PANAMA-ON THE WAY

For this tourist, Panama is a mixture of promise and purgatory. Impressions are of a place where things are neither started nor finished but where events happen and then move on. Monies move through the banks, massive ships move through the canal, vessels from other countries are re-flagged and re-registered here but then all go on to other destinations.

Panama City's downtown has small sections with bright, shiny banks, offices and restaurants but many other structures in the city remain gutted, despite the various re-building and shoring up projects going on. The guidebooks we have (written a couple of years ago) mention these same buildings as being in the process of being finished. They're still in the process...

The "through traffic" provides a good deal of money for the economy but one senses the Panamanians have made a conscious decision not to get too sentimental or excited about their relatively new wealth just yet. Panama doesn't even bother to print its own currency but instead uses US Dollars. And in fairness, over the last 40 years, the country has seen a number of coups, nationalisation of its banks and a somewhat capricious invasion by a northern superpower; it's understandable why the people haven't developed a faith in "long term thinking" !

This lack of faith extends to their tourist and leisure industries. For a country that has tremendous natural attractions, many areas are either under (or strangely) developed. Towns and villages have bars and eateries that only seem to open at whim.Of the places that are open, almost all of them shut down by 9:00 or 10:00-and this is the so called high season... Another example would be the Pacific beach town at Las Lajas where we stayed for 2 nights. The beach is pristine (the longest in Central America) but the choice of accommodation was very limited. One could choose either a very expensive American style hotel, or from 2 other places that were essentially shacks with so little on offer that staying beyond a night or two wasn't appealing. In the“cabina” where we stayed, each time water was required, we had to ask the manager to turn on (and then turn off) a diesel generator to produce it; not for hot water (there was none) but for any water...

There is something about Panama's "inbetweeness" that conjours up images of the America that existed on Route 66 and other long byways before the Interstate highways came along. The people who lived in the small towns along those roads had an innate distrust (even dislike) of outsiders yet needed their business to survive. In Panama, these attitudes, and the country as a whole, may be starting to change though. There is an election campaign going on that's generating a good deal of enthusiasm (always a good sign for a democracy). And, in some parts of the country, a concerted effort is being made to attract retirees from the US and Canada. It will be interesting to see in a few year's time if the Panamanians choose to develop their country as a destination where people from outside would like to live or return to, or whether they will prefer to remain a country that collects tolls as people pass through...

Brett

Into the interior

Our next stop, the Azuero Peninsular, is mainly lowland pastures and part of the earliest settled land in Panama. Apparently, it is also where the Panamanians heard about Simon Bolivar’s successful attempts at Independence for other Latin American countries and there is a small town here where the push for their own independence emerged.

We found a beautiful town called Chitre that really made us feel that we had at last found somewhere that we could get a feel for ‘real’ life. Technically, it was a city as they have a lovely Cathedral - but it was only a miniature one so it did feel more like a town.




















Our hotel, which for once was a reasonable price, looked out onto the main plaza and it was great to be able to sit on the balcony and observe the locals emerging as the sun went down and it becomes cool enough to sit and chat. As we had moved inland from the coast we were beginning to really feel how hot is does get here. It must be in the mid 30s by 11am and can only really fall to the high 20s during the night. The guide book talks of massive deforestation which contributes to the heat but does also ensure that there is a fairly constant wind blowing which helps to keep things bearable. On the minus side it also makes the place a tinderbox that flares up very regularly.

The locals are really lovely, there is often a smile and a Buenas Dias for us and they humour my attempts to communicate with them in Spanish very generously. It must be really painful to hear your own language being so brutalized, but they smile through it all and manage to understand enough of it to give me an answer that vaguely matches my questions. Brett makes me laugh as his attempts at Spanish generally emerge as Italian and he is constantly surprised when this only elicits polite, yet quizzical, looks. Still, it’s early days and I’m sure we’ll get a bit better at it.

We decided to hire a car from here so that we can really explore things a bit better. The buses are great but you are limited to their timetable and their routes, which is OK to get from A to B but less so for those hidden corners. Plus, it has also meant that we have been able to experience something that we wouldn’t have known about - car hire and driving in Panama.

The distances are not so great between towns - it is only about 350 Km from Panama City to the other side of the country. OK the roads are a bit hit and miss. The best roads have a dual carriageway and are newly tarmac'd/paved. But mostly, it is long single lane roads with that really bumpy old concrete and peppered with amazing potholes. Consequently, one driving skill is knowing when oncoming traffic is going to swerve in front of you to avoid their potholes whilst mananging your own swerving to avoid yours!!!!! Most of the cars are 4x4s because they have to be.

For example...















We did manage to squeeze past this one and only grounded the car very lightly honest.











