Hurry and Visit Panama before it Turns into Florida!!!!!
Well, good thing that first impressions dont stick.. because the start to my time in Panama was anything but fun! Before departing San Jose, we met an interesting and very kind man who toured us around the part of the city near the bus terminal, talking to us about C.R., tourism, our thoughts about his country etc. and even walked us through the grocery store and then to the bus station. We heading out from San Jose at 10pm..
The next part of trip getting to Panama was (not to be overly dramatic) HORRIBLE. For me anyway, there are not too many things worse than inability to sleep, and the temperature on the bus kept everyone awake all night. There were of course no blankets and when 2 of us asked the driver to please turn the air off, we were told that they “didnt know how”… HUH? anyway, after a sleepless 8 hours or so, we arrived at the very friendly (thats sarcasm) Panamanian border crossing.. where we encountered some of the least welcoming people and least efficient systems i have seen so far (and in C. america, INefficiency is the norm). We were shuffled back and forth between one guy who sells you a stamp, the next guy who stamps (again??) your passport.. then i had to visit another guy who sold me a tourist card (which my european friends did not need), then i had to return to the previous guy… well, you get the picture!
Some curious things we noticed upon our entry into the country. Lots of people say ¨OK¨which sounds funny to me for some reason, the people we met AFTER we crossed the border were quite open and kind!!!, their currency is technically called the ¨Balboa¨but i dont think any Balboa bills exist, instead the dollar is used exclusively. The coins are both cents, nickels, dimes… etc.. but also other coins of same shape as their equal ¨american¨counterparts.. for example, there are nickles, and a cinco (5) centesimo coin as well the same size as a nickel.. Eventhough this seems a bit strange to me, it sure is easy!! HA. The most disturbing thing we learned when entering Panama is that IT IS FOR SALE. Foreigners are coming here in droves to buy up whatever land the locals will sell, for rich retirement living! My first glimpse of this phenomenon was this annoying guy from Reno on our bus, who shared a cab with Pepa and me, and proceeded to tell me about the casino business in Reno (did you know there are actually more casinos in Seattle then in Reno!?), his desire to come to Panama or Costa rica to retire, vs. the ¨unsafe¨countries of Nicaragua (of which he knows the capital and nothing more) and Guatemala.. all the while the guy was clueless and we had to tell him where to go and translate for him with the cab driver because he didnot know A WORD of spanish. OHMYGOD, this saddened me!
After our border experience, exhausted, hungry and a bit disillusioned we arrived in David, Panama and immediately took a bus to a town called Boquete. Boquete, thankfully, redeemed our horrible exhaustion-induced first thoughts about the country! It is in the region called Chiriqui in the highlands, half the distance between Pacific and Caribbean, and is surrounded by beautiful, mist covered mountains and lush forests. There is tons of wildlife in this area (including the elusive Quetzal bird which i have yet to see!). The highest point and only volcano in Panama is also here– Volcan Baru. This area is the home of the Ngobe-Bugle indigenous group, whose women are distinguised by their brightly colored full, long dresses.
June 2 and 3 Boquete. We met Itza at the bus stop and decided her hospedaje was just perfect ie; it had a BED. It was actually a lovely place with own kitchen, sitting area and with the river passing behind it. We crashed for a few hours and then set out to explore the town, which was small and perfect for walking around. We had amazing locally grown coffee at Cafe Ruiz, walked around the hilly town, enjoying the fresh, crisp air. We finished off our day eating with the locals, with our $1.50 dinner Comida Corriente at a buffet style place.
Day 2.. eventhough the guy at Cafe Ruiz the day before looked at us strangely when we said we were doing the hike from Boquete to Cerro Punta, we were undeterred.. –Hey, ive learned my lesson about Machista! So, you can make a hike through part of Parque Nacionale Volcan Baru, in either direction from Boquete to a town called Cerro Punta, 12 km away. We chose the supposedly more difficult route (all uphill according to the dillusional Lonely planet writer). It turned out to be an amazing walk through forest with views of mountains through the clouds, crossing the river.. of course we were drenched by the time we reached the ranger station at Cerro Punta, having been caught in the midday downpour! but is was well worth it. Unfortunately, one of the draws is the view of the volcano, the location of which we could only guess through the mist.
