Last Days in Panama

Well, I'm now am back home in the USA.  But I have to update my blog for my last days in Panama.  As you know, I moved up my flight up 3 days to the USA since I was unable to visit Boquete due to the Indian road blockage.
Now back to Friday, February 10th when I visited Panama Viejo.  Panama Viejo is the original location of Panama City, founded in 1519.  All was well here until 1671 when Captain Morgan led his pirates to attack the city.  Instead of staying in the naturally ocean protected location of Panama Viejo, the Spaniards decided to confront Morgan's buccaneers in a hilly area outside of town.  That started a series of mistakes by the Spaniards that lead to Panama Viejo being plundered and divvied up or destroyed by fire as the pirates wrecked havoc.  For the next three centuries, the remains of the city served only as building material source for new construction.  So nowdays there is little left.  Still, the Government has (circa 1970s) has taken an interest in this area.   They have made more major inroads in this area since 2000 so now the remaining sites are both stabilized and protected.   They even have an on-site small museum (Museo de Sitio Panama Viejo) dedicated to this time in history. This museum offers a scale model of Pnanam Viejo at its peak which is a rather impressive site.  See photo.
I have a small problem getting to Panama Viejo.  I was told to catch any of the various buses with Panama Viejo as their destination.  I did that and ended up at their terminus which was several miles away from the historical sight.  Apparently "any" bus wasn't quite correct!  Thankfully a kind bus employee there took pity on me and led me to a collective van that took me to the ruins.
That night, I had dinner at Sukhi, maybe the only Thai restaurant in Panama City.  The owner was there and he spoke excellent English.  I learned from him that the chef is English but learned his culinary skills in Thailand.  The chef had followed the owner's daughter to Panama City. Any way, I was just happy to find a Thai restaurant in the middle of all this beans and rice restaurants.  So I ordered the basil beef - extra spicy with no onions.  Apparently, the no onions part of my order got lost in translation as I had to sent their first attempt back for a redo.  Still, compared to the same titled dish I get in Maryland, what I ended up with was vastly inferior.  Not only wasn't it spicy but they used ground beef and very little basil.  The owner complained that Thai basil was hard to get in Panama - the little they got was specially grown for them!
On Saturday, I took a day trip to El Valle de Anton.  This town, population supposedly about 7,000, is up in the mountains about a 2 1/2 hour bus trip from Panama City.   This town is reported as having a climate similar to Boquete...that is Spring weather all year long.  The trip there went without incident.  I got there about 11AM.  My first impression was that the town looked much smaller than I expected.  There was no stores expect a farmer market, a small market and tourist shops attached to a few small hotels.  However it was noticeably cooler than Panama City - a welcomed relief.
Any way, my first visit was to their orchard sanctuary, Aprovaca Orquideas.  There is was given an elaborate tour by a Japanese gentlemen, one of the approximately 32 volunteers who work there.  This man devotes 6 months of the year to this endeavor and is obviously very dedicated to this effort.  The sanctuary cultivates 98 varieties of orchid, including many which are native to Panama.  Although it is illegal to sell these native orchids, it hasn't stopped the poor from doing so.  As a result, now the native orchids are on the verge of being extinct.  One of the goals of this santuary to make sre this doesn't happen.  In the mean time, they collect some of their funding from selling commercial orchards and offering a small hostile and coffee shop.
After this nice tour, I decided to go and see the local hot springs.  On my walk there, I spotted several very expensive homes.  However once I got to the actual hot springs they were anything but impressive.  In my opinion, it looked like nothing but a dirty hot tub with a bucket of mud on the side.  Needless to say, I didn't partake - instead I feel like I was taken for the $2.25 admission fee.  After that 'wonderful' experience, I stopped in a local bakery for some pastry before I got my return bus trip to the city.  Buses leave every 30 minutes so my wait wasn't long.  I got back in time for dinner at the food court at Albrook Mall which is attached to Albrook Bus Terminal.  All of these Albrook projects are rather new as they are on the property that was part of the US Canal Zone prior to 2000.  Actually, the food court there is nicer than their counterparts in the US.  Still, most of these restaurants offer the Panama version of food so it is bland with lots of beans and rice.
Sunday saw me back at Casco Viejo as I walked there to look at it more in detail.  This time, I saw the Arco Chato which is a long unsupported arch dating from the 16th century.  It is said that the survival of this arch as of the late 1800s was proof that Panama was far safer from volcano action than Nicaragua....and thus a major reason why the canal was built in Panama rather than Nicaragua.  Although this arch did collapse in 2003, it has been repaired as can be seen in my photo.
Perhaps the most impressive building in Casco Viejo is the National Theater (Teatro Nacional).  It was built in 1907 and was very ornate with gold and red decorations.  Now it has been restored to the glory of its hey days and holds regular performances.
On my way to Casco Viejo, I walked by the Seafood Market which has an ocean front property.  Naturally, I went in to check it out.  I noticed in addition to the many suppliers of raw fish and seafood, there were a good many vendors offering cerviche.  Since I never tried cerviche before,  I though this was a golden opportunity.  So on my return walk, I stopped in and tried some cerviche.  There must have been at least 6 different places that specialized in it.  First I tried a cup of the combination seafood.  This had shrimp, squid, octopus etc. in a citrus juice sauce.  I liked this so much, I then tried another vendor who offered large shrimp in a mustardy juice filled sauce.  Although I liked both, surprisedly, I like the first offering better.  Still both versions would have been a lot better had they eliminated the onions that was very prevalent.
By the way, I spent the entire week in Panama City at the Hotel Venecia.  I got to say this is a good budget hotel as it was clean, comfortable with A/C, cable TV, wifi (in lobby) and had good housekeeping.  A bargain at $35 per night even though the reception staff was anything but friendly.  I guess you can't have everything.
My flights back home on Monday were rather uneventful even though I had to go through DFW which is a bit out of the way from going from Panama City to Baltimore.
I intend to do one more entry to relate some of the memorable people I met on the trip along with their plights.  I also plan to correct the rotations and titles on the photos once I get them copied from my phone to my PC.

