Reflections from the Isthmus

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November 8, 2005 (Panama City, Panama)

Shannon: Sean and I have been in Panama for about a week now and have settled into something of a routine. We are using Panama City for our base of operations, making day trips to sights around the city (or overnight, as was the case this weekend when we ventured to Isla Taboga). It’s nice to stay somewhere long enough that you begin to have somewhat of a comfort level with the surroundings - we now consider Casco Viejo “our” neighborhood. We get our breakfast from “our” local breadshop and “our” local tienda (small grocery store), eat dinner at “our” comedor (small diner) and usually finish our day with a visit to “our” Internet café ($0.50 per hour - a great deal!). We’ve moved to a different hostel, one that is just around the corner from the other one - it’s a bit cheaper, a bit cleaner and we aren’t sharing a bathroom, so it’s a win-win situation all around.

Sean: We’ve been eating some great, albeit simple, meals and they’ve been extremely cheap. For breakfast we start the day with a yogurt, a banana, some coffee (orange juice for Shan), and a ham and cheese croissant. Total price per person: $1.05. For lunch (or dinner depending on where we are during the day) we head to our little diner and order some rice, lentils (or beans, depending on what they have) and “little balls of meat” (It’s cafeteria style and when I’ve asked the Chinese lady behind the counter what the meatball things were, I couldn’t understand her accent. So from then on it’s been “little balls of meat” . I don’t know what they season them with, but they ROCK. Total price per person: $1.15. An interesting tidbit is that every single tienda and restaurant we’ve been to - granted we’re not Mr. and Mrs. Panama - have been owned by Chinese people. I’m not sure what that’s all about, but they’ve got great food even if it’s a little difficult to understand them.

Shannon: We’ve also become more familiar with the feel of Panama City. It’s not a terribly attractive city, though in a beauty contest with Guatemala City, it would surely go home with the crown. It’s not unattractive, though, and has all of the requisite skyscrapers and wide boulevards that a city of its size probably should have. Most of the Panamanians we’ve met have been friendly - not Guatemalan friendly - but very pleasant and helpful. And it is a fairly easy city to get around in once you learn where the major bus stations are. (And once again, these are old school buses imported from the United States - I had no idea we had ever produced so many surplus buses). Taxis are cheap as well ($3 will get you just about anywhere in the city) and competition is fairly stiff, so you can’t walk 20 feet on the sidewalk before the taxi drivers begin honking at you incessantly looking for a fare. And in a classic example, as Sean and I were walking down the street this morning, we passed an obviously broken-down taxi parked next to the curb. The hood was up, the battery had been removed, and the driver was bent down working on the engine. Undeterred though, he asked “Taxi?” as we passed by. That’s an optimist for you. Never let a little mechanical failure get in the way of hustling a fare.

Sean and I had a somewhat frustrating first week here in Panama, though. We just seemed to come during the wrong week. Last week was a major holiday here (between Independence Day and Flag Day most people had off from Tuesday afternoon until the following Monday) so many things were closed. In response, we decided to get out of the city for the weekend and took a ferry ride to a small island out in the Bay of Panama. It turned out that many Panamanians had the same brilliant idea, though, so the normally un-crowded beaches and quaint little town turned out to be not-so-quaint with the masses of humanity. It was a nice little island town but by Sunday we were eager to get away from our “retreat”. Upon landing back in Panama City, however, we were greeted with the pandemonium that only a U.S Presidential visit can bring - George and Laura arrived in town just as we were getting off the boat. So again, things were closed off in preparation for their visit. To compensate, we cancelled our plans to visit the American cemetery at Corozal and the Panama Canal Museum (Bush was slated to visit both) and instead we did some shopping. Today, however, we were feeling much better. The Bushes have left, along with the traffic congestion they brought, and we visited the Corozal American Cemetery. (Sean: Ever since I went to Belgium and France last year, I’ve became fascinated with the American Battle Monuments Commission (www.abmc.gov) and their aim at keeping up American Cemeteries and Monuments around the world. Being a veteran, I enjoy paying my respects to the heroes that have come before me). As we looked around the visitor’s center, the woman minding the reception desk invited us to sign the guest book…right under George and Laura’s name. Now, I’m not the biggest Bush fan around, but it’s still pretty interesting to be able to sign your name right under the signature of a U.S. President. We, of course, commemorated the event with a picture.


