lunch. Like a rowdy bunch of pirates we all cheered and shoved a mug of beer towards her while insisting that she join in the celebration. She didn't require much convincing, and soon she was clapping along blindly to the music with the rest of us. 

Sala joins the party

Then it suddenly became obvious why they had been giving us so much beer. One of the employees waltzed over to our table with the Karaoke microphone and insisted that we sing a song! I didn't see this coming at all, but turns out they actually had a few songs in English… so we could at least make complete fools of ourselves in our own language. They put on “Country Roads” by John Denver, and handed the microphone to Nico, one of the Field Technicians on the snake team. Nico is from France, and he knew that I was from Virginia. So he cleverly used that tid-bit of knowledge to pawn the pressure on to me, saying “Look, it says Virginia… you do it!” Granted, it’s actually West Virginia… but I figured I was stuck so I figured what the heck. Thanks to the constant supply of beer I didn't need too much convincing to look like a total buffoon. After a couple verses I was really getting into it and all of the Thai folks seemed to love it. One guy even joined in with me! It was a blast, and I’m glad I did it. Sara actually managed to capture some of it on video, and since I am many miles away from most of you… I don’t mind embarrassing myself by sharing this beauty with y’all.

For some unknown reason that song seems to be an international sensation. I have friends in Poland that love it, and one of my friends in Ghana recently posted on her blog that she heard a guy playing it in the street one day. Who would have thought that people all across the world are excited by the idea of heading home to the Shenandoah Valley? It is pretty cool to have your local region so widely recognized though. After all it is a pretty special place, and I hafta admit I definitely miss home. I am looking forward to returning in a month… but until then I am doing my best to make the most every moment over here.

...To the place, I belong (Photo taken at Shenandoah River State Park)

In that spirit, I was doing my darndest to enjoy this party to the fullest. Singing Karaoke in front of the station was really just the beginning. After a while of singing indoors, someone made the move towards relocating everyone outside so the celebration could continue in the sunlight. At this point everyone had pretty much given up any hopes of being productive that afternoon, and we were all carrying on and having a great time. This was a much needed, unexpected break from the rigors of data-entry and field work… and it was quite well received. Even Tesco and Sheila eventually came up to the station and joined in on the fun and general shenanigans.

Moving the party outdoors

The kitchen staff brought out hot, freshly-roasted cashews for us to munch on while we continued to drink and goof off while singing and watching others sing. Now that we had extra space for activities, dancing was added into the mix and we joined in a circle with some of the girl counselors while trying to learn some new moves. They put some chairs in the middle, but we never quite figured out what they were for. At first I thought we might be playing musical chairs, but no one ever sat down. The whole thing was a hoot, and even though we looked completely ridiculous… nobody seemed to care. It was an awesome way to break the language barrier and actually hang out with these people that we see every day but don’t normally have time to interact with except in passing.

Musical chairs, anyone? 

Since Sala and Tesco didn't get the chance to take part in any Karaoke while the party was still inside since they were a tad late, they requested a few songs while we were outside. When their time came, they hopped up and began belting out “Build Me Up, Buttercup” as if it was the reason they were born. This was hilarious to watch, and after a little bit one of the male administrative workers decided he wanted in on the action. So he grabbed a microphone and next thing you know he was front and center, singing along to a song he probably didn't even understand. I managed to snag this photo of the performance, which pretty much sums up the moment perfectly.

"I need YOUUUU!"

Good times! The party continued well into the afternoon, with some of the more levelheaded workers heading back to their tasks, while others continued to fool around and enjoy this break from responsibility. At one point all of the young girl counselors and one of the Japanese researchers got on stage and put on a synchronized dance show for those who were still in the audience. It was quite well done, and I was impressed with the Japanese dude’s ability to keep up.

And the dance goes on...

The Karaoke microphone was never turned off, as many of the employees waited patiently to have their moment in the spotlight. Even the hardworking kitchen ladies took a break from their duties to sing a song or two.

Everybody got their time to shine

Ask the daylight began to fade, the party continued on… with music in full-swing and beer glasses constantly being refilled. No one expected a simple lunch to turn into an all day fiesta, but no one was complaining. We were constantly laughing and taking silly photos as the day slowly passed us by. What a fantastic way to spend an afternoon!

Look at these Looney, err,... lovely ladies

As dusk approached, a few of our team left to attend to checking on the frogs in the shed… one of our daily tasks. Afterwards they returned to the station, where the kitchen staff had prepared a delicious soup for everyone who was still hanging around. So we ate a light dinner, and then returned to the party for awhile until eventually it was time for us to start getting ready for work. Since I was on dawn shift I had some time to sleep before I had to wake up and head into the pond. Before we dispersed, a few of us climbed the kitchen tower to stargaze for a bit… since this evening was particularly clear. This was a fantastic ending to a wonderful day, and I went to bed that night very happy. I don’t think we will have quite the same farewell party when we leave in a couple days, but I am sure that we’ll have lots of fun. Either way, I know all of us will look back on this day in September with fond memories. The next time you hear from me, I’ll be a travelin’ man! Until then, Peace Out!