AA - After Alaska (my apologies- lots of words, but is up to date!)

Soon, I'll start writing blog posts about things other than places and straight forward experiences.  You know, thoughts and ideas and the like.  But now, a chronicle of what happened after I finished my few months in Alaska!

I'll try to keep it relatively concise.  Illustrations available in the form of assorted photos on facebook.

On my flight from Fairbanks to Juneau (via Anchorage), I sat next you an Aussie on a wander, who in the course of more general conversation, told me about the hostel where she was staying that night.  This proved highly serendipitous, as the ferry departure was pushed from 2 AM which would have meant spending some hours at the port waiting, to 9 AM, which meant that I managed to find and secure a place at the hostel of lore.  I ended up taking a walk around town with this erstwhile friend, who was staying a bit longer in Juneau before continuing on her way.
The next morning, some other ferry riders in a similar situation to me gave me a lift to the port, where after a bit of waiting, we boarded.  I highly recommend the Inside Passage ferry on the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS), either in a cabin or in lounge chairs in the solarium, but will include a caveat: unlike airplanes, where there are 5000 announcements regarding boarding and whatnot, you'd better be paying attention on the ferry and in the docks, because they aren't particularly concerned over whether or not a particular passenger is on board.  They keep to a schedule, which they announce, but there's nowhere near the degree of handholding that happens in the airport.
The Inside Passage is GORGEOUS, and varies just enough that 3 days just starts to get old.  On my boat, the Columbia, there were 2 enclosed viewing decks, a movie theatre with the same 4 movies every day, a deli/cafe place, and a restaurant.  Also showers and laundry facilities for the solarium guests, without their own in-cabin bathrooms.  It's a place to hang out and chat with fellow passengers (nothing else to do!), which led to a couple music circle nights, card games, and conversations, including some with a recent college grad named Aaron (not sure how he spelled it, actually), and his friend/mentor, who'd just been on a kayaking adventure in SE Alaska, and who gave me a ride from Bellingham to Seattle!
In Seattle, I made arrangements for my forthcoming rail tickets, secured a few legs, and connected with Jenn, a friend from college, who graciously hosted me for the several days I had in town.  We went swing dancing, had indian food, where I spoke with the waitress in Spanish, wandered around Pike Place Market and Seattle Center where we were surprised by the revelries of Seattle Pride!  I had a couple week days where I was on my own for a few hours, but aprovechar'd the time (that means 'took advantage of') by visiting the Space Needle, Childrens' Science Museum, EMP Museum (my favorite- pop culture, movie costumes and props, music stuff), a tour of the harbor, some fabulous views of Mt Ranier, aquarium, and a pass by the famous Seattle Library!  I also got to catch up with a handful of other college friends who live/d there :-)
Once I left Seattle, about 24 hours saw me in Sacramento, where David (more Prin! there was a lot of Prin reunioning in this part of the trip) picked me up from the train station. I got to have dinner with Miranda, a friend from Peace Corps, and saw Ivy and Andrew for a couple days, which involved more swing dancing, because more swing dancing is happy. On my last full day in Sac, David and I went white water rafting for my first time, on the American River, with an entertaining - and capable- guide, and a group of 4 women who ranged from yearly rafters, to one other 1st timer. It was great fun!
From Sac, I went to San Francisco for a couple days, where I stayed with a cousin, Betty, and her husband, when I wasn't wandering around the city essentially at random. I've got to say, San Francisco was my favorite city of those I visited, in terms of itself.
I flew from SF to San Diego for several days with my grandmother, and went to the beach, ran on the beach of my own volition, wandered in Old Town, and she and I went to some music venues, and it was a generally lovely time! We also went sailing with another couple of friends, and Skip, our enthusiastic captain.
From there, I boarded a train to LA, where after a brief reunion with Joe (yes, more Prin), I set out on the Southwest Chief, scheduled for a 2 day trip from LA to Chicago, whence I'd end up in Cincinnati as a surprise for my mom's birthday. That part ended up happening, as well as it could, but on the way, the train broke and we had a 4 hour delay in Raton, NM - oh, Raton!- which ended up with the train running 9 hours late. However, there were some fabulous people on board, and there was an impromptu drum/music circle in Raton, so it had some good stories. In a side note, just because, there was also a drug bust in my train car, but didn't lead to any increase in the delays, so that's OK! Instead of going to Chicago to transfer, those who were to make my connection were put on a bus in Galesburg to pick up the train in Indianapolis, no, Cincinnati, no, Indy...but I ended up in Cincinnati a mere 45 minutes after the train was scheduled to be there...after giving the driver instructions on how to get to the terminal. Yay!
A week and a half or so in Cincinnati held 2 birthdays, Korean food, kayaking, running, shopping, crafting, all sorts of fun stuff, and then I was off to College Station, TX, via Washington DC and New Orleans! More trains. They're rather limited by their tracks, but quite comfortable.
DC saw more Prin friends, with whom I stayed, catching up, and walks around the iconic spots. NOLA saw a Peace Corps friend, and her friend who put me up for the nearly 12 hours I was in that city- I really need to actually visit that place sometime! And about another day saw me in Texas, where on an hour layover in Houston, I ended up leaving early and meeting my friend Mollie, for a few days of moving her, her husband, and her dog, from an apartment to a very cute duplex! Then I flew back to Cincinnati for a Month And A Half!
Cincinnati held Cincy LX, a weekend of swing dancing til 5 AM on two nights, dancers from this eastern-part-of-the-Midwest, and hosting 3 fun dancers up from Tennessee! After recovering, I ran at least 5 days a week, caught up with Cincinnati friends, and started getting into job searching!
But then September came, and it was time to bus to Omaha via Chicago (6$ - go Megabus!) staying with a Prin friend in Chicago, for Cowtown Jamborama, a Lindy hop workshop weekend, and another week of hanging out and enjoying the company of Omaha friends. Then off to Colorado for my cousin Kelsey's wedding (perfect!) where I reconnected with the Little Dragon, my charge in Alaska, who Remembered Me! Then were several days of checking out Denver, to which I'm about ready to move, and driving through the mountains with my parents to Glenwood Springs, Delta, Ouray, Grand Mesa, Black Mesa, and more! We saw rain, fog/clouds, heat, cold, sun- every kind of weather, and completely unbeatable scenery.
Sated for the time being with topography, I went to Florida, where I am given to understand by my host and Prin friend Andrew (different Andrew from Sacramento) that there is none. We whooshed through all 4 parks over 2 days, with 2 visits to Epcot, went to a wetlands wildlife preserve, to the beach, and there was good times had by all.

