Bocas del Toro

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The amazing thing about Panama, and generally this will be true for most Central American countries, is that going from Pacific to Carribean coasts requires so little effort. In fact, go to a tall enough mountain, and get a clear enough day, and you can spy both Pacific and Carribean waters from the same vantage point. That is a skinny country. Me and an Israeli traveler, Sharon, went to the mountain, but didn't get the day, so that about sums up that story. Next we went to a gorgeous little corner of Panama, which is actually worth telling about.




















Bocas del Toro, Mouth of the Bull. That translation bears no meaning on anything, as far as I can tell. But now you know some spanish. The main settlement is called Bocas town, set on Colon Island. Several other islands, ranging from large to near nothing, are nearby, and boat taxi is the way to get from island to island. I only went to Isla Colon and Carenero, and would have gone to another that is supposedly amazing, if not for the pouring rain on the morning of departure. One other misadventure included riding rusty old bikes with nearly non-existent brakes to a beach called Bocas del Drago. Halfway there, Sharon took a corner to sharp, and without the aid of his brakes, was thrown off his bike, so we went back to the town. Otherwise, it was enjoying the nearby beaches, soaking up the sun, drinking a few beers during happy hour to fight the humidity and not empty your wallet (Panama is expensive), swinging in some hammocks, and watching some laid back, carribean lifestyle going by. This is Bocas. And Bocas es Amor.
































































The Aqua Lounge, complete with bar, tables, swimming pool, and second story dive board.

The Big Ditch

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As in really, REALLY big. And who better to appreciate this massive trench than this wandering civil engineering graduate. Here is my chance to justify my long months away from home, where I can actually apply my degree to my travels . I promise not to make this a long, boring entry on the ins and outs of the canal, however; I know better than that. How does that saying go? Ah yes, "engineers are not (all) boring people, we just enjoy boring subjects. I went with a couple guys from where I was staying in the city, and while they got bored quickly, I lasted a bit longer. We watched the incredibly slow process of a ship passing through the locks, with an overexcited PA announcer leading us through every step as if we were watching a horse race. There was a museum full of facts and figures, some of which appear below.

First, however, let me use my soap box for just a bit. For those that don't know, we engineers aren't as close as you might think, and each group thinks it has the most prestigious field within the scope of engineering (except civils don't need to think, but just know it to be Truth). This led to some intense word battles in and out of the library, but mostly in it because that is where we spent most of our time. ME students like to tell us how they build the missiles, and we build the targets. Blah blah blah, go help Brain take over the world then, Pinky. Others say we have the easiest of all the fields, that Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, Aeronautical, Computer, etc. have it harder. I beg to differ, but for your sake, dear reader, I won't argue about the complications of our math problems. Permit me, however, to throw out some questions.

EE's, where is your modern wonder of the world that the crowds are just flocking to see? AE's, all those flying contraptions you create that fly so high, how high until they can't see this giant accomplishment from the ground, or our many others? ChemE's, try dealing with this amount of moving water. ME's, when have you ever defied plate tectonics and seperated two continents that have been joined together for over 3 million years? It would take more missiles than you have to do that. Yeah, you all wish you had a ditch like ours.

Ok, moving along. In my opinion, the main wonder of the canal is its sheer size and how its construction was accomplished. To help you all somehow picture it, here is some history and a list of some stats I have found that have some seriously large numbers in them. It is cooler to stand on a viewing patform at the canal when thinking about all this, but the stats themselves are pretty cool in and of themselves. First is a brief history, then a picture story, and finally some cool facts with huge numbers.

History
"Although the Suez Canal had already severed Africa from asia three decades earlier, that was a comparatively simple, sea-level surgical stroke across an empty, disease-free, sand desert with no hills. The french company that dug it went next to the 56-mile-wide isthmus between the Americas, smugly intending to do the same. Disastrously, they underestimated dense jungle steeped in malaria and yellow fever, rivers fed by prodigious rainfall, and a continental divide whose lowest pass was still 270 feet above sea level. Before they were one-third of the way through, they suffered not only a bankruptcy that rocked France, but also the deaths of 22,000 workers." (1) Way to go France.

For those that think we don't invade/interfere with countries for ulterior motives (I won't name names...there are too many to list anyway), rather than liberating Puerto Rico from the Spanish in the Spanish-American War, as we had promised, we instead held onto the island because of its "perfect positon as a coaling station for the still-nonexistant canal." (1) Furthermore, Panama was at that time a part of Colombia, whose government didn't want to make a deal about the canal with us, so we helped Panama rebels oust Colombia, faithfully recognizing as Panama's first ambassador a French engineer from France's canal attempt who promptly affirmed a treaty agreeing to US terms for the canal. (1) This pretty much "sealed the US's reputation in Latin America as piratical gringo imperialists." (1)

In 1903 the US started construction on the canal, and it took 11 more years and 5,000 more deaths to complete it, opening in the year 1914. The completion of the canal shifted the economic center of the world to the US, and seperated the continous mountain range spanning from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego as well as two continents, as stated before, for the first time in 3 million years. (1) The canal is essentially and aquatic staircase across the continent, with three seperate locks - Gatun, Miraflores, and Pedro Miguel - serving to raise and lower ships as they traverse the isthmus. Although designed in the early 1900's, the canal remains a principle conduit for international maritime trade. (3) Very few projects maintain this status after so long an interval.

