The Value of Lived Experience

It’s vacation season.  I’m a planner, so mapping out travel is great fun (for me!) and full of discovery.  And that was what my recent time in Panama yielded.  It was far beyond the information that the guidebooks and online resources provided.  And Bard, the Google AI tool which generated a proposed itinerary for me, didn’t know either.

I came for the canal…and left with so much more.   It was definitely a case of DKDK –  don’t know what you don’t know.  For me there was great learning, and the valuing of lived experience.

Of course, I spent time experiencing the canal traveling on a small boat (compared to those giant tankers) and learning about the construction of the canal. It took two attempts, and 25,000 lives, to bridge the 51 miles of the isthmus between Pacific and Caribbean.  The technological wonder completed 109 years ago saved three weeks of travel time compared to circumnavigating South America.

Then there’s the Chinese presence in Panama – for more than 160 years – with 4% of residents, and an additional 20% claiming some heritage.  I had no idea.  No wonder everyone spoke to me in Spanish – it’s not often that I’m addressed in the native language when abroad.  Even the corner stores or bodegas are called ‘el chino’ because of the preponderance of Chinese owners.

But it was in Chiriqui, in the highlands in the northern part of the country, that my eyes, ears, tastebuds, and brain were really opened.

In Boquete, the capital of coffee country, I spent time with Gabriel, a coffee cupper, and what an experience that was. I learned about the Geisha variety, one that I had never heard of, and that is the most expensive in the world with a pound selling for over $1,000 a few years ago – it’s commonly $45-$70 a pound now.  What makes it special is the volcanic soil, climatic conditions, the challenge of cultivating the plant itself, and limited availability.  It’s a ‘soft coffee,’ with a more complex flavor profile – the aroma, floral and fruity attributes, and 30% less caffeine than normal, which makes it more like a black tea than coffee.   I’ll admit that it was lost on me.  

But tasting the same coffee bean, not a Geisha, processed (not roasted – that’s something different) three different ways – wet, dry, and honey – resulted in vastly different tastes.  Who knew?  And the reasons that a dark roasted coffee has less caffeine, and is typically of a lesser quality than medium roast.  The dark roast attempts to overcome the shortcomings of the beans.  I could spend weeks with Gabriel and still not capture all that he had to share.

And I went birdwatching in one of the most biodiverse places on earth.  Panama, which is the size of South Carolina, has almost as many species of birds as the entire US.  I went out with Jason and as I craned my neck and mostly saw rustling leaves, he was captivated by the spurts of color and patterns that defined the birds, and their calls and songs, which easily identified which ones were in the cloud forest.  Being with an expert helped this novice see more than three dozen kinds of birds, including the elusive quetzal.

It was abundantly clear that relying on the expertise of those who know better, makes a huge difference. A lifetime of being on a finca or being with nature yields so much that is understood and embedded.  Knowing that the same coffee bean processed three different ways would result in three distinct tastes.  Or that because of ‘altitude migration’ birds move about in the same geographic location – like a volcano – which results in seeing different birds at different times of the year.

No matter where I am, I’m continually reminded of the value of expertise and wisdom that comes with lived experience and why it is such a critical part of the work.