Panama

This past weekend we made the long trek down to Panama City. Although we were only 6 hours from the border, the journey took about 16 hours all meal and bathroom breaks included. Nevertheless, our journey proved worthwhile thanks to Panamas rich history and interesting urban life.

Upon our arrival after and overnight trip on the micro-bus we had a quick tour of downtown Panama City. Panama's capital is a sprawling urban center with huge buildings mostly pertaining to large financial institutions and wealthy citizens living in luxury condos. It was a bit surprising to see after spending nearly four months in Costa Rica and visiting San Jose only a handful of times. It reminded us of some of America's largest cities which I suppose we should have expected, considering the heavy handed American presence there over the past century or so. We could definitely tell that urban dwelling Panamanians received there idea of development from American culture due to the large shopping malls and huge stores of imported American and European fashions. This aspect of Panama draws in a lot of tourism from Costa Rica because of the significantly lower prices for American and European brand names there. Aside from the American-esque developement the most striking feature of the city was surely the buses. Each one is privately owned by the driver and diAnother strange aspect for us was handling American money again. Even though Panama has its own currency in the form of balboa's, US dollars are welcome and balboa's have been made to look like USD so there is little confusion.

Our second day we visited a few of Panama's richest cultural heritage sites. We first ventured to Panama Viejo, the sixteenth century colonial ruins of Panamas original capital that was destroyed by the infamous pirate, Henry Morgan. At the UNESCO World Heritage site we were able to explore the ruins of the old cathderal, plaza mayor, as well as various other buildings that comprise a large park in the middle of the city. Eventually, however, we sought refuge from the already intense morning heat in our bus which took us to a local mall for lunch where we ate some traditional American fare at Taco Bell.

After lunch we made our way to the Panama Canal's Miraflores locks (pictures below) where we watched a handful of ships make there way through the last stretch of the canal before arriving at the Pacific Ocean. While the museum and informational video provided us with more Panamanian propaganda than useful historical facts the experience was nevertheless a profound one.

Following our two hours at the canal we made our way back downtown this time into the Casco Antiguo or the Old Quarter of the city. There we walked among the neo-colonial buildings and ruins along the coast. Enjoying the cathedrals and plazas that are now home to nice restaurants, coffee shops, and small souvenir stores. Different plazas payed homage to revolutionaries and patriarchs like Simon Bolivar and Spain and others to the French and American engineers and workers who conceived of and completed the canal respectively. Also in the old quarter lies what has to be one of the few Latin American cathedrals with a baroque alter covered in pure gold, la Iglesia de San Jose. I wish we could have spent some more time relaxing down among the old part of town, but our guide insisted it was a bit dangerous after dusk so we made our way back to the hotel.

In the evening we checked out some of the local nightlife, which proved to be quite vibrant and inexpensive (before 11 at least) but seeing as how our driver needed to take us home and bring us to the beach at 6 a.m. the next day we didn't stay out for too long.


For our second and last full day in Panama we made out way up to the Caribbean in search of beach. Along the way we stopped at in Portobelo, the site of the important colonial Caribbean port before the canal. Still standing there is the old "customs" building of colonial times (to the right) where all the goods arriving from northern South America and the road from Guatemala through Central America arrived to be counted before shipping out. We also visited a cathedral housing a typical Latin American African interpretation of Christ. The church is often the last stop for pilgrims coming to pay homage and pray at the feet of an unorthodox interpretation of the Son of God. We the proceeded to travel along the coast in search of a beach. However, despite the copious amount of coast line in Panama there are very few beaches. The ones you can find however are generally white sand, well maintained, and hopefully not too busy. Due to the long journey we were only able to spend a few hours enjoying the sun and cool Caribbean water, but it was more than enough. The journey back to Panama City was a long and sleepy one and upon arrival we were more than ready to hit the sack before another long drive back to Santa Ana, Costa Rica.

Above you can see how far the water dropped.

Off to the Pacific ocean....

Pet Spider Monkey?

Monumento Nacional Guayabo

On our way to limon we stopped at Guayabo National Monument, on the sides of the smoking Turrialba Volcano. The monument is home to the most imporant archeological site in Costa Rica. It contains the remains of numerous towns and their artifacts and also protects a large portion of temporate rain forest that is home to many tropical creatures. The towns located here were already abandoned when the Spanish arrived in the sixteenth century, but evidence suggests that their cities were once an extremely important religous sites for tribes of peoples ranging from Colombia to Guatemala. Satelite photos have revealed markers and networks of roads that lead to this quiet mountain side from all over Costa Rica.

The sight has also been decalred a World Heritage Engineering site due to its complex system of aqueducts (Seen to the right is one of the source fountains). The aqueducts are still working today, which is sort of ironic in a country where there are still days where parts of the city go without water or electricity for entire mornings and afternoons. The complex system of source fountains, filtration, and holding containers that brought water to various points and homes throughout the towns.

The short hikes there provide some spectacular views of the sites in its entirety and reveal diffent graves and monoliths that dot the hill sides. Sadly a large portion of the artifacts have been removed from there resting places and a few can be found in the National Museum in San Jose. Depsite its being picked over what remains is impressive and bas been compared to sites such as the famous Machu Picho of Peru making it well worth the while despite its being a little off the beaten path.

Model of how the town used to be

Tombs

Provincia de Limon

Our trip to