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Published: March 29th 2019
Day 3--up and out at 8 a.m. after breakfast at the hotel. We'll be on the bus over half the day as we tour and learn about Lake Alajuela, Madden Dam, Gamboa Rain Forest Preserve and the Miraflores Lock Visitors Center.
First stop, the Administrative Center of the Canal which, of course, was originally American. The building's central foyer has a capital-type dome with murals of the construction at the base of the dome. Philadelphia artist William van Eagan (not sure about the spelling) was paid .25/square foot for these and they were transported down and put in place. In side grottoes, there were busts of Ferdinand de Lesseps (the french con artist who coordinated the French attempt at the canal), and Teddy Roosevelt.
Notes from on the bus:
• When the Canal Zone changed hands, people could go to the US or stay and buy the house and be under Panamanian control. Some didn't think the Panamanians would make a go of it and chose to leave or go to the US
• Bridge of Americas was built in 1962, reuniting the continent
• After WWII, the American military presence in Panama expanded, with permission
• Culebra Cut is still
one lane
• There are five container terminals: 3 on the Caribbean (Colon) and 2 on the Pacific
• Pan American Highway does NOT go through Panama. There is no road through the Darien Gap. To build one would ruin the Darien National Park, 539,000 aces of rain forest. Colombia wants Panama to build a road (and pay for it) but there are several good reasons not to, beyond the destruction of the park, including: increase trail of immigrants which Panama can't handle and who are on their way to the US; and increased drug flow. People have to ship their bike or car around Panama.
• 17 hours drive west to Costa Rica
• President cannot be re-elected; serves one five-year term. Can wait two terms and try again.
Campaigns are limited to two months before the election • Container ports: Large container ships from the Pacific with too many containers bound for the Caribbean and East Coast of US off-load the Caribbean ones in Panama City where they are sent by train to Colon and picked up by smaller ships to drop around the Caribbean while the big ship goes on to the U.S.
• Panama is currently having a honeymoon with China; they
are getting a lot of the construction contracts
• there are toll roads around Panama City, one North and one South
• We passed through a random police stop to check licences, for unpaid tickets (you have 1 month to pay the ticket and if it's later than that, you can be arrested), check for owed child support
• They have an ID separate from the driver's license
• there is a high divorce rate (social media?)
• there are 10 provinces and five indigenous reservations in Panama
• Sequoia survives the termites and ants--it was used by the military to build some of the original buildings which still are used. Of course, now it's illegal to harvest it.
• elNino brings drought here and they've been longer than before
• The beautiful, bright yellow flowering tree at the top of the forest is a Mayo tree--really catch your eye as you're going along
Chagras National Park and Madden Dam: the Lake provides drinking water for Panama City. The priority in all cases is to provide enough water for the Canal. The rainy season starts next month and there's a bit of a drought which you can tell looking at the shoreline. There are 2 generators
which will produce electricity but, again, only when there's more than enough water for the Canal. Three spillgates help control the flash floods of the Chagras (one of the first hurdles encountered when work began by the French).
Las Cruces Trail: there were two main trails from Panama City to Colon. This one was marked by stones in the trail in the shape of a cross and used by the Spanish and people crossing the country to go to California during the Gold Rush. Originally native trails; Panama was already a trading culture when the Spanish first arrived, first at Nombre de Dios and then at Portobelo. They switched, in from going around South America, to using a sea/land/sea route and the trails were kept up and guarded. Gold rush traffic was a boom for Panama in selling the prospectors all their equipment and supplies and transporting them to the Pacific and then acted as banker for the gold. Not just gold and silver but pineapple, potatoes, tomatoes came from South/Central America to Europe. We were seeing a dry rain forest. Many of the trees were losing leaves to conserve water and allow the roots to stay strong; some
are hollow and keep water that way.
Summit Botanical Garden: US brought 22,000 tropical plants in to study (allowed a native pineapple plant that had become extinct on its native island to be re-introduced). A lot of it has been taken over by the jungle but Panama City has been working on it.
Sovereignty National Park: some wanted to name it Independence NP but no, Panama was already an independent country, simply wanted sovereignty over all its land. Main goal is to keep the watershed clean and full.
Saw a huge marine crane, originally built to build the Bismarck, "Titan". Was confiscated from the Germans after WWII, moved to Long Beach CA for years, then moved here to help when working on the locks. Will be replaced soon.
Gamboa Rain Forest Preserve for lunch, another good buffet and lovely view. While we were sitting there, a cruise ship sailed by fairly close. I think we were all so stunned that I don't know if anyone got a picture of it! Lunch in the mountains with a ship sailing by... After lunch, we took a walk up to the gorgeous hotel, passing a crocodile (sitting strategically beneath
Lunch View
The ship went by beyond the two bridgesthe fishing dock), bamboo, wild cashew tree, coffee bush, and lovely flowers. The hotel had views of the Chagres River Valley.
French Cemetery: actually, each cross represents about 300 dead. 30,000 people died in the French effort to build the canal, from yellow fever, malaria, and accidents. So many men came to Panama from the Caribbean Islands and didn't return (for one reason or another) that Jamaica passed a law when the Americans started their project: any Jamaican male who went to the Canal had to leave behind a bank account with 100 pieces of silver in it. Few were able to do that. The majority of the workers on the American project were from Barbados. There were 53,000 people working on the Canal at the height of construction.
Then we went to the Miraflores Lock Visitor Center and saw an "interesting" film about the Canal construction (sort of). Artsy. As several people said, the first scene with the native boy catching a first glimpse of the Spanish coming up the river, it was a little much...
But, the Center had four floors of exhibits about the Canal and its construction, including original chains and samples of
The Cruise Ship
That caused all the crowds! the riveted walls and models of the dredgers that was interesting (once we figured out the entrance--our disorientation, not their problem). After the movie, we went straight up to the 4th floor observatory to see the locks. However, there was a big cruise ship coming through (actually, the Coral Princess which we had seen going North the morning before) and the place was packed to the gills and very hot. We should have gone straight back in but we didn't and ended up getting hot and irritable and seeing nothing which was doubly silly because at dinner, we were on the 2nd floor and could see everything! I think the big attraction was because the cruise ships just barely fit in the lock.
Dinner was great as was the view. We returned to our last night at the hotel to pack and get ready for a 6:30 a.m. departure for our trip through the Canal!! Nice dip in the pool and a glass of wine afterwards sitting in the breeze--great end to the day.
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