The small cookies come in different flavors, all packed in the same small plastic wrappers with an official-looking government insignia.
Panama is a beautiful place. The Smithsonian Institute has set up shop to study the wide range of flora and fauna that Panama has to offer. As such, there are agencies setup in Panama to protect land and promote environmental stewardship.
That brings to to anecdote #4,137 about my time here. I live along a beautiful river. The boat ride I take into site takes me from expansive marshes with white egrets into thick jungle with parrots flying among the vine-laden trees. And so it is with great pain that I tell you the number one source of trash in the area: those damn cookie wrappers. They litter the trails. They litter the river. I'll hike along trails more frequented by tree frogs and snakes than humans and there's a wrapper wedged among the roots and vines.
It would be great if Panamanians had a sea change and started picking up their trash, but I think that's still a ways off. In the meantime, if I were head of an environmental agency, I'd walk down the hall of the office in Panama City and tell the Ministry of Education we had some room for collaboration. Biodegradable food wrappers. Curriculum on environmental stewardship. It would go a long way towards helping the environment in these remote and stunning locations.