Sunday June 4th.. Boquete to Guadalupe.. Sadly, said goodbye to my new friend Pepa as she headed off for P. City. I traveled back through David and then north to Guadalupe, a tiny town in the mountains where i stayed in a beautiful lodge called Los Quetzales and enjoyed 2 days of walking, hiking, and relaxing. The town is full of meticulously tended farms and gardens full of flowers. The agricultural plots wind up the hillsides giving the appearance of a patchwork quilt of different shades of green. Stunning! At the lodge i had a dorm to myself, beautiful breakfast included and also included was free guide service on the various trails inside the national park (same one, Volcan Baru)… walked around town, enjoying the numerous flower gardens, and had dinner at a tiny restaurant where the owner, a proud grandpa took my order and served me while holding and showing off his 3 month old granddaughter. June 5th Walked on one of the many trails in the park with my own personal guides, Abel and Jonathan. The hike was beautiful, crossing the river several times with waterfalls and very lush vegetation. My guides and I discussed the selling-land-to-foreigners issue, which i had been dying to learn more about. They both were against it, though obviously many people are doing it so its a split issue. They told me of people coming from the states and giving them their cards saying, ¨call me if you find out of a Finca (farm) for sale¨. There is a big fight in Panama of locals trying to discourage other locals from ¨selling out¨. We even saw a sign in Boquete that did not mince words.. the translation was basically ¨If you sell the land, it will die. Your land is your life.. If you protect it you will live..¨or something to that effect! Its a tough issue. I think like people everywhere, we are short sighted.. and these people who sell are thinking of the short term financial gain, they are not thinking of having land to pass on to future generations. Well, my feeling after talking to people- locals and americans looking for land– is this (in case anyone cares he ha) that if someone wants to buy a modest piece of land, build a house in accordance with local rules and customs, and then become PART of the community (ie getting involved with locals, speaking the language etc) i dont see a big problem with it. Unfortunately it does not sound like that is whats happening for the most part.
In Guadalupe, I also visited an Orchid Farm called Finca Dracula, where they have 1200 different species of Orchids that they raise.. I never imagined there were this many species! it was beautiful!
June 6th, I spent a lazy morning enjoying the lodge and then reluctantly left for David.. Stayed the night in David at a hostel run by a expat, former Peace Corp volunteer, from New Jersey (though she says New York.. dont they all?! Ridgewood…) The hostel was lovely and comfortable, and Andrea was fun to talk to. I got caught in an intense rain storm (walked one block in the rain and looked like someone had thrown a bucket of water on me), had a lovely dinner with a couple from Seattle..
Sante Fe, June 7-9th Sante Fe is a tiny town in a beautiful setting.. many trails through dense rain forest and views of the Cordillera Central (mtn. range) all around. I stayed in Hotel Sante Fe, run by Eudosia (Señora Doche) who provided not only a room but great conversation and amazing food! I stayed two days here, hiking and bird watching with a local guide (fun despite the 5:30 wake up), -(-we saw woodpeckers, toucans, a beautiful waterfall) … and horsebackriding. I met two great guys John and Mark, brothers from Florida, and Kim from Austraila who i spent my time with in Sante Fe. We basically tried to wake up early each day and get some activity in before the daily rainstorm! One day, in fact, after the early hiking for the day Kim and I attempted to go tubing down the river. Well, as we were walking the 30 min. to the river carrying the tubes, a down pour started, and not 1, but 3 different locals stopped us and told us NOT to go! words like ¨dangerous¨, ¨not recommended¨ and ¨head of water¨(of course in spanish).. (what is a head of water anyway?.. apparently they were describing a phenomenon where things build up the side of the river during big rains, and then all of a sudden come crashing down the river and take you out unexpectedly- sounds fun). Well, whenever im in these situations i just imagine my Mom reading about the two Gringas getting killed doing something stupid in a foreign country, and that thought (though admittedly morbid!) helps me to make decisions sometimes (so thanks, MOM!). Needless to say we were bummed and soaking wet walking back to the hotel, but were glad we decided not to brave it.
My second day in Sante Fe a went on a 1/2 day horsebackriding trip with a guide, up into the mtns. for an awesome 360 degree view of the mountain valley and town. Incredible!!
