Trip to Panama

We really wanted to see the historic parts of Panama City, but as maps appeared to be useless in the face of a lack of road signs, we decided to chicken out and book a local guide. Rony turned up bright and early and off we went.

We reached Panama City in about an hour, and our first stop after crossing the Centennial Bridge was the Visitor Center at Miraflores Locks. It was a smart new building about 4 storeys high. We paid our $8 to go in, and began to the tour. There was a theater with a short film, followed by 4 exhibition halls depicting the history of building the Canal. It was very interesting and full of artifacts, which showed the huge project from a historic, sanitary and technological point of view. The project was initially French, but after huge losses of life to malaria and yellow fever, and constant setbacks in digging, the Americans finally agreed to take over the project. Their success was due to systematically reducing mosquitos, which carried the deadly diseases, and by planning to raise ships to the level of the newly formed Lake Gatun, rather than lowering the landmass to sea level. This involved building the huge locks, which are still in use today at Gatun, Pedro Miguel and Miraflores.

The Visitor Center is built right alongside the latter locks with several indoor and outdoor viewing platforms from which to see the huge container ships pass through the Locks. We saw a container ship aided by 2 tugs slowly advance into the lock chamber. It was attached by ropes to several “mules” or engines, which held the ship in place while the water drained out of the chamber, and the ship slowly descended the 31 feet. The good thing about the viewing platform was that the whole time we were watching the process; a loudspeaker was relaying live information about the ship. We learned what the ship was called, where it was traveling to and from, and most amazingly what it’s toll was to pass through the locks. The fee is based on cargo, and this container ship paid a staggering $56,000 to pass through. What an incredible money-raiser for Panama – I hope they use it wisely. The Canal works 24/7 continually taking ships across from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, which saves thousands of miles, tanker loads of fuel, and about 10 days, compared with circumventing South America.

After trying out the navigation simulator and playing with the lighted maps, we visited the snack bar and then we were on our way again into Panama City. Next we visited Panama Viejo “old Panama” which was not so well presented. Here were the ruined remains of Panama City before 1700AD. We saw they were not very well maintained or presented as we wandered around part walls and ruins of buildings and towers from long ago. We then visited where the new “old city” was rebuilt. This consisted of old streets lined with what were obviously fine buildings once, but now were just shells being rebuilt behind the old facades.

Rony was an excellent guide, his English was excellent and he made navigating the City very easy. He took us to various interesting viewpoints and to the shops at Amador causeway and Albrook. Apparently he considered he was well paid at $15 per day as a tour guide, but as we paid the Hotel $120, we might have disagreed with him! What amazed us was how long his working day was. He got up at 5.30 am to catch the local bus from his village to Coronado, arriving at 8am, and then did a full day with us before traveling back to his family at Farallon. It puts our 8-hour working days to shame.

Labels: Miraflores visitor center, panama canal, Panama City, tour guide

When we arrived in Panama, like most other tourists, we hired a car. We got the cheapest and most basic car from Budget, but with the compulsory insurances, it still cost us over $200 per week. We were staying and traveling in Panama for 12 weeks, so this blew a big hole in our budget. We decided early on that we would buy a cheap run-around and sell it at the end of the stay for maybe $1000 less. So off we went.

We hired a Spanish-speaking guide for the day, and asked him to take us to some car dealers. Our budget was $2500 and our expectations were high. This was a cheap country, right, so old cars had to be reasonable? Wrong. Nowhere had any vehicles under $5000, and these vehicles were old, tatty, and with at least 200,000 kms on the clock. We went to see one “bargain” at $2500. It turned out to be an ex-taxi with 300,000 kms, and a smashed windscreen. We were flabbergasted! We searched newspapers and the Internet for private sales and eventually bought the cheapest acceptable car we could find – a Lexus 400, 17 years old, well-worn and showing a very suspicious 41,000kms. The speedometer only worked occasionally, the petrol gauge could only be read with a torch, but at $3500 we jumped at it. It was a difficult car to sell due to it’s gas-guzzling 5 liter engine, so the locals did not want it, but I have to say, we traveled in comfort and style for the rest of the holiday!

We met a great Insurance agent who carefully, and in perfect English, explained what we did and did not need, and it cost us $160 for the year. This included roadside assistance and some months later when the radiator blew, this proved an amazing service. Within minutes of our phone call, Generali called us back having arranged a towtruck from the nearby village. We were 80kms (50 miles) out of Panama City, and expected a huge surcharge, but it was all free. The nicest guy arrived promptly and took the car and us back to our mechanic in Panama City, and all with a smile.

Speaking of our mechanic, we “inherited” Alvaro with the car. When we bought it, the seller kindly passed on the name and number of the mechanic who had serviced the car for the past 2 owners. He turned out to be a gem. He did all the paperwork for us, for $20, and serviced and fixed the car, as we needed him. New tires? No problem. He got them cheaper than we could and always provided us with invoices. When we left Panama to return to the States for 3 months, he offered to collect the car from the airport, garage it for us, and meet us at the airport upon our return. Our return time was a most unsociable 1.30 am, so we walked through Arrivals with doubt and trepidation. Surely he would have forgotten/overslept, or worse sold the car and disappeared. How wrong we were. Alvaro was there, car keys in his hand and a newly washed car just outside. The cost for this personal service? In Alvaro’s words. “For my customers, nothing!” What a great guy he is.

A further note to would be car-owners in Panama. Some ex-Pats have imported vehicles, but the problem there is that a car which may have cost less than $5000 in America is taxed on the Panamanian customs value – which is more than twice that value, so a large import duty is payable before the vehicle can be released. Basically a vehicle in Panama is a luxury item, there is no cheap way to own and run one. The Insurance is reasonable, but gas is 10% higher than in the US. It was a hefty $4.65 a gallon in June 2008 – half a day’s pay for the average Panamanian!