The Future
Some of the modern ships on the water today have outgrown the canal's geometric limits, and so an extension to the canal has been designed, with excavation started and bids being taken for the construction of new locks to allow for larger ships to pass through. No new canal is being made, just an extension of the already existing one. As long as the canal can keep up with the evergrowing sizes and numbers of ships, it will remain the principle route through the Central American isthmus and in the world. And on to the stats.

The Picture Story




Boat enters Miraflores lower lock









Locks close behind the boat







Water from second lock begins to drain into the lower lock (to the right)







Water levels equalizing







When levels equal, gate opens and ship goes through.






The Numbers
- The Canal occupies 7% of Panama's territory (3)

-1884 peak labor force of 19,243 workers (3)

- In excess of 1.53 million cubic meters (404 million gallons, or 612 olympic size swimming pools) of concrete were used to make the Gatun locks alone (4)
- Ships are lifted with 52,000 gallons of water (lots and lots of those 5-gallon orange gatorade buckets...10,400 to be exact) in the canal's locks (1)
- To contain the water in the Miraflores locks, gates 66 ft (20 m) wide by 6.6 ft (2 m) thick were constructed. Height varies from 46-82 ft (14-25 m), and the tallest in the miraflores locks are designed to withstand the tidal motion from the pacific. (3)
- The Gatun locks are 108 ft (33 m) wide. (2)

- French excavated 59,747,620 cubic meters of rock and soil (3)

- Americans excavated a stretch of land called the Culebra Cut, which took 6,000 men digging every day for seven years to complete (1)
- Dry cut excavation of Culebra cut lasted 7 years, consisted of 153 million cubic meters (That is 61,200 olympic swimming pools!) of rock and dirt removed and transported by drilling, blasting, digging, dredging, hauling and dumping (3)
- Machines were designed that could remove more than 8,000 tons of earth in under 8 hours (2)
- More than half the material removed during th construction of the canal was solid rock, yet every day 600 holes were drilled and blasted to slice the rock up to 7 meters down. (3)
- With the amount of drilling upon completion, a hole could have been drilled through the earth and 900 km beyond (3)

- Between 1905 and 1911, more than 60 million tons of dynamite were used (our most powerful nuclear missiles ever (known to be) created have a yield of 25 million tons of dynamite. How 'bout that, ME's?). (3)


1 - The World Without Us, Alan Weisman
2 - Wikipedia
3 - Miraflores Museum
4 - http://www.eclipse.co.uk/~sl5763/panama.htm

Panama, The City

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The difference from Colombia was severely pronounced once Emily and I had landed in the airport. Not only did a lot of people speak English, but many replied to our fluent Spanish in fluent English, something I find very infuriating/annoying and extremely discourteous. Subway, KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Dunkin' Donuts, and more dot the streets of more upmarket neighborhoods, and I was becoming more and more displeased with the North American ambiance in this Latin American city.

Luckily there were some redeeming factors once I entered the real Panama, as one talkative Panamanian told me on the street. The barrio of Casco Viejo, Panama City's old town, was the rough edge in what is predominantly an ultra-modern, ultra-american city. And that is why I loved it. Rarely have I stayed in neighborhoods with such shady characters, where laundry hung out on balconies and windowsills, their doors and windows remained open to keep the hot, humid interior from becoming any worse. It was predominantly a neighborhood of poverty, of the underpriviledged, of struggling residents living in rundown, crumbly-old buildings. The peeling paint, the splintered doors and shutters, the balconies supported by rotten columns of wood planted on the pavement below - it was a neigborhood with a unique character that I became quite affectionate of.

Brights and Pastels:











Bleak modernity, ripened age:











Like a painting:











New meets Old:












Progressive Accomplishments:











Modern prosperity, young poverty:










New Town Morning:









New Town Night:

Journey to the Isthmus Land

Last of Colombia Photos (16)
Arrival in Panama Photos (7)

It seemed I just arrived in Colombia when I found myself on the way out. Picking up a mate to travel with in Cartagena, Emily and I made for the cheaper but more adventerous route out of the country via boat taxis. A day long bus journey took us from the magical city of Cartegena to the dingy town of Turbo, where a new and foul smells were waiting for you around every corner. A two hour boat journey took us to the isthmus of Central America controlled by Colombia in a pleasant little town called Capurgana. A nice beach and laid back town, we spent the night there. The following morning it was another boat ride to the backwater port town of Puerto Obaldia, where we officially left South America and stepped down into Panama. From time to time one can find boats leaving from the port to the beautiful San Blas Islands. I had missed the one that morning and the next one wouldn't be in until...well, no one ever knows. Not having the luxury to be spending endless days waiting for another boat, I continued on with Emily to Panama city, taking off from a sketchy, very short runway in a 20 person propeller plane and touching down in Panama City less than an hour later (I am glad the flight was so adventurous because of the fact that I was yet again breaking my rule about not flying. But this was worth the experience). Customs took four times longer than the flight, and finally we were let go, but not before they had called interpool to see if I was a wanted criminal. And just like that, after 15 months in South America, I found myself out of South America and on and Isthmus.

