PANAMA JOURNAL

PANAMA JOURNAL

Barbara Mayer

Day 1 - Feb 21, 1998

This is my second Green Tortoise trip through Central America. I'm excited about this one, since it's an "exploratory" trip. Not only have I never been to Panama, but neither has the Tortoise. The trip is called the Eclipse Trip since our ultimate goal is to make it to the Darien Peninsula (located near the Panama/Colombia border) to view the solar eclipse near the line of totality.

We board the bus in San José, Costa Rica, getting off to a late start due to some confusion about where we're supposed to meet. Our big conquest on Day 1 is crossing a 10,000 foot mountain range on an incredibly narrow, bumpy road. I am glad to be sitting in comfort on cushions in the back of the bus, oblivious to what is facing us on the road ahead.

At about 8:00 pm we pull into the town of Dominical, a beach town in Southeastern Costa Rica. The town was settled by a group of "hippies" back in the early '70s -- in fact the Americans here seem to greatly outnumber the Ticos (native Costa Ricans.) We set up camp on the beach, dine in the open air, and dance the night away to the strains of American disco music.

Day 2 - Feb 22, 1998

I'm anxious to get to Panama, but it looks like we'll be spending one more night in Costa Rica. Our destination is Playa Zancuda. Sometime towards midday, out in the middle of nowhere, the road comes abruptly to an end. We are on the banks of a river and there is no bridge. It seems we have to take a ferry across, but I've never seen a ferry quite like this one. It's not much wider than the bus and only a few feet longer. Sean does a great job of maneuvering the bus onto the ferry and we all follow on foot. Unfortunately there is so much weight near the back of the ferry that it is literally "stuck" onshore. Sean gets back into the driver's seat and attempts to move the bus forward while the ferry "captain" motions him further and further towards the front of the boat. Just when it looks like the tires are slipping over the edge, Sean jams on the brakes and the ferry starts to move forward .... everyone cheers

This is a ferry ?

	We spend the night in Playa Zancuda, Costa Rica, a beach town more secluded than the last one.
Elisa - Playa Zancuda

Day 3 - Feb 23, 1998

We're in Panama at last! and it's quite a change from Costa Rica. The roads are much better maintained and the gas stations more modern. But, despite the seemingly greater prosperity, everything costs less -- and there are almost no tourists! We are heading for the town of Las Tablas, home to one of the biggest Carnaval celebrations in Panama. We arrive in town at about 9:00 at night, but the real celebration doesn't start until after midnight. The streets are crowded with beer-toting locals of all ages out to have a good time. At midnight the fun begins -- elaborately decorated floats adorned with glitter, feathers, and beautiful women. Each float is followed by a band, and revelers dancing in the streets. Some time in the wee hours of the morning we head back to the bus. As we pass through the town square, the street appears to be on fire -- flames are dancing across the asphalt and the noise of thousands of firecrackers exploding simultaneously is deafening.

There is not much sleep to be had tonight... We head for a beachfront park on the outskirts of town, pull out pads from the bus and sleep on the sidewalk. I am awakened many times during the course of the night -- voices, stray dogs fighting, the shriek of someone's car alarm --- I'm up at the crack of dawn, anxious to get going.

Day 4 - Feb 24, 1998

We arrive in the town of El Valle, located in the midst of an ancient volcanic crater. There is more greenery here than I have seen since arriving in Panama. The drive to El Valle is interesting -- seems to be a Carnaval tradition among the locals (especially the kids) to lob vast amounts of water at passing vehicles. Those sitting near the bus windows are showered at regular intervals.

Everyone in Panama seems friendly and they're all very curious. They don't see a lot of tourists, especially not those traveling in Green Tortoise style.

Day 5 - Feb 25, 1998

	Today we arrived in Panama City. Tomorrow is the big day -- the day of the solar eclipse. We head for the Balboa Yacht Club where we are supposed to meet the boat that will take us to the town of Jacque on the Darien Peninsula.
Panama City
	Two hours have passed and there is still no sign of the boat. In those two hours I have eaten a mediocre, over-priced lunch, sipped a couple of drinks, talked, walked, and stared longingly out at the water and the Bridge of the Americas. Another hour passes and still no boat. I'm starting to feel like a caged animal. There is nowhere to go beyond the four walls of the Yacht Club. All around us are cement, barbed wire fences, locked gates, and guards. Finally we hear something, but it's not good news. Seems as though our boat driver got a better offer -- we will have to make other plans. Everyone is bummed, most of all our two drivers who had hoped to ditch the bus for a while and relax. We decide to spend the night in Panama City -- at a real hotel with hot, running water -- quite a luxury ! Tomorrow we will catch a ferry to Isla Taboga to view the (partial) solar eclipse. We eat a wonderful seafood dinner at a downtown restaurant. The menu is the size of a book -- I can barely pick it up, never mind decide what to order...