And now, I'm back in Cincinnati, fairly permanently for the forseeable future, except for 1 little week-long trip to NYW next week, for a career conference ;-)

Non-chronological Alaska Wrap-up!

I arrived in Fairbanks 3.5 months ago tomorrow, on a cold, dark March 19, and saw a sheer green gauze scarf of Aurora Borealis. In the first few days, I met the Little Dragon who was to be my closest companion for the succeeding 3 months and went to an Ice Sculpture Park, and in the following weeks, hiked, skiied, walked, sang, danced, saw caribou, Dall sheep, orcas, moose, bears, eagles, and watched a few steps of the Little Dragon's development toward becoming a Real Person. I also had the opportunity to get to know my more grown up Alaskan relatives better than ever before, and meet some fantastic friends (mostly dancers)

When I arrived tLD was just starting to turn herself from stomach to back and the reverse. Over the course of 3 months, she worked through a number of phases in a similar pattern: accidentally discovering a new motion and getting startled by its occurrence to figuring out how to do it intentionally, and then doing it all the time. Rolling, scooching, crawling, climbing...any day she'll be walking! She progressed from occasional vowels to singing herself to sleep (she had great exercises for relaxing the vocal cords), to babbling at high volume all day long. Including saying “alligator” and “jacket” because she's just that smart! She actually said “ga ga goo goo” on more than one occasion, although she prefers “goo ga”. It was fascinating to see her realize or develop wants as opposed to needs, and preferences as we introduced her to different food options. Sweet potatoes- yes, peas- no. And she snorts.

One weekend, my aunt and I hiked in the White Mountains on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Most of our trail was firmly packed, unless we ventured to one side or another, where we would suddenly sink up to a knee. After about 5 miles, we were heading out to an overlook spot that went off to the side of the main trail. As a consequence of being off of the main trail, instead of sinking into the snow when we drifted, we sank into the snow on unpredictable steps. 5 steps on the surface, 1 sinks, 1 up, 2 down, and so on. We prevailed, and got a pretty good stair-stepper work out, and a fantastic view!! After some pictures and snacks, we made our way back to the packed trail, again never knowing if the next step would be on the snow surface or on the ground.

On another weekend, my aunt and I went cross country skiing. It was a beautiful day, and we warmed up quickly. A style of skiing that I'd not done before but is apparently popular there is skate-skiing. While I desperately attempted to skate-ski, my aunt zipped back and forth ahead of me, much like a puppy!