Orchid Seed Pods.  Each type of orchid needs a different insect for its pollination.

The ruins at Panama Viejo

Ruins of house built by Catholic Church to rent out to pay for local expenses.  Unfortunately, the local  bishop used it for himself.

Arco Chato - Note the new construction needed to repair it

Vanilla growing up a tree.  It is too immature to develop beans.

National Theater

The Hot Spring "Tub" in El Valle.  The Water looked dirty.

One of the expensive homes in El Valle.

The other Hot Tub at the Hot Springs.  No room here.

Girels sitting about after they covered their faces with the mud in the bucket at the Hot Springs

My Japanese Tour Guide at the Orchid Sanctuary

Scale Model of Panama Viejo during its peak

Panama City - Wednesday

I took a city tour here on Wednesday. It included two main attractions - the Miraflores Locks and Casco Viejo. 

First off, the Mitaflores Locks was impressive as we got to see the largest cruise ship go through them. There were literally only inches to spare.  But this is all about to change in 2014 as Panama is building two new 'super' locks that will allow much larger vessels, including US aircraft carriers, to go through the canals.  These new locks will parallel the present locks at Mitaflores and Gatun.  The other smaller locks will no longer be needed due to all the dredging and widening of the passages.

Casco Viejo is the location the old city moved following its destruction by Caprain Henry Morgan in 1671.  The new location was easier to defend as the reefs prevented ships approaching except during high tide.

The most famous church there is Ingesia de San Jose.  It was reknown for having a solid gold alter that a priest painted black to prevent Captain Morgan from stealing it.  According to legend, the priest not only had Morgan believing this story but he got Morgan to contribute towards a replacement.  Atlas the present alter is gold leaf and no one knows what really happened to all the 'missing' gold.

Casco Viejo is now in a state of rebirth.  The city acquire all the buildings here by eminent domain.  They are selling the properties for next to nothing but the buyer must open a hotel, restaurant etc. (no residences) and they must maintain the original fascades.

