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Panama Trips
| “I don’t think I’ve ever done so much in four short days,” I said to a friend
as we boarded the plane home from Panama City, Panama. We had visited Panama to
see the famous canal, but had ended up with a “long weekend” of nonstop
adventure! |
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After staying overnight in the Gran Hotel Soloy, we started the adventure early
Friday morning when local guide Guido Berguido, who we had found in “The Lonely
Planet Guide to Panama”, picked us up for a tour of the city and Panama Canal
Zone. While there was not nearly as much English spoken in Panama as I had
expected, Guido spoke fluently and proved to be an outstanding guide.
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We started the tour by visiting ruins of the “old city” which was established
around 1519. Known as Panama La Vieja by locals, this beautiful site features
the bell tower of the old Santo Domingo convent. Around 1671, buccaneer Sir
Henry Morgan sacked the city and almost all was lost. The city was then moved to
an area that would be easier to defend, now known as Casco Viejo. This area of
the city was our next stop. Bearing a great resemblance to New Orleans with its
French style architecture and cobblestone streets, this area was perfect for a
stroll back in time. We parked the van and walked
several blocks observing such sites as Panama City Hall, several
sections of the original stone wall which surrounded the city, the Plaza
de France, which tells the story of the original French attempt to
construct the Panama Canal and the restored dungeons of the city. |
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Presidential Palace was on the next block along with Independence Plaza, the
site where Panamanian independence from Columbia was declared in 1903 and the
old Hotel Central, once the most opulent hotel in Central America and the
headquarters of the American builders of the Panama Canal.
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Our last stop in this area was at the Inglesia de San Jose (Church of St.
Joseph) to see the Golden Altar. The altar is said to be the only thing of value
left in the city after the attack by Morgan in 1671. As legend has it, when word
reached the city that Morgan’s attack was eminent, the local priest painted the
altar black and told Morgan that the Golden Altar had been stolen during a
previous pirate attack. The priest even convinced Morgan to donate money to
replace the altar. As he left, Morgan is reported to have said to the priest “I
don’t know why, but I think you are more of a pirate than I am.” |
The Golden Altar
Our next stop was in a residential area of the city. As we pulled up to the
gates of a large, unkempt house behind a stone wall, I noticed a tile sign
embedded in the stone gate columns that simply said “Noriega”. “This is the home
of our former dictator Manuel Noriega,” said Berguido. When I stepped out of the
van to snap a photo of the gate, a guard came out to the van and said something
in Spanish to Berguido. “I can’t believe this” Berguido said to which I replied
“are we in trouble?” It seems that the guard was lonely that day and asked if we
would like to see the inside of the house. The Panamanian government seized
control of the house (along with a few others owned by the dictator) in December
1989 just after the U.S. removed Noriega from power in an invasion. Aside from
the initial mob attack on the house during the invasion, it appears that the
house has been untouched for nearly 14 years. While the house had been
ransacked, Christmas decorations were still up, Noriega’s uniform pants were
laying on the bed in the master bedroom, works of art were on the walls and
family photo albums were still on the coffee table in the office. As my friend
took my picture behind Noriega’s desk, Berguido said several times “this is
almost surreal. You would have to be a president to get in here when he was in
power. And to take pictures---never”.
As we left, I asked Berguido why the government would allow the home to fall
into disrepair. “His time is such a bad memory, no one wants to preserve it,” he
said.
Gate entrance at Noriega house
portrait in house
Manuel Noriega's office
| After a brief stop at the Balboa statue downtown, we were off to the
one of the greatest engineering marvels of the world: The Panama Canal.
As we pulled up to the Miraflores Locks, two huge cargo ships and a
luxury cruise ship were in the process of going through the locks. I
found myself in awe as I watched a small part of the locks system in
which the mammoth ships are lifted |
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| about 80 feet above sea level on one end of the canal, cruise across
the great Gatun Lake and then are again lowered to sea level at the
other end. As the cruise ship passed the locks, a canal employee stated
that the ship had just paid $225,000 to go through the canal. Our last
stop of the day was at the Panama Canal Administration Building in
Balboa Heights. |
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The story of the monumental effort to
build the canal is told in a series of murals in the dome of the building.