November 9, 2005 (Colon, Panama)

Sean: Today our big trip was out to the Gatun Locks on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal. We splurged and rode out there from Panama City in style by taking the Panama Canal Railroad. While not in its present location, there has been a railroad from Gatun to Panama City since 1855 (it’s interesting to note that the fastest way to get to California during the Gold Rush was via Panama - by walking overland. The railroad was created as a means of getting people across the Isthmus much faster, and all you needed was $25 in gold. The railroad made a tidy profit, naturally). It’s a short one hour trip from the Pacific to the Atlantic which makes the notion fairly thrilling considering the mass of geography that separates the two oceans in our own fair country. We spent the whole time in the open air car watching the scenery and soaking up the cooler breezes as we zipped along at about 60 mph. First we passed by the Miraflores Locks, then the Pedro Miguel Locks, then it was into the dense jungle with not entirely too much to see until we broke clear and started into the swampy areas around Lake Gatun. (Shannon: Lake Gatun is very interesting to see. It is a huge lake (approximately 164 square miles) created by the damming of the Chagres River, and the key to the lock-and-lake concept of the Panama Canal. Whole communities were relocated to higher ground so that the lake could be created. It was very striking to me to look at the lake and the hundreds of “islands” visible and realize that those were once the tops of the highest hills, now the only visible reminder of how much land is now underwater.) After the swamps it was smooth sailing across the lake, watching the ships scoot across from one side to the other, until finally skidding to a halt at Colon.

We are both reading (or shall we say fighting incessantly about who gets to read it at certain times) a fascinating book right now called Path Between the Seas by David McCullough, subtitled The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914, a thorough missive that details everything from the railroad’s creation to the French failure at the canal to the American success. (Yet another item in the “plus” column for traveling is the history that comes alive. Granted, it’s a cliché, but to watch the huge ships pass effortlessly across the continent and then to read of the struggles it took to get to that point, it drives the past home in a way that studying in some stuffy classroom in suburban America cannot).

So we sat at the empty viewing platform of the Gatun Locks and watched for a few hours. I could describe it as very “zen” (but that would sound hokey. Not like my “history-comes-alive-when-you-travel” bit above, eh?). Nothing happens very quickly at the locks. The ships come in, get tied up to the locomotives, the lock gates open, they steam into the lock, the lock gates close behind them, the water levels itself to the next lock, the forward lock gates open and the vessel steams through. Repeat as necessary. At Miraflores you repeat the sequence twice, at Pedro Miguel only once and here at Gatun, three times. Passing through one lock takes about 20 to 30 minutes depending on traffic, so you can be here for a while watching one ship slowly make its way from sea level to +85 feet (the elevation of Lake Gatun). So we’re sitting on the viewing platform (completely empty as the weather was rainy and overcast), watching the ships lumber through the process, it’s fairly quiet, no one is running around, everything is running like clockwork. It’s a quite relaxing. The biggest excitement was when we heard a loud screech of steel rubbing against concrete, but no one seemed to mind. Looking at the lock walls it’s pretty obvious that that’s not a unique occurrence.

Needless to say, the security guard looked thoroughly bored and I’m sure he was secretly hoping we would turn into some unruly Americans. Rest assured that our comportment was beyond reproach, so he was left to just stare at us.

Shannon: Sean and I could both be fairly described as engineering geeks, so the Panama Canal is very fascinating to us. It may not make for the most exciting blog entry, but we are really enjoying everything connected to the Canal. As the McCullough book so obviously points out, the Canal really was the key that enabled the U.S. to become a dominate force in world politics - supremacy at sea. And it was an unparalleled construction and engineering feat, something we can all look at with pride.


November 12, 2005 (Panama City, Panama)

Sean: The last two days we spent on the coast at a place called Playa El Palmar. A short drive by bus (1 ½ hours), it’s a popular spot on the weekends, but since we were there on a Thursday and a Friday, it was fairly well relaxed. Shannon and I spent Thursday walking along the beach thoroughly bothering the hermit crabs. We probably shaved months off their life spans with the stress of picking them up and watching them. They really are a skittish lot; quick to retreat into their shells at the first inkling of something amiss. On Friday, I finally tried my hand at surfing. It was a load of fun and I can’t wait to do it again. The waves were somewhat less than perfect. There were some nicer, bigger waves that I got a chance to take advantage of, but the majority of them were pretty small like the one you see me on in the picture.


November 14, 2005 (Panama City, Panama)

Sean: Yesterday we went back to the Panama Canal Museum here in Casco Viejo. We had gone previously, but caught it at the tail end of the day so we were forced to cut our visit short. This was one of the best museums I’ve ever been to. Granted it’s about a subject that I find extremely fascinating. Unfortunately, very little of it is in English (the first time we went, we were able to rent audio guides in English, but those only work for a small portion of the museum). But thankfully I understand much more than I can speak so we weren’t left out. While I’m no expert in the language, I must say I did pretty well translating the texts to my beautiful wife (after four hours at the museum though, I was getting pretty wiped out). One thing I must say about the dense readings was a subtle underlying anti-American sentiment throughout. Not blatant, and I don’t want to split off into too political of a rant, but I feel our involvement in the creation of this country was given short shrift. Our successful completion of the canal (not to mention our military actions that allowed the secession from Colombia) are placed on par with the French effort. To be fair, we wouldn’t have gotten anywhere in Panama had it not been for the French starting the canal (we had highly detailed plans for our own canal in Nicaragua). Panama wasn’t even an option for us until it was decided that we could purchase all of the French equipment and buy out the French Canal Company for a song.

