Road Trip To Central Provinces

20 of us chartered a bus and took a trip to the Central Provinces of Veraguas (the only province that runs from the Caribbean to the Pacific), Herrera and Los Santos. (See HOME page at bottom for map)  These provinces are know for their artesans, so things are decorated very colorfully.   The Spanish conquerers totally irradicated the indigenous peoples, so there is no Indian population in these areas.....so the architecture and lifestyle is more European/Spanish than Boquete, where I live in the Highlands, where we have lots of indigenous people.   In Chiriqui Province the local indians are Nobe Bugle.....here is a photo of some of the Nobe Bugle children

One of the places we visited in Chitre (a very nice town in Herrera Province) made a special kind of sweet bread that is made by hand the way it has been for centuries.  It is hand rolled and twisted, then made into rings.

Then, it is placed in ovens made 100 years ago of the native mud.  The fire is teak wood which grows everywhere around this area.

We also stopped at a local pottery shop.....all the terra cotta pottery and roof tiles are made in the Chitre area....I came back with lots of pottery.  Notice the feet of this potter, turning the wheel as he turns the pot.

Then the pots are baked in an ancient oven that is heated by corn husks from the local cattle farms.

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