Colon and Old Panama

On Thursday, I took the railroad from Panama City to Colon.  This is a very historic railroad as when completed in 1855, it was the first train that went from the Atlantic Ocean to Pacific Ocean and was the quickest and easiest route to go cooast to coast in America.  It also was the highest stock priced on the New York Stock Exchange on the mid 1800s - topping at $295. 

Now days, the passenger train portion of the railroad is only a tourist attraction.  They only operate one passenger train each way and only on week days.  Still it was a very interesting trip as the track parallels the Panama Canal all the way from coast to coast.

Upon arrival in Colon, I took a local bus to the Gatun Locks.  These locks are much more impressive than those at Miraflores as these locks are much longer and deeper.  Also, the viewing area is much closer to the canal at Gatun.  It is interesting to note that the construction of the canal necessiated the creation of Gatun Dam and Lake Gatun.  Lake Gatun was the largest man made lake up until the Hoover Dam created Lake Mead.

Colon City is notorious for its crime rate.  Until recently, LonelyPlanet advised all to take a taxi even if going only a couple blocks.  Today it isn't quite that bad as I walked about without incident.  Still, there was little to see there and soon I was on an afternoon express bus back to Panama City.

Today (Friday) I did a self tour of old Panana, aka Pansma Viejo.  These are ruins of the settlement that Captain Morgan destoryed in 1671.  The government has made giant strides since they began in the 1990s to preserve and document this area.  They have made some restorations but most of the ruins remain in the state they were found.  They also have a nice (but small) museum on site that explains the site and the work done to date.  I just wish more of the explanations were in English.

Make it out of Indian Territory

My flight from Changuinola went as scheduled.  It sure is good to get away from all the fighting and road blocks.  Still has put a hamper on my vacation as I was planning to spent about 4 days in Boquete which is up in the mountains.  Since that is now impossible, I have decided to come back a few days early.  There are only so many things I'm interested in doing here in Panama City. 

I have city tour scheduled tomorrow; Plan to take the train to Colon on Thursday; Friday is open; Do the full transit tour of the Panama Canal on Saturday;  And then do a day trip to the local mountain town of La Valle on Sunday.  My new flight back is on Monday...

Stranded in Panama

I woke up this morning very early with the expectations of getting to David City or maybe even Boquete today.  Such was not the case as I was headed off at the pass by the Indians. Unbeknown to me before today, the local Indians are protesting the conditions they work under.  This protest has led to road blocks in the north and east - around both Bocas (where I was yesterday) to David City. When I took the speed boat from Bocas, IU then got a common taxi with some backpackers from Spain.  Their English wasn´t good but better than my Spanish.  Any way, instead of going south from the marina I went north right in the heart of the local problems.

Although the taxi had a way around the road blocks, they weren´t pretty.  Now I find myself in the "city" of Changuinola where the only way out by road is through Costa Rica!  Naturally I don´t want to do that so I went to the airport to check out flights.  The best I could confirmed is a Monday night flight to Panama City.  I also am going back to the airport this afternoon as I´m on the waiting list.  So there is some hope...

For whatever reason the Government is not stopping this mess.  Although there were supposed to be some talks with the Indians this morning, no resolution is in sight.  So my plans are to go to the airport and hope.  If not today, maybe tommorrow.  If not tommorrow, I have a confirmation of a flight Monday evening.  Although this "city" is pretty grim still there are hotels (such as they are) and restaurants here.  So it could be worst.

If I don´t get out tonight, I will probabaly update this blog from a hotel - assuming they have wifi. I will have lots of time to kill.

Update:  It is now Monday afternoon and I am still here.  This city is very hot and grimy with nothing to do.  During this stay, I have had a room at the Hotel Hawai;  This hotel has several good points: A/C is great, the bed is good, reliuable Wifi in the lobby, Cable TV and Convenient to both bus and airport.  The cons:  Bad lighting, the A/C drains to the shower, tthe Cable TV has no American or English channels and the hotel needs fixing up in general.  Still I guess I should consider myself lucky as I have money for a reasonably comfortable place.  I'm sure other stranded travelers here aren't so fortunate.