During the time i spent at the Hotel, there were women from surrounding communities taking a class on midwifery.. so that in their communities that are far from the hospital (especially during the rainy season) they can assist with delivering babies! They were very nice women, all very interested in me.. sometimes one would just come sit with me while i ate or read and we´d have a little halting conversation (though my spanish is getting better, its still frustrating to not understand everything!). They were all very curious about me– who is this crazy person traveling all alone?!
I was sad to leave Sante Fe, but i headed out to Chitre. I met a wonderful woman on the bus. I was definetly humbled, as i am often, as i explained to her how i saved enough money to be able to quit my job and travel for 6 months. She very kindly said to me ¨Yes, that is wonderful, because saving money here is not possible¨.. people are always asking me about myself and my journey and i do not lie, but sometimes i really feel bad telling them how im able to just ¨take off¨for 6 months. It sure has made me more apprecative of all that i have!
People here say Buenos/as often or more often than Hola.. it is beautiful because sometimes it sounds like they are singing.. like ¨Buuuuuuueenaaas¨.. very nice.
I realized that so many of the men are wearing Yankees baseball hats (yes, Jean and Tom!),, when i asked i was of course reminded that Mariano Rivera is Panamanian! That explains it! Someone also told me, though, that of course they root for the Yankees because the Yankees represent what baseball IS to them. (Just like in Nicaragua, baseball is more popular than soccer here).
Things are very inexpensive here, and its easy to recognize this since dollars are used. Examples= cup of coffee .25, dinner 1.50$ to 2.50$, internet .50 per hour, 10 minute cab ride less than 1.00$.. just some random thoughts on Panama..
6/9 Chitre- capital of Los Santos province. Kind of a crappy looking town with a stunning Cathedral! But i stayed at a great hotel with wonderfully attentive and friendly staff, met some very nice people, including two brothers from Colombia and a family from the states (an ex hippie who had traveled all through C and S america in the 80s!! and now takes her 15 year old daughter on month long trips in the summer time.) Chitre does have some great cheap Chinese food restaurants which i enjoyed! I visited a little town called Parita with a church started in 1558. It had an intracately carved wood altar and pulpit. Apparently i was there during the closed hours of the church, but was told by locals to go and knock on the door of the caretaker so she could open the door for me! uh, ok… so, the sole gringa in town wandered around asking for Ambrosia until i found her to tour me around!
6/11 I left Chitre for a little town in the southeastern part of the Azuero Peninnsula called Pedasi. On the way i stopped in Las Tablas another town on the Peninnsula. There i met a nice guy at the road side fruit stand who talked to me for about 30 minutes. This had become a common ocurrence in Panama. Ive had conversations with people at fruit stands, on buses, at hotels, in stores.. the people are so open and very curious here. And most of the time they want nothing of you but just to chat.. The better my spanish gets the more confident ive gotten about meeting people and enjoying these random conversations!!
My time in Pedasi proved to be a pretty amazing 3 days and some of my favorite days in Panama. Pedasi is a beautiful town near the coast (30 min. walk from beach). My Hotel owner Esilda (a crotchety little character) i think is related to the ex President, Moscoso, who was the first female president of Panama. Everyone in the town is super friendly, sits outside on the rocking chairs during the day and night greeting passersby, and are welcoming to tourists. My first hours in Pedasi i encountered Arturo, who rode his bike up next to me as i was walking to the beach, and began giving me tour guide like advice..he invited me to visit ¨his¨beach, El Toro, where he keeps a clean patch of sand with a shack he built as a sort of house, though i believe he sleeps with relatives in town. He is very proud of this little patch of land and all the building he has done to make it a great beach hangout! I ended up meeting some of Arturos beach hippie friends, one of whom rented bikes in town, and also meeting other locals, such as Arturos friend Roberto, a guy originally from Armenia who has lived in LA 20 years and now has moved with his Swiss wife to Pedasi. In my 3 days in Pedasi i enjoyed riding a bike to the various beaches to chill solo, but also spent time with my new and very generous friends- they hosted fresh fish dinners on the beach and one night we hung out enjoying dinner while watching the moon rise, enjoying the stars and laughing as the hundreds of red crabs scurried across the sand. While the rest drove back to town, Arturo and i rode our bikes, until he got a flat! so we walked our bikes the 40 minutes back to town, on the road lit by the moon..–a night i will not forget! One day we got a local fisherman to take the group of us to Isla Iquana, a small white sand island, which is a national park. We were fortunate enough to visit on a weekday when we were the only people there. So, Arturo, Roberto and his wife Isabelle, Robertos sister and his wife, another American friend and our captain enjoyed walking around the island, snorkeling, fishing with nothing more than line, hook, and bait (no poles, downriggers or Fish Finders for these guys!), eating coconut that Arturo cut open with a machete, eating a homemade lunch, and relaxing in the hammocks we brought! It doesn´t get much better than that! During our walk on the island we also saw big craters left behind by US bomb testing! craaazy.