Labels: breaking down, buying a car, car insurance, driving in Panama, gas prices, Lexus 400, owning a car, Panama City, tow truck, vehicle import duty, Vehicles

Labels: Coronado beach, Farallon Island, Pacific coast, Panama, Santa Clara, walking

Part of the pleasure of travel is getting to eat out "locally". It is particularly nice to eat somewhere memorable or a little “different”, somewhere with a history, or a background story, and La Ruina in Gorgona is such a place. Just a stone’s throw from the PanAmerican highway, follow the signs into Gorgona Village and enjoy a totally heart-warming experience.

Gorgona itself is a small Panamanian village with a few local stores and supermarkets. Following the road past the houses, it becomes increasingly more bumpy and rough, but after about 2kms, it reaches the sandy beach. There is an excellent fish market here each morning, where the local catch of the day can be purchased for anything from $1 per pound and up. It is the freshest produce, guaranteed, and usually includes corvina, snapper and yellow-fin tuna.

Back in the village, there is also a restaurant/tavern appropriately named "La Ruina". The heartwarming story of its development goes back many years, to when Frank, a soldier from Atlantic City met and fell in love with his Panamanian bride, Dilcia. Like all young couples, they had a dream, and their dream was to open a true Tavern in the old ruin which sat neglected in the village of Gorgona. But like many dreams, it was not easy to materialize into reality, and many years passed as they tried in vain to buy the old ruined building. Finally, their hopes came true and they had the opportunity to buy and renovate the dilapidated building. Together they opened the doors of their Inn to serve drinks and beers in true “pub” fashion, along with burgers, ribs, corvina and salads with Frank at the bar, and Dilcia in the kitchen.

The walls of this homely establishment tell the tale of another Gorgona, many years ago, when it was located inland on the banks of the Chagres River. This was one of the villages which was relocated to the Pacific coast when Lake Gatun was dammed and flooded, to make way for the Panama Canal. On the Tavern walls, the old pictures and photographs show schoolchildren gathered outside the old wooden schoolhouse. These fascinating antique photographs capture the primitive wooden housing and way of life of Panamanians more than a century ago.

Although not haute-cuisine, this is a meal you will remember, for its warm welcome, its heart-warming tale of perseverance of a dream, and a glimpse of times past in Panama.

Labels: eating out, Gorgona, La Ruina, Pacific coast, Panama, Restaurant

Boquete is a popular tourist destination for anyone visiting the far West of Panama. Close to the city of David and the Costa Rican border, it nestles in the mountains. Boquete actually means "hole in the ground" and as you approach it along the twisting road, it does suddenly appear beneath you in a natural crater. The surrounding hills are planted with coffee plantations, for which it is famous. One of the "must see" things on your list should be a tour of a coffee plantation.

Coffee Adventures offer a complete pick-up service and a detailed tour of the Kotowa Plantation, which lasts approx 3 hours. The tour started out among the coffee trees where we saw for the first time how small a coffee tree can be, and how the beans develop in an extraordinary way all along the branches. It is not like any other tree I have ever seen. As the beans develop at different rates, ripening and picking was a continuous process from October to April, so mechanical picking, like grapes is not possible, so it is still done by hand. Even when I visited in late May there was still plenty to see.

The guide, Hans van der Vooren, lives on his own coffee plantation “Finca Habbus de Kwie” so his knowledge was first hand and very informative. He was happy to answer all our questions as we went along which made it a very individual and personalised tour. A Dutch ex-Pat, he spoke excellent English as he told the story of the Kotowa Plantation from its humble beginnings at the hands of a Canadian, Alexander Duncan MacIntyre, who actually gave up being Mayor of Vancouver and came to Boquete in 1918 to grow coffee. The business is still owned and run by the same family today.

Following the bean from picking through drying, sorting and roasting was a fascinating tale, and yet it was done mostly by hand with very simple equipment, largely unchanged since coffee first began. Learning about the different beans, the quality and the difference in roasting times (just 30 seconds takes a medium blend to fully roasted), was totally fascinating and Hans was happy to answer all our questions as the tour proceeded through the small buildings.

It was also interesting to learn how the resident workers live and work. Native Indians are used for labor, and the living conditions they enjoy are award-winning in the country. Despite all the mod-cons provided such as tap water, many still prefer to wash and bathe in the nearby stream, and continue to fill the houses with acrid smoke whilst cooking! The children all go to school on-site, which cleverly frees up the women to work and earn also. Seeing their colorful traditional dress and watching the children scamper shyly about the fields was an education for us too.

After touring the slopes and factory, right through to where the beans are bagged, the final part of the tour was spent in the restored cupping room of the original old mill, where we sat inhaling the aroma of freshly brewing coffee. Now we were able to put into practice our new knowledge as coffee tasters. We shook the ground coffee around in the cups to inhale the scents, much like in wine tasting. The mild roast certainly had the smell and taste of many fruits. Medium roast produced a more nutty taste, together with caramel and chocolate flavors, and the full roast lost most of the finer tastes in favor of chocolate, but was noticeably smoother. We then had the opportunity to buy some of the renowned Kotowa coffee, a great souvenir to take back home and an ideal gift for family and friends.

All that we heard, saw and experienced that morning at the Kotowa coffee plantation was an education which will stay with me and hopefully be recalled every time I choose my coffee beans. It was also good to be able to learn about and support the local industry which many families depend on for their living.

Labels: Boquete, Coffee plantation, Kotowa coffee, Panama, tour

Labels: Boquete, Delicias de Peru, driving in Panama, eating out, Machu Picchu restaurant, Peruvian restaurant, Valle de Rio Hotel