Hiking Ancon Hill

Last week's blog was about a pretty heavy topic and something very real in Panama. This week is also about something very real in Panama: its beauty! We had to go into Panama City this week and because we were there we decided to hike Ancon Hill, the tallest point in Panama City.

Ancon Hill was under the jurisdiction of the United States as part of the Panama Canal Zone. It was given back to Panama in 1977. The name Ancon is an acronym for Asociación Nacional para la Conservación de la Natueleza and is now a protected reserve. This makes it a special treat for people who are in the city and want to get a feel for the jungle!

This hill also has some interesting history with Captain Henry Morgan (yes, the same guy that is associated with the rum company). Like many famous pirates, he sacked Panama on a regular basis. Captain Morgan used Ancon Hill to scout the local defenses. When the timing was right, he created the legend as the first pirate to sack Panama from both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.

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This hill is a very symbolic hill for many in Panama. The first ship to officially transit the Panama Canal in 1914 was the SS Ancon. Since Panama regained control over the hill, it can be easily identified by the large Panamanian flag flying on top. 

Robert and I have been wanting to hike Ancon Hill since our first visit over a year ago. You are able to either hike it or drive up the hill. After reading reviews and wanting to explore a bit, we chose to see how "easy" this 30 minute hike would be. We paid $1 to park and off to the "trail head"we went...we really didn't know where we were going or what the trail head would look like but it was pretty easy to rule out where NOT to go.

We approached the first sign of a trail head indicating we were in fact going in the correct direction. 

The stairs lead to a decently paved road in which people can use to drive to the top. It was quick to say that the hardest part of the hike were likely going to be the stairs. Prior to leaving I had read it is not uncommon to see toucans, sloths, and several types of monkeys along the way and at the top of the hill. While we did not see any of these along the hike, we did get glimpses of the beautiful views of which we would soon see. 

A small glimpse of Panama City

Within 35 minutes (I was taking a lot of pictures) we reached another set of stairs. 

We reached the top and were rewarded with spectacular views of The City, including Casco Viejo (you can read my previous blog about it here), Albrook and part of the canal. 

Casco Viejo

Part of the canal and the Centenario Bridge in the background

Robert and I ventured back down the hill and gradually made our way back to the car. While we didn't see sloths, or monkeys, we were not disappointed by some of the other things we saw!

Central American Agouti

The hike was a great way to get out and explore Panama. Even though we did not see any monkeys or sloths, we did get some amazing views of the city and of some pretty unique animals. The hike ended up being easy aside from the fact that we blasted the air conditioner in the car when we left. This is one hike we would both do again!

A Reminder of the Small Things...

What a crazy and unforgettable week! While I am trying to make this post happy and funny, I have to admit, this week is about something a bit more depressing, although the social worker in me is excited. The phrase line "you can take the girl out of social work but you can't take the social work out of the girl" (change the "social work" to a city, or any other topic and it follows the same phrase line) couldn't be more true!

This week, something came to my attention that really reminded me of just how much I take things for granted. I received an email regarding a hospital about an hour away. The email stated that pregnant women will travel down from the mountains where they live and give birth and leave with newspapers as diapers for their newborns. The email left information, including a wish list for anyone wanting to donate.

I wanted to email the hospital contact to find out what wasn't being donated. My years of non-profit work showed me that there are some things that get donated in very high quantities and others that do not get donated nearly enough; I wanted to know what wasn't getting donated. A quick response later and it turns out that the moms are not getting a lot of donations.  I was given suggestions of what would be most useful since the hospital does not provide items for baby or mom.

I was on a mission to see just how far I could spread $30 with the intention of buying clothes that are inexpensive but are not necessarily cheap feeling. Although I am not a mom, I imagine that just like baby, soft things probably feel particularly good on new moms too.

What can $30 buy you in Panama? Two pajama sets, two tank tops with removable padding (something I found might be good for moms), a dress with removable padding, four pairs of underwear and three semi decent bras.

I also have some extra feminine products around the house so I wanted to donate these also. 

