Pedal-car Anyone?

Although there are those adventurous souls who dismiss all warnings of drug running cartels, fields of cocaine and rebel kidnappings, and head straight into the Darien Gap enroute to Columbia via bus as the cheapest mode of transport; we on the other hand like to consider ourselves educated risk takers - and our years of wisdom say - regardless of price buy a plane ticket and avoid the DG. Aires Airline provides a direct route from Panama City to Cartagena, Colombia and we book tickets for the 23rd.  So we had one more day in Panama City and we decided to head to the Amador Causeway for a little tourist-like exercise. I had hoped to find a place to rent rollerblades but no luck. And the bikes - well I'm surprised they actually roll they look so badly beaten up. So we go full on tourist style and rent a lovely bright yellow pedal-car for 2. Almost immediately I  am confused, why are there 2 steering wheels and why does my spin freely like a pinwheel with no effect to the steering of this machine whatsoever?

The Amador Causeway is a 2 kilometer palm-lined calzada (causeway or path) that starts at the entrance to the Panama Canal and connects 4 small islands to the mainland. The dark clouds are looming but we have about an hour of sunny peddling with views of the city to one side and the Bridge of the Americas on the other at the entrance of the Canal. But we knew it would not be long before the storm caught up to us and as we are heading back to return the bike the rain starts.

Since it doesn't look like it will letting up we seek a little shelter at the Smithsonian Research Center and Marine museum which has a nice little aquarium, touching pool, turtles, all along a path to a mirador (lookout). There is also a short walk through a section of dry forest where we continue our failed mission of spotting a sloth which we started in Costa Rica - unfortunately we see raccoons, iguanas and monkeys but no sloth. After a little lunch and just in time for a major downpour we decide to head back to the hostal. We flag a cab but he wants $10 (only $4 to get here) so we start the walk back to entrance of causeway - 2 km. Like drenched cats hiding under a porch, we duck under a awning in hopes of a break in the storm. With no end in site we venture out and decide to catch the first cab regardless of price. Finally one arrives and its only $4.

Our last night in Panama we share dinner at the local outdoor place near our hostal with a couple from Irvine, CA - Todd and Linda. Turns out Linda worked with Amcal a company I knew well from my old job - small world phenomenon hits again. Then as we head off for the airport in the morning we meet Matt who had driven his Roadtrek van down to Panama from California but was now having trouble getting it to Colombia. We have run into a few people along our way who have made this journey. Originally we had hoped to take our campervan all the way down from SoCal to Patagonia but it had seemed too complicated, border crossings, security road stops, bribery and theft, and without being fluent in the language - it just seemed like to big of a hassle. Just the same it sure sounds like a great adventure - maybe next time! For now we are off to South America via chicken buses, antique locomotives, the occasional cattle truck and maybe a plane ride here and there for good measure.

Artistic Old Buses Contrast Sparkling Highrises

The main street near our place is a constant flow of brightly painted old school buses. Many are works of art with mural inspired paintings. And the owners display their pride in their artwork by keeping the bus sparkling clean. There is a cacophony of voices shouting out names of destinations in singsong fashion from someone hanging outside the door of each bus. But notwithstanding this intriguing mode of public transport we typical choose to walk and if necessary we grab a cab back in the evening. I've figured out that whenever taking a taxi I need to tell them big landmarks rather than the name of the hotel or the street. Essentially I just say - "via espana cerca de colegio de javier". They drive us to the college at which point I say 2 more blocks on the right. Easy enough once you figure it out.

One day we decided to head to the waterfront and walk the path to the citycenter. The land along the waterfront had been developed with care - bicycle paths, enclosed sport rinks (basketball, rollerhockey and more) and lush green lawns - all with the view of glistening high-rises, some major hotels, some commercial and some condos. As we walked into the neighborhoods there was more of the same with the addition of bars, restaurants, boutique hotels and CASINOS! It really did not feel at all like Central America. We had a plan to find a certain famous waffle house. After much searching we found it only to discover that it was more of a bar than a breakfast place as they opened at noon and stayed open for the duration. No worries instead we found a deli serving huge portions for cheap! That evening we ventured back to this part of town - no, not for waffles, but for the Cafe Pomodoro a romantic little place that formed an outdoor, interior courtyard. My first glass of good wine since leaving Los Angeles!