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During the day we had noticed several busses around the city
which were painted with bright colors and airbrushed murals. Many had
blinking lights around the windshield, tinted windows, wild antennas and
shark fins on the roofs and dual chrome exhaust stacks up the back of
the bus. The standard fare was .25 cents. |
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“These busses are our transportation system” Berguido said. “The
busses are brought here from the U.S. and are privately owned. Many
people decide which bus to ride based on whether they like the paint job
or the music on board. There are some people who make a living
repainting busses” he said. |
From left, Panama's Presidential
Palace, the Plaza de France, City Hall and a ruin in the Casco Viejo.
| The next morning, we were collected at the hotel by another outstanding guide,
Iann Sanchez for a visit into the rainforest and to an Embera Indian village. As
we floated down a river into the rainforest aboard a hollowed out log-canoe made
from a wild cashew tree, Sanchez was constantly pointing out numerous species of
plants and wildlife. Among the birds we saw were the Hummingbird, Red Throated
Ant Tanger, White Hawk, Manakin, Parakeet, Ringed Kingfisher, Green Kingfisher
and Toucan. We also saw a colorful poison dart frog, which is the animal from
which the Indians get the poison for their poison blow darts, a Jesus Christ
Lizard, which seemingly is able to skip across water, a sloth and several
monkeys . |
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| When we arrived at the Embera village we were greeted by men wearing
colorful loincloths and several topless women. Arriving just in time for
lunch, we were welcomed into an open-air thatched roof hut with a bamboo
floor about ten feet off the ground by Chief Antonio Tochamo. After
being served fried Tilapia, plantain, pineapple and banana in bowls made
of hollowed out gourds, we were treated to several indigenous dances
including one called the monkey dance. As the chief spoke to us,
sometimes Sanchez had to pay close attention to what was being said as
he translated into English. |
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| “They speak two languages” Sanchez said. “Each village speaks its
own language in addition to Spanish” he added. When I noticed a sort of
head carved at the top of the wooden latter into the hut, and also one
on top of the thatched roof, the chief explained that these carvings
were an attempt to fool evil spirits. “If someone were to try to put the
evil eye on the family in the hut, the spirit would go to the carving
instead of to the family members inside” explained the chief through
Sanchez. |
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The next day, we headed up to the mountains for the El Valle Indian Market,
located in a town situated in the mouth of an extinct volcano. Each Sunday
Indians from three Indian villages bring their crafts, goods and produce into
town for the market. “These are all hand made crafts” Beguido said. “All of
these items are made by the Indians“.
El Valle Indian Market, a restaurant in
El Valle, and me soaking in a warm spring pool.
| After visiting the market, we went just outside of town to an ancient attraction
known locally as the painted rock. A huge boulder in the middle of a forest, the
painted rock has a map of the area carved in it and is said to be several
centuries old. A young local boy acted as our guide and
identified the various local sites on the "map". Then we stopped by the warm springs pool where we soaked in warm
iron-oxide water. There were two bowls of a mud type substance near the pool.
“One is for your face, the other is for arthritis and rheumatism of the joints”
the spa guide said. |
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Next, we visited a cigar factory in a nearby town. "All
cigars are hand rolled here" said an employee of the factory. Then we were
off to Santa Clara beach on the Pacific Ocean and
rode horses down the beach. An interesting thing we noticed about the beaches
were that there is a blackish sand mixed with the white sand that we are
accustomed to. “The black sand is caused by volcanic activity in the area”
Beguido said.
Above, two men carry tangerines to
market near El Valle, ruins of Portobello, and a beach near Portobello.
For our last day in Panama, we made the trip across country to the Caribbean
Ocean side of the nation. Our first stop was at the centuries old ruins of the
Spanish fort at Portobello. This impressive ruin still has most of its walls and
cannons and has been listed as a world heritage site. We then boarded a small
boat for about a thirty minute ride to snorkel. Along the way, we passed Drake
Island, which is the area that Sir Frances Drake’s remains were purportedly laid
to rest.
For dinner that night, We went to the Mi Ranchito, a nice restaurant on the
causeway to the former U.S. Fort Grant along the Panama Canal. “This area was
not open to the public when the U.S. controlled the canal” our driver said.
On a subsequent trip, we visited the Colon Free Zone, a duty free area on the
Atlantic side of the country which greatly resembles nice strip malls and outlet
stores in the United States, but with prices a little too high to suit me.
| We also flew to the Northern Atlantic side of the country to Bocas
del Toro, where we stayed at the Punta Caracol acqua lodge, a very nice,
private lodge where the cabin we stayed in was built over the water. The
water was so clear, that we could simply walk out on the deck and almost
snorkel without getting into the water. One evening we were treated to a
show equal to Sea World when a group of dolphins came literally to our
front door to play. |
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| “This is one of the
most romantic dinners I have ever had” said my friend Jenny Collins as we ate
under the palm thatched roof of the Punta Caracol’s restaurant, which is also
built over the water. We watched numerous species of fish swim below us while we
sipped wine and enjoyed a five star meal prepared by a local chef. “This is
almost paradise” Jenny said after dinner. |
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As I was flying home from my last trip to Panama, I couldn’t help but think that
I had discovered a perfect place to spend many more “long weekends”.
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