Lost!

Seriously, though. We were LOST.

We'll get back to that in a little bit...

After yesterday's post, we visited an island village only reachable by boat. We were humbled by the experience. Upon our arrival on the island, we climbed out of the boat and up a steep, muddy hill to get to the village. We were welcomed by curious faces peeping out behind straw huts. As we walked closer, we saw that the villagers had set up tables where they sold crafts and other hand-made things. A few of us bought some neat items that we'll be excited to show our friends and family back home. We started to unpack our bags filled with our own gifts, and handed out bubbles, lollipops, stickers, snacks, and a bunch of other miscellaneous knick-knacks for the children and their families.
One of the most exciting aspects of the afternoon took place in a muddy clearing in the middle of the jungle: soccer! A few of us played a pick-up game with the kids and it turned into a mud-bath, literally.

It was humbling to see how happy the people were with what little they had. How can it be that we complain about things such as air conditioning and our iPhones?

So now on to the next adventure: today.
We started out our journey by our host saying that we were going to another village only 30 minutes away from where we were staying...........but...........it turned into a 1 1/2 hour long journey over winding roads, pot holes, and you get the picture. The drive to say the least was interesting! Finally we arrived at the school and were greeted by village children going to and from classes.

Today was the first day we got to distribute the Sawyer Water Filters! We demoed the system and showed the families of the village how to assemble the filters. Some of us even drank from their water source (that looked legit like chocolate milk,because it was so dirty) after we had filtered it to show the people that the filter made it safe to drink. The people were amazed by how crystal clear the water from the filter came out and a older man from the crowd even wanted to try some! The people were sooooo grateful that they had tears in their eyes. It was a very touching moment for all of us who were able to work with them.

We had lunch on the mountain and were able to spend time with the children, handing out school supplies and other fun goodies that we had brought along! Of course we managed to fit in a bit of soccer :) Finally, we headed back to Paraiso!

After a bit of rest and relaxation, our group decided to be a bit daring and find our OWN way to the mall (which had FOOD). We took one too many wrong turns and we ended up having to hail a taxi--we literally followed it to the mall because we had no clue where we were. Thank goodness Rico knows Spanish!! Walking around the mall and figuring out how to communicate with the Spanish speaking people was an adventure in itself. BUT the worst was yet to come!! Finding our way back home was the most exhilarating/nerve-racking/painful experience ever. Traffic was insane. Too many close calls. Our driver drove like a Panamanian (or should we say Panamaniac). 15 minutes turned into an hour (Thank goodness for a full tank of gas). And Brenton had to pee.

We made it back. Phew.

And we were welcomed by Mangoes, Coconuts, and other exotic fruits! Thank You to Rico's dad. :)

All in all an eventful day, wouldn't you agree?

Team P, turn it up!
Chao for now,
SJ and Liz

Highlights of the day:
-we saw monkeys on the way back from the island!
-finally got a photo of SJ sleeping (seven down, two to go)
-smoothies at the mall, yum!