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Thursday, February 3, 2011

Viva Panama

We read about the place in which we stayed outside Colon, Panama in the Lonely Planet. The infamous Building 400 of the School of the Americas. The School of the Americas was used by the US Government to train locals on how resist Communist insurgencies in Central and South America. Among those trained in Building 400 were some of the worst Dictators ever to come to power, including Leopoldi Galtiere who "disappeared" thousands during Argentina's "Dirty Wars", Robert D'Auboisson who led death squads in El Salvador.

Building 400 is certainly delightful now. It is a huge building with an expansive interior. It has been made over into a hotel complex by the Spanish Melia chain. The rooms have ceilings that look to be about 14 feet high and the grounds have two gigantic pools and the whole thing sits on the shores of Lake Gatun, created from the Chagres River when the Panama Canal was built.

Despite it's past, Buildng 400 served as the perfect spot from which to visit Fuerte San Lorenzo (last sacked in 1740 by British Admiral Vernon....after whom George Washington's Mt Vernon is named) as well as the massive Gatun Locks which raise and lower boats to the Caribbean.

Panama has been run over, occupied and abused ever since the Spanish explorer Rodrigo de Bastidas landed here in 1501 . It seems to be flourishing now and that is exactly why it seems fitting to end our little Panamanian Adventure with a Panamanian Band playing "Viva Panama" in the now elegant lobby of the infamous Building 400.

Viva Panama indeed!

Posted via email from Bob's posterous

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Feb 1 Panama

The flight into Panama City was pretty spectacular.  There is a great skyline and there is always a line of ships waiting to get through the canal.

After a nite in PNC, we rented a car and went over to Portobello.  It's a  Unesco World heritage site.  I find it amazing how much I don't know about the places here.  Portobello, San Lorenzo, both on the Caribbean side, and Panama City on the Pacific side formed the triangle of forts that Spain used to shuttle gold across the Isthmus.  No lack of fighting here.  All the forts were sacked multiple times by the English starting in  1670 with the pirate Henry Morgan. 

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Jan 31 Panama

Today was a lazy day of nothing.  Now in the airport waiting for the 1 hour flight to Panama City on a puddle jumper.

I stopped by the local bike store since we forgot the hex wrench I needed to get Chantal's pedals off.   They had the wrench and, it turns out, they had a bunch of empty bike boxes too.  I bought a couple for $10 and packed our bikes.  I think the airline would have taken the bikes without boxes, but they told us they should be boxed. 

If you need bikes or something related to bikes in Bocas, this is your place:

It's been raining pretty much all afternoon so perhaps a good thing that we are making our way.

We will go back to Panama City and then probably over to Colon and Portobello before heading back home.

We have heard that we've misssed some snow and cold weather.  :-)

We have enjoyed Bocas del Toro.  This will give you a sense of the kind of place it is....some of the rental bikes are equipped to allow you to take your rental toys to the beach:

....and here is the toy it is designed to carry:

Posted via email from Bob's posterous

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Jan 30 Panama

Today is beach day.  We signed up for snorkeling and a visit to the Island of Bastimentos which is a National Park.  The snorkeling was fine if a little cloudy.  The beach was nice also.  It wasn't big.  Only a kilometer long and we managed to walk around it twice in the couple hours we were there.

The only real downer were the 4 or 5 Panamanians in our group, who had a few too many beers and started to leave a trail of beer cans in their wake.  The beers didn't bother me much, but the trail of beer cans did.   It's awfully short sighted.   Leaving trash all over will quickly turn the paradise into a dump.  It's not just Panama, it's an unfortunate part of the culture in a lot of places.

Isle of Bastiimentos:

We walked around it twice.   Some locals were on the far side with a couple dogs and a campfire...RIGHT in front of the sign that said no  pets and no fires.....

Posted via email from Bob's posterous

Jan 29 Panama

We rode our bikes all over the Isle of Colon today.  It's not the easiest thing to do as, even though our map shows the 2 roads on the island as paved, one turns into a beach road....sand; and the other road turns into gravel.  Still we rode on them both.  As it turned out there was a nice restaurant at the end of the longer road which takes you to the opposite side of the island. 


On the way back we explored the grotto ($1 entry fee).  We were dazzled by the 75 foot line of "leaf cutter" ants along the trail to the grotto more than we were with the grotto.  The grotto you had to wade through waist deep water in the pitch black.  Plus there are underwater rocks to trip on.  It didn't do much for me .  Chantal either.  I did manage to get a little movie of the ants though.  I will see if I can get the vid up on you tube.   There is no lack of wildlife or vegetation here in Pamana.

Posted via email from Bob's posterous