Also largely due to the influence of my aunt and cousin, I participated in my first 5K! 3 runs, 2 walks, and a 10K costumed walk/run. From not being a runner, I very nearly miss it when I don't go, and cut my 5K time from about 36 minutes to 30! In the 10K, our group was the monsters from the movie 'Monsters Vs Aliens', along with Galaxar, and I was The Missing Link, which was a pretty good look for me if I do say so myself ;-) We didn't win any prizes, but were recognized by a number of people in the 8-10 year old crowd, so we considered it a success! That was also the Midnight Sun Run on the summer solstice, which starts at 10 PM, and participants are named in the paper if they finish before midnight, which we did :-) After my first 5k, my aunt, uncle, and I went to Chena Hot Springs to soak and relax for a while.

What else...I got into a couple ballroom dance groups, and through them made some amazing new friends who sorely tempt me to move to Fairbanks more permanently, above the appeal of family. In April one of the main ballroom teachers encouraged me to participate in their annual dance contest, and out of 9 couples, my partner, who I'd met the night before, and I came in 4^th in the Swing contest, which was half WestCoast and half East coast. The biggest drawback I see to Fairbanks however, other than winter, is the nearly complete lack of lindy hop. There are about 3 lindy hoppers in residence that I know of, and 2 of them are follows, so I'd have to lead, and...it's still not the same. It was great fun taking classes in polka, Viennese waltz, East coast swing, and samba and in social dances, learning/reviewing rumba, foxtrot, American waltz, cha cha cha, salsa, west coast swing, hustle, and maybe a couple other styles.

Beyond Fairbanks – 

For my cousin's birthday, the family trooped down to Denali to hike and see what we could see. We picnicked at Horseshoe Trail and hiked to the top of Mt Healy on the first day, and wandered around the Savage River on the second day. The Little Dragon came along, of course, and she slept through nearly all of the hiking. We walked across a miniglacier, and saw 2 moose, a handful of Dall sheep, a caribou, a grizzly bear and her cub, possibly another grizzly, and maybe an eagle or two! The weekend after, my cousin-in-law and I went on a sightseeing cruise out of Valdez (after the original plan of going to a similar thing out of Whittier with the the rest of the family fell through). On the drive down we saw a few moose, a handful of caribou, a critter we're calling a bison – you can't prove it wasn't, it was near a sign about bison in the area! - a LOT of bald eagles, tundra swans, and a porcupine...and in town we found a black bear. From the boat, we saw sea otters, which are adorable!!!, sea lions, harbor seals, gulls, terns, pigeon guillemot (black and white birds with red feet). We visited a couple glaciers, and from the boat watched a big gorgeous one the name of which I'm forgetting calve into the bay. Beautiful ice bergs and smaller hunks of ice, the beautiful glacier blue. I'm using the word “beautiful” a lot, but if any area merits the term, it's there. On June 1 we drove back up to Fairbanks, and got to have the novelty of getting snowed on in June as we passed through the mountains.

On June 23, after these adventures and more, I took a flight to Juneau where I stayed for a day, made some temporary acquaintances, and embarked for 3 days on a ferry to Bellingham, WA. I got to see a bit of Sitka and Ketchikan, and saw Petersburg and Skagway from the deck, chatted with other passengers, and added orcas and porpoises to my list of seen sea animals! In a fortunate happenstance, I got a private tour of the Bridge, met the captain, and heard all about how the radars worked, how the boat works, different jets and propellers used to move it in various directions, and a fantastic view out over the bow.

From Bellingham to Seattle, I got a ride with some friends I'd made on the ferry, where the incomparable Jenn Odell picked me up and graciously hosted me for several days, showing me around and making sure that I was entertained throughout my stay. I got to see much of Seattle (it was my first real visit there), and got a hefty taste of Seattle flavor when Jenn and I stumbled upon Seattle Pride as we headed into town on Sunday! It was also a delight to visit with other college friends who'd migrated up that way, namely on a dinner with Katie and Andy before they went off on vacation and Evan whom Jenn and I got to distract from his job! As I write this, I'm on the train to visit more such lovely people in Sacramento, CA! But while there are seat-side power outlets for everyone, there isn't internet except maybe in the sleeper cars, so I'll be posting after I arrive in Sacramento. In the meantime, check out pictures on facebook, and have a great morning/afternoon/evening/night!

Now, I'm finally posting this from the train, en route from Sacramento to San Francisco, because apparently some commuter lines have free wi-fi ;-)

Monthaversary of being an RPCV!

