Category Archives: Uncategorized

We had a farewell party earlier tonight. There was dancing by locals showing typical dances of the area. Then the students danced the dances they learned earlier in our stay in Guararé. There are videos as well but that will … Continue reading →

Today we made bread! We started off, in the morning, to the bread maker, Eucaris Domínguez’s, house where we saw the large furnace or horno. After that, we watched as she formed a bowl shape with a large pile of … Continue reading →

Yesterday, we started off the day by visiting Las Tablas, a larger local town, to see some local Easter celebrations and to do some shopping. After a quick lunch, we then headed to the beach for some fun! Today we … Continue reading →

This video summarizes the experience lived by CSW students during a “Junta de Embarre”. “La Junta de Embarre” is a tradition that has been practiced for many generations in the Azuero Peninsula. If you are interested in learning about this … Continue reading →

Click the Student Work tab to see student reports.

Today we helped build a house! When we first arrived, there was a large group of people surrounding a 30 by 15-foot area of mud. We observed as they took turns walking/dancing across the mud, and stomping in neat lines, … Continue reading →

Yesterday, while we were making masks in the morning, a procession celebrating Good Friday came close by. Similarly, at about 8 pm a larger procession went right by the hotel we were staying in. Click here to see clips of … Continue reading →

Today we learned about the tradition of making and wearing “mascaras de diablicos” and we spent the day creating our own, which was taught to us by Señor González. This is done by forming a mold made of clay and … Continue reading →

Today, we started the morning by traveling through time. First, we visited three different museums before our final return to Mr. Trujillo’s house. Our first visit was Museum Manuel F. Zárate. Here we learned all about La Mejorana as a … Continue reading →

We were so excited to get back to classes after our restful day at the beach! Today, we learned how leather is put to use after it is prepared. Our teacher for this project explained to us how leather is … Continue reading →

This morning after sleeping in and having a late breakfast, we had the morning to ourselves. While some of us relaxed around the hotel, others went to play soccer at a nearby park. After lunch, we all traveled to the … Continue reading →

Today we had an early breakfast and made our way to a cowhide processing facility. We started by observing the raw hides being cleaned in a mixture of sulfuric acid, lime, and salt. Next, we looked at where the clean … Continue reading →

After an early pancake breakfast this morning, we hopped into a van to learn about la molienda, or more specifically the traditional process of grinding sugar cane in order to harvest its juice for sugar syrup production. We visited a local community that … Continue reading →

Soccer is a very unifying sport. After our Tamborito session some students stayed after to play soccer with locals. At first it was Panamanians vs CSW, but it soon morphed into mixed teams and all enjoyed themselves. Click on fútbol … Continue reading →

OOHHHHHH HUEY HUEY HUEY HUEYYYYYY!!!! Today we learned the folklore dance Cumbia from Francisco Bustamante, more familiarly known as Pancho, and we had the honor of hearing and dancing to the beautiful music from the Bonaga family. Pancho taught the … Continue reading →

Yesterday in the afternoon, students shared their cloud forest mini projects. Engagement and personal initiative were key guiding principles. After dinner, students packed and enjoyed some time together. This morning we left in a timely manner but were delayed by, … Continue reading →

Today we visited a farm nearby the house we are staying in, and learned about the agricultural life in Cerro Punta. Abel told us about the many indigenous people who live off the land, and how they sell their produce. … Continue reading →

We moved down from the cabins to a couple of larger cabins set in the area of Bajo Grande, which is at a lower altitude and has nearby agricultural field built on steep slopes. This small area (Cerro Punta) grows … Continue reading →

After making breakfast in our cabins, we for a hike on the millennium trail. This hike consisted of 45 minutes of climbing up a steep incline followed by 30 minutes of slight uphill climbing. We arrived at a beautiful clearing … Continue reading →

We spent today, our second day in Cerro Punta, going on hikes to see some beautiful rivers and streams. Hearing the calls of the Quetzal bird from the treetops, we went through the moss and trees to observe nature at … Continue reading →