I was really sad to leave Pedasi, the people there were so friendly and generous. Arturo felt like an uncle after 3 days! People ask ¨when are you coming back?¨.. even one of the town drunks came out to see me off as i boarded the bus!
6/14 I spent in Chitre, and went to Villa de Los Santos to observe the celebrations for Corpus Cristi. Corpus Cristi (Body of Christ) is a holiday that dates back to the Spanish colonization, that concerns the fight between Good and Evil for the body of Christ. There are processions and traditional costumes and dances, respresenting different aspects of the beliefs. My favorites were the Little devils, with their beautiful elaborate masks– the participants ranged from adults to very young children, dancing and being encouraged on by their parents.. i dont think some were too excited in the 90 degree heat to be dressed in red and black costumes and full masks!! I walked around the town observing the alfombras (flower carpets like those used during Semana Santa) and sitting in the cathedral observing the dancers as they moved towards the altar before a blessing by the priest) with Juan, who befriended me at the corner store. Very nice guy who explained some of the traditions and history of the holiday.
During an afternoon thunderstorm i was invited to join Victor, Manuel, and Luis and drink a few beers while watching rain pour through the streets. A cute little boy (see pictures!) hit me with what i thought was a balloon, only to find out it is the stomach of a cow or some other organ, used in the dances and processions! yikes.. It was fun hanging out with new friends, until Victor got a bit too drunk and started trying to convince me that i really NEED a boyfriend in Panama.. uh.. huh….. Well, a very entertaining time on the whole!
on June 16th I headed for Panama City, very excited to meet up with Jean Kim, a best friend from Seattle and a friend of hers (and mine too!) from NY, Chris Peuhler. Though there were project like buildings on the poor outskirts of P. City that i could see coming in on the bus, Panama city is in a beautiful setting. Beautiful skycrapers out on a Peninnsula in the Bay, The Bridge of the Americas over the canal, many ships lining up to enter the Canal that you can see day and night.. a causeway connecting a few little islands that you can drive along with a stunning view of the city. Quite impressive.
I spent the morning on 6/17 visiting the old section of town called Casco Viejo, this is where the city was moved to after it kept being attacked at its first location further east. It is said to resemble Havana, with crumbling colonial buildings, some beautifully restored buildings, nice plazas, and gorgeous views. There one can also see an old hangout of Noriega and a monument dedicated to the 22,000 people who died during the building of the canal (when it was under French direction) Had an amazing lunch while watching world cup soccer, and visited the Canal museum which was impressive.
Yeah.. FRIENDS!!! I was pretty psyched to see Jean and Chris when they arrived in the afternoon… We spent a craaaaazy evening with our new friends Jenny and Guillermo (from Florida and Argentina), first having dinner on the Causeway, and then doing a bit of bar/club hopping in an area called Bella Vista. We started at a mellow club where we listened to Salsa and watched some great dancers (not us) and then moved on to a club where we were drawn in by the sound of ¨Summer of 69¨ by Bryan Adams… this place turned out to have a live rock band, who were pretty good, playing old American rock classics.. Well, after this we got to experience a club where the beautiful and well off people of P. city hang out. We went to a club called ¨Next¨, that costs 25 bucks to get in to (Panama avg. salary 500 hundred dollars/month, min. wage $1.25.. so you have to be doing pretty well to pay this NYC- like cover charge!) Guillermo knew the owner so not only did we get in for free but we hung out on the VIP balcony.. not ususally my type of place and we felt a little silly in our flip flops next to the girls done up to the Nines (fake boobs, fake lips??, designer handbags..), but it was really fun and great people watching! At 330 am. we decided that since our flight to San Blas was at 6am.. we probably should go home and get one hour of sleep!!!!
