Best night of sleep since my arrival. The country air and peaceful spot served well for the day we would have. Our inquisitive pair of love birds and pair of green macaws greeted us with chirps and screaches. Popped a couple bare necessities like bug repellant and a camara in the daypack and off for a hike after a simple egg and corn fritter breakfast.
Blue blue sky with a few fluffy white clouds hovering around the tips of the peaks invited to climb them. Steve had done the hike a year earlier and so we opted not to hire the guide that was standing hopefully in front of the Hotel Don Pepe. We made it to the end of the road, just before the turn off for the trail, where we found half the town lined up on the edge of the street ready to watch the other half of the town that was preparing for a parade. I inquired "¡Que pasa?" to the two officers on the side walk. They explained we were witnessing an age old parade kicking off the Fiesta de Campesinos, a sort of agricultural festival for the field workers. It was sponsored by a school, or perhaps benefited the school. We met the director of the school while filming the children dressed in traditional garb and pageantry. Oxen drawn carts loaded with the harvest of September and smoked meats would be pulled from this end of town to the school, where dancing, singing and fireworks kept everyone busy for the day.
We were headed, however, to view la Piedra Pintada y la India Dormida. (Dale felt ill at this point with stomach cramps, so he headed back to the hotel)
Three hours of earnest trail hiking up, across and back down the wall and ridge of this crater revealed splendid views and sounds of wilderness. We were first met by a senior man riding horseback that insisted we take his horse for a ride, which I gladly did. Fortunately he (the horse) was very cooperative and obedient. We gave the kind sir a "regalo" in exchange for his generosity. As it turns out, he just wanted us to hop on the back of the horse... Steve later told me the man was surprised that I had actually taken off on his horse! (oops).
The trail up followed swift mountain stream, full of rocks and waterfalls. At the base of the trail we crossed paths with a few workers hauling vegetation out of the jungle to sell in the market. Two sweaty young men with trees on their backs grinned ear to ear, posing for a photo.
A small girl ran to the edge of the yard of her "casita" to greet us. She was all of eight years old and offered to be our guide, to take us to the painted rock, and to tell us the history of these peleoglyphic carvings. Although we politely thanked her refusing, she followed us just the same with a big smile. The depictions on the large bolder included a snail, a frog, and a horse head... yet served as a map to the peoples who inhabited the region. I invited her to hike with us, but she said it was easy and we wouldn´t get lost. We stumbled upon another such rock later on our journey.
Well, we did get a bit lost.
We stumbled into the jungle home of a family of Mayan/Chorro descendents. You know how shy I am, calling out "Hola, ¿hay alguien por aqui? Nos faltamos del sendero." The father sent the three children out to tend to our questions about retracing our route to find the correct path. They were so excited and delighted to see us, that they hiked some distance with us, leading us to the head of the Sleeping Indian Girl. There we found a man with a maschete knife and small dog. As it turned out he was their uncle and was accompanying a guy from Massachusetts, named Alex, who had also lost his way! It is, in deed, a small world afterall. The children pointed to their home from this peak and then pointed way across the other side of the crater, back to the village, to show us their school. These children wake up at four o´clock each morning, bathe, eat breakfast and litterally run to school through the jungle, barefoot. I am still astonished by this, as the smallest one is only five years old. Romelio would run ahead, turn around to smile and giggle, pretending to show me the way... tricking me and dashing in a different direction. He would shimmy up a tree and swing like a monkey. These children were agile, clever, well spoken, and quite happy to be living amongst (in their words) "just us and the snakes, butterflies, birds and our family."
They call this particular section of the crater´s ridge The Sleeping Indian Girl, because from a distance the shape of the ridge ressembles a girl lying down, y hay un cuento folklorico that accompanies this natural phenomenon (basically a Romeo and Julliet love story).
The vista from above gave way to a landscape right out of the Lord of the Rings!! Vulture hawks flying in circles in the midday sun.
The descent was quick and tricky. Rocks and humid mud. Toward the base of this trail our make shift guide, Tio Carlos, led us through a jungle neighborhood, a network of small houses surrounded by wire fences and garden vegetation. Lots of activity, with everyone outside raking, cleaning, even dancing.
Hungry and thirsty were we. An outdoor market made for fun shopping. I bought bread, fruits, a crunchy caramel candy, eating on the terrace of the hotel. Dale was feeling better and joined us for a hike over to los Pozos Termales (The Thermal Potholes/Baths), a natural outdoor hot springs. A mud pit and two large spring fed pools soothed our muscles. We played in the mud, smearing it all over ourselves. Then we soaked for a half hour in the minderal rich bath. Returning home Steve and I opted for a refreshing coconut juice. The market vender takes his knife and chops off the top of the coconut, placing a straw in the small hole that is created... and you sip away directly from the shell.
Folks, it is just another day in the life of GAP Adventures in Panama. Tomorrow we leave EARLY (5am) for Boca de Toros.
Please feel free to write and ask questions that you may have about Central America and indigenous life. If I don´t know the answer, I will do my best to inquire on your behalves.
Chau. (Ciao).