A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO…
El Valle, Panama, where Chester Skotak, Wally Berg and I climbed high into the cloud forest of Cero Negro searching for bromeliads among the moss-covered trees. On our drive up the mountain we passed a small village where children were celebrating Semana Santa by throwing water on passersby, a local custom considered charming by some. As we passed, we rolled our windows up in anticipation of the onslaught and when the water splashed on our windows, we rolled them down and threw handfuls of candy.

Some hours later, on our return trip, we were preoccupied in search of Aechmea haltonii, which lived in the trees along the rough, rocky roadway. Driving, my attention was at least occasionally on the road, and I noticed the small village where the children with the water had ambushed us, not far ahead. I quietly got Wally’s attention and we carefully rolled up our windows and then began to point to the trees where Chester had his attention focused. We approached the children and I slowed a little, Chester was straining to see what we were pointing at in the trees, with his head partially out the window. In an instant, the children struck with their watery assault, and one had a homemade water cannon fashioned from a piece of pipe. The expert marksmen caught Chester unawares, suddenly blasting him full in the face, drenching him and splashing us all. As Chester gasped and sputtered, I almost lost control of the truck from laughing so hard and had to pull over. Ah yes, those were the days…collecting, enjoying local culture and loosing the trust of a lifelong friend all in the same day!