The last day

Posted by Patrick Blackburn

Today has been by far one of the best days of the trip. The morning began at the crack of dawn to be taken away to El Valle. After a quick stop at El Rey, the trip was a go! We traversed over the newly built bridge the spans over the canal. Interestingly enough, Bianca informed us that the architects of the bridge were German. I was surprised that a Panamanian architect was not chosen, but maybe in this situation the Germans have a superior design and quality. After the two hour bus ride, we were finally at our first destination of the day- the volcanic mud spa.

In the spirit of things, everyone donned their mud masks, some with slightly more humourous designs than others, posed for pictures and goofed around while waiting for the mud to dry. About twenty minutes later, we washed away the hardened mud to reveal “cleaned” faces. Several people felt their faces were immediately softer and healthier looking than arriving. Either way, the mud spa was good fun for the first spot of the day.

After leaving the mud spa, Bianca informed us of a nature hike that was along the way. In the spirit of the last day, everyone agreed to partake in the hike through the Panamanian jungle and across the rickety bridges to witness the waterfall. Although relatively short in contrast to other hikes I have been on, the hike was enjoyable and allowed us to see a different side of Panama – the tropical jungle that it still is. Although the bridges were deemed “safe,” they were relatively decrepit with signs clearly depicting that “No persons more than 5 at anytime” and “No Jump.” It was a completely enjoyable experience, ever with one of us receiving a complimentary walking stick.

Leaving the jungle hike, the group regrouped and headed to the local market. This market, although smaller than the others visited, was more diverse, priced reasonably, and was a heck of a lot busier than the others. The market was vibrant and filled with street peddlers hawking kebab’d meats and street jewelry. This was one of the few places where I was able to actually mingle with locals and some of those who were just passing through. The two jewelry vagabonds were by far the craziest and yet most comical people I have met this entire trip. The two are originally from Brazil and they are just traveling all over, selling jewelry to make money and continuing on.

The last stop of the day was at the beach, which was amazing. The water was rough, but the people there for the journey made it all that much more exciting. The food at the restaurant was good and consistent with how cheaply priced Panama has been. After a good lunch and a quick dip, the trip came to a close and we all coalesced again in the van headed to the last El Rey visit of the trip. The trip was a group effort in order for Robin to get complete Knife set with the cutting board and the knife holder. All in all, the day was a complete success only to be built upon by the last night of group cooking – Fajitas to be exact.