An Engineered Miracle - The Panama Canal

A trip to Panama would be wholly unconscionable without a visit to the Panama Canal. Originally contemplated by the Spaniards in 1524, it wasn't until 1880 that a canal bridging the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans was undertaken. But after 20 years, malaria - the still constant killer carried by that venomous creature the mosquito - along with financial difficulties put an end to the French's attempt under the direction of De Lesseps, builder of the Suez canal. Then the U.S. stepped into the picture in 1903 after Panama seceded from Colombia (something Colombia did not recognize until many years after the US paid some - and 25million dollars). A treaty was signed under which the U.S. obtained the concession for the public maritime transportation service across the Isthmus in perpetuity (or in other words for forever!) In 1904 the U.S. bought the French Canal Company's property and began digging.

Ten years later the first cargo ship made the first transit through the canal. But the U.S. control of the canal, along with adjacent property and the military rights that were associated with the deal (like the housing of U.S. military troops) were a source of growing discontent with Panamanians and after much pressure and conflict (both domestically and between the two countries) President Jimmy Carter started the process of turning the control of the canal over to Panama in late 1979 by entering into a treaty which would give Panama full control by 1999. In December 1999 the US departed its bases and Panama took over full control of the Canal.  Of course that came with some negative ramifications - loss of over 4000 Panamanian jobs from the US military base, a huge lose of additional US money resulting from the US military personnel leaving the country, not to mention all those undetonated bombs used in military training by the US. But the Panamanians are proud to have gained control of the Canal and have recently approved a large expansion which will enable even larger ships to pass through their waters.

John was excited to see this whole process in action. We arrived at the Miraflores Locks at 10 am only to find out that the next boat was not scheduled until 1:00 pm. We sat around for awhile watching tons of kids running around - obviously on a school field trip. Small cafe has coffee and snacks. Then we watched a short film about the Canal and visited the 3 story museum which had some great exhibits on the construction and how the mechanics of it all worked. Then a bell sounded indicating the boats were getting closer and we made our way to the viewing deck. Par for the course, the rain started just as the first boat entered the locks. But no problem as boats continue to pass for several hours.

The Miraflores Locks are just one of the three lockages where the ships must pass on their way through the 50 mile long canal. The journey through the isthmus takes about 8 hours although the ships are probably in canal waters for 14 - 16 hours and by the time they exit the canal they have been lifted and dropped 85 feet.

Today, the Canal sees over 13,056 blue water ships under the flags of 70 different nations each year, with US being the biggest consumer. Tolls per ship average $70,000 to $80,000 but are far less than the alternative of sailing around Cape Horn. The highest fee was $359,950 and the lowest was 36 cents for a lone crazy man, Richard Halliburton who swam through in 1926.

Most people may spend a couple of hours here - but we spent most of the day marveling at how these huge boats barely squeeze through with just inches to spare on each side, guided into the locks with the assistance of small tugboats and then through the locks with tiny locomotives.

Free Margaritas and Nachos - YUM

If you know me then you can imagine how difficult it has been for me without my regular chips and salsa fix. While at the bookstore buying a South American guide book for the next leg of our trip, we found these coupons for free margaritas at a restaurant on Via Argentina in the El Cangrejo area and we decided to see if their Mexican food even remotely passed as Mexican food. It did - in fact it was pretty good and was almost like being home. I miss dollar taco night at Don Antonio's!!!!

Casco Viejo - Unesco World Heritage Site

Panama City is the most cosmopolitan city in Central America. An international banking and trade center whose skyline is marked by high-rises of glass and steel, Panama City feels more like Miami than any other Latin American city. Unless you are into unrelenting nightlife where you might claim Calle Uruguay with its wall-to-wall discos and bars is the highlight of PC, the old town of Casco Viejo is certainly the gem of the city. Declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2003 and the obvious benefactor of intensive renovation, some still underway, the old city is a charming mix of old colonial buildings and cobblestone streets with freshly painted restored buildings and well-kept plazas. The area reminded us of old town San Juan, Puerto Rico where the old town is beautifully refurbished but bordered by impending ghettos. Likewise here we are warned not to make the walk back to our hostel. Casco Viejo is considered safe as it is heavily patrolled but the neighboring areas are considered prime areas for theft and altercations with unsuspecting tourists.

