2/9/12
This morning, Mami, Danae, and I packed up my new car,
expectant of adventure. But we had NO idea what the day had in store.
We hit some Carnaval traffic, but the time passed quickly in
between conversation and singing along to new and favorite songs.
Finding the turn off to Valle de Anton easily, we followed
the curves and bends in the road gasping in awe of the view of the arched
mountains and the countryside below. We would reach the crest of each hill and
see the road steeping downward with a sharp turn around the corner. With the
sun perfectly highlighting the fields below, it felt like a Disney Ride.
We stopped in at a cafeteria-style restaurant for a cheap
lunch, and it was such a relief to stretch our legs. The food was fantastic
(and did I mention cheap!) and we followed that with strolling the aisles of
the huge artisan market in town.
The market had everything from hammocks to golden frog
figurines, but what really caught our eye was a small folding table set off to
the side. It was decked with ornate copper and silver jewelry, but unlike
anything I’ve ever seen. A man with straggly hair smiled
widely at us. “You espeak Spanish?” He asked us in English.
“Poco,” (A little.) we replied.
“Poco poco o poco nada?” (Little little or little nothing)
His sense of humor had us from the beginning. We ended up returning to his
little jewelry table about three times during our market visit; mainly because
Danae wanted to buy an unusual beaded owl necklace but also because the vendor had
such a fun personality and interesting stories. Not to mention he taunted us
with a wire puzzle that was just impossible to solve.
He even made a wire ring for us, saying we’d have to fight
for it, but it would fit one of us, just like in the Cinderella story. It fit
Mami and we joked that the vendor must be her Prince Charming.
After our conversations in the market, we headed up the
street looking for signs for the waterfall hike. Driving up one way, I saw the
same little hut my parents and I had stopped at a year ago to do some quick
hiking. You pay $5, climb down a series of steps and oila! You’re standing by a
waterfall. I told the other girls this, but Mami had something better in mind.
We pulled a U-turn, drove back down the hill, and swung a right.
At the end of a gravel road was the other entrance to the waterfall hike. It
was tucked into this little part of town close to a supermarket and a church.
On the way, we narrowly escaped getting completely drenched. It’s a Carnaval
tradition for kids to hide under bridges and jump out with buckets of water or
squirt guns to soak any unsuspecting person who has the car windows down.
When we parked, we were bombarded by little kids surrounding
our car. An older woman tapped on my car window, so I gave her first pick. A
fair deal; she would watch our car while we hiked and I would help out the
local economy/her pay for bread for her family.
We
entered a path to the park, lined with canopied vendor tents similar to the
ones in the town market. I wondered how desperate this little community was for
money and if this was their only source of income. I mean, you could buy a bag
of 12 oranges for $1.00.
The
pass into this park was only $2 a person or $1.50 if you had your Panamanian
carnet. On our hike, we saw a huge “painted rock” (petroglyphs), three
waterfalls and many scenic bridges. Mami mentioned to us that there was one
more painted rock farther up the hill. So we hiked about 45 more minutes up an
incredibly steep hill, covered with rocks and dirt. I wished I had worn my
keens instead of my no-traction Keds. The trail was muddy, but I couldn’t
imagine what it would have been like during the rainy season!
We
stopped by one waterfall, took pictures, and scratched our own frog drawing on
a rock. “That’s it,” I said, frustrated with the seemingly futile and
never-ending trek up the mountain. I had just about lost all hope that we were
ever going to find this “piedra de sapo” (frog rock).
Then,
as if someone read my mind, I was interrupted by the sound of voices coming
from somewhere north of us on the trail. “Let’s just go a little further,” Mami
prodded. “Just to see what’s around the corner.”
My
curiosity piqued, I tossed the rock I was using as sidewalk chalk into the
river and jumped up to follow Danae and Mami who were already booking it up the
trail.
To
be honest, I have never been so excited to see a ROCK. Sure enough, it was up
and around the corner from where I almost threw in the towel. Small carvings on
this flat, dark rock were just visible enough for the shapes to be
distinguishable; yeah, now I can see
why they call it the frog rock. Even though back at the time of the original
carving, the symbol probably meant something way different than frog.
We
had made it, and the way down was way easier than the ascent. Whew!
Not only was it a successful hike, but when we arrived back
to our car, the sweet lady with her promise was standing faithfully right next
to our car. Our own guardian angel! I paid her for her time and trust and gave
her a huge hug, incredibly grateful she stayed true to her post.
Daily Lessons:
- Don’t give up-you’re almost there! The journey is worth it. Hebrews 12:1
- Don’t worry, God’s got it all under control. Matthew 6:34
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