Hello all!
It's been a while, but I have one last update from Panama.
Since Tristan and Jennifer finished their whirlwind visit, I packed up my house, had a yardsale to sell or just give away many of my belongings, and moved back in with my host family from the beginning (though not training).
I had a few more community classes, printed pictures with my e-mail address to hand out to my favorite community members.

So far I haven't heard from anyone from town, but a couple of my co-teachers have been in touch :-).  As it turned out, I was hopping in and out of town finishing things, and working on reports and various worky things, but did have time to go to the rios with Ana and the rest of my host family, and at the end with their new houseguest, the recently arrived French teacher for the colegio.  Wonder of wonder- he actually spoke decently fluent French!  I mean, I don't speak French to know how correct it was, but he could put multiple complete sentences together, which is lightyears beyond the previous teacher  And as things stand, it even looks like he's permanent and won't be sent elsewhere at the end of the year!

My last big huzzah was a long anticipated trip to visit my friend Grayce in Bocas del Toro.  After talking about it for nearly a year, I finally made it out with a couple weeks to spare in country!

Bocas being far away, about as far as possible while staying in Panama, I took an overnight bus at 10PM, which landed me in David at 4 AM, right on time to get a 4:45 AM bus for the 3ish hour leg up to Almirante, where I switched to a water taxt to Bocas Town on Isla Colon.  Once there, I wandered around the town for a couple hours before settling at a hostel.  Ere long Grayce rolled in, and we did some errands before heading to her island of Bastamientos on her host dad's boat, as there isn't public service to her part of the island.

Bocas is BEAUTIFUL.  Grayce's site is one of the most undeveloped that I'd seen, with neither plumbing nor electricity, but had one of the best views.  She got her washwater from a nearby stream and community pluma (faucet), and lugged drinking water from the Bocas Town..  In a brief couple of days, I got well acquainted with her gatito (cat) Mickey, to whom sitting in a hammock was an invitation to cuddle, saw my first and thankfully only scorpion in Panama (very tiny, and quickly dispatched), and went on a tour of a cacao plantation.  We saw so very many crabs on the mangroves, a tiny red frog, and tried raw cacao, among other things.  It's kinda sweet nutty, and not chocolately at all.

View from Almirante at the water taxi to Bocas Town

Tropical Tree At Cacao Farm

Cacao Pods!

"Walking Palm" tree, which I believe moves on its leggy roots.

Early Panamanian rope- a vine that the indigenous people would pull down, strip the bark, and lash their houses etc.  If it wasn't needed immediately, it would store indefinitely in a stream!

Grayce and me in the wild portion of the cacao farm.  If cacao trees aren't maintained, they naturally grow too tall for harvest.

Purple Cacao Pods!

Our guide through the Cacao Farm.  The seeds are first put in the bottom segment of the shelving unit thingy, and move up through the drawers through the process, before being spread on a large drying platform to the right of the picture.

Manglare, or Mangrove

The view from Grayce's house- none to shabby!

Mickey!

And, on my way out, a dolphin came to see us. He surfaced a couple of times, but this was the only picture I managed. Very cool :-)

 It was a brief visit, but very entertaining, and well worth the many hours in the bus.  When I got back, I went to the finale of a PCV friend's week-long choral camp in which kids learned some American pop songs and performed them in front of friends and family- it was a great success, and at the time at least, generated a good deal of interest in an English youth chorus in her community!
My final week in the campo flew by with a final farewell trip to El Valle, final packing and weighing of my bags, last goodbyes, and some wrap-up errands around town.
Sunday the 23rd, I enlisted the help of a friend with a truck to drive me down to Anton with my bags, and off I went to the City, for a week of meetings, appointments, errands, and a little bit of touristing, when my PCV friend Ally and I stole off to Panama Viejo for an afternoon, which is the centuries-old original capital which Henry Morgan razed many long years ago, leaving it in ruins which more or less remain to this day.  Being in a place that was literally destroyed by a privateer/pirate puts a different spin on the romanticized idea that we have in the modern US.

And a final picture of Nate and Julie and a view to the Pacific as we went from Julie's site to El Valle
One Last Time.

Muchisimas gracias a la gente de Panamá y especialmente los de Santa Rita de Antón por 2 años incredibles. Nunca voy a olvidarles, ni mi tiempo de vivir con ustedes.

Tristan and Jennifer's Visit!! aka, the rest of December and the beginning of 2014

And so we continue. I don't know in what order you are reading my posts, but the previous entry covered the culmination of my cinematic career to date, which ended on December 19^th, 2013.

