We arrived to Anton on Friday afternoon following an early boat to a 10 hour bus across half the length of Panama. The bus ride was quite an adventure as it broke down for an hour, had a few police searches and a lunch break along the side of the road. Finally, we made it and Erin met us without hitch. We dropped our bags off at her brother's apartment and went out to meet some of her friends. Gretchen and I were quite excited because most people of Anton do not speak much English, so we were made to practice our Spanish. Although we were pretty tired from our day of traveling, after freshening up, we were ready to embrace the scene.
Carnaval festivities began Friday night, so we were able to witness the coronation of the queen and the procession of the royal court around the town. It was really interesting to see how such a small town produces such a vibrant carnaval celebration. Also, all of Erin's friends and family were excited to show us their traditions. We participated in the parade and did the traditional "morga" dance around town before continuing the celebration in the street until the early morning.
The festivities continued in the morning as we entered the Parque Central for the "culecos" (fire hoses and water fights). It was great because it was so hot out and we were able to run around the park getting soaked by the hoses and dancing to Latin music. We bought water guns on the street and provoked fights with the children in town which was also funny because they had run around the night before pointing at us and screaming out "gringas"!
We participated in the "culecos" for the next few days both in Anton and Penenome, another village 30 minutes away...all in all a great time. In the evenings, the queen would be paraded around town in different gowns and also traditional Panamanian dress dependent upon which day of carnaval it was. It was quite the amazing experience to be in such a traditional environment with people who were eager to share their culture with us.
On Monday afternoon, Erin, Gretchen and I headed to Panama City as we were all going to depart for Costa Rica together.
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