We are only driving here in the dry season and it is perfectly understandable that only the bigger cars could manage the side roads in the wet season - in fact there are quite a few roads that we weren't able to risk because of their poor condition.

An American couple had told us to be careful if we did hire a car as the wheels of the car they had been given had fallen off because of stripped wheel nuts. So, the usual car hire once-over became more like an MOT check. Not in vain either as 2 bald front tyres (I kid you not) needed changing. I swear all he did was find a different car and swap them over. I can only hope the person who gets that one knows to check it thoroughly.

Day one with the car …

… we mosey off on a scenic loop with the traveller’s fantasy that we will find little gems here and there. In reality, the roads we travel bear no resemblance to the road map that we have and the Panamanians seem to have a marked aversion to road signs. In fact, I would go so far as to say that they have a inverted aversion to road signs. The signs they do have aren’t any that are marked on the map and those we are looking at on the map don’t exist on the road. So, imagine the car conversations. “Look there is a sign that says left for Cerricito is that on the road we want?” “Uhhhhh, No, can‘t see it.” “We’re just coming up to Pueblo Alejedro, is this the right road?” “Uhhhh, can’t see it on the map.” “Just coming up to a fork in the road darling, which one will I take?” “Can’t see a fork on this map.”

Plus, the map and guidebook tell you that you are potentially within 50 yards of something rather special but there is nothing on the ground to help you pin it down any more accurately. Consequently - the Villa where they wrote their letter to Simon Bolivar, the ancient stones and the beautiful, oldest church in Panama will remain as hidden gems for us. But we did get to see Trinidad up the dead end road. Most of the time you only know you are really on the right road because all the buses have their routes marked on their windscreens, so this lets you know you are driving towards where they start or where they finish - with luck you are going in the right direction.

Overall, the scenic loop did us very well as we saw lots of villages and village life. The main way of life belongs to cattle and sugar cane farming, although it’s hard to see how each family makes its living.

We had a particularly hairy 20km drive back to the main road on our way back to the hotel. Inevitably, we didn’t have much time to spare because we wanted to be back before it got dark and we hadn't bargained on the fact that they were resurfacing the whole road. I'm not sure why car rental places bother giving people white cars! I hope it doesn't say anything in the small print about it being my responsibility to clean it.

By the way, if anyone knows the Panamanian etiquette if you hit one of their chickens with your car, please do let me know. I swear it jumped in front of me on purpose.

The following day (Wednesday) we decided to head further inland towards one of the mountain towns. Well blow me down if a lovely policeman didn't decide that I was speeding! OK, it is feasible that I was - but you can't keep an eye on the road, potholes, brush fires, overtaking juggernauts and your speedo all at once surely?

We tried to blag our way out of it but he was adamant that we should have seen the speed sign that really wasn't there. He then proceeded to explain that we would have to turn around and drive 40km back the way we had come to pay the $100 fine and until then he would keep my licence. We had heard and read about the propensity for the police to accept bribes - but how do you introduce this in broken spanish? I'm sure the poor bloke was thinking - I'm making it as hard as possible for them to pay this legally when are they going to get the point? It was very funny, I've never seen a policeman so reluctant to start writing on a ticket.

Eventually Brett managed to ask him, in Italian, could we possibly pay it more directly. Hooray ... now all we have to do is to negotiate the price. Well, he got $30 out of us which is the usual $10 plus the tourist tax! Next time we will only have 10 bucks in our wallets and I'm sure that will suffice. I wonder if the locals or those in the know don't even bother getting out of their cars when they get stopped - just chuck the $10 at them and save everyone the time.

Some more pics for this one later I hope. We are taking the car back to Chitre and I hope to get a few that I missed the first time.

Bye for now ...

Beach Time in Panama

Hooray!!!! The beach at last.

Our first beach experience in Panama takes us 100km west of the city to Santa Clara. There is the bare bones of a village here; mostly houses with one local bar and not much else. The beach road takes us to a stretch of beach that is very beautiful. The waves of the Pacific are very powerful and the beach is shelved so that the rollers crash dramatically on the shore. It also has the effect of trying to splat you unceremoniously against the sand as you get into the water. Once we got over the initial shock of the water temperature it was great fun really.





As we sat and watched the surf on our first day we were able to watch the pelicans and ?cormorants fishing just off the shore. It was amazing seeing them dive for the fish and the ensuing fights as the lazier ones tried to steal from those who had caught something. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me that afternoon and had hoped to capture it the next day; but the fish must have been running differently because we didn't see it again.

