Boquete Tree Trek -A Family Friendly Field Trip to Palo Alto, Panama!

This past week has flown by, BUT we have managed to get in a fun field trip!

Although we live in a somewhat small area here in Panama, there are many new places we still need to explore! We were able to explore a little bit of Palo Alto this past week.

This is the entrada or entrance road up a mountain, to a pueblito, called Palo Alto. The road ends at a tourist stop called Boquete Tree Trek - see the little sign on the right? ( Little signs are what you have to look out for, when driving in Panama.) The men in this picture are sitting inside of a parada or bus stop.

  It was a beautiful drive, straight up the mountain, with breath taking views of the valley of Boquete below. There were many awesome trees and flowers to enjoy as we traveled about a half an hour up the road. We even stopped to pick some wild strawberries!

  When we arrived in Palo Alto, we were pleasantly surprised to see a landscaped area, complete with; an up-scale restaurant, cabinas, and trails! We didn't linger long in the restaurant because we couldn't wait to hit the trail!

  The head of the trail wound through a beautiful coffee finca (farm). There were many geisha coffee plants labeled with signs! We even found a few ripe coffee berries to munch on!

                 
   Farther down the path we found beautiful plants, flowers, and a little river.  The butterfly, in the center of the photo below, was the highlight of my trip! Such a beautiful creation with translucent wings...I wish the photo could capture the beauty of it's see through wings! We then headed back across a bridge, that was somewhat of an adrenaline rush. (I think the fear factor was that you could see the river below through the fencing:)

     We ended our day at the playground. Boquete tree trek also provides zip line tours as the name implies... we did not venture to explore them on this trip, but we will definitely be returning to this tranquilo (peaceful) place soon - Maybe we will see you there- on the zip line!

   Linking up with...

    

5 For Friday Freebies and a Petroglyph Family Friendly Field Trip (Panama)

1. Petroglyphs!

This last week we went on a fun field 

trip to Nancito, Panama and other 

hidden but local petroglyph sites - The 

kids had loads of fun!  Petroglyphs in

Panama are a common occurrence

Anthropologists don't exactly understand 

their meaning but some have a 

lunar/solar calendar significance.  Others

appear to be types of road signs to 

passing travelers...

We set up a petroglyph station after our

field trips where the kids... 

a: found a soft rock & cleaned it at a

washing station

b: carved a petroglyph style design 

that they learned about or just 

something unique...

c. colored it with chalk pastels!

Eating Healthy local 

Fruit! 

 Finally to end a wonderful day we 

enjoyed our local fruits and learned 

about all the health benefits...

Maracuya Apple Beat Juice Recipe:

1 Maracuya seeds scooped out into a glass

3 Juiced Sweet Apples

1 juiced beat

Stir & serve over ice 

Yum!!!

2.  I Spy Sight Words in

 English & Spanish! 

I also finished up and bundled a new set

 of I Spy Sight words this week.  If you 

would like to check them out just click

 on any of the pictures:)

3.  I have also been getting

 ready for the Facebook

 Frenzy that's Coming Soon!

IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TO A FB FRENZIE- 

MARK YOUR CALENDAR - YOU WILL ONLY 

HAVE 3 DAYS TO like AWAY & GRAB YOUR

 FREEBIES!  

 

You can get ready by Liking  my fb 

page now & grabbing this Freebie, (I have 

a great fb frenzy freebie planned - it's

 so hard to wait to share it with you

 all!) I will be keeping you posted:)...

  

4. New PanamaArt 

Artist's interpretation:  "a little girl wearing the chaquira"

Children’s Chaquira Indian 

Beaded Jewelry Set! 

 These are so cute...need I say more...and 

we custom make them with the colors

 you want!

 5.  5 For Friday Freebie

Free Shofar Clip Art

Just in time for the Jewish High Holy 

Days!  We have been celebrating the 7 

month on the Biblical Calendar = Jewish

 High Holidays

Yom Teruah is passed, the 

shofar announcement has been made and

 now we are counting 10 days until Yom

Kippur ( a fasting day of repentance to 

God as individuals, families, and as a 

nation)  This is a pen & pencil basket of 

gifts we made for our family & 

friends...along with our Yom Teruah 

notebook Bible study - you can make 

them to0! Click here and here for more

 info.  

The shofar is a very important part of 

every Jewish holiday. So I thought I 

would leave you with these freebies 

today; a shofar craftivity and clip art 

- enjoy!

Just click on the picture for the 

craftivity...

  You can right click and save the 

shofars below-don't forget to give credit

back to Thetravelingclassroom when

you use them! enjoy:)

Join in the fun below:)

 Cute Chevron Numbers Clip Art by Blair Turner http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Blair-Turner
Cute Frames by Dots of Fun http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Dots-Of-Fun

Glasses - Who needs them? ( Grab the Discount Code for a new pair below!)

Glasses....would you rather live with them or without them?

Did you know you can order glasses on-line?  I didn't.  I have had the same pair of prescription glasses for 10 years!  My sunglasses are another story... Hang in there with me while I ramble and share a few stories about glasses today.  (There is a special discount code at the end. You can skip to that part if you don't want to read my stories.)

