It’s not just for fancy hats and drug lords anymore

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Panama has really surprised us. Maybe it’s because we didn’t do our homework and learn more about Panama before we came. Or maybe things are changing rapidly here these days. Probably a bit of both. But, this is one amazing, diverse country, and they’re practically giving it away for folks who want to come and live there. Paul and I are tempted.

I should probably give a little bit of background on the place, although keep in mind much of this has been gleaned from conversations from taxi drivers that I’ve spoken to and blurbs from our crappy guide book and is not from any scholarly reading or such.

As you probably already know, Panama has been a pretty valuable piece of real estate ever since way back when the explorers and pirates discovered the Americas and all the goodies there. Back then, Incan gold was carried across the jungly isthmus and onto boats bound for Europe (unless the pirates got it first—then it got hidden where X marks the spot). Then the idea of a canal was conceived and in 1879, Lesseps, the French guy who also built the Suez Canal, got the contract. Unfortunately he didn’t take into consideration those pesky mosquitoes and all the diseases they carry, and after several years of effort and many thousands of deaths due to yellow fever and malaria (as well as the many other problems one encounters when digging an 80 kilometer long trench that has got to be wide enough for big ocean liners), the Frenchies threw in the towel. In 1904, the Americans took over the project (and a 16 kilometer wide strip throughout the country) which they had held onto as their own until the year 2000 when they handed the land and the canal back to Panama.

Due to the canal, its colorful history, and Panama’s unique position connecting the two Americas, it really shouldn’t have been any surprise to us that the country would be full of people from all over the world. (As an example, the morning we visited the canal’s visitor center, people from over thirty different countries were there with us, and there were probably only a couple of hundred people there.)

The U.S.’s influence and the infrastructure that they contributed to during the years when they were there also makes Panama very different than many of the other countries we have visited. For us, this was most obvious in that for the first time since the U.S., we could drink the water and flush the toilet paper! And the roads are pretty good too. There have been lots of other things that reminded me of home too. Panama uses the U.S. dollar for its currency, and there are all sorts of American companies here. For example, the food court in the mall in Panama City had McDonald’s, Burger King, Quizno’s, Subway, Cinnabon, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Popeye’s, Wendy’s and Dairy Queen—it was a very hard decision. (I realize that this last part makes me look pretty shallow, but a girl can only take so much rice, beans, and meat.)

The Panamanians we spoke with have had very different opinions about America’s past control of the canal and what has happened in the country since Panama took over control six and a half years ago. Some folks have even expressed a wish for America to come back and take over again due to the dip in the economy and increase in unemployment and crime that occurred in the years that followed their departure (mostly due to the lack of spending from Americans who worked here). But most folks are happy to have the canal rightfully back in their country’s hands and are very proud of the way the Panamanian administration has managed the canal. In fact, over the last several years, there have been significant increases in both profits from and traffic through the canal, and as of the vote that took place Sunday, the Panamanian people have decided to invest billions of dollars into widening the canal for increased traffic and larger boats.

And the country seems to be prospering from other ventures outside of the famous canal. Paul and I were blown away by all the advertisements we have seen to bring foreigners to Panama. Yes, the country is interested in the typical tourist dollars, advertising its gorgeous beaches and amazingly diverse rain forests. But, Panama also seems to be pushing hard to get foreigners, especially North Americans, to move here (or invest in a second home). There are all sorts of unbelievable tax deals and fast tracks to residency for those willing to buy property (or invest in reforestation or ecological pursuits). Even Donald Trump is building a luxurious condominium complex just south of the city.