I went back to site for a whole weekend, a long weekend to boot, to relax, see the very involved nativities that nearly every household arrays on their porch, and visit with people, before going back to the city on Tuesday, December 24^th, aka, my birthday to fetch my Best Birthday Present Ever.

Right around noon, Tristan and Jennifer arrived for a visit of about 6 days! We stayed in the city and wandered Casco Viejo, ending with a celebratory birthday dinner at a nice restaurant before turning in early for the night. At about 5 AM on Christmas morning, our ride arrive to bring us to San Blas, where we spend the day and the following day reading and relaxing on the beach, snorkeling with fish and corals and fish and squid and sand dollars and sea stars. There were uncountable stars in the sky, and little phosphorescent critter-algae-stars in the Caribbean Sea. It was incredible, as anticipated, and T and I saw a waterspout stretching from the clouds to the water, very near another of the islands.

On Thursday, after some logistical difficulties because Panama, we made it all the way back to my house where I introduced T&J to my familia panameña, and we walked around town to see the sights, plants, leaves, and decided to head to El Valle on the following day.

Bright and early on Friday, we bussed with all of our luggage around and up to El Valle where we stayed at a hostel at the Orchid House with my PCV friends Julie and Nate. We saw the true freak-of-nature square trees, La India's profile, the mercado, and visited the thermal hot springs and got volcanic mud facial masks. In the evening we went out for pizza with PCV friends, and spent the evening playing games and generally chilling.

Saturday saw us back to the City, where after depositing our belongings, we went out to visit the Canal at Miraflores, where we went through the museum and watched a huge cargo ship moving through a set of gates.

That evening, we had a final meal of Indian food, and on Monday morning, we went to the airport where I very reluctantly left T&J to take their flight back to the Frozen North.

I went to spend the night at my friend Catherine's house before going back to the city Just Once More, to ring in the New Year with a whole bundle of PCVS in a hotel in the center of town. We watched the Times Square Ball Drop, and then ran between our set of hotel rooms watching about 20 different fireworks displays in different parts of the city.

2014 began with a bang, and the first couple weeks saw me packing up and moving out of my house in preparation to leave service at the end of February, and as I write this, I've been living with my host family for nearly 2 weeks, and have just over a month left in Panama!

December 2013 part 1!

December was a fun-filled, action-packed set of 31 days!

As I said in my previous post, the month started with a AIDS awareness flashmob, COS conference, and a brush with fame and fortune, all in the first week or so. As the month progressed, I had a spell of temporary insanity, which involved 2 more trips to The City to be in the movie.

On the anticipated Sunday mentioned in my last blogpost, I went with an Argentinean friend I'd met on that first occasion, and we sat and watched boxing matches, cheered and boo'ed silently and loudly, and did more of the same as we were moved hither and yon between the floor seats and the bleachers and this side and that side. While standing in line, we met with a friendly Spaniard who'd just moved to Panama the day before, and who heard about the movie by a casting guy visiting the hostel where he was staying.

Monday, I tore myself away from the glitz and glamor to try to be a responsible PCV and made the trek back to Santa Rita.

But not for long.

That night, I received a phone call from Castinglady asking me (aka, gringa) to come in on Tuesday to be in an airplane scene, which after about 20 minutes of soulsearching, I decided to do. However, a scant 5 minutes after I'd decided go, she called me back to rescind her offer, but said I could come in and do crowd scenes on Wednesday anyway.

Bright and early Wednesday morning I arrived at the meeting point, bussed to the filming location, and waited in lines for several hours to register, eat breakfast, be costumed, and get made up. (My jeans are movie star jeans!) I met the Spaniard from Sunday again over breakfast, and he pointed out 6 or 7 other participants from his hostel and talked about this and that until they started getting ready to film and the extras-director-guy put us in different sections.

After being moved here and there, sometimes by entire section, sometimes in smaller groups, I was picked in a selection of about 12 to be in the lobby of Madison Square Gardens! My role was to sit on a bench (with a side effect that my shoes showed, and so I was given a pair of fabulous purple platform heels) and talk to a fellow who turned out to be a German hostel-mate of the Spaniard, who spoke English and Spanish, so I didn't get a chance/the necessity to work of the courage to try unearthing mein Deutsch. But, I got to spend several hours talking to this fellow, because that's what the extra-director guy kept telling us to do. The actually exciting part was when Robert de Niro entered the scene, literally and figuratively :-D This scene was his entrance into the stadium, and as my friend and I had stationary orders near the door, he repeatedly walked within several feet of us, and on a couple takes, was standing in close proximity! Robert de Niro looked at me. Highlight!