It was a long travel day. We traveled by boat from the ITEC to Puerto Almirante. We saw a large number Chiquita Banana containers there as well as large Chiquita ship. The boat ride was smooth and we gvot off … Continue reading →

We had a busy day today starting with a bumpy boat ride over to bird island – a very diverse and unique island where many pelagic birds go to nest. We headed back for a quick stay at a local … Continue reading →

Torin Osenar has added an album of photos mostly from our time in Bocas del Toro. Click on Torin Osenar to see his photos. Note that Mina Cho has added photos to her album. See both their work under the … Continue reading →

Yesterday afternoon, after the visit to the cacao plantation, the group went to nearby Finca Marbella to plant seedlings in a forest restoration project. We planted seedlings, grown in nurseries at ITEC. We hiked in about 20 minutes from the … Continue reading →

By Qai Hinds Watch it Willy Wonka! Gary Curtis Mitchel, the current owner of the Green Acres Chocolate Farm led CSW students on a tour through his enormous and charming garden and his cacao farm. We started this unique experience … Continue reading →

Students worked hard today on getting their reports prepared. There is still more work to be done, but they’re all in pretty good shape. They’ll present their projects to the group on Saturday. We took time off today in the … Continue reading →

We picked some guaba today. Guaba is a yummy fruit that is native to Central and South America. It is sometimes called the Vanilla Ice Cream Tree because the fruit looks like vanilla beans. Enrique used a long tool to … Continue reading →

I’ve successfully updated most of the blog software, but the gallery portion is not working properly. For now, I’ve uploaded photos to Google Drive and have provided you with a link to each folder. You can access them under the … Continue reading →

Today we spent a lot of time on our research projects! We (plus Lily, she’s just not here right now) are researching poison dart frogs in the tropical rainforest on Isla Colón in Bocas del Toro! After a rainy morning, … Continue reading →

This morning, projects were in full swing as everyone was conducting their research! Some of us headed off to the rainforest to note the locations of frogs, others were working with the biodiversity in ecosystems with different levels of human activit … Continue reading →

It’s our third full day at ITEC and people have started working on their projects! There are people working with spiders after learning about them yesterday (they’re scary but very cool), and people working with frogs and trying to catch … Continue reading →

Today first thing after breakfast (the orange juice slaps), we got fitted for special rubber boots which allowed us to walk through the grass without being bitten by snakes (don’t worry – we haven’t seen any… yet). After we got … Continue reading →

Today we woke up and had a bread-heavy breakfast from the local bakeries. We took a short bus ride to the airport and then our flight to the island Bocas Del Torro. Then, after an impromptu grocery shopping spree, we … Continue reading →

We’ve gone though security and are waiting to board our flight for Bocas del Toro.

Steve’s Panama phone number is 507 country code, 6367 6780.

We arrived at Logan Airport at 3:00am as a group, we got through security quickly and found ourselves in Altanta without much trouble. On the flight to Panama we were amazed by the estuarys and mangroves below us. We found … Continue reading →

The most recent entries are from the end of our course in 2019. To get a better sense of the course scroll down and find entries and then move back through the blog to end. The blog is continuous through … Continue reading →

We’re safely in Panama City. We arrived at our hotel (Selina Casco Viejo) around 8 pm. we split into groups to eat dinner. Before boarding our plane for Panama City we spent the part of the afternoon in the town … Continue reading →

Lila and Max here!?! Things are going swimmingly at ITEC in Boca Del Drago! The past few days everyone has been continuing to conduct their research, and enjoying nightly presentations from the staff and visiting science students. A few nights … Continue reading →

你好, After lunch today, most of us traveled by boat to a different part of Isla Colón, where we were told there was a cave full of bats. On the short walk from the shore to the cave, we saw … Continue reading →

