Carnaval in Las Tablas, Playa Venao & Isla Iguana

I have just returned from what was quite an exciting week off. Last saturday, five friends of mine woke up at 4 am to take the bus and join me in Las Tablas for two intense days of Carnaval. Las Tablas has one of Panaman's biggest and most renowned Carnaval celebrations. Though it has fewer than 9,000 inhabitants, the town is transformed and hosts 200,000+ people during this much awaited event.
Carnaval lasts from the Friday to the Tuesday (Mardi Gras). The uncle of one of my roomate's internship supervisor had an extra storage room that he emptied for the two nights that we stayed there.. we were really lucky to find something so cheap on such a short notice. Residents of Las Tablas can rent out their room for $500-$1000+ for 5 days to panamanians coming in from the city, and do so often a year in advance!

In Las Tablas, two queens are elected each year to represent one of the two main streets: Calle Arriba and Calle Abajo. These two streets then compete over the 5 days for the most extravagant floats, beautiful queens and crazy parties. Two parades are held each day as everyone gathers to follow the floats that mostly stay around the center square. Trucks drive in with huge water tanks (called "culecos") as people spray everyone in the crowd with high pressure hoses. Music is played in the streets and central squares but also in the many clubs that are open day and night. Actually, the music does stop around 6 am but only for a few hours.. by 9 or 10, panamanians are back in the street to continue the party. Fireworks and firecrackers go off all the time.. I even remember being woken up at 5am to the sound of fireworks after having just fallen asleep! Carnaval was a great experience, it was crazy to see how excited everyone was and how proud they were of their queen and street. Unlike most North Americans who live to work, Panamanians clearly work to live!

After those two days in Las Tablas, we finally made it to Playa Venao, on the southern coast of the Azuero Peninsula. This beach was home to the ISA World Surfing Games in 2011. This protected bay has perfect waves, small during the dry season but big enough to start surfing and to swim. We camped in two different places, the second of which I would highly recommend. EcoVenao, tucked away in the hills 500 meters behind the beach, is part of a reforestation project in the area. You can camp, stay in dorms or rent cabañas for the night. It is full of backpackers from all backgrounds and of all walks of life that have plenty to share. The restaurant is lovely, serving a particularly good lemon pie. I thought we would be able to sleep in but the howler monkeys wake you up quite early...!
You can hike around the area, horseback ride, surf and lounge all day in the hammocks. Quite the ideal vacation spot.

We also were able to go to Pedasí for a day and hitchhike to the beach where you can take a boat to Isla Iguana. The island is protected by ANAM, the national authority on the environment and is really beautiful. I found it quite similar to some of the Galapagos Islands, low vegetation and a lot of birds and iguanas! Pristine white sand, clear waters.. We went snorkeling and did see a sea turtle.

We were warned to not bring anything of value with us to Las Tablas, so we opted for disposable cameras. I will post those photos as soon as I get that organized.. but here are a few from Isla Iguana.

Our second course begins this week (though we still have no idea when and where we have to be -- typical Panama). "Humans in Tropical Environments" will take us to Ipeti, Achiote, Galeta and Chitré over the next 4 weeks.