	Heading back to the hotel we run into Jeff who is busily crafting balloon animals in the hotel lobby. He makes one for each of us-- the "piece de resistance" is a replica of the Starship Enterprise. The clerk behind the front desk looks noticeably relieved when we finally call it a night and head back to our rooms.
Ron and Jeff

Day 6 - Feb 26, 1998

Our destination today is Taboga, an island located just a short ferry ride off the coast of Panama City. We leave the hotel early, hoping to catch the boat in time to view the eclipse, which is due to start around noon. It is the middle of the week, however, and we are mired in rush hour traffic. At one point we are unable to navigate the street due to a parked car whose angled rear end is blocking the bus. Several hardy souls from the bus volunteer to move the offending vehicle and we are on our way again.

Moving the car

By the time we make it through all the traffic, we are somewhat late for the ferry, but Sean manages to get us passage on a smaller, faster boat Instead of the hour-long ferry ride, we make it over there in just over 30 minutes. We arrive in Taboga, pitch our tents and await the eclipse. The island is beautiful !! The town of Taboga reminds me of a Mediterranean village. The houses are tiered -- layer upon layer on the side of a hill overlooking the ocean. Isla Taboga was settled by the Spanish in 1515, two years after Balboa first sighted the Pacific and before Panama City was built.

Isla Taboga

The graveyard dates back to the 16th century.

The eclipse arrives just after noon, but it is somewhat anticlimactic. The sky darkens a bit, but it is nowhere near black -- and the sun is hard to spot in between all the clouds. I spend the afternoon wandering through town and trying to practice my limited Spanish. I pass the shell house, home of Jesus Caballo, now in his 80's. Until about 5 years ago he was a diver by profession. The years have taken their toll, however... he has grown quite eccentric and has trouble getting around. He now makes his living collecting and selling shells to tourists. I wander through town trying to be unobtrusive (an almost impossible feat) ... and snap this photo of a young girl along the way.

Day 7 - Feb 27, 1998

The Presidential Palace

We leave Taboga this morning ( I wish I could have stayed much longer...), taking the ferry back over to Panama City. We see some interesting buildings in the old part of the city ... most notably the Presidential Palace. It seems a bit out of place, surrounded by old, decaying buildings, some of which were bombed out during the American invasion in 1989. We depart the city as the sun is starting to sink (about 6:30) and drive until quite late at night, heading west across Panama towards our destination .. the town of Boquete.

Day 8 - Feb 28, 1998

Today is Saturday and we've been on the road for a week... hard to believe that the trip is half over already. Today is a day of rest for me -- I wander into town, hoping to get a few pictures of the indigenous Indians who have come to town to sell their wares. I spot a young family -- the mother and two children are beautifully dressed in bright, colorful costumes -- I ask if I can take a picture and the young mother giggles shyly -- she doesn't want her picture taken. I respect her wishes and put my camera away.

Day 9- Mar 1, 1998

We're heading for Bocas del Toro, an island located off the northwest coast of Panama on the Caribbean side. The island is a three and a half-hour ferry ride from the mainland and it's quite a ride... I've never seen a ferry with so many vehicles packed into it. The ferry seems to be over-weighted on one side and our bus is hemmed in like a sardine in a can. There is no way to open the bus door, so we exit through the roof. The atmosphere is festive and the skies blue and cloudless.

I spend most of the trip over to the islands playing Scrabble on top of the bus.

We pull into Bocas del Toro just before dark and camp in a public park next to the beach. It's kind of a ramshackle beach which seems to be located in the midst of an urban neighborhood. At every turn we are warned to watch out for our belongings... in fact the Panamanian police seem overly-concerned with our safety. They have assigned us an armed guard to make our stay more comfortable. All of this makes me feel quite uncomfortable... I'm already looking forward to our departure.

