Campamento Verano Part IV

I thought that you might be interested in these photos of what I call ciudades de las hormigas or "ant cities". These are the mounds in which the leaf-cutter ants live. When we first got to Panama, we lived in the former Canal Zone in the little town of Paraíso. We were down the street from the Canal and right next to the tropical forest. At first I loved seeing those leaf-cutter ants; it was like living in a National Geographic special. But once I tried to plant lettuce and tomatoes and some papaya and our little leaf-cutter friends carried them all off into the forest, well, I lost my fascination with the little devils. As you can see, we have three different ant cities at camp. Sometimes they climb on your feet and chew on your toes. Annoying, but not dangerous.



Ciudades de las Hormigas


So, the theme for the third day was "Mundo y Dilemas." We concentrated on actions and consequences and decision making. In the afternoon we were visited by a team who spoke with the youth about SIDA or AIDS. In the evening, we decided to hold chapel outside in a ranchito. Then, off to dinner.

After dinner was the Camp Party. I only stayed for part of it, as I had been told by the staff that the entire camp was going to get up early and watch the sunrise, followed by a Holy Eucharist in the chapel. I watched the dance contest at the party and then returned to my cabin to get some sleep. I heard the campistas returning to their cabins around 1:30 am. My alarm went off at 5:00 am, but I decided to stay in bed until I heard the bell, as I had my doubts about campistas watching the sunrise when they went to bed so late. I awoke again around 6:20 am, and there had been no bell. I saw Nelsito around 7:00 am, and he said the staff decided that the campistas would watch the sunrise the next day.

Here are the photos.



Charla de SIDA

This is Vamela. She is four years old. Her Mom and Uncle are the Camp Cooks. She asked me to take this photo. She is a very happy little girl. She likes to help me set-up the chapel for services. I also have to watch her every minute as she likes to take the camera out of its case.

Chapel in the Ranchito




Waiting to get into the Dining Hall. This evening one had to give the name of a person in the Bible to enter the Dining Hall. First I said "Methuselah" but they didn't know who he was, so I named Melchizidek. According to the menu, the dinner was "hamburguesas con papas fritas." They were not beef hamburgers; they were hamburguesa de pollo and hamburguesa de chorizo. Now, I don't mind chickenburgers, but a burger made of sausage was something new to me. I didn't die of a heart attack, so I guess they're okay.

Kids be eatin' hamburguesas de chorizo y pollo

Dish washers, take 1

Dish washers, take 2. The Young Lady requested a second take

LA FIESTA
Girls along one wall

Boys along another wall

Here is some mingling

Victor amuses the troops

Amigas

More boys along the wall

Dancin'!

The Dance Competition Contestants

Team 1

Team 2

Team 3

Team 4

Team 5

Team 6

And then Padre was off to a book and bed. Boring Old Fart!