After we finished that scene, we went back into the main arena and did more of the exciting cheering and booing etc, and this German and I took turns napping on each others shoulders, because it was that exciting...and about 10 PM, having started the day around 8 AM.

I went back for the final day of filming in this go-round on Thursday, and met yet another fellow from the same hostel as the Spaniard and the German, this one an older gentleman, possibly American, with a fantastic white goatee and mustache. We talked through scenes and movements, and although it didn't have the same excitement level as the previous day, it was entertaining enough, I got to wear my purple platforms again, met more interesting people, and I can officially and literally say, “Been there, got the t-shirt.”

and that's enough of that, so TBC with Tristan and Jennifer's visit!

The Past Few Weeks, and my close brush with Fame and Fortune

     It's been a while since climbing Vulcán Barú, and about a month since my last post.  In the first couple weeks of November, I visited my schools, discovered that the recycling program was on hold, did some English stuff, such as my community classes, and kept busy in the usual sort of way.  With a couple First Communions, and Anniversarios, and the like.
At the end of the month, however, things got interesting again.  As usual, soon there will be pictures posted.  Probably.
     So, the week before Thanksgiving held English Week at the University of Panama- Aguadulce Extension.  Nate, Julie, Catherine, and I went out to Aguadulce, which is the town near the western border of my province, an hour and a half or so away, on Tuesday to act as judges for a Speech Contest.  In truth, when we arrived, we found that we were to judge the 5 contestants on their speeches, in English, and their talents.  We were to crown a Mr. and Miss English.  The speeches were quite impressive, and some of the talents were as well!  If I recall correctly, we crowned a singer who seemed to know her song and interpret it with body language and dynamics, and a clarinetist.
     I also got to be friends with Gilma, the Profesora who put the event together, and on the following Friday, went back for the "Get Together/Values-Oscar Night".  It was an excuse to get dressed up and play interior designer (sort of, it was an outdoor space, but I ended up helping a lot with decorations, table arrangements, and centerpieces).  There were awards for "Best Friendship", "Hardest Working" and suchlike, as well as a couple of the usual "choreographies", which are self-choreographed, generally hip-hop pieces that pop up at most secondaria and apparently university level events.  There were also a couple scenes from a thespian group, the first a display of an abusive relationship, which the table behind me seemed to find quite hilarious. Oy.  The other was about 2 sisters, one of whom was telling the other about this oh, so fabulous guy that she's hooked on who was eventually revealed to have been a complete jerk to the other sister.  It wasn't as entertaining as the one with the abusive husband/boyfriend, but up there...according to the table behind me.  All together an entertaining evening :-)
     After a few days back in site, I went back out on Wednesday for Thanksgiving in Cerro Punta.  8 hours or so of busses later, I arrived, signed in, signed up for the Talent Show that night (belly dancing!), and got out to my cabin waaaaaay out in the woods.  Beautiful birding spot, and about an hour walk up from the main lodge.  As I was waiting for my turn in the Talent Show, a volunteer I'd never met before asked me if I'd do a salsa dance with him, so naturally I said yes.  It was an entertaining surprise, although belly dancing costume and salsa dancing don't mix too well.  The salsa was very well received, as was my solo.  Several volunteers among my friends and others complimented the dance throughout Thursday :-).  I have a video that'll make it online eventually as well.  Maybe.
     After a day of hiking, hanging out, playing with fire, fresas con crema, hanging out, and a Thanksgiving Dinner That Couldn't Be Beat, I helped clean up.  Hey, 2$ discount!  All in all, they were a very enjoyable couple of days.
    Friday brought me back to site for about 15 hours before I turned around and headed back out to the City for our flashmob rehearsal for World Aids Day on Sunday, Dec 1.
Enjoy: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151731925801673  So much fun!!!
     Monday was a friend's birthday, so we went out to eat and had a bit of a party at the hostel, and on Tuesday, all of Group 70 trooped out to Ciudad del Saber (City of Knowledge), location of the PC HQ for our COS Conference.  Our Close-Of-Service Conference, aka, all we need to know about leaving our communities and country, and the last time our whole group, or nearly, would all be together.  After our first session, on Tuesday night, there was a fellow from casting for "Hands of Stone" who somehow got the inside scoop that there would be a gathering of gringos, and took a bunch of pictures and phone numbers.  It was a very informative conference, and on Thursday night, we rented a Party Bus, which was honestly, much more fun than I'd been anticipating.  On Friday I skipped back home for a Carol Sing at a University English program and over the weekend visited the annual Agricultural Fair, though this year I skipped the evening dances.  There were produce vendors and a few artesanias, as well as some folclorica dance presentations.
    The following Monday saw me back into the City to be an extra in the movie!  I showed up (a bit early) and with a group of other extras, was carted out to the stadium where they're filming, got signed in, costumed (Amy Evans, RN, complete with white cap, white dress, white stockings, white wedge loafers), hair-and-makeuped, and was herded hither and yon to wait, until eventually we were told that our scene was shrunk and that the extras were cut.  But I was minutes, or yards, rather, from being IN A HOLLYWOOD MOVIE SCENE with ROBERT DE NIRO.  But that would be the "close brush" in the title.  It was a lot of fun seeing the process, and getting hair-and-makeuped, and seeing the ring (it's a boxing movie), aaaaaaand...I'm going back on Sunday, but that'll be as a face in the crowd during a  boxing match.  Probably.  But, still fun, and I made a new friend, a woman who was at the mall with her family when she was accosted by a movie person to be in the scene from which we were cut!
   Now, I'm back in Santa Rita for a while, at last, except for day trips and meetings and the like.  AND IN LESS THAN 2 WEEKS, TRISTAN AND JENNIFER WILL BE WITH ME IN PANAMA!!!!! And that's more exciting than being in a movie with Robert de Niro anyway ;-)