We decide to start our self-guided tour of the city at the Plaza de Francia located at the southern most tip of land jutting out into the sea. This plaza is dedicated to the French who had made early attempts at the construction of the Panama Canal but were beseiged with disease - malaria - and death of many of the laborers. From the upper walkway we catch a glimpse of the new city skyline amist the impending clouds.

A walkway covered with an arch of growing vines known as the Paseo Las Bovedas and aptly nicknamed "lover's lane" heads north. Vendors line the path selling a variety of local crafts, the most common the malas made by the indigenous Kuna tribe. We have picked up a guide. Conrad, a 70+ year old gentleman had struck up a conversation with John when we arrived and has continued to talk and walk with us. Turns out he is a wealth of knowledge about the history of the city and John is enjoying the History Channel data. Although we had said no to his offers as a guide it appears we have given in and found ourselves an unofficial tour guide.

Continuing north is the remains of the Club de Clases y Tropas or Officer's Club. You can imagine their prior grandure just given the spectacular location. Appartently this was a favorite stoomping ground for General Noriega in his heyday.

Baluarte de las Monjas includes a beautiful park area that faces the Palacio National.  This area is sparkeling with perfectly manicured lawns and freshly painted buildings.

Plaza Bolivar has a modern bar with outdoor seating flowing into courtyard where you can enjoy a view of Iglesia San Francisco and the Teatro National.

The genrification process is evident by the mix of old and new throughout the city. There are crumbling buildings next door to brilliantly renovated homes. Conrad tells us the Americans are buying everything up and therefore prices are very high. He enjoys giving us tidbits of information he has collected. For instance as we walk by certain guards or other government employees he tells us how much money they likely make. He's an opinionated guy - but intelligent and fairly well informed. Notwithstanding overreaching prior control in his country, he likes the US and, of course, is an Obama supporter.
The tour is just about complete and we notice we are back on the outskirts of town. But having been manipulated into having a guide we have were unable to stop along the way for lunch and we are now starving.  Rather than wait to get back to our "hood" we say good bye to Conrad and head back into the center of town for a late lunch.

From Lazy Carribean Days to Big City Life - Panama City

Our constant companion is the Lonely Planet's Central America on a Shoestring, but as it was researched in 2006 it is not always current so we have to confirm the data from other sources.  Bulletin boards at the most popular hostals are usually the best source. 
6 am boat to Almirante from Bocas.  Colectivo taxi to the bus station, which was really nothing more than a sign next to a cafeteria off the main road. Next bus to David - pulls in right after we get dropped off - perfect timing. Really more of a shuttle bus and its not really direct, unless direct means directly stopping whenever someone flags it down. Before we know there are people crowded in the aisle and the driver continues to stop for more passengers. A little girl, standing in the aisle, is holding onto my leg for support. Its a 4 hour ride!

We depart only to get in the very long line to buy bus tickets to Panama City. This shouldn't have been hard. I've been speaking this sort of tourist spanish for awhile now. Its pretty straight forward. Where are you going (a donde va?), what time does the bus leave, (cuando sale el autobus?) how much does it cost (cuanto cuesta?). But for some reason the lady behind the counter and I just cannot understand each other. She thinks I want tickets for tomorrow and keeps saying there is nothing today. But I can see people buying tickets in the line next to me. Luckily I stand my ground and keep trying to explain what I want rather than getting out of the line or buying tickets for tomorrow. Eventually she miraculously figures out what we want and we get tickets for - right now! Another dash to the bus and we are off again. Luckily it is a big luxury bus and we have the front seats which is a good thing as this leg will be at least 8 hours to Panama City. Time flys by and before we know it we are at the Panama City bus station which is more like an airport terminal than a bus station. Quite impressive, organized, clean and shopping too. We catch a cab for the Hostal Mamallena. Well eventually we get there - the driver doesn't know where it is, he stops to call from a payphone - no luck. I have directions but he seems to want to figure this out on his own. Ok have it your way - we had negotiated a flat rate so what was a little more time driving around ... We arrive to snatch the last available room but they are full tomorrow so we will have to move again.

