By Makenna
This morning we woke up at 6:30 a.m. to get ready for our 8:00 a.m. departure time to head off to our beach clean up and activity workshop.
At breakfast there were foods like fruit, cereal, and coffee that we all enjoyed. After breakfast we went on a 15-20 minute drive to our beach cleanup, which was near a port with a lot of boats right next to the Bridge of the Americas.
We did three rounds of cleanup: one plastic, one styrofoam, and then one where we collected toys and shoes. During the rounds of cleanup we had a mini “competition” where we split up into 3 groups of 4-5 and counted how much trash we picked up to see which group could clean up the most. During the cleanup we noticed that there was a lot of styrofoam that needed to be cleaned; a lot of food comes in styrofoam containers. There was a lack of toys on the ground, and we learned that less and less kids are playing with toys since tablets and iPads are becoming more accessible.
After the beach cleanup we participated in two activities, one where we measured how much microplastic was in different parts of the sand: the back, the middle, and closest to high tide. We learned that the high tide zone closest to the water was a little below the top layer of sand. This process for searching for microplastics helped build the group’s awareness of how harmful and prevalent they are in the environment and how they can harm marine life. Despite us helping with the microplastic pollution problem, we discovered that beach cleanups only attack the result of the problem. The root of the problem is the use of single-use plastic that doesn’t get disposed of properly. For this reason we learned that all national parks in Panama banned the use of plastic bottles in the area to help address this problem.
After this, we looked at nearby organisms hidden in the sand, where we found 2 crabs. While collecting the crabs Benjamin (local biologist guide) taught us how to tell the difference between male and female crabs – female crabs have bigger pouches and males have smaller pouches because female crabs need bigger pouches for reproduction purposes. We also saw decomposing jellyfish!!
We then went on a short 10-minute bus ride to a cafeteria style lunch at Niko’s, where there was a sandwich bar along with hot ready to go items that we enjoyed. After an hour lunch we headed back to the hotel for a quick one hour rest time, where some of us dipped in the pool before getting ready for our hike.
By Abby
We headed over to Ancon Hill, the tallest hill in Panama City, and began hiking as a group while learning about the local nature and history. During our walk, we learned that the hill was temporarily occupied by the United States until 1977 and was restricted for Panamanians, so once it was returned it became a symbol of culture and national identity.
We looked closely at nature as well, observing how different organisms like termites build nests in certain regions to escape the humidity and maximize their survival.
As we continued our walk, we came across a three-toed sloth hanging on a branch. Our tour guide explained that they enjoy elevation because it allows them to get as close to the sun as possible, so they can often be found in places like “trumpet trees.”
We walked to the top of the hill, where we looked at the view of the city and were able to see the many skyscrapers clearly. After finishing our hike, we had dinner at Pastissima El Origen, where we enjoyed a variety of pasta dishes. We followed this with a brief reflection as a group, discussing what had intrigued us so far culturally and what we wish to learn more about in the upcoming days. Then, we walked to get ice cream as a group to finish off our night!