Our plane and our...runway?








No room for error.

Volcanic Exfoliation

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Volcanoes smoke, secrete lava, and most notoriously, explode. Despite such widespread, prejudiced generalizations that hurt the reputation of an under-recognized minority of volcanoes, we as a society are moving forward and embracing these gentler relatives. One such example is Volcan Totumo, where patrons can take a mud bath in a 2.3 km pit of liquid mud, enjoying the unique experience as well as the alleged restorative properties of the mud. I just thought it was cool to take a mud bath in an active volcano. How many people get to do that?

Cartegena

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The only thing that sweats here more than you is the cold beer you are nursing in a desperate attempt to defy the heat and humidity. It offers a few short, sweet moments of refreshment, but you must walk the fine line of drinking it just fast enough that it isn't warm by the end and drinking slow enough to enjoy its coldness as long as possible. Fortunately, this may be the biggest dilema you will face for the day.

The heat and humidity make it hard to drag yourself out into the elements and explore the city, but luckily you are richly rewarded for your efforts. Inside fortified walls, the historic colonial center is guaranteed to charm you. Colorful buildings, winding streets, botanical balconies, and seaside gazing from the old wall itself, you see why an impressive list of pirates tried to plunder the city through the centuries. As a result, Cartagena was fortified with massive stone walls enclosing the city, as well as by numerous seperate forts and batteries strategically placed arround the main port. Cartagena became impossible to overrun, but it cost a pretty penny to complete. Legend has it that Charles III of Spain, while reviewing the costs of defenses constructed in Spain in Havanna and Cartagena, took up his spyglass and exclaimed, "This is outrageous! For this price those castles should be seen from here! (Peninsular Spain)." Perhaps not visible at such great lengths, they have nevertheless left their mark on the city and make for wonderful places to explore.

yaaarrr

On my last night in the city, perched up on the old city wall, I shared a beer with two other travelers as we watched the sun setting over the carribean. Cooler now with the breeze blowing in from sea, we made small talk and enjoyed the last few colors in the sky and the new colors appearing across the bay as the modern towers lit up in the twilight. The perfect way to say goodbye to such a wonderful city.

Blue Waters & Caribbean Coast

Taganga Photos (11)
Tayrona Photos (25)

It is a late dinner of empanadas and papas rellenas in the bus terminal waiting for my bus. After buying a bottle of water for the trip, I wait out in the darkness for the bus to arrive. When it comes I heave my heavy backpack into the storage compartment and climb on board. Air conditioned air, cool and stale, welcomes me on board as I check the numbers for my seat. It will be a 12 hour ride with an early morning transfer. Despite being in a temperate climate leaning more on the hot side, I have my fleece jacket and winter hat with me as necessities; for whatever reason, the AC will remain on full blast throughout the night turning the bus into a refrigerator. Vendors climb on board trying their best to convince you that you forgot you needed something they are selling. I'm going to sleep, because the movie will likely be dull and dubbed, and that way the ride will pass faster as well. Soon I will leave the Andes behind for the first time in nearly a 6 months. Caribbean beaches await...

I wake up to being told I need to get off to get my transfer to Santa Marta. I get straight off and nearly choke in the heat. Off comes the fleece, the winter hat, and if not for cultural decency rules, so would everything else. I get into a cab the company has paid for and head for Santa Marta. Another bus and an hour later, and I am in the rustic beach town of Taganga.













Dirt roads, worn down buildings, and blasting latin tunes characterize this small beach town with a horse-shoe bay to itself. Minimalist dress styles prevail in the heat, and other than laying in hammocks, taking a dip in the sea, or eating fish on one of the numerous beach side eateries, there is nothing to do. That, of course, is part of the appeal. The real highlight though is the nearby Tayrona National Park, which includes some pristine Caribbean beaches, virgin forests, and gringos enjoying all it has to offer.













It took in hour to get to the closest beach in a 17 person boat with two outboard motors. A flying fish cruzed alongside our boat for a few seconds, which was really cool to see. I had no idea they had wings and could actually fly; I always thought they just jumped high or something. The day was overcast but still stiflingly hot and conducive to swimming in the water. We stayed in hammocks strung up side by side, and the accommodations included a restaurant and small store selling cold drinks at inflated prices.










In the morning the sun rose in a clear sky, and I awoke in paradise. The blue waters became luminescent, the golden sand of the early morning growing warmer and whiter as the day progressed. The daily routine was one of catching rays, swimming, getting some sun, snorkeling, lunch, swim, read, get more sun, swim to some rocks and jump off them, more laying around, maybe a shower, grab an ice cold beer, and enjoy the view. It was a place where doing nothing was doing enough.






































And for a fun exercise, find all the things different in these two photos: