Hi to the Tortuga Family!
It’s been a while since the last time we wrote an article, and we apologize (please forgive us!).
We went through lots of things during the last weeks, and as we are traveling a lot, well, it’s often hard to give you some news… However, we are currently back to civilization, so we are going to tell you everything down to the smallest detail.
After our last days in Pedasi we went to Venao, a lovely place near to the Pacific coast but touristic. We stopped and slept at Eco Venao, an Eco Lodge that gathers private rooms, dorms and camping. And as good french students who love comfort, we chose the priva…. camping ! We are not afraid of the rain !
EcoVenao is also a place where you can do and learn about permaculture with Guillaume, another french guy who settled here two years ago. Guillaume likes sharing his knowledge with volunteers coming from all over the world. We learned many advices and tips about tropical plants, and we loved tasting the local products (mango, papaya, maracuja…).
However, that’s not our first goal, remember? We gave our first two lessons in the English school of Venao. The first one was with a group of six pupils between 11 and 15 who were already aware of the problems about sea turtles, and they had already worked with people in order to help turtles (nest protection, patrols…). They were reactive and asked us many questions, pure joy ! The second group was composed of little kids so it was totally different: little = noisy! But they liked the activities and understood everything.
Nevertheless, that was all English, so it doesn’t count (too easy) ! At least the third lesson arrives, but with 38 Panamanians children at the same time, no kidding ! Despite our French accent and our pronunciation still, well… let’s say that is not the best of the best, the lesson was good !
One week and a half goes by and here we are, heading to Cambutal ! After three hours of travel, we arrive at our new home and HELL YES, a bed ! Boum. Sleeping time. But not for long, because we have only an afternoon to prepare the lesson for the next day, we will make turtles great again!
As we arrived in the school, the children begin to sing a welcome song about turtles. What a nice surprise ! We begin the course with a renewed ardour. The 23 pupils are awesome ! They ask questions, answer ours, debate, discover that their country owns a huge biodiversity. The teacher interrogates quickly the children and sum up what we said to be sure everyone understands. It’s just perfect! The outside activity is also a success despite few falls, but putting children in the role of a turtle is a good thing to make them understand the threats that lie ahead turtles. We finish by summing up the good and bad behaviours when one encounters a turtle, and how to deal correctly with waste : they are all good. What a chance to have talked with these children ! Our motivation is even bigger than before !
Anyway, we go to Santa Catalina tomorrow to begin our road trip! It’s a total new revolutionary concept : we rent a car during 20 days and we try to do as many schools as possible, passing by the cities of Santiago, David, Concepcion and Boquete, goal of our trip. We don’t know if we will succeed, but we have faith ! Until then, Take care of yourself !