Climbing the Volcano

Vulcán Barú is an active volcano in Panama, having its most recent activity roughly 500 years ago, although the last eruption was 1000 years before that.  Or something like that; actually, some people say it's dormant, but there still are earthquakes and a number of popular hot springs, so there's still hope ;-)
One of the peaks is the highest point in Panama, at 11400 feet or so.  But before we get to the top, we must start at the bottom!  There are pictures, by the way, but I'm cheating.  Instead of illustrating this story with interspersed pictures, I've attached a link to all of my pictures at the bottom of this post.

This is a very well-known hike, and very popular among PCVs.  We'd all had it in our minds as part of the Peace Corps bucket list.  It's reputed to be a 5-7 hour hike, and a great part of the appeal is the possibility of seeing both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by one moving ones head.

On the last Sunday in October, my PCV friend Julie, her boyfriend Tommy, PCV Katie and PCV Nate drove out to Cerro Punta, Chiriquí with the intention of walking up the volcano.   Tommy had rented a car for his visit, and so we were spared the hours on crowded buses, and the trip passed much more rapidly in such company.  We hit a literal pothole and had a bit of a delay in the form of a bent rim, but with the help of a friendly fellow victim of the same pothole and an accommodating fellow who came out to his tire repair shack to bang the wheel back into shape.

Julie and Tommy stayed in a suite, since they were staying after the hike as well, while Katie, Nate, and I stayed in the dorms.  For dinner on Sunday night, we'd bought a variety of veggies and fixin's for a stirfry, but before long discovered that there was no stovetop in the suite.  So, being resourceful Peace Corps Volunteers, we chopped everything up, and fire roasted veggies in aluminum foil packets, since there was a fireplace.  We hung around, chatted, enjoyed being in weather cool enough to appreciate a fire, and played Cards Against Humanity, before heading to bed.

Bright and early at 6 or so, we met for breakfast and met our guides, Jorge and Maikel, a couple of local fellows who have been up and down the volcano 20 and 16 times, respectively.  I think.  Bastante (enough) times, at any rate.  We took a quick taxi ride out to the trailhead, and started hiking on a beautiful clear morning.

At first, we walked through a field, which turned to forest, which turned to thicker forest.  This initial part was much like many other hikes I've been on, through trees and bits of scrambling over fallen trees, around root structures, and everything was growing.   Trees were growing, 20 varieties of ferns were growing, mosses, lichens, orchids, other flowers, leafy plants in greens and reds and yellows (but not falling).  We could hear birds and bugs, and the wind blowing.  It was nigh magical.  In this section, it did feel rather like a autumnal hike back in the Frozen North.  Here and there we stopped to catch our breath, drink water, and have a snack, and were attacked by clouds of mosquitoes.  Like I said, just like an autumnal hike alla (there).

As we continued on, the grade became steeper, and we spent more time climbing than walking, though still mostly over tree roots, but with sections of rocks.  After 4 hours or so, we reached a rocky space which was more or less a halfway point- more than halfway in distance, less than halfway in time.  BECAUSE, after a bit more climbing/hiking up and down and around the side, we left the trees for the most part, and entered the clouds.  It was a beautiful day, and luckily for us, it didn't rain at any point during our walk.

