Day 401

February 13, 2013 

Happy Ash Wednesday!!

I just got back from Catholic Mass, where I got ashed by a Father in Spanish. Who would have thought that Peace Corps would broaden my horizons in so many ways? The Priest also invited me to come with him and the nuns to a vigil very far away. I have no idea what I just got myself into, but I'll let you all know.

Now for the Iguana Update:

It is egg laying season for Iguana, like you all know (of course). Iguanas lay once a year. They can lay anywhere between 10 and 70+ eggs, but they're kinda like chickens in that, they lay the eggs whether they're fertilized or not. The lady Iguana keeps the iguanas inside her for a couple of months until they get so big that she can't fit any food inside her (we know to put them in the egg laying chamber when they stop eating). Then she will come down from the trees and look for a good spot to dig a hole on a sandy river bank, sometimes digging several fake holes to throw off the other lady iguanas, who will look for nest, kill the eggs and lay her own in that same hole.

In Loma Bonita, our first iguana has laid her eggs!!! We are all so proud. She laid 26 eggs, but 2 were broken. So, we moved 24 eggs to the incubator. The incubator is a buck half filled with sand, layer of eggs, and topped off with more sand and then put in a hole in the ground and protected from pests (chickens, ants, dog, hungry panamanians).

Now, we wait 70-75 days for the eggs to hatch (if they are fertilized). Plus we have 7 other ladies getting ready to lay. Keep an eye out for an egg count, and in a couple of months, a baby count! I told the iguana group that they would soon be parents to 200 baby iguanas--that did not please them. I am very excited!!!

When the babies come, they will need to be handled daily (so they will be accustomed to people) and measured to make sure they are growing.

I'll put the pictures up on Facebook 

Day 391

February 3, 2013

The last two weeks have flown by, but still it seems like forever since I was in the States.  I've talked about it with some other volunteers; we call it the Peace Corps time warp. Weeks fly, days drag, lives in the states stand still, while everything seems to change so quickly.

Anyway... I went to the river with Sr Jose to get sand to make the Iguana egg laying chamber last week. While Jose didn't let me use a shovel, he did let me hold the bag while he shoveled in the sand, can anyone say progress (hint of sarcasm)! He also listened to my Iguana pointers. Nobody has laid yet, but they still have till the end of February until we get worried.

I went with a friend, who lives in an indigenous community (Woonaan), to what we were told was a cultural event--everyone would be dancing and singing and what not. We got out of the back of a pick-up only to realize that we had been told wrong (not unusual). It was the 'Congreso'. Congresos are held every 3 years. A representative from all the Woonaan communities in the Darien get together to bring up issues and discuss solutions and laws and community stuff. Pretty cool! Except...Sara and I were asked to get up in front of the 200+ people and introduce ourselves and explain what we are doing in Panama, wonderful--nothing like spur of the moment, public speaking in a foreign language to get the day going.

We had another regional meeting. We have these meetings with all the volunteers in the area every trimester, and this was my third (one year, just about, done). After the meeting we had a talent show. I can't tell you how dangerous too much spare time can be! These people are weird, you guys are just lucky that I have been able to find productive uses for my time (Harry Potter, here we go again!).

After the meeting, I headed home with a close volunteer to her lake front community. We had a good time eating good food, chatting, and exploring the caves near her site.

Last, but not least, Loma Bonita hosted their first cock fight last night. Interesting... The majority of the people at the fight were not from the community, and I don't know that the people here really knew what to do with themselves. I don't know how the fights went, I didn't stay and watch, but the partying lasted until 5am. And people were still in the bus stops waiting for the bus this morning when I was on my way to church. Community members must have joined in at some point because just about no one came to church this morning. Just my luck, I was giving a presentation to solicit help with my library project, and there were only about 25 people--at least those 25 seemed interested.

Pictures will be on Facebook