Friday, November 27,
2015
Amongst the Ruins
We had breakfast in Torti one
week ago on our way into the Darien, today we are waking up here, a beautiful
oasis on the edge of a highway that is now taking us out. When we arrived here last night we took our
luggage down a flight of tiled stairs, through a garden of exotic plants,
flowers and coconut filled palm trees, we walked past a beautiful pool that was
already beckoning our names. Our rooms
were surrounded by a covered walkway,
and edged with a wrought iron railing, white walls, large windows all sparkling
with the reflection from the pool below…I could hardly wait. After going up for a long awaited meal we
made our way back down for a swim, the moon was shining down through the palm
branches; all magic. Dive in, head
first, breathe, just breathe.
Kalea settled into bed, all
snuggled up with Samson, the baby nestled nearby and the rest of us gathered
for a debrief, chatting and taking in our last days…amazing days. Those were the thoughts that danced in our
heads as we slept that night.
Today we will be heading in to
Panama City, we are looking forward to seeing the other side of this beautiful
country, coming away from the indigenous jungle villages on the one side and
entering the economically rich on the other.
Alan and Colleen were to take some of their load, including Samson, home
and would meet up with us along the highway at Catrigandi.
Travelling the Pan American
Highway back into Panama City we find the scenery to be what we have come to
know; rolling hills, jungle edges dotted with huts and sunny skies. Coming
in to Chepo, we stop at the Rio Bayano Bridge to take a few pictures and enjoy
the view. The bridge is a tangle of
geometric meccano like construction reaching up in stages of crosses and steel. The waterway under us is setting up
magnificent views, stretching out to the North and to the south. Close to the water’s edge just under the
bridge nestles a piragua where the occupants have stopped for lunch and further
on stretch out arms of jungle that hug the shores and beyond that the hazy shadows
of rolling mountain ranges.
Soon we are entering in to the
city, fabulous, all glass and steel, high rises, towers and a maze of roadways;
on and off ramps twists and turns. In
the midst are scattered the ruins of ancient buildings, the Santo Domingo
church for one plus many others that are now being restored. Repairing destruction that happened during
the Spanish American wars in the 1800’s to the Columbia drug catastrophes to
the urban warfare during the US invasion in 1989…beauty in the ashes. Alan leads us in and out of sections of the
city, along the harbor into the old city and back into the new, definitely a
city of contrasts. We pass by makeshift
shelves loaded with fresh produce, cartloads of baked buns, umbrella covered
lunch carts, conglomerations of electrical wires all jumbled and hanging from
poles tucked up close to buildings and standing guard on many of the corners are
stiffly uniformed police officers. Then
as simple as rounding a turn we enter once again in to the high walls of glass
towers along the harbor.
The city is beginning to
celebrate Navidad; amongst the palm trees in medians and parkways are large Christmas trees decorated in red balls
and tinsel and there a stadium set up for a Christmas concert. We stop for lunch at a coffee shop where we
enjoy conversation with the people sitting around us, they are interested in
our jagua tattoos, but we are only a few in the midst of gringos here. We step out into the narrow streets to walk
past beautiful and colorful architecture some of it in restoration but much of
it already accomplished. Walking around
the corner we find Obdulio’s tienda de Artesania and enter through a tall wooden
door into the indigenous crafts he sells; local artisans, basket weavers, wood
carvers, and jewellery makers, colorful woven scarves and hats…all beautiful. The money he makes here is rerouted to support
the communities he sponsors.
Checking in at the Riande
Aeropuerto Hotel, a resort in the middle of the city, we settle in…after a
swim in the grand pool and a drink of Panama cerveza we gather for a wonderful
meal and share words of confirmation, affirmation and encouragement for all of us; Jason, Deanne, Robin, Marlis, Loralee, myself, Alan and Colleen...a sweet
ending to this last day of an amazing time in Panama.
“God created you to do amazing things”
Ephesians 2:10
What then shall we say in response to these things...