Leaving the trees, we entered a different sort of magical reality.  We climbed the volcanoside, and the plantlife changed from rainforest to scrub-type plants.  Eventually I realized what the plants reminded me of- San Diego.  A bit deserty, though more due to altitude I'm sure.  It may well have been similar to parts of Colorado, but my clearest memories of that are covered in snow.  Similar in the hardy grasses, stunted, twisted trees, and the occasional flash of some bright flower or leaf.  There were some fantastically picturesque mushrooms, straight out of Mario Bros., according to Jorge, and the clouds blew in and out and between the peaks.  At one point, we can see for miles, the towns we came from, and then 5 minutes later, everything was shrouded and we were alone in the world.

Continuing to climb, we left even the stunted trees, and everything was rock, gravel, lichen, grass and clouds.  We spent several more hours climbing, and I began to worry that it was 4 miles, however it was rather longer.  I don't remember the distance, but it may have been around 12 or 13 km.  However, Jorge did tell us "2 more hours" on more than one rest break.

Our energy was fading, and it seemed as if we would never reach the end.  Eventually we did make it to the rim of one of the 3 calderas, from which we could see the field of antenna towers that marked our final destination.  We could see the cross on the tallest peak/pile of rocks...at the top of yet another grade that appeared more wall than path.  But, we gathered the last of our energy, and made our way, much less talktatively than at the beginning, to the top.  There, we found a police station where solitary officers are stationed for 2 week stints, and a brisk 5 deg. Celsius air temperature (about 42 F).  We set up our tents, but the officer who was stationed there at the time, Jose, invited us into the station/apartment where he made rice, fried up plantains and chorizo, and best of all, gave us hot chocolate.  The sunset in the clouds, as you can see in the pictures (I hope, let me know if the link doesn't work), was AMAZING and entirely worth the climb.  After sunset, the sky was again clear and we went out to look at the flickering lights of David, which is the capital of Chiriqui, and the border towns of Costa Rica.  Come sunrise, Jose went out to check the view, and reported back that it was cloudy and rainy, so we stayed huddled in our sleeping bags in the bunk beds in the station.  At around 8 we actually got up to look, and it was  beautiful.  We could see, as advertised, the Atlantic Ocean to the left, and the Pacific Ocean and the islands of Bocas del Toro to the right.  Katie, Nate, and I scaled the last bit of trail and rock to stand on the Highest Point In Panama, and I maintain that I saw 2 snowflakes.  They were white, small, and floaty more than fall-y, so I stand by it.  It was cold enough for a couple!

As Tuesday marked the end of Jose's 2 week stint at the top, he offered us rides town on the truck that was coming up the "road" from Boquete.  Some of us were in favor of that, others were not, so we compromised and walked down the "road" instead of climbing down the way we'd come up.  In parts, it was a rough gravel road.  In parts, it seemed impossible for any motor vehicle to pass...until the truck which held Jose's replacement passed us, and it became clear, as it was essentially a monster truck.

We walked and walked, and eventually reached the edges of civilization, where we found fields of calla lilies, and picturesque flocks of sheep at whom we baaaah'ed, and even got a couple baaah's in return.  There were lambs, including one that was 5 days old, according to Jorge's guess.  It was all very pastoral and lovely.  Particularly the parts where the road was fairly horizontal.

Eventually, we reached Boquete, and took a couple of buses back to Cerro Punta, calling en route to order dinner.  We arrived late, but they kept our dinners ready, and a waitress who was clearly ready to go home, but still provided commendable service. We all went to sleep pretty quickly.that night, and on Wednesday, we sat around, and did not much of anything.  Well, not much physical activity; we hung around, relaxed, recharged, and generally enjoyed ourselves.  I got to skype with Cecily, had some fun internet time, games, and a hot bath in the suite.  All in all, a lovely, though very taxing, few days.

Back in town, I had a day to get refocused before a weekend of parades and celebrations for the fiestas patrias- the 3 day affair of celebration for Independence from Colombia, Flag Day, and Patriotic Stuff.  Coming up this month as well, a number of other patriotic holidays (I recently learned that regardless of the actual dates, the patriotic days were consolidated into November for convenience or somesuch), and at the end of the month, I'll be heading back to Cerro Punta with most of my fellow volunteers for our Thanksgiving celebration! Woohoo!

Vulcan Baru Pictures!