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Today was our last full day on Bastimentos. We are feeling lots of mixed emotions as our trip draws to a close. We had an adventurous day as we began with snorkeling to look at coral reef structures. We then spent the majority of the afternoon getting to explore a bar cave. It was a…
Today was a day full of bittersweet goodbyes and “final” memories. This morning, sandwiched between two long car rides of karaoke and a cappella riff offs, we went to Starfish Beach in Bocas Del Drago. After some beach games and reading, our group privately journaled in an experience we have cherished or found impactful during…
Today we started off with a very adventurous morning that consisted of a jungle hike to Up In The Hill. We learned a lot of interesting facts about Javier and Jeanettes farm including that bamboo grows about 1 foot a day and that pineapple grows in bushes! After learning about how the owners created their…
After a week at the San Cristobol community center we feel mixed emotions. On the one hand, we have loved getting to know the kids. On the other hand, we are dreading having to leave as we know we almost certainly never see our new friends again. To make matters worse, the youngest kids don’t…
Hello all! Today we had an exciting day of touring a cacao farm and medicinal plants in San Cristobal followed by volunteering at San Cristobal‘s community center. We started off our tours by meeting the Ngobe ladies who ran the farms and our translator Sergio who helped with the Ngobe to Spanish translations. Although I…
Today was a relaxing day in Panama! We had a beach day that started off with a 45 minute boat ride followed with snorkeling adventure. While in the water, I noticed that the ground I was standing on was all dead coral. This made me realize the dangerous condition our oceans are in. We relocated…
Today we boated to the farm of a man named Luis, who’s the son of the man who owns the hotel we’re staying at. There was a path for the boat through the mangrove trees that took us to his family’s farm. Luis showed us the different exotic fruits he grows and let us try…
Today was a beautiful day in Panama! Our group started off with a short beach hike where we quickly became friends with three local dogs. We swam in the blue water which we all really enjoyed. The beach swim was followed by a group reflection in which we talked about our presence on Bastimentos….
It was a great fifth day in Panama. We had a very packed schedule starting with a beach cleanup and a tour of the recycling center in Bocas. We learned about the roots and reasoning behind the issue of trash in Bocas and how groups like Unidos por Bocas are trying to implement a better…
Hola! To start off our fourth day in Panama we had a delicious breakfast of pancakes and fruit, followed by lesson planning for the community centers and a discussion about “learning service” vs. “service-learning. We discussed our intentions for this trip and how we can leave a positive impact on the communities we encounter. “Learning…
Hi from Bocas del Toro! We had a very exciting day at red frog beach! We played soccer and had a Sandcastle building competition! However, the most fun part of the day was playing lots of volleyball with some local kids at the beach Tomás and Emiliano. We had a nice dinner at a local…
We saw our favorite parts of Panama; old city versus new city was the theme of the tour from our great guide, Carlos. It was interesting to see how we toured the new city in a van and the old one on foot. Kind of ironic. By van and foot, Carlos taught and explain to…
The Panama II crew has arrived at their hostel in Panama City. They are going to eat some dinner and then head to bed before exploring Panama City in the morning. After that, they will be catching a flight to Bocas for their introduction to Give and Surf.
The travel journal will be the place for students to share their experiences while traveling. Once the students are on-site, they are asked to post reflections, observations, pictures, stories, poems, and more. Our whole community appreciates the opportunity to be part of the group’s adventure, and as the course comes to an end, each group…