Shannon: To add to what Sean is saying above, my impression of the museum - while overall it is certainly a very good museum - is much like the impression I have gotten from most of the places we’ve visited in Panama. Everywhere, it seems, the French history is celebrated while the U.S. involvement is either ignored or dismissed (and in some cases you can definitely feel the anti-American vibe). Of course, I am aware of the negative feelings that arose from the U.S. control of the Canal Zone, especially the protests of the early 1960’s. But in all we’ve been reading about Panamanian history - both from the excellent book by McCullough, our guidebook and what we’ve read in the museum’s we’ve visited - Panama’s history (it’s very founding as a nation) is intertwined with the U.S. in a positive way. Add to that what we hear from some Panamanians themselves - that they would like the U.S. to have more involvement in the region to bring back better economic times. Contrast that with a somewhat negative vibe we keep picking up on in museums and other literature (the celebration of French history vs. the almost pointed avoidance of celebrating any American success) and it becomes hard to discern how the Panamanians really feel. Here is one small example: In the museum, we read a small display explaining the origins of how Panama came to use the U.S. dollar as the official currency (it was easier due to the influx of dollars from the canal construction). The panel then goes on to explain how, in more recent times, there was a promotion to use the term “Balboa” in lieu of “Dollar” when speaking of the currency (“Speak Spanish, Count in Balboas” was the slogan). The implication was that, even though they are U.S. dollars, they didn’t want them associated with the U.S. And then the display went on to herald their use of the U.S. currency as a model for other Latin American countries due to the economic stability that it brings. So it’s ok to use the evil empire’s money, as long as you call it something else, and then you can feel smug that your system is better than your neighbors. It seems a bit hypocritical, but I wonder if we are truly getting the view of the average Jose on the street.

Sean: But I’m also quite generous in my opinion that Carter did the right thing giving the Canal Zone to the Panamanians (it was time), but I’m not sure if I can say that the Panamanians are much better off today as they were promised. We were traveling in a taxi right before Bush landed and I struck up a chat with the cabbie. Pointing to a large container ship entering the canal, I said something to the effect of “Doesn’t that represent good money flowing into your country.” I was thinking this would be a nice innocuous conversation starter, but instead I received a diatribe about how none of that money actually gets into the hands of the Panamanian people, how the government is corrupt, the Canal Authority pockets all the money and the people were better off when the Americans were here. He said he’d had a good job driving soldiers around on one of the Army posts and had kept his ID card in case the American’s returned. There seemed to be some undercurrent of popular thought, he explained, that Bush was visiting to let the people know some bases were going to be reopened. I didn’t have the heart to explain all about the US military drawdown of the 1990’s and that once the bases leave, they don’t come back (no elected official would sit idly as troops were transplanted from their district to Panama). He was optimistic though. And watching TV before the big presidential visit, every single “man on the street” interview was highly positive about the prospects of Bush coming. Some variation of “bringing jobs” or “creating opportunities” was the talk of the day. The only negativities we saw were from the networks extensively covering the paltry protest. Protests make good copy but it was pretty small considering “Tear Gas Fest 2005” that took place in Argentina a few days prior.

So, after two weeks on the isthmus, I’d have to say that the handover of the canal to the nation was inevitable and just. On the world stage, it would’ve gotten harder and harder to justify our pronounced presence. Considering that we would have eventually reduced troop strength due to the defunct Soviet threat (not to mention the political situation of Central America becoming relatively peaceful), and the decreased strategic necessity of the canal as our smaller military would become less and less reliant on successful, ship borne passage via the “Great Cut”. And with Shannon’s astute description of the seemingly schizophrenic view of the United States, it’s probably for the best that we aren’t such a dominating force in their country. Now that they’re holding all the cards, I’m left to wonder what Panama will make of the opportunities they have been given.

On that note, we fly to Lima, Peru in the morning and are thoroughly looking forward to something a little different. Guatemala and Panama were great places to start our sojourn as they aren’t cultures wildly disparate from our own (Guatemala because of the high amount of tourists and Panama because of the extended US presence). But now it’s off to South America; the Inca, the reversed seasons, and the high culture of Buenos Aires.

See you next time from below the equator.

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Photos

Isla Taboga - View from our deck
Even though the beach doesn´t look crowded, trust us it was.

Ropa Vieja
Literally ¨Old Clothes¨. It´s traditionally a Cuban dish, but fairly popular here.

Comments

[Mark]

Goodbye central america
Enjoyed your rambles through central america. Congrats on your celebrity signature status, sort of surreal actually?? Sean, your practically hanging ten, excellent! Surfin in panama, you coudn't make this stuff up. Looking foward to SOuth America. Mark