Although the government opened the Pan American highway yesterday, they have left us in Changuinola stranded.  In fact, the Indians have cut off the Costa Rican bridge too so there is no espace by land - only by air.  In addition, the Indians burned down a police station in St Felix which I understand is on the road south of here.  Two Indians are dead in this frisco so far.

The good news here is that I paid for my ticket on tonight's flight to Pnanama City.  I am confirmed onboard.  I can't wait to leave.

Made it to Panama

Okay I guess I need to do this entry all over as the blogger app ate my first attempt.  This app is great when it works and terrible when it doesn´t.  Also, it ate some of the pics the second time even when I was at a real pc in an internet cafe.  So this will have to do for now.

I left San Jose Monday on the 8am bus bound for the Caribbean coast.  My destination was the town of  Cahuita where they were reported to have excellant Caribbean cooking.  I am so tired of the bland "typical" Costa Rican meals.  Any way, I arrived in Cahuita about 1pm but I needed to go to four hotels to find an acceptable room.  As it was, my room at the Smith Cabinas looked much better than it was.  The A/C didn't work right, the hot water wasn't hot and the bed had seen better days.  Still, it was only for one night so I made do...

On Tuesday morning, I took another 8am bus - this time I was headed towards to Puerto Viejo.  I had previously arranged to rent a room there from fellow Americans (Chris and her husband John) who I met on the bus to Cahuita the day before.  They are in my age bracket and had rented in Puerto Viejo a 2 bedroom - 2 bath house ' sight unseen from the Internet and now the other couple decided not to come.

So Chris and John met me at the bus and we all went to the house.  The day before I discoved they were from the Philadelphia area but I was to learn many more common threads between us.  First off John's last name is Riley.  While that isn't the same spelling it is close.  Then Chris asked where I grew up.  She not only knew where Bedford was but it was her mother's hometown.  It turns out that Chris's grandfather was the minister in the church my family attended.  Although he died before I was born, I do remember being told about him.  Then finally, Chris' uncle (who is still living) was my family's doctor during all my childhood.  All in all, I thought these coincidences were amazing.

Any way I spent Tuesday and Wednesday mainly with them.  While Chris was taking a morning Spanish class, John and I looked around.  While there are nice beaches several miles east, Puerto Viejo is not one of them.  Neither of us could understand why it became the town and center to the beach area. 
On Wednesday morning we went to the local Jaguar Rescue Center.  While the name is misleading as they have no jaguars there, it is a very interesting place.  All the animals there were injuried or abandoned.  They have sloths (both 2&3 toe varieties with babies), holler monkeys, falcons, snakes, birds of various sort including 2 falcons and 2 owls, spiders and one wildcat (ocelot).  The center also had a nice tour where the guide had lots of stories about the animals.

On Friday morning I left Chris, John and Puerto Viejo to enter Panama.  The local bus got me to the border in a little over an hour.  After getting Costa Rica to stamp my passport (fortunately no line as when I entered), I had to walk across a steel bridge build in Philadelphia in 1908.  This bridge has seen much better days as it now appears to be holding together by rust.   Hard to believe that an occasional big truck is allowed to go over it.

Getting into Panama offered me a new wrinkle.  They make everyone show a ticket or confirmation of a ticket to leave Panama before they allow you to entry.  Failure to produce this requires you to buy a $12 bus ticket from there to San Jose. I'm sure this is good for bus ticket sales.  Fortunately - although I didn't have a copy of return flight from Panama City, I did have the email confirmation on my handy smartphone.  So I was good to go after I bought their $3 entry stamp.