The beach itself only has 2 places to stay, which accounts for the exorbitant price of a very basic room. We figure it out eventually; the Panamanians from the city come for the weekend and this also helps to drive the prices up. The lodging that we found has a great monopoly supplying food and drink to weekenders and day trippers alike. This includes a $2 entrance fee to the beach per person at the weekend. Which would be OK if they actually did anything for the money other than take more money from you if you want to eat or drink during the day. Most of the locals bring coolers with enough supplies for a small village. Unfortunately, they then tend to leave all of their rubbish at the beach. The people who own the café don’t make any effort to clear up - even their own rubbish that has blown everywhere is left to be taken by the surf. Consequently, this and other beaches further down the coast are spoilt. It is amazing to us that the Panamanians don’t seem to care and certainly make no effort to keep the place litter-free.




Still, a walk 100m further along and you would think you were the only person on the beach that day. Just the pelicans and the buzzards to keep you company.







The local fishermen and their families lived further up the beach and it was interesting to see that it was probably more dangerous for them to bring their catch ashore against the swell of the surf than it had been to catch them. Also, it did show how the whole family became involved in bringing in the fish.







We were only able to book the beach cabin for one night so we decamp to another place 1km inland. An American couple have started a very ‘homely’ motor caravan park that also has a couple of rooms. Brett tells me it is like an old style American motel. Apparently, there are quite a few North Americans who drive down the Pan-American highway, which stretches the length of Central America, in their motor homes (or RVs for those in the know) and they need somewhere to hook up each evening. This couple have set up a ‘home from home’ for their compatriots. But with a local twist or two. Whilst the grounds were very beautifully kept - I think they thought the 7 or 8 bird cages with parrots, toucans and local exotic birds were a charming addition! Personally, I’d prefer it if the birds were left free. The staff were very lovely - helpful and cheerful - which is more than can be said for the owners who were devoid of any charm at all. No doubt Brett will make more sense of this than I did as he has had more experience of this slice of Americana.

So, 3 days at the beach was a very welcome start to our travels and we decide to head into the interior.

Panama

So, our travels resume …

I think that we hit the luckiest travel streak of all time on our journey to Panama. Firstly, our flight out of Bristol was so empty that we both had a row of seats to ourselves and could stretch out. Then we were checked into the exit isle for the New York to Panama leg and once again we had the whole row to ourselves. It was bliss and made a 17 hour journey almost relaxing. Interestingly, the authorities in New York make you check through customs and immigration even though you are only in transit, so we had 2 hours stateside as a bit of a bonus. Although, had we known this we would have tried to have a longer layover so people could pop to see us if they wanted! The downside of this is that there aren’t many services landside in the departures building so we had to twiddle our thumbs for a bit. Still, we made the most of the last bit of cold weather for a couple of months.

We arrived in Panama City on time at 9pm and made our way speedily to the hotel we had booked. Having read many, many horror stories about the dangers of Latin American cities we were a bit worried about being stuck in the hotel until the next morning, but as it was, the hotel was only 200 yards from a busy street with a restaurant etc. so we were able to have a little wander and find some much needed food and beer.

We are discovering that Panamanian hotels are not particularly geared to providing all the comforts of home! While the ones we have been at so far have been clean, they are very basic and each has its little quirks. We have been surprised (and a bit disappointed) at how expensive the hotels are given how little they provide. We understand paying $60 for a room in the city, but $70 for a tree house next to the beach seems a bit steep!

We spent our first day getting over the journey and ventured into el Casco Viejo (old town) of Panama. It is a small area of small streets with the old-style rows of houses with shutters and verandas. It is currently undergoing a big regeneration project - which is just as well as most of the buildings are VERY precarious. It seems that they have managed to ensure that the restorations are done with an eye on the authenticity of the area. Unfortunately, this invariably means that the locals won’t actually be able to afford to live there once the buildings are restored. There are a lot of wealthy people in Panama City and a desire to have ‘nice’ neighbourhoods to match their desired lifestyles is not surprising.

Panama City and the bits of the countryside we have seen so far seem fairly typical of Latin American cities. The buildings are very angular, with corrugated iron roofs and in various states of decoration; from newly painted and very bright (generally the churches and government buildings) to peeling and fading (most of the rest). The oldest style buildings are wooden, but there aren't many of these left now and the majority are now concrete. There is an enormous amount of construction going on - and a big push to encourage retirees to choose Panama. We’ll probably hold off on making that decision just yet …





















The Panamanians have a great bus system that covers the whole country. Bigger coaches go between the major cities but there are also a lot of minibuses that cover all the journeys in between. Our ticket for a 2 hour trip costs $3.75 each … not bad at all. We will use it to head to the beach to make the most of the SUNSHINE and to thaw out after the last two months.

Hasta Luego.