While all this modern advancement is nice, I was thrilled to see different indigenous folks in their traditional dress and appearing to hold onto at least some of their traditional ways of life (something that we haven’t seen much of since Guatemala). For instance, the Ngobe-Bugle people in the Chiriqui Highlands are able to make a living farming their own land (this is according to the taxi driver we spoke to and I hope is true), and the beautiful dresses and hand bags that they make with bright quilted trims are quite the popular items with the tourists. The Kunas who live in the San Blas Islands and the Embera people who live in the rainforesty Darien region maintain their traditional ways of living, and according to our guide book, have been able to add a source of income through cultural tours being offered to their villages which have been run very much according to the tribe’s terms. I also hope that this is true. I do know that the Kuna women that I saw in the capital still wear traditional clothes with lots of beads around their necks and up their arms and legs (so neat to see in the middle of a busy square or shopping mall—they are stunning people).

And if all of these incentives aren’t enough, you can always visit Panama as a health tourist. Several advertisements pushed the benefits of coming to Panama for elective or cosmetic surgery. You can get your tummy tucked and then spend a week relaxing on the white sands of the Caribbean or spotting exotic animals from your ecolodge all for less than you would spend on the surgery alone back home. What more could a person want?

We were mighty tempted to move here ourselves . . . and just wait until you see my new liposuctioned hips!

But our reasons for wanting to stay had a lot more to do with the gorgeous scenery and the cool mountain air of the Chiriqui Highlands (sadly, one of the areas being marketed for North American retirees due to the comfortable temperatures and cheap cost of living).

We arrived in David after another long bus ride from San Jose and perhaps our most frustrating border crossing yet. The border officials would not allow us to enter until we were able to show him proof of our onward ticket. Well, we didn’t have an onward ticket because we were waiting to get to Panama to by our ticket to Ecuador to avoid having to pay all the additional taxes of buying a ticket in a third country. I tried explaining this to the grumbly border dude, but nothing doing. I had a small fit (borders are stressful places) and then was able to concentrate on a solution. (Poor Paul was completely confused because I forgot to translate what had aspired at the border window, and he just witnessed the fit.) Anyhow, for $25 bucks the bus driver sold us return tickets to San Jose which we showed to the mean border official and finally got our stamp into Panama. I think the folks sitting on our bus watching the whole ordeal were as relieved as we were.

So in David, we decided to spend the night at The Purple House, a hostel where everything is purple, (the walls, the sheets, the towels, the cups, the plates, everything) before heading to the hills for some more hiking. Then the next morning (after finding cheap flights to Ecuador—such a relief), we hopped on one of the cool Winnebago-looking minibuses that are all over Panama to Cerro Punta, a tiny little town at the base of Panama’s highest mountain, Volcan Baru.

Once in town, we had a quick lunch of rice and beans and meat--ugh, and then grabbed the first cab we could find up to Parque Internacional La Amistad (International Friendship Park) that Panama shares with Costa Rica. We had read from other folks’ travel blogs that the park was something special, but it really took our breath away.

We arrived so late in the day that we only had an hour and a half before it closed, but we tried to make the most of it. And an adorable armadillo helped make us feel welcome just outside of the ranger’s station when we arrived. He was so busy snuffling around in the damp soil looking for something to eat that he couldn’t be bothered with us oohing and aahing and taking all sorts of pictures. We appreciated that.

Then we hiked up through the clouds and mist to a lookout where we could see more clouds and mist and be proud of ourselves for climbing up to 2500 meters (sure we started not far below, but still, 2500 meters is awfully high, and besides we’re training for the Inca Trail). On the way, my mom will be glad to know that we passed a small pit viper hanging out on the edge of the trail. We posted the picture just for her.

Then we rushed back down the mountain (jumping over the pit viper) to have time to do the trail that the ranger recommended, El Retono. It was a shame to have to walk so fast, but I’m so glad that we did this trail, it was pure magic. There were beautiful waterfalls, cool tunnels of bamboo, and all sorts of neat bridges and walkways to admire the gorgeous flowers and trees and butterflies. We loved it!!!

And then the night just got better. The town of Cerro Punta is just gorgeous. It’s a very prosperous agricultural center due to the rich volcanic soil and moderate temperatures. And for these very same reasons flowers grow everywhere year round. Everywhere we looked were gorgeous bright flowers and gardens, and that made me very happy.