From there, I was talked into a $10 pooled van ride to the ferry to Bocas.This turned out to be an hour ride even though LoneyPlanet thinks it is only half that long.  Then we got a high speed boat ride for $4 into Bocas town.  This was 20 minutes compared to the LonelyPlanets estimate of 45 minutes.  Bocas town is much nicer than the Caribbean towns I visited on Costa Rica.  Still there isn't much for me to do here.  The butterfly farm which I was planning to visit today is apparently closed for 'maintenance'.  So I'm using the day to get my laundry done and caught up on this blog.  BTW, so far I find the food of Panama maybe not much better but at least a third less expensive than Costa Rica.

Tomorrow, I plan to head to David City.  Accordingly to LonelyPlanet, it is a 4 1/2 hour ride from the bus terminal back on the mainland.  Of course I now know the boat ride is about 20 minutes but I still have no idea how far the bus station is from the marina.  Of course that is all part of the fun of independent traveling.

The Rescue Center Guide waving at something or other

The rocky beach in Cahuita.  Beach in Puerto Viejo isn´t much better

Baby 2 Toe Sloth

Adult 2 Toe Sloth who is afraid to go high up in the trees

Smith Cabinas in Cahita

Nice beach east of Puerto Viejo

Baby 3 Toe Sloth

The Cat at the Rescue Center

The Rented House at Puerto Viejo

The Famous Costa Rican Frog

Tour Folks playing with the holler monkeys

I ever saw a tree that grew together like this

Hotel Los Dalfines in Bocas, Panama

San Jose

I left La Fortuna Saturday morning.  I was told I would be picked up by Interbus at 7:30 am.  Instead, after two calls to the place where I bought my ticket, I was picked up by RideCR at 8:20 am.  Fortunatey from there the ride was all good.  (Yes, the driver knew the way...) 
I shared a new  8 person A/C van with a young couple from Toronto who were going to the San Jose airport to return home.  Of course my destination was the hotel in San Jose.  I made there about 11:30 am.  However upon arrival. I discovered there was no room at the inn (Hotel Aranjuez).  I guess other people must have been able to do all their strange reservation requirements.  Any way, no big deal.  I simply went across the street to Kaps Place.  This is another weird place - kind of like an upscale hostel.  I looks like a bunker from the street as you must go through two security doors to get to reception.  But it is rather nice inside and the rooms are small but well furnished.
I spent the rest of Saturday and all day today looking about San Jose.  I was hoping to take a commercial walking tour this morning but that didn't happen.  So I did it on my own using my tour books for all the information.  I discovered the most notable building in Costa Rica is no doubt the National Theater which was built in 1897 to compete with the finest in the world.  I got lucky there as they just recently began Sunday tours so I took advantage of the opportunity.  See pics.  I also discovered that San Jose was the third city in the world to be wired for electricity...after New York and Paris.  Who would have thought?
As for Costa Rican food, I'm not a fan.  Most of the people here like rather bland foods - just the opposite of my liking.  In addition, they have a "typical" salad here they serve with a lot of their meals.  This salad is made up of beets, mayo, etc.  In my opinion the only thing it is missing from being a complete mess is onions.  Maybe they could add that just for me! 
Tomorrow (Monday), I'm off by bus to the Caribbean coast.  I'll probably spend tomorrow night in the town of Cahuita.  Supposely this area, unlike the rest of Costa Rica, has Caribbean cooking.  Therefore I'm hoping for some good jerk food, maybe something spicy in coconut milk, etc.  I'm also hoping the food in Panama is much more inspired than what I've encountered so far in Costa Rica.

Kaps Place

Abandoned Railroad Station - Looks in good shape inside

Nice Name for an Inn - Bonny & Mike are you listening?

National Theater - Lobby

National Theater - Famous Ceiling Panting

National Theater - Intermission Room

National Part Monument _ Commemorating the defeat of American "Adventurer" William Walker

The Blue House - Use as home for several former presidents

Edificio Metalico - Iron Structure shippied piece by piece from Belgium in 1892

Costa Rican Supreme Court

This is the only type of street cleaner I saw.  Maybe that is why the streets aren't clean

Train Engine Built in Philadelphia 1n 1939 - Looks OlderÉ

National Theater - Stage

National Theater

Sorry, once again I'm frustrated as Blogger changed the order of the pics and their rotation.