Day 10- Mar 2, 1998

I have never been snorkeling before... I leave early that morning along with Doug, Jo and Andre. We hire a boat to take us to Bastimentos (a smaller island and nature preserve located on the Caribbean side of Panama). I've always felt out of my element in water but, once I relax I find myself gliding effortlessly into another world ... one that I've never before experienced. Beautiful fish of all sizes drift through coral reefs, flashing their luminescent colors. Bastimentos is beautiful! -- miles and miles of unspoiled and (best of all) undeveloped beaches. Following a day of snorkeling and strolling the beaches, we return to Bocas to retrieve our belongings, then head back to Bastimentos, where we will spend the next couple of days. Since we have arrived later than everyone else on the bus, we find that there is a shortage of available accomodations.
I ask the driver of our boat if he can find us a place to stay -- he takes us through town and manages to find us a house owned by the local schoolteacher and his wife. They agree to rent us their house for a couple of days while they stay across the street with relatives. At first I feel like an intruder, but they make us feel very much at home -- we have a wonderful, home cooked dinner of fish and rice.

Enjoying the ride to Bastimentos - Myself, Doug & Jo

Day 11- Mar 3, 1998

There is a severe drought on the island right now and very little fresh water to be found anywhere. Our house is lacking in the usual American-style amenities -- no bathroom, just a couple of sparsely furnished rooms. In the morning I wake up to see hordes of ants swarming across the floor. They troop in a well-formed line up and over the table, devouring the crumbs from our meal the night before. This is followed by the squawk of a chicken who has decided to use the house as a shortcut to the back yard. Our place truly has character !!

	I had so much fun snorkeling yesterday, I decide to do the same today. We spend the day cruising around the islands, stopping for lunch at the most beautiful beach I've ever seen -- Salt Creek Beach. Someone has decorated the beach with conch shells -- the water is perfectly calm and aqua blue. I lie back in the water and float, completely relaxed -- thinking to myself this must be paradise.
Salt Creek Beach

Day 12- Mar 4, 1998

Today we are leaving the islands. We decide to take one last hike over to Playa #1, passing a herd of sleeping cows. Andre wants to take my picture -- I think he's hoping I'll start a stampede, as he keeps urging me closer and closer to the napping bovines. Eventually they are roused from their sleep, but much to my relief, they decide to wander off in the opposite direction.

We take the ferry from Bocas del Toro to Costa Rica. It's a long wait. To alleviate the boredom , we play Scrabble, attracting the attention of neighborhood kids who are curious as to what exactly we are doing with these strange wooden tiles The ferry finally arrives late in the afternoon. We had planned to cross the border today but, by the time we get to the border crossing it's closed. We pitch our tents near the border, adjacent to a bar. Despite all the noise, I manage to get a decent night's sleep.

Day 13- Mar 5, 1998

This is the strangest border crossing I've ever seen! ....nothing more than a railway trestle, barely wide enough for the bus to squeeze through. We head for Cahuita, a small town on the east coast of Costa Rica. I have been here before, only 8 months earlier -- not much has changed. It's a laid-back, rasta town -- dreadlocks and Jamaican accents abound.

This picture to me epitomizes the look and feel of Cahuita -- the "Natty Dread Lov Shack".

I wander into town for the afternoon, passing my favorite restaurant/bakery, where I run into Kurt and Wynn and enjoy a fresh-fruit shake. I can't believe the trip is almost over....

Day 14- Mar 6, 1998

We hike down to the beach (national park) where we are solicited one more time to go snorkeling. Hey, why not ?? The snorkeling in Cahuita, however, is not nearly so impressive as that in Bocas del Toro. The water is murky and rough and the coral reefs have been almost decimated by earthquakes several years earlier. On the way back from snorkeling we pass a group of white-faced monkeys. The park ranger has lured them down with fruit scraps and they are close enough to eat from our hands.

Since the beginning of the trip it has rained only a few drops. But tonight we are hit by a 30-minute deluge. The power goes out and we eat by
candlelight.

Day 15- Mar 7, 1998

Today we leave for San José (Costa Rica). Some folks decide to stay behind, but before leaving we gather for a group shot in front of the Tortuga Verde. I'm not ready to leave, but unfortunately I have obligations back in the States -- I will return...