Panama Trip, by Helene Pizzini

Helene Pizzini has been active in the San Pedro Rotary Club and District 5280 for many years.  She reviewed her recent trip with her husband to Panama, and showed slides of their adventures there.  They believe in traveling while they are both healthy enough to enjoy it, but they encountered more surprises than anticipated.

They found Panama City to be remarkably cosmopolitan.  Many retired US citizens are living there, including military personnel.  The healthcare there was described as very good.  She showed highlights of the city, including the modern well-known opera house, the Church of San José with a fancy gold altar, and the beautiful harbor area.

The Panama Canal is undergoing a widening project to accommodate today's new larger ships, and is scheduled to be completed in 2014 for the 100th anniversary of the Canal.  She showed photos of the locks in operation for ships and small yachts.

Their adventures really began when they attempted to visit the Nassau Indians, a remote tribe of 3500 in the forest, “not far from the urban areas” near the canal.  For the first part of that trip, they reserved a ferry boat, which turned out to be a 6-person boat.  Then they were taken on a paved road, which turned into a dirt road, which petered out into no road at all.  The last part of this journey required crouching in a dugout canoe in the rain.  The Indians were not expecting them, but suitable arrangements were finally made.  They slept in a bed under mosquito netting, a necessary precaution in that climate.  The food was “interesting”, including one item that sounded like “yams” but turned out to be some unfamiliar root plant that was pounded and cooked.  The people were friendly and their culture was enjoyable.

After leaving this indigenous area, they finished their trip in the beach areas, the civilized concept of “roughing it”.  Helene and her husband seem to have survived this adventure well and enjoyed it, ready to try another excursion into the unknown sometime.