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Published: December 9th 2008
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Monday morning was already warm by the time I woke at 7am. I got up and had a chat with Mike who was leaving shortly, and worked on my blog for a while. After another pancake for breakfast, I packed my bag, returned my sheets and checked out. It was pretty sad to leave - Mamallenas is a very comfortable and friendly place!
I was going to include photos of Hostel Mamallenas, but the card that was in my camera has had an error! i can´t get photos off of it 😞 I lost some of my photos from the Panama canal too, including the ones of Anette with Anders.
Anders, Annette and I then headed out with Claudio (from Switzerland), to catch a cab to the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal. We quickly found a cabby, and at the right price too!
Unlike India, where it really seemed everyone was out to make a killing off of the tourists, here they may try to pad the price slightly, but for the most part you can find someone at or near the price the locals pay. Also, unlike India there doesn´t seem to be many touts -
people literally chasing you to sell you something! One little boy tried to sell us postcards, but he was very nice, and didn´t try too hard!
The cab took us at a high rate of speed (we passed all the other cabs on the way!!) for about 10 minutes to the Miraflores locks of the Panama canal. These are the last (or first, depending on your direction!) locks on the Pacific side of the canal. The driver liked his music loud and with lots of bass! Anders, Annette and I, in the back seat, were literally vibrating from the speakers behind us!
We arrived just after 9, and the visitor´s center had just opened. Already there were a few tour busses, and more arrived as we entered. I´m glad we arrived when we did, it got pretty crowded towards the end of the visit! We each paid $8, which gave us entry to the viewing platform, a short movie about the canal, and a museum. We headed straight to the viewing platform, and were in luck as 2 ships had just entered the lock (one bigger one and a smaller private vessel from Mexico). We watches as the
water poured into the lock and the ships rose to the same hieght as the Miraflores lake. In the distance we could see a submarine heading for the next lock!
We watched, baking in the hot sun, for 20 or 30 minutes, and then decided to see the museum. Claudio and I walked through together, but it was pretty crowded. There are a variety of displays - the construction of the canal (finally built by the american army under-budget and ahead of schedule - like THAT would happen now a days!!!!), how the locks work, and the plan to build another set of locks to expand the amount and size of ships that can use the canal.
We hurried through, and just caught the start of the movie about the canal - Anette and Anders had saved us seats. The movie was well done, and included lots of interesting tidbits. We learned that the idea of the canal was hundreds of years old - almost as old as the discovery of the Panamanian isthmus. The French had tried to build the canal in 1880, but as many as 22,000 people died, mostly from tropical diseases.
The canal
was controlled by the Americans and was intended to be controlled by them in perpetuity, but in the 1970s negotiations between Panama and the USA resulted in a gradual relinquishing of control of the canal. Panama finally took complete control of the canal at the end of 1999.
Interestingly, it costs ALOT to go through the canal. A cruiseship recently paid the most so far, around $350, 000! An American, Richard Haliburton, paid 36 cents to swim through the canal!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal
It was time for me to leave and catch my bus, so I said goodbye to Anders and Anette, who wanted to stay at the locks a bit longer. Claudio was ready to leave, so we shared a cab to the bus station, and then he headed back to the hostel. I was happy to see that there were no lines, and everything worked out fine for my bus ticket. I even had time to freshen up and get something to eat to take on the bus! I was last onto the bus, and we left on time at 11:45 for the 7 hour trip.
The scenery quickly changed from city to country, with fields
and small villages at the road side. Many of the houses were simple, and seemed like they might have only one or two rooms. Unlike the poorer parts of the country at home though, I found the majority of areas to be very tidy and well kept. We stopped a number of times to pick up more passengers, and let some off, but I remained the only foreigner (gringa)! Behind was a little girl, about 8, with her dad, who got over her shyness quickly and enjoyed looking through my guide book and at my other pictures.
I also made friends with a lady named Monica, who looked out for me at the half hour meal stop in Veraguas. Even though I hardly know any spanish, it seems everyone still likes to chat away, full speed!! My new phrase ¨no entiendo¨ (I don´t understand!) has come in handy 😊 Monica gave me some Panamanian sweets, and also a little gaurdian angel!
I dosed a bit on the bus, waking when we went through a police checkpoint. The policeman came aboard and checked everyone´s ID, and I think he was also looking for drugs, or smugglers. We were on
our way quickly though.
It was dark when we finally arrived in David (pronounced Dah-VEED), and Monica and an American ex-pat pointed me in the direction of the bus to Boquete. After a short wait, I got a seat on an extremely crowded school bus. Music playing full blast we lurched off towards Boquete. Every seat was completely full, and more people stood in the aisle for the hour long trip. A kind lady, Noria, helped me to know which stop to get off at, but I was still a little confused. I stopped in at a Pizzaria, and found a lady who spoke French (but not english!) who gave me great directions. A ten minute walk brought me to Hostel Refugio del Rio (which I think is the Refuge on the Rio).
It is a huge, gorgeous, house alongside a river. Inside are beautiful old wood floors and big rooms. At $10 a night, I am a happy traveller! I met the only two other folks staying here, a Panamanian man named Luis, and an American, Rachel, before I went to bed around 9:30, tired from travelling. I slept well, with the noise of the river just
outside the window.
This morning, crowing roosters woke me up at about 6, but it was 7:30 before I was up. I was so happy to have a hot shower! Mamallenas had no hot water, and so this was glorious!
Now I am waiting for Rachel to wake up, as we have plans to have breakfast together in town, and then maybe tour a coffee plantantion. I´d also like to take a spanish lesson, and maybe do a canopy tour. I´ll stay here tonight too, and then I plan to head to Bocas del Toro tomorrow.
Boquete, in the province of Chiriqui (yup, like the bananas!!) at about 3000 feet above sea level, is not as warm as on the coast, but it is a nice change after sweating so much these last days! It is known for its coffee plantations, and is a favourite retirement place for Americans.
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