CAG on travel: Exploring the Panama Canal



Plaza, Casco Viejo Panama



This is the last time I brag about my trip to Panama, but just wanted to say a few things about what we got up to in the capital city. Having arrived from some lovely days in El Valle and Santa Catalina, we were all a little worse for wear unfortunately. We were still pretty determined to enjoy the capital city of Panama and take advantage of the tour we had kindly been offered through my gorgeous artist friend, whose grandfather was very involved with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute located on Isla Barro Colorado.

After a few days of wandering around Panama City, and seeing some of the not so exciting parts…

Financial district view

And some truly lovely parts of the city,

Church in Casco Viejo

Some older city ruins at night

…we embarked on our adventure to the Canal Zone and explored the Island of Barro Colorado by water and land. The Smithsonian field station on Barro Colorado began in 1923 and serves as a key center presenting the opportunity to study tropical ecology that allows researchers to study the interactions of complex organisms.

http://www.stri.si.edu/

Isla Barro Colorado

The trip to the institute consists of a boat launch from Gamboa, an area with an interesting history and a well preserved historic feel as the residences of the area used to house canal workers with a once thriving community. Now there is very little in the area, but it is still a point of interest in terms of its history.

Navigation buoys on the canal

Sailboat passing from the Pacific to the Caribbean

After the about an hour boat trip you arrive to Barro Colorado, and accompanied by Dr. Allen Herre we had the most fabulous personalized tour around the island. I learned more about wasps and insects than I could ever imagine, and it was all very interesting (except when a most likely poisonous spider jumped onto my shoulder and I lost a few years off of my life).

Parasite growing out of a dead tree

Dr. Herre taught us about the tropical plants we were seeing and the very best part was actually jumping into the canal for a swim… despite the warning two seconds previous about crocodiles.

Canal swim!

While you swim in the canal, the water levels change whenever a boat and especially cargo ship pass by. So while you’re inside the water you could be pushed towards the sandy beaches of the bay you’re swimming in (where these notorious crocodiles live) as water is pumped into the canal to make it deep enough for ships to pass.

Cargo ship passing

Then when the ship passes, you’re pulled out towards the main ship throughway again as the water levels decrease, and this tidal effect occurs all throughout the islands within the canal. It was pretty exciting.

We ended our trip to the island by following some trails into the rainforest of Barro Colorado and seeing some very amazing animals, plants, and even more poisonous spiders. I’m all poisonous spidered-out to be honest, but I had the most amazing time with the Smithsonian –with a special thanks to Dr. Allan Herre!

Fungus tree

 

CAG on travel: El Valle de Antón, Panama

Local golden frog

Road trips in Panama share very similar characteristics of having very vague directions. There are hardly any street names, and signage... no way. On the whole, there was a lot of - turn left, then turn left, then turn left, which was provided from the ever helpful, Google maps. When driving from Santa Catalina to El Valle, luckily the drive was much shorter and we arrived without much fuss.

The main focal point of El Valle is the beautiful volcano, which is the most recently active volcano in Panama. It is also much cooler in El Valle than other more typically humid and very hot parts of lowland Panama.

El Valle from afar

There's really just one road for the town, and a large food and crafts mercado, called the 'Sunday Market', but it was open the whole time we were in town.

The main attractions for the area are the lush vegetation, the wildlife and especially the birds, waterfalls and thermal pools.

Las Mozas hike

Though the trip was very short, we still got to see some waterfalls, indigenous petroglyphs, and some really interesting birds (there are about 500 species in the area).

La Piedra Pintada

At the petroglyphs called 'La Piedra Pintada' (close to La India Dormida), a local Kuna woman explained the meaning of the undeciphered petroglyphs to us. Her interpretation included a bit on the Coclean cultures that existed millions of years ago, and how the images portrayed the different gods that people believed in. She also mentioned the arrival of the Spanish armies. The real interpretation of the petroglyphs remains unknown as the languages and cultures of the Cocle region were lost long ago, and even her interpretation was a struggle for me. First thing in the morning, saying my Spanish was shaky, would be kind.

CAG on travel: Santa Catalina, Panama

That machete was already in the tree

During my epic journey to Panama, I saw quite a few amazing places. First one on the list was Santa Catalina, in the Veraguas Province. Santa Catalina is a beach town, surfer spot, and really well kept secret... for now. There are literally two major streets with a few hotels, restaurants, and a couple of bars, so you get to know the people in town very quickly.

Little friend on the first night

We stayed at the Hotel Santa Catalina, which totally lived up to the reviews and had really amazing views, food, and service (when people were around).

View of Hotel Santa Catalina

The gate to the beach from the hotel

The surf was also really amazing, and it was the first time I've ever surfed water so warm you didn't need a wet-suit.

View from the beach

Tree roots visible at low tide

We borrowed bicycles from the hotel, and I had a very typical Panamanian day. I wanted to organize a scuba trip, and so I biked to the nearby scuba shop, but no one was there. I was told to go to a nearby restaurant at 2p to find the scuba man. At 2p, he wasn't there, and I was sent to find him down in town again. Still, he wasn't there.

Then we decided to go for a very late lunch, which as usual, we ordered and it took over an hour to come (at least you can say the fish was super fresh). After lunch, I decided to explore for the scuba man again, only to find him and be told that no boats would be doing scuba trips to Isla Coiba, because of a city-wide boat inspection taking place. Basically, the typical way of interacting with Panamanians. Very helpful, non-direct answers, and running around in circles, while you wait a really long time. But it's vacation, so not that big of a deal. We were there for swimming, yoga, crazy nights at the 'No Worries' bar. Hakuna Matata!

Sign at La Vida Buena, before taking a yoga class

CAG on travel: England to Panama

From this…

Hill climbing in Buxton, England

To this…

Post-surf day in Santa Catalina, Panama

...in two weeks! Sometimes you just need some sun.