Typical hostel, albiet the back courtyard feels a bit like a prison with all the barbed wire, but super helpful staff, a large dvd library which comes in handy (although I've now seen the Bourne Identity series 4 times), a communal kitchen and free pancakes (sealed the deal for John). In the morning we move down the road to the Residential Rocio. $20 a/c, tv, bath. Nicer and cheaper than the hostal but no info so we will move back to the Mamallena once a room is available. We head out at night to a local outdoor eatery. Big plates of food at rock bottom prices - this may end up being our normal dinner spot. This area seems a bit dodgy at times but our trusted guidebook asserted this was a relatively safe part of town. Well hopefully it is safer now as the hostal has just obtained an armed security guard. Seems that a couple of weeks ago the entire hostal was held hostage by 4 armed gunmen who, after moving all the guests to one room, proceeded to randsack each and every room, at their leisure, taking everyone's valuables - cameras, computers, money, ipods, everything. Only thing left behind was a few items in the lock boxes behind the counter - curiously as wire cutters for the boxes are right in plainsight. Fortunately no one was hurt. Needless to say we were shocked and alarmed when we heard the story from fellow guests at the hostal. Would there be another attack? Obviously the first was a lucrative event. We contemplated moving but decided the fact that the police were now hanging around and there was a security guard may actually make it a safer place than others. I tried to keep it in perspective. This is a big city afterall and its not like crime doesn't happen in my home town. My neighbor has been robbed, another one shot on his way home late at night and my girlfriend's bike was stolen off her car just a half block up the road from our house. And those were just in my block - so a few deep breathes and a good dose of suspicion of everyone and thing matched with a constant awareness of my surroundings and we continue our journey.

Wizard Beach

Although we had thought about surfing at Bocas, the waves this week were nothing to get excited about and my shoulder was still sore from the prior week. So, we opted for lazy beach days and decided to take a lancha over to Isla Bastimiento to check out Wizard Beach. It was a long stretch of beach lined with palm tree and imposing jungle. There was some strong surf - but still swimable.

We enjoyed several hours just lying about reading with an occasional dunk in the ocean to cool off. As we didn't organize a boat back we headed for the trail to the main town on the island. Luckily some locals pointed us in the right direction.

A 45 minute trail of mud and roots landing us in what felt like someone's backyard. But then some kids pointed out the way down to where we could catch a boat. Essentially you just walked out on about any dock you saw and eventually a boat would come by for you and drop you off at Isla Colon.

 Our days were taking on a bit of routine - breakfast at this little bakery, delicious coffee and crepes with nutella for John, and I found this outrageous hot sauce - with an expiration date 3 days after it is concocted - you know it has to be good!  Then it was a relaxing afternoon at the beach with a short hike to claim as exercise in order to justify the beers which felt as necessary a condiment to dinner as the Reggae music.

At night we sought out the cheaper eats - Lili's was good veggie food in a ideal location over the water. We settled in quickly to the island life. But seemingly untouched by the economic woes of the world in this idyllic setting we are still reminded of the issues facing so many. One morning we met a recently retired American couple at our bakery. Seems they we in search of a place to live out their retirement. They had plenty saved until the market dive bombed. Even though they thought they were conservative their accounts had suffered and would not sustain them. This was not the first time we had heard this. We had run into other folks with similar issues, or younger people who had lost their jobs and could not afford to stay in the states - jobless. Interestly, traveling in Latin America or SouthEast Asia is actually cheaper than laying low in the states if you have no income. We were fortunate that the decision to travel was our own and was highly anticipated but we are aware that for us too - this is a great time to be off traveling in inexpensive countries given the dire economic conditions in the US and elsewhere in the World. We often think about the "what ifs" - what if we had not embarked on this trip - would we have work, would we be depleting our savings. But "what ifs" can go on forever. For now we try to remain focused on the here and now - the exploration and the adventure - with luck, the rest will follow.

Here's a few more pics of life on Bocos.