Students all worked on their projects in the morning. There are projects in forests, fields, and by mangroves, In the afternoon students went on a hike to see a cave with many bats. The island’s foundation is old coral reefs, … Continue reading →

Hey Everyone,             Our time here at ITEC so far has been filled with excitement from our time spent snorkeling to our hikes in the forest. We are also making preparations for our small group projects centered around the environment … Continue reading →

Yesterday we arrived at ITEC by taking a short boat ride to Isla Colon.  From there we got orientated and settled into our cabins.  Many students were worried about the lack of warm water, and functional Wi-Fi in the cabins, … Continue reading →

Students did a nice job presenting their short projects last night. Students were asked to choose something that connected to our immediate environment that they could really engage in would speak to a passion or interest. Their topics were as … Continue reading →

Hola! We started today off by going to the Janson Family coffee plantation. We were given a tour of the machinery and coffee plants. Our tour guide was one of the co-owners and helped us understand just how much work … Continue reading →

Ahoy-hoy! Yesterday was our last full day in the cloud forest. We were given the whole day to work on each of our projects. My project involved filming a massive tree in great detail. It is a very fine tree, … Continue reading →

Hi everyone! Today was our second day in the Cloud Forest. We woke up and made our breakfast of eggs and pancakes. The plan for the day was to meet for a group hike that was originally described by our … Continue reading →

hey Hey HEY! Lila and Hannah here, reporting live from Cerro Punta!! Yesterday we took the long trek (6 hours on the bus!) all the way from Pedasí to the cloud forrest (Lila thinks forest is spelled like that. I … Continue reading →

See photos by Jayson S, Tommy S. and Hannah W. in Student Photos ’19 tab. Some of their photos, as well as those other students have been used as photos in blog entries.  

I’m just going to write a brief note. I hope we can get a fuller post tomorrow. We had a good last day ending in a potluck supper with the families We’re off early to the cloud forest in Cerro … Continue reading →

Bienvenidos,  Rachel reporting to you from Pedasí with spectacular news. Guess who got dolled up this morning in the most fashionable Panamanian attire: Polleras! If you guessed ‘Las Chicas’ you’re right!! We danced our way down the town streets and … Continue reading →

Isaac, Hanna, Hannah, Lila, and Lucas here! Today we went to play sports after a shortened class period. There’s a basketball court very close to the center of Pedasí called La Cancha. We set up the volleyball net and played … Continue reading →

Hello everyone! Yesterday our group went to the Achotines Laboratories to meet scientists who study tunafish and take a tour of the facility.  We started off by watching a video depicting how tunafish are studied at Achotines, which featured footage … Continue reading →

Hola from Panama! Today was our second and final day working at the school garden in Paritilla. The first day was Tuesday where we helped to weed the garden and prepare the soil for planting seeds. It was hot, it … Continue reading →

¡Saludos desde Panamá! (Greetings from Panama!) is Ben reporting back to you all at home. Yesterday we went to the Caldera River which is situated relatively close to where we are staying in Pedasí. I actually went to this same … Continue reading →

Hola, this is Hanna. Yesterday school started fifteen minutes earlier than normal. We all gathered in front of the school before taking a short ten minute bus ride to an elementary school in the nearby town of Patilla. At the … Continue reading →

Hola, this is Max, Josh, and Lucas. Yesterday, we went to Iguana Island, or, La Isla Iguana, with Jayson’s host father, Capitán Negro, who is a fisherman in Pedasí. He took us to his boat docked at la playa Arenal, … Continue reading →

Hola, friends and family, this is Casey. We started off today by making tembleques–traditional beaded hair accessories with the help of a local artist.  We were taught how to use beads and wires to form a butterfly for us to … Continue reading →

Hola amigos! Lila and Hannah here 🙂 Today, we split up into two groups to do two separate activities. I (Lila) went with the group that went to a Kite Festival a little outside of Pedasí, on an old airplane runway. Steve and … Continue reading →

