In January 2005, RPCVs Bonnie Birker, Nancy Sweetman and Charles Sweetman
took 15 tourists to their Peace Corps villages of the 1960's as part of an
18-day escorted group tour to Panama.
The villagers went all out to welcome this first tourist
group to visit the Azuero region, the cultural heartland of Panama.
In El Paraiso de Purio (Sweetmans), villagers showed how they
bake bread in a clay oven and custom-made typical leather sandals for
several passengers.
In La Enea de Guarare (Birker), the #1 seamstress explained
how she makes her award-winning pollera dresses which are the national
symbol of Panama.
Afterward, the festive "homecoming" in the central plaza
included entertainmnent, speeches, a typical Panamanian dinner, and folk
dances featuring the pollera. It was a gala event that no one in the group
will soon forget.
The tour was arranged by Costa Rica Tours, Ltd. which has
been conducting tours in Costa Rica and Panama since 1997. Costa Rica
Tours, Ltd is owned and managed by Sandra Wishner Feldman (RPCV/Costa
Rica).
(Click to enlarge photos below.)
-
 El
Paraiso is a small village with a population of 400 in the Azuero
Peninsula of Panama.
This picture shows (upper right) RPCV Nancy Sweetman of Mason City, Iowa
returning to the school she taught in as a Peace Corps volunteer in the
1960's.
-
 La
Enea is a bigger town in the Azuero.
Here we see RPCV Bonnie Birker visiting La Enea, the town in which she
was a 1960's volunteer.
The town staged a celebration with dance, entertainment and food in
honor of Bonnie's return and for the other tour passengers. In this
picture, Bonnie, in the center, is flanked by the brightly costumed
townspeople who performed traditional Panamanian dances.
-
 Charles
Sweetman who also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in El Paraiso at the
same time as wife, Nancy.
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