A Recollection

Searching through my archive of photographs this morning, I ran across one that brought back memories of my first trip to Rio Hondo—a Wounaan community in the far reaches of Panama province. A group of students and a few teachers from Balboa Academy, where I teach, ventured into this remote jungle village to deliver school supplies and to learn about the lives and culture of the Wounaan.

The only way to arrive to Rio Hondo is a seven-hour boat ride along the coast, then transfer to “pangas” for another two-hour voyage upriver. We slept in tents or in a dilapidated guest-house, fought off insects, seldom had running water, and I will restrain from describing the bathroom facilities.

But every single hardship we experienced was worth it. We shared three magical days with the Wounaan and learned much in the process—about them and about ourselves.

In the picture above two Balboa Academy students, who were seniors at the time, Juliet Goveia, with the boy on her shoulders, and Erica Mutoh, enjoy a playful moment with a couple of Wounaan children. (Juliet now attends college in British Columbia, and Erica in California).

I was so touched by the trip—as well as by this particular moment that I wrote the piece "Bupkún: Outsiders among the Wounaan," which was published a while back in My Latino Voice.