We arrived in Pedasí at about 3:45, We had a brief Orientation by Dania Vergara, the owner/director of the school. Everyone was at, or in route to, their homestays by 4:30. I saw some out walking with their families after … Continue reading →

Hola amigos,  Our first full day in Panama City was eventful and exciting. We started the day by going to a local bakery where we indulged in yummy pastries and local fruits such as watermelon, pineapple, bananas, papaya, and passion … Continue reading →

We didn’t get to our hotel until after 10 pm. The students are enjoying Selinas, but we’re off to bed now. At 10 tomorrow we’e headed off to the Miraflores locks Museum and observatory area for the boats going through … Continue reading →

We’re pleased to announce the addition Clara Rowe as an instructor/leader for the ITEC portion of the course. She has worked with groups similar to our in the past. Clara has knowledge of, and practical experience in, tropical forest ecology … Continue reading →

We’re pleased to announce that Mitzy Herrera will join our group as a leader. Mitzy is a  part-time Spanish language teacher at Buena Vida Language School in Pedasí. We’ve worked with her since 2013. She has a B.A. in Education and has an additional degree … Continue reading →

Flight information (some minor corrections since 1st post)  Airline Flight #   Date Departure time Arrival Time Copa 733 BOS-PTY Feb. 13, 2019 2:33 PM 8:33 PM Copa 311 PTY-BOS March 14, 2019 12:34 PM 7:20 PM

 To get a flavor for the course see, in reverse order, blog entries and photos covering our 2013, 2015 and 2017 courses. At some sites there were poor internet connections and there are fewer entries.  – Steve Scrimshaw

With power and Internet out until about 8:30 pm, we’ve all had unplugged day. Many spent their time swimming, finishing journals and personal reflections, relaxing, playing cards, etc. I (Steve) have been unable to get more student work up on the website. … Continue reading →

We arrived at Mama Llena just in time for dinner on Sunday after traveling for almost 10 hours. But before we got our well deserved dinner, we had to unload our suitcase and roll them up to our house. We are all … Continue reading →

Hey it’s Lizzie, Sam and Schuyler! While we are now at Mama Llena for the course wrap-up, we wanted to share a bit more about our time at Cotito. We arrived on March 1st and soaked up the beauty of … Continue reading →

See the new tab – Student Work. Note this is a sample and that not all student projects are digitally friendly. We are still updating it. 

I just checked the Copa Airlines website and the flight information/schedule remains the same as posted at the beginning of the course.  Steve Copa Airlines      • March 8 depart Panama City 

12:34 a
m, arrive Boston 

 

6:15 p

m     … Continue reading →

After a long bus ride yesterday, we arrived at about 7 pm last night. They had dinner waiting for us. Some went swimming after dinner and many watched “The School of Rock” before going to bed .It’s 8:30 in the … Continue reading →

  It was nice to be off the grid at Cotito, but we couldn’t post anything from our stay there from that location. Now, back in Guadalupe, we can post photos.  See photos of both groups stay at Cotito in 2017 … Continue reading →

Hi everyone, Sophie here. This is our last night here at Cerro Punta. Today group Pegasus spent the morning walking around Guadalupe. In groups of two or three we explored the town and asked the people we passed on the … Continue reading →

      Hi! Mu’izza and Sophie here, writing from Cerro Punta/Guadelupe. We just arrived yesterday for our second homestay. For the past four days, we our at Cotito. This year is the first time this trip has ever been … Continue reading →

¡Hola todos! It’s Gracie and Charlotte, back by popular demand. We’re coming up on our final night in Guadalupe/Volcán. This homestay experience is definitely different from Pedasí, but it’s been just as fun and welcoming. Our host family consists of … Continue reading →

(Internet slow…photos coming soon.) ¡Hola, Sam está aquí! Ahora estamos viviendo en Guadalupe con familias locales y estamos asistiendo a una escuela con una profesora que se llama “Luz”. Guadalupe tiene muchos granjeros y vendedores y también la topografía es … Continue reading →