San Blas aka. Comarca de Kuna Yala 6/18, 6/19. WOW. Incredible experience. The Comarca (which basically means Reservation) is a group of 365 islands off the Caribbean coast, 49 of which are inhabited by the Kuna Yala indians. They operate independently, with their own elder types making decisions in the villages, but also have representation in the government of Panama. Some of the inhabited as well as uninhabited islands have small hotels. Ours was called Sapibenenga (I think!?) and was on the island of Iskudrup, an un-inhabited island the size of a football field, if that. They were about 10 cabañas, it was all run by local people. Our hosts were wonderful, they met our every need and were extremely open and friendly. We had a beautiful cabin right over the water with open windows out to the sea, so at night we listened to water splashing under us and the breeze blowing outside. Besides a couple from Oregon (whos son just happens to be a ortho resident at HMC/UW!) we were the only guests. Each day we were awakened by a conch blowing at 7am for breakfast, followed by a morning excursion that included visiting local beaches for snorkeling, followed by lunch and an afternoon excursion like visiting a local village or fishing, followed by rest and then dinner! Lights were usually out by 9pm.. The food was always fresh catch of the day, either white fish or lobster, expertly cooked. The only downside to the tropical climate is insects of course, and i know that Jean and i were glad to have our man Chris with us to kill the cockroaches that insisted on trying to sleep with us each night! Obviously the snorkeling in the Caribbean and fishing were great, but i most enjoyed visiting the village of Playon Chico and learning about the Kuna Yala people. P.C. is a village of 3000, 75% of which are children! The Kuna Yala women are known for their colorful traditional dress which is a long skirt, shirt made from ¨Molas¨ (pieces of cloth made by layering fabric cut in different, elaborate designs) and ¨Cuentas¨beaded bracelets and anklets covering their wrists, forearms, ankles and calves, as well as their painted faces (a black line down center of face and red cheeks). We learned about the interesting marraige ceremonies, puberty ceremonies (girls do not recieve a formal name until after the puberty ritual, where they are painted black, put in a hut alone for 3 days and then when they come out, are dressed in traditional clothing, have their head shaved and are given their name). People usually marry at around age 12 or 13! The Kuna make money from selling the Molas at markets, and they use the materials they have like Coconut to trade with Colombians who pass through the area by boat. One interesting thing we learned about the Kuna was that they have a high percentage of Albinos due to inbreeding, and that the Albinos are considered ¨special¨ and are called Children of the Moon because of the belief that eclipses are caused by monsters and that the Albinos have the power to shoot these monsters off the Moon. Fascinating people.
After only two days we had to move on! Saying goodbye to the cockroaches was easy, but saying goodbye to our wonderful hosts as the boat pulled away, proved to be more difficult. Chris even considered taking a Kuna bride back to NYC but wasnt sure how his mother would react!
We headed back to P. City and rented a car in order to maximize Chris and Jeans time. We had a looooong drive to Santa Catalina about 8 hours southwest of P City, a beach/surfer town on the Pacific coast. On the way, we had the interesting experience of getting pulled over and subsequently BRIBING a Panamanian police officer! (I mean, what vacation would be complete without that!?). We (or i should say Chris) were driving 110 kmh in a 50 zone. The cop was very nice and jean and i tried to butter him up as best we could with small talk, Jean even making it a point to say Salud when he sneezed and ask if he had a cold! - how sweet!-. well, he was a nice guy, but told us we had to pay a 100 dollar fine (50 dollars for locals, i found out later) and it had to be paid in P city. Well, after the 3 of us chatted in English, trying to stay cool and hoping he couldnt understand us, Jean said ¨Is there something we can do to avoid the fine¨?.. (nice one), to which the cop responded, ¨What would you like to do¨?.. well, this sounded mildly creepy so Chris suggested we try to ¨grease¨ the guy, but not in a way that would SOUND like we were doing so.. so we finally said ¨So, is it possible to pay the fine NOW?¨to which the cop responded with a quick, ¨Yes¨, Then we just had to say ¨Cuanto cuesta?¨ We got off with paying 40 dollars and noticed that the cop had not even started to write the ticket! And i had thought Chris and Jean wouldnt have a ¨cultural¨experience if we rented a car!!! HA.
