Coclé, Panama Debriefing Report
The Volunteers will finish up their six wonderful weeks of community life in Coclé on Sunday, August 5 and come together as a group in our headquarter city of Penonomé to begin our three days of project debriefing. Their final week was spent working on their community-based initiatives, attending goodbye parties in their honor, spending time with their host families, whose homes have come to feel like second homes, and saying goodbye to the many community members with whom they have shared so many meals, heavy rain showers, long hikes, educational activities, community projects, and so many other memories.
The Volunteers will spend two nights in the lovely mountain town of El Valle de Anton exploring waterfalls, thermal baths, a zoo and a local craft market. Home to one of the best artisan markets in Panama, on weekends the population of Valle de Anton swells with local artists (some of them from our Volunteers’ communities!) who often hike 3-4 hours with their crafts to sell them at this market. The Volunteers, who have hiked around Panama all summer in the rain and mud (such good sports!), will also have the option of a final hike to La India Dormida, a mountain that locals say looks like a sleeping woman. Here we will also close out our program with final activities, personal reflection, and an opportunity to share ways in which the Coclé project could be improved for the future!
On Aug. 7, we will travel to Panama City and spend the day getting to know one of Latin America’s most beautiful (and safe) capitals! We will, of course, go to the Panama Canal, timing our visit to catch one of the boats going through the Miraflores locks, and also explore the historical neighborhood of Casco Viejo, where the President of Panama lives. We will have dinner at a sea-side seafood restaurant with incredible views of the Pacific Ocean at the Causeway, a jut of land into the ocean built with rocks that were displaced when the Panama Canal was created.
On Aug. 8, we will see the sun rise from the airport as the Volunteers prepare for their journey back to the United States. As a Project Staff, we have had a wonderful experience watching our Volunteers become part of their Panamanian families and communities this summer, and we hope that many of them will return to AMIGOS for further Volunteer or Project Staff experiences!