Ben shared the following about what they have been up to in Cotito: “Today we are in the midst of our independent projects. We got here the first day and explored the hot springs which were beautiful! Yesterday we got … Continue reading →

A brief entry…more soon… This morning all of us came down from the cabañas up in the cloud forest and divided up into the groups for the second half of the course.  Everyone is now settling in to their newest … Continue reading →

Hi there, All due apologies for the lack of updates! Our last few days have been filled with mountain treks, vegetable-rich meals, and reconnections between Gryphon and Phoenix groups. The Los Quetzales cabins are stationed at approximately 7,000 feet above … Continue reading →

Hello! It’s Sarah Stockdale writing a quick blog post to update those at home on the goings on in Panama. The whole group has arrived safely at Los Quetzales, Cerro Punto, where we’re all enjoying cooling off in the cooler … Continue reading →

Look in Photos 2017 tab for added photo albums.  We have a lot more updates  and photos, but we’re very busy in transition. We have a long travel day today. Both groups are doing well and now we’re one. In … Continue reading →

Hey everyone, it’s Andrius and Sara writing to you after a very full work day. Each group had to complete their papers and presentations before our afternoon activities. Andrius’s group woke up at 7:00 to get an early start, and … Continue reading →

See it on the righthand sidebar

2/18/17 Hello Old Chaps, It’s Hope, Sylvia, Liam, and Sara here describing another intrepid adventure from Achotines Panama. We write to you after a long hard day working on our research projects in the beating sun. Yesterday morning we all … Continue reading →

See Ben’s, Max’s and Sarah’s photos under student photo albums tab.

Click on 2017 photos for new Achotines photos and and student photo albums for Sarah Stockdale photos. More photos will be added tonight, and hopefully we’ll have a student blog entry as well. 

2/16/17 Hi, Liam and Sylvia here with an update about our tour of the tuna laboratory at Achotines! Today we visited the yellow-fin tuna culture labs at the Achotines Field Station. Achotines is surrounded by various fish communities, and therefore … Continue reading →

  Hello everyone! It’s Ben, Hope and Sarah Stockdale from group Phoenix, here to update you on our adventures in Panama! Monday morning we kicked off the day at Buena Vida Language School,  where we learned about traditional Panamanian dance … Continue reading →

This will be a brief post. All is well. Students focused on project write-up and wrap up of the forest structure project. This is a continuing comparative project as we will sampling in the same way the other forests we … Continue reading →

Hey, Rory and Lizzie are writing to ya’ll today. In the morning we split into two groups of five; one group studying soil and the other made a biodiversity index of different plants in the rain forest. The soil group … Continue reading →

Greetings from Sara, Andrius, and Liam of Group Phoenix! Saturday was a packed day! After we finished our dance class, we went to the Maribé school to help paint the new playground. This was a project spearheaded by the Waved … Continue reading →

Greetings from ITEC! And hello from Austin and Schuyler! Today the group set off early in the morning to visit the old Panama Canal built by the Snyder Brothers who owned and operated the United Fruit Company. After a 10 … Continue reading →

Hi Everyone! Hope you’re enjoying the snow! It’s Charlotte and Gracie (of group phoenix) writing to you from outside the Buena Vida Language School in Pedasí. We just finished a delicious lunch that was well needed after a vigorous couple … Continue reading →

Our time in Pedasí is off to a great start. Today is day two of language classes. When we arrived in at the Buena Vida language school we were greeting by Dania, who runs the language school, and the homestay … Continue reading →

2/10/17 Sam and Malik here, and we are reporting on Group Gryphon’s first two days at ITEC (Institute for Tropical Ecology, and Conservation). Following an early morning flight on Wednesday that gave us beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean, our group … Continue reading →

The Phoenix group settled into their homestays in Pedasí today at about 3 pm. They’ll meet tomorrow morning at 8 am at the Azuero Project to do work with them, and they will have language classes after lunch.  Group Gryphon … Continue reading →