En Panama: Bella

We've taken quite the liking to Senora Bella. If we haven't yet filled you in on this lady let me tell you a little about her. First off she calls herself the adventurer and this 40 something year old has more energy than both Brennan and I combined. She loves the outdoors and getting her hands dirty. She is a strong believer in not wasting what nature provides. She takes advantage of the fruit trees that many Panamanians take for granted and will go on long walks just to fill her orange backpack with fruit that has fallen from the tree. To Bella wasting what God has provided would be a shame. She is a hard and diligent worker in the fields always dedicated to doing a good job. She has a teachable spirit that is always willing to learn. She is a pioneer when it comes to using organic method such as composting and pest control. Most people just use whatever methods to produce the most products in the quickest time, where as she wants to use the best and most organic method no matter the timeline. She is a pastor who devotes her time reading and praying. She can't bare her own children, but calls all the kids in her life her children. She is a wonderfully generous woman and our closest friend.

Bella=Beautiful

On Thursday we went to Alto Limon (a town about 25 min car ride from our town) to help clean the fields, which means use the machete to hack all the weeds and grass away in order to prepare for planting. We ended up getting a late start so our work trip turned into a pasear trip. Now pasear can mean many things in Panamanian culture. It can mean just visiting people's houses and chatting, or going to the city to run errands, or even in our case it turned out to mean a 3 hour hike. You never know what to expect when someone says "Vamos a pasear" (lets go for a walk). We loved our 3 hours of solo time chatting with Bella, searching for the perfect avocado tree, and soaking in the amazing nature around us.

This is Bella's method of getting down fruit from the trees. All you need is a long stick and you're good to go.

Brennan trying Bella's method and having success.

Bella's Aunt owns this old machine that produces honey from sugar cane. You can't find these very often anymore.

Visiting Bella's aunts house. The house is made from mud. Nowadays houses are all built from cement, so mud houses are hard to come by.

Hiking through the forest to find some fruit.

These beautifully round fruits are used to make bowls. When the fruit dries it becomes a hard hollow shell and when split in half they form perfect bowls. Decorating these bowls with festive paint is another common practice.