I got even happier when we decided to stay at Los Quetzales Lodge and Spa, a place that we had heard was a bit pricier, but there just aren’t many options in Cerro Punta. What a good decision that was! We couldn’t afford the rooms, but the lodge had cozy dorm beds at reasonable prices, and we were the only folks using them so it was practically like a regular room, only much bigger with lots of bunk beds. Best of all, included in the price of the room, was a fantastic healthy breakfast of granola and fruit and fresh baked bread and fresh squeezed orange juice. We even splurged the night before and got dinner in the lodge’s restaurant of fresh salad (with more than one kind of lettuce!) and vegetable lentil soup and yummy lasagna with more fresh baked bread. We felt fancy, and it was wonderful!!!

So the next morning we set off for the trail that had brought us to Cerro Punta, the Quetzal trail, that connects Cerro Punta with Boquete another pretty mountain town, that is the hub of North American retirees on the other side of Volcan Baru. I should make it clear that we would be walking around, not over the volcano. It’s over 3500 meters tall, and we aren’t that fit yet.

You can probably guess that with all the things named Quetzal this and Quetzal that, that the chances of seeing one of those elusive birds might be pretty good. We thought so too. In fact, that was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to come (Paul couldn’t have cared less about seeing this dumb quetzal bird that he hadn’t even heard of before this trip). But no joy, even despite me practically begging them to come out and say ‘Hello’.

We took a cab up to the ranger station in the Volcan Baru National Park (Note for those wanting to make this hike: you can have the cab driver drop you off at the end of the paved road and save yourself a lot of money. It’s only a kilometer and a half to the ranger’s station, and even though it’s all up hill, most of the rest of the day you’ll be walking down, so it’s not so bad.) The rest of the hike from the ranger station to the fork in the road in the little tiny village, Bajo Mono, where we hailed a crazy cab driver to speed us maniacally down the final 8 or so kilometers to Boquete, is about 15 kilometers (or there abouts—all the information we found said something different). We were so tired by the time we reached the fork in the road, I would have accepted a lift from just about anyone.

But the hike was fantastic. Most of it is on a narrow path that clings to the sides of mountains as you descend several hundred meters. The scenery changes incredibly, starting from a high cloud forest with all the mist and some breathtaking views of the volcano when the clouds lifted and going down where two rivers meet in a lush little valley. There had been a big storm with some heavy rainfall three days before we made the trip and we were the first to hike it since then, so we got pretty messy again. And some parts of the trail were a bit in disrepair (several of the staircases that were built in the steeper parts were missing many of their steps), but all of this added to the adventure and made me feel like a real mountain woman.

And all the wonderful coffee shops and bakeries in Boquete made for a great place to unlace the shoes and put our feet up for awhile before busing back to David and our little purple room where we could feel very proud of ourselves for making the hike, and very, very excited for all the modern conveniences that we’d heard would be waiting for us in Panama City.

Driving into the city was absolutely amazing. We crossed over the canal on the impressive Bridge of the Americas and were able to admire the boats in the harbor awaiting their turn to pass as the sun was slowly lowering beneath the horizon. (Let me add here that Panama is the only country I know of where you can watch the sun both rise and set over both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Take a look at a map--weird.) We then crossed through the palacious estates of the canal compound that houses the offices (and homes for the higher-ups) of the folks who work at the canal.

The Panama City bus station is an amazing modern building that has different floors for arrivals and departures just like at an airport. Connected to the station is one of the biggest, fanciest malls that I have ever been too. This place has everything—including pants that I can actually fit into (not an easy thing in countries where all the women are so tiny)!

From here, we caught a cab to the new modern section of town where we were hoping to find a room in a hostel and oohed and aahed at all the flashy skyscrapers and fancy boutiques, restaurants and hotels. Everything felt so different from any of the cities we had been in for the last couple of months.

While in Panama City our first priority was taking advantage of the shopping available to get some new gear for the rest of our trip. After that, taking a look at the canal was next on our list. We grabbed another cab up to the Miraflores locks where there is an interesting museum and viewing area to watch the giant boats pass through the locks, rising up to the level of Gatun Lake and the interior portions of the canal for boats heading north or descending down to the level of the Pacific for boats heading south.

