Volunteer Vacation: a Cultural Immersion

  Panama

Panama City

Dates: all year round

Description: Ecocircuitos, S.A. has been working with the Kuna people for a long time and we help out with meaningful community service alongside these proud & fascinating people. We invite you to join us in exploring their magnificent land and culture!

Highlights: Day 1: Panama City

Arrive in Panama City. A representative of EcoCircuitos will meet you at the airport and transfer to a hotel in Panama City. Ovrnight in Panama City.

Day 2: Orientation and City Tour

After breakfast and a brief orientation, we will explore the city. The tour first focuses on modern Panama City with its gleaming skyscrapers. Next Panama Viejo and Casco Antiguo, the historical heart of the city. Your guide will point out the architectural influences of the   Spanish, French and Italians whose nations have all played a role in the Panama history. At the Panama Canal at Miraflores locks, watch the ships make their way through the locks and learn the hisotry of the canal. Overnight in Panama City.

Day 3 - 7: Service Experience, San Blas

An early morning flight will first deliver us to Porvenir, the "gateway to the Comarca San Blas". After disembarking, we will take a short boat-ride to the island of Wichub-Wala, the home of the Kuna Lodge, where we will be transported to a reality far removed from the "modern" world.   Our days in San Blas will be spent acquainting ourselves with the Kuna customs and lifestyle through music, dance, ritual ceremonies, and meaningful cross-cultural exchange. We will learn how to make the traditional ""molas" (intricately stitched tapestries,) and we will join community-wide efforts to preserve native customs by assisting in the construction/refurbishment of an ethnographic museum. In our free time, paradise will be found! We will be transported by motorized canoe to surrounding islands - to snorkel, swim in the crystal blue & green waters of the Caribbean, and lounge in hammocks on white-sandy beaches. Additionally, we will visit other nearby communities, most notably Carti Suitupo, the center of Kuna culture, government & commerce. Our thatched-roof cabanas will be simple: equipped with mattresses, sheets/pillows and showers. After a few days of living without familiar conveniences, you will have no choice but to focus your energies on more universal themes: personal interaction and community development. Pick-up volleyball games with Kuna youth or fishing for dinner with our local hosts will be common occurrences.    By departure day, you will hopefully have re-gained a sense of peace and tranquility. A typical goodbye ceremony will celebrate and reinforce our newfound friendships.

Day 8: Panama City

Early morning return from San Blas to Panama City. Free afternoon for relaxing by the pool or shopping. Optional: Folkloric show and dinner at Local Restaurant. Overnight at the hotel of your choice in the city. (B)

Day 9: Departure

After breakfast, transfer to international airport for your flight out.

This Program is open to American, Australian, Canadian, European, Kiwi, South African and Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Panama Independently Or in Groups

Typically Participants Work Independently Or in Groups

Post Services Include:

• Job and Internship Network

EcoCircuitos Panama's Mission Statement: EcoCircuitos is Tour Operator committed to the development of ecotourism and the preservation of the environment. Our philosophy is to approach each destination carefully, considering the impact that tours will have on the flora and fauna of the area. Guides are chosen, based not only on their knowledge of a region, but also on their ability to respect the environment and share their knowledge with visitors in an engaging and enjoyable manner. We specialize in hiking, bird watching, educational, cultural tours, volunteer vacations and nature tours for small groups, individuals and couples.

Year Founded: 1999