This morning I caught a taxi to the pueblo to go shopping.  It was sunny and I was still feeling a little groggy.  I guess my morning coffee didn't kick in yet.  My sunglasses were one of the first things I threw in my purse.  I should have made sure my money was there in too, oh well.  ( I 'll save that story for another day:)

Why were my sunglasses my top priority this morning? Let's just say I didn't feel like making a lot of eye contact!

 Do you ever use your sunglasses like that? - As something to hide behind? That was me this morning, hiding behind my sunglasses.

 So here I am in the back seat of the taxi...

Then I noticed my taxi driver was wearing some cool shades.  So I asked him if I could take a "photo".  To which he responded with a great big smile - "Si"!   

 BUT one wasn't enough...

He insisted I take one of him outside the taxi too!  Then, he had to look at the picture and make sure it came out ok:)  Such a sweet guy...

Then at the market I ran into some people sporting some really stylish shades...and of course I asked them for a photo too!

After a long day shopping, I returned home.  I put all my fruits away while talking to everyone at home about  wearing glasses.  Then, one of the kids insisted that I get a picture of him in some cool glasses too! 

 Here he is...

So there you go everyone in glasses today:)  What do they all have in common - STYLE!

Well what about prescription eyeglasses, yes I think those are all about style too!

You know they make us look more intelligent!

 At least that's what I thought when I had to get my  prescription glasses at 16 to see the blackboard!  Good thing or I would've had to sit in the front row in all my classes!  Sorry, I don't have a picture of that 16 year old girl to share right now:(

Oh, I just thought of one more story about glasses.  If you are ever going out to eat... (especially anywhere in Central America) make sure you bring your reading glasses if you have any!  If you don't, you can order glasses online below using the cool "Try-it Mirror" below.

One day in a restaurant about a month ago, we were eating some fried Panamanian food....and low and behold right there on top of my fried bread was a part of an insect body! Then I looked a bit closer, yep it was the head.   Then a little bit closer and found some more insect body parts ----ewwww -

No, I didn't pay for the food.

 I couldn't help but look around at all the other people eating there who maybe didn't have a clue about possible bug parts on the menu.  The restaurant was dark and not one of them were wearing their glasses!

 No, I wasn't wearing reading glasses at the time.   (So far I don't need glasses to read this- but if I was far away, I may have to pull some out:)   

 So what did I have to my benefit that day?

We were sitting next to the door with some good old fashioned sunlight to brighten up my food and the bugs!

So feel free to hop ( no pun intended - hee hee) on over to GlassesUSA.com and get yourself some reading glasses - you don't want to be caught in that situation!  They also have a  Sales & Coupons page with  current site-wide deals :)

If your in need of some new shades to hide behind, for style, or just some plain old prescription glasses  to see better; take advantage of the discount code below!

Take 10% off any order of prescription glasses. Code: Blog10

Disclosure:  I was paid to write this post but the opinions and stories are completely my own:)

Celebrating our new Etsy Store - Panama Art - with a Giveaway!

We opened our new Etsy store a few months ago. It has been loads of fun for the kids to visit the local shop and learn how to bead and macrame. They love making jewelry! It really is an amazing art. No two items are exactly alike.

Meet Eliab and his beautiful wife...he is one of the main designers and artists of our shop! He is from the Kuna tribe and has learned his art from his parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts before him! He even knows his ancient Kuna language as well as Spanish! His cousin sells his jewelry and art at the local Tuesday farmer's market in Boquete!



The Panamenos here are so talented you can even have a name beaded into a bracelet! We have lots of new items to share and it is high time for a giveaway! Check out some of the new items we will be adding to our store this week!

Hand painted feathers...

Beautiful macrame necklaces with stones and other types of necklaces made out of local seeds and tagua .

What is tagua? It is a nut that comes from a tree that is similar to a palm tree. It is also know as a kind of ivory. This is what the seeds look like before they are shaped and shined. ( Sorry the teacher in me couldn't resist to give you a little tagua lesson:)

Here is what they look like after they are prepared for jewelry.

Here are some beautiful butterfly necklaces...(perfect for our butterfly unit:)

Hand beaded bracelets...



Beautiful hand made molas...





Now for our giveaway! You can win one of these hand- made Chaquira glass beaded bracelets.   These are made by local Indigenous Indians of Chiriqui, Panama. One bracelet can take many hours of work. The triangular pattern is representative of the mountains that surround the area and are a beading pattern of the Ngobe. The flat Panama and shape patterns are characteristic bead work of the Kuna Indians.



Which one is your favorite? ( I am kind of partial to the flowers:)




Can't you just see yourself sharing some of this amazing art with your students, friends, family, &...????

Every time I see these beads it reminds me of the beads Laura would find on the ground in The Little House on the Prairie books!

I love the fact that the Indians here are not assimilated into the culture completely. They still walk around town in their traditional dress and some still can speak their tribe's language! Not only that, many are still artists making their crafts that their ancestors have made for generations before them! I am so glad to know these amazing people and to be able to share their art with you!

So what are you waiting for ??? Enter the giveaway so you can win!