The thing that really impressed us is that the canal doesn’t use pumps to change water levels; it’s all done naturally by gravity and amazingly this part of the country receives enough rainfall to be able to release several hundred million liters of waters a day into the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the operation of the locks. That’s a lot of water. We learned lots of other interesting too, but we don’t want to bore those of you not so interested in locks and canals, and it’s easy enough to learn about it on the internet for those of you who are interested.

Back in downtown, Paul and I also checked out the old walled-in part of the city where many a pirate had their heyday. Today, the city is in the middle of a massive restoration project in order to increase tourism to this area. But still, many of the buildings are in sad states of decay and disrepair. And not far from here are some pretty rough neighborhoods which saw most of the fighting when the U.S. invaded in the early 1990s in their Operation Just Cause to capture General Noriega.

Our favorite part of the old city was visiting the Presidential Palace where you are able to walk right up to the front door and peak through the gates at the gorgeous interior courtyard covered in mother of pearl. Better still are the huge gray cranes that live in the courtyard and peak their heads back out at you.

And that’s about it from Panama. Now it’s on to Ecuador and a brand new continent for both of us. For those of you in Washington, we’re getting awfully excited to see you again soon. We’ll be there December 2nd through the 17th. And for the folks in Perth, we can’t wait to see you soon too. We’ll be arriving on the 21st, less than two months from now! So now you know!!

P.S. No, nobody paid us to say all these nice things about Panama, it´s just that good.

P.P.S After convincing Paul to go and insisting that he take all sorts of photos, I totally forgot to write about our fantastic night watching the folkloric show and dancing at Las Tinajas restaurant. I know it´s a totally tourist thing to do, but it was really fun to watch the skits and drumming and dancing, and the food was really good too. We had shrimp curry served in a pineapple. Yummy. Unfortunately, I got dragged up on the stage and made a total fool of myself next to all the beautiful women in their fancy dresses that actually knew what they were doing. Do I have a certain look to my face that says "Choose me to make a fool out of" or something?? Anyhow, it was lots of fun, and Paul took lots of good photos (although he refused to go up and pose for a photo with the dancers at the end of the night even though practically the whole restaurant posed for photos, and it´s not like he had to dance or anything . . . )

P.P.S. I bet you were wondering when I would throw in the famous palindrome "A man, a plan, a canal, Panama". Please, it´s so cliche.

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Photos

The Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal
The structure you see on the right behind the control house is actually a boat being raised to the level of Gatun Lake.

Food court at Allbrook Mall
I know I am a really lame American, but fast food joints with food I recognize excite me!

Paul all eager to get going
. . . he didn´t look quite so chipper by the time we got to Boquete

Diablos Rojos
or Red Devils, what Panamanians call their local buses. And yes, most all of them are painted up all neat like this.

Before and after at Miraflores Locks
The top photo is of the boat just entering the locks, the bottom is after it has been raised to move on to the second step in the lock.

Comments

[Mom]

Thanks for the picture!
I didn't know you cared so much about me. I was going to say if you and Paul moved to Panama I could come visit you because I could find something to eat at the food court AND get a whole body liposuction. But then you had to go and put that picture of the snake on your blog, so now I can't come to visit. I was going to thank you for the pictures and the blog but changed my mind. Thanks for the blog! I can hardly wait to hear how SO.AM. is. Be safe....love Mom

[Rebecca]

Hello
Hey Case and Paul, I love following your blog. I wish I could be as adventureous as you two. Your photos are great...you are giving me the travel bug!! I can't believe I'm going to miss you by a day in Seattle. Dana and I get in on December 18th. I guess we'll have to come find you in Australia someday :) Big hugs to you both. Love Reba

[The Byford Mob]

great reading
Fantastic read, every adventure is followed by an even more memorable one, hope your planning to put this into a book Casey. Love mum