Hello friends. Time for some details about Abuelo... then a description about Veronica's visit! The two are not related... don't worry.
First, let's rewind.
Last time I updated I said that I had just gone on a tour of the seco and rum factory in my site with another PCV who came to visit me. It was actually really interesting, so I'll fill you in a little bit.
Varela Hermanos S.A. is the largest liquor factory in Panama - and it's right here in my site! Not only is this the sole largest factory (even though there are others around) the company itself also has about 80% of the liquor market in Panama. Both Ron Abeulo (literally, Grandad rum) and Seco (a clear almost vodka-like liquor) are made here in Pesé - both distilled from sugar cane that comes from the fields that surround our town. Seco doesn't have to age, it is simply distilled and bottled, ready to go. But the rum is aged anywhere from 3-5 years (the cheap stuff), 10 years, 20 years, or 50 years (the most expensive version.
The sugar cane is harvested between February and May (the growing cycle is about 10 months long), initiating the processing and production of the liquors, continuing through June or July. After this process is complete, they take apart the huge machine that processes the raw sugar cane, and clean it - a process that takes about a month. The workers are given a month of vacation, then in October they go back to work to reassemble the machine and prepare the plant for the harvest again. It was shocking how much the building where they distill the liquors still smelled like rum - even though there hadn't been any liquor in the huge containers in several months. I can't imagine what it must smell like during production!
The most interesting aspect of the tour for me was learning about how the rum is distilled. Now, it's not all that different from how other rums and liquors are distilled but I think I discovered why I somewhat enjoy this rum, as opposed to the dark rums that I typically dislike in the US. In the US there is a law (so said our tour guide) that barrels cannot be used more than once to age liquor, so after they are used in the US, they are shipped other places to be used - like here in Panama. Varela Hermanos gets their barrels from a company that produces whiskey. The rum that is then aged in these barrels comes out with a slight whiskey-esque flavor.
Voilà! The reason I like this rum - it tastes a little like whiskey.
So that was my fun fact for the next few weeks after we went on that tour - I definitely found it interesting though! This factory employs at least a quarter of my town - so it's definitely the largest industry around. Not to mention all of the labor that is required to plant and harvest the sugar cane.
Right after that friend left I had another, wonderful friend come and visit from home - Veronica! The trip was short, but we did a TON. We're similar travellers in that we want to do and see as much as we can while we are there.
The first night we had a typical (though somewhat pricey) Panamanian meal to introduce her to the country! The next day we skipped out of town quickly, stopping at the beach for a couple hours - leaving just before the rains, finding an amazing cigar factory that produces thousands of cigars a day (400 per worker, usually before noon - pretty impressive) that are then exported to the US and sold for $8/cigar (seems pricey to me! though I know next to nothing about cigars), all on our way down to Chitré. We were so lucky that we were spending that particular weekend in Chitré because there was a huge festival going on all weekend - Fiesta de Fiestas (yes... it was called Party of the Parties) - that showed off some of the unique and wonderful parts of Panamanian culture for Veronica to see!
Saturday brought a day full of travelling - we hit up Pesé, Ocu, a tiny town where we saw someone who makes the typical, hand-embroidered dresses, La Arena and Las Tablas, all before going back to Chitré to see the parade in the afternoon. Veronica got to see the typical dresses called polleras, diablo sucios from La Arena, typical outfits/parade costumes from Colon, and much more. It was wonderful! I hadn't seem some of the things yet either, so we had a great time. At night there was another parade with all of the reynas (queens) on their elaborate floats. Think Brazil's Carnaval, and you'll get the idea.
Back to Panama early on Sunday to sight-see in the city: Panama Viejo, Cerro Ancón, and the canal. Then finally we took a break to nap and relax for the afternoon so that we could enjoy going out that night! It was a Sunday night, so the bars/clubs were pretty dead, but we had a nice dinner of room service :) then had a drink on a roof-top bar before dancing for about an hour at a club. We didn't want to stay out too late so that we could enjoy the last day together, but we also wanted to make sure we celebrated her birthday in style!
Veronica's birthday was the last day she was here with me in Panama, and I hope I helped make it memorable! One of the best things was that I called down to room service before we went out the night before to ask if they could bring up a cake while we were out. The message got a little mixed up, but it ended up wonderfully anyway - they came right before we were about to leave with a delicious cake, her name on the plate, candles, and balloons to boot!! It was so great.
So the last day was our most relaxed day of them all - we spent a long time in Casco Viejo walking around, buying souvenirs, and enjoying the food! We had delicious ice cream, ceviche, then came across one of the only microbreweries in Panama, so of course I had to have a Pale Ale - my first real beer (aside from the crappy <$1 canned ones) since I've been in Panama. It was glorious. I'll post pictures at some point... but we used her camera since mine is breaking, and we couldn't upload them to my computer... so as soon as I get them in the mail, I will share!
She left super early the next day - September 11th - but I stuck around in the city to relax a bit, then headed back to site to jump back into the swing of things. It was tough - I think having her here made me miss people at home a lot. But thankfully after maybe 10 days or so (only a few of which were particularly bad) I got back into the groove at school.
I've been doing a lot since then - in school and out. But that's enough for this post. Another one will quickly follow with updates on my work! Charlas, frustration, successes, and a small injury. All to come!
Stay tuned!