I'll admit that normally I wouldn't normally donate disposable pads and tampons to a group that will likely not be able to continue purchasing them since these are a one time use item. If I could I would love to become good at sewing and make my own cloth pads for donation. Donating cloth pads is also not feasible; while cloth pads are amazing, $30 worth of postpartum pads would not go far, and let's face it, I want to try to help as many people as possible-just not one person this time. Although another time may be an exception...

I am writing this blog since for me it gives me a check of what I take for granted. Although we aren't expecting any time soon, if Robert and I have kids, I have full expectations that our baby will be brought home in either a cloth or disposable diaper with suitable clothes for both me and baby to wear. There is no doubt that if moms cannot afford extra cloths to act as diapers for their babies then there are other things that they cannot afford that I find to be everyday commodities. Helping out was a good reminder of the small things....

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It's a Bugs Life

There hasn't been a whole lot of exciting things going on this week. We had some rain, had some work, and haven't been able to surf. We also have a small roach problem (we see one roach every 3 weeks on average) but decided enough was enough so we cleared out our cupboards and put everything in storage bins and put bait on 1"x 1" pieces of cardboard to hopefully kill the roaches. 

We were expecting a lot of roaches to be dead the next morning. We saw signs that some of the baits had been eaten but have not seen any dead roaches. Honestly, that is okay with me since I pretty much told Robert at the beginning I would not be able to be much help with him in this project. Since we have such infrequent roaches (but I swear I hear them, and yes, some roaches do chirp) we decided to put the bait in several different locations throughout the kitchen, all mostly in dark places and out of reach of the dogs.

Interestingly enough we found a group of Leafcutter Ants that also found the "food" appealing. We placed one of the baits in between the counter and stove, for no particular reason other than maybe a roach would like to be there. It turns out some of the ants found their way to the bait and began moving the cardboard. If I could have taken a picture, I would have, but it would not have shown up very well on camera. Robert moved the cardboard back to its original place, later to observe that pieces were cut out of the cardboard. 

For those of you who have no idea what kind of ants I'm talking about, Leafcutter Ants are ants that cut leaves and harvest them to produce fungus, which they then eat. They are native to Central America and are also becoming increasingly popular in Texas. They have been known to strip trees within 24 hours. They are fun to watch and see how they work as a team.

Some of the pieces of leaves can be up to the size of a $0.50 piece

Stripped leaves from a papaya tree

We occasionally get some in the house stuck by spider webs. We have to quickly get rid of the spider web since the ants that are caught send a distress signal for help, causing a cycle of trailing ants. While they do not go for any of our food, they are better off outside eating the plants. It is amazing how they even carry the dead webs of ants outside; I have seen ants attempt to carry three webbed ants (from the spider web) in one go. It is an animal version of Band of Brothers!

This week we will put all of our things back in our cupboards; it will not miss having to walk to and from the kitchen to the dining area every time I need or forgot a knife or spice. We are also hoping for good surf since it has been about four weeks since I have been able to go out and Robert hasn't been able to since he got back. And of course, we will stay busy with work.

A Reflection One Year Later

It's hard to believe that it has been just over a year since Robert and I came to Panama on vacation. At first, the idea of vacationing in Panama was less than thrilling-after all, wasn't it a third world country? We fell in love with what is now our home and now have a life here. We continue to build our life up in a place that once seemed exotic place, which we now proudly call our home.

Clouds which once added mystery are now a welcomed sign of welcomed weather

All of these pictures are from our vacation June 2014

The new locks which are now part of the latest canal expansion. A year changes a lot of things!

Panama has taught me a lot about myself and about the world. My outlook on life has changed.  Things that I felt were once black and white are now grey and no longer definite; likewise, the things I felt were grey have become a bit more polarized. I know changing views is part of growing, but I feel like this adventure has only enhanced that. I only hoped that Panama would give me a sliver of what it has given me.

I think about my life and where I am. Life is an adventure. I keep learning, reflecting, and learning more. Robert also helps a lot with this. We challenge each other in ways, including pushing each other intellectually. Life has its ups and downs, but there hasn't been a day I haven't regretted vacationing to Panama to discover how wonderful it is.