Blogs from Panama, Central America Caribbean - page 6

The idea of the Panama dates back to 1513 when Vasco Nunez de Balboa first crossed the Isthmus, the narrow land bridge between North and South America. A water passage between Atlantic and Pacific ocean. The European's recognized the potential for a canal and several proposals were made. By the late 19th century technical advancement and commercial pressure allowed construction to begin. Canal engineer Ferdindale de Lesseps led the Initial attempt to build a sea level canal. They failed by financial loss and personal losses from tropical diseases. Interest from the usa once France abandoned the project. The usa success was more converting the canal to a lock system and managing disease spread by mosquito's. On January 7 1914 the French crane boat Alexadrie Lavalley became the first to transverse and on April 1 1914 the ... read more

Tues 11-Wed 12 December - Day 46 to 47 – Boquete, Panama but day 56 of our travels including Colombia The day was beautiful as we went back to the Panama mainland by boat. We then travelled by minivan onto the highlands and the charming mountain village of Boquete. The 3 hour drive was beautiful through the heavily vegetated highlands. Roads were windy with the occasional bad patched needing repair. One the way we stopped to view the massive dam and hydro electric syste, the biggest in Panama. Located on the eastern slopes of the Volcan Barú, Boquete is quickly becoming a destination for those who wish to bask in the cooler climate and marvel at the exquisite vistas. The climate was very different to the island we had just come from. There was misty rain ... read more

Sun 9-Mon 10 December - Day 44 to 45 - Bocas del Toro My next story is very’ interesting’. Leaving our San Jose, Costa Rican hotel at 5.30am to catch the 6.00pm bus to Panama we travelled through some mountainous area through the fog before coming out the other side onto rural plains. We travelled for 5 hours to the boarder where we were required to pay a departure tax of US$8 and to enter Panama, we only had to show our departure arrangements from Panama before getting our tourist stamp in our passports. Australians don’t need visas to visit Panama. All was going well as we got off the bus and was walking to pay our $$ to leave Costa Rica. We noticed that the whole area was a building site. Backhoes, cranes, trucks, you ... read more

We are finally back in Wifi range, here is an account of the last few days. November 3, 2018 This morning, before heading to Colon to board our boat, we went to San Lorenzo National Park. We drove through part of the park and got off to walk the last mile to San Lorenzo Fort. We saw howler monkeys and a toucan. There is not much left of the fort, only ruins, but you get a spectacular view of the Caribbean. In the afternoon we boarded the M/S Discovery, a 24-passenger catamaran to spent 3 nights on the canal. That afternoon we went through the first locks from the Caribbean to Gatun Lake. This man-made lake was created during the construction of the canal by damming the Chagres River which supplies the Gatun locks with more ... read more

Today was my favorite day yet. We visited an indigenous tribe called Embera. As one of Panama’s seven indigenous tribes, this community embraces their traditional way of live and practices age-old customs as they were passed down through the generations. After a 2-hour bus ride we arrived at the Chagres National Park. We were met at the Chagres river by members of the Tribe. Then we embarqued into dugout canoes. Now try to imagine this: 3 canoe-loads of senior passengers sitting in canoes on very low benches, their asses lower that their knees. Does that make you smile. Then try to imagine these same seniors after a 40-minute ride trying to get up off those low seats. I can hear some of you laughing. Our visit started at their on-site school where we met the principle ... read more