Santa Catalina was also a great experience and i think we all could have stayed longer than 2 days. We arrived very late at night after driving 8 hours 2 of which were in pouring rain. Then we nearly got stuck and ruined the muffler of our tiny car (ok, this time I was driving) trying to drive to a hostel. We escaped the scene and drove to another hostel, where we contemplated sleeping in the car but hostel caretaker finally heard us and we got a room. Jean spent about 30 min. trying to de bug the place to no avail, and decided it was better to sleep in ALL her clothes (as well as some of mine!).. see picture! S.C. was super laid back- we enjoyed being the only Gringos in town and chatting with the friendly locals, pretty much all of whom are surfers. The highlight for me of Santa Catalina was definetly our surf lessons. The first day, during a rainy day, the three of us all took a lesson from Feli and Chicho, who to our suprise were fairly serious instructors despite the laid back feel of the town. We had to first do running and stretching, then before we could take the boards in the water, we had to lay on the beach on ¨boards¨drawn in the sand, learning the steps of getting up onto the board. Once we were totally covered in the black sand and the instructors were satisfied with our skill we headed to the water. Lots of Point Break jokes and swallowed salt water later, we all managed to stand up and ride a few waves. We were told its very rare on a first day to do this! After our lesson, just when we thought our instructors must be so impressed with us, Jean and I wandered a little too close to a large rocky area, not seeing it because the waves were blocking our view. We had given our boards to Feli and Chicho and were just swimming and jumping through the waves, but Chris kept yelling to us that we were VERY close to the rocks. We started swimming as hard as we could but could not get away- it was a bit scary. Feli and Chicho ended up having to rescue us, sacrificing their own legs to the rocks as they let us ride the boards, and expertly steered us through the rocks with each incoming wave. We got a few cuts but otherwise the only hurt was embarrassment! The next day i decided to take another lesson (add insult to injury?) while Jean and Chris visited a nearby island. This time i had nicer weather, calmer waves and a great day, and got up on a few waves, before being totally exhausted after 2 hours. My very flattering 20 year old instructor said next time i come back to S.C. we will have to go to the beach with the big waves. Yeah, right!
We headed back to Chitre, a town i had visited previously, to witness the festivities for Dia de San Juan, a big festival all over but especially in this part of the country. We stayed in a hotel with a view of the main plaza and watched fireworks over the cathedral at night. The next day, we saw lots of typical dancing and costumes, similar to those i had seen at Corpus Cristi. Chris spent most of his time hunting for bargains in the many shops in Chitre!! We all got into the World Cup spirit buying 2 dollars tee shirts and flip flops of favorite teams for ourselves and friends at home.
That night we drove back to Panama City and got lost. We seemed to have a bit of bad luck with directions during the trip generally. I think Panamanians, like Guatemalans, like to be helpful even if they are wrong, so we got alot of ¨go that way¨, only to be told ¨no, no.. go the OTHER way¨.. i think this happened no less than 6 times on our way to Santa Catalina. Well, apparently we werent immune to it in the city either. We circled around Panama city for over an hour. When we finally arrived in Panama City late we checked into our amazing hotel (an old Holiday Inn) downtown with city view, warm showers and comfy beds! We had enough energy left to have dinner in Casco Viejo on a beautiful plaza… an ideal setting! The next day i had to say goodbye to my friends after a world wind visit… but i think we all had a great time in all the places we visited and i was so happy to have them come visit me!
I spent the day in Panama City visiting Parque Metropolitano, near the center of the city where there was a 30 minute walk to a beautiul view of the city, canal and surroundings..Then later, Yasmin (cousin of my friend Emily, from Seattle) acted as my tour guide to take me to see the canal, where we had a drink at Miraflores Locks. Then we had dinner with her friend Angel and met up with another friend to head out for Sangria at the Causeway. A great last night in Panama! Angel offered to drive me to the airport in the morning and even prayed for my safe journey. I was really touched by Yasmin and her friends´generosity and kindness, having just met me!
Im sure i have forgotten many details as im writing this! Panama was an amazing experience. The wonderful locals i met, the beautiful and interesting places i was lucky enough to see and of course having friends from home come visit, made my time in Panama a very special experience!
2 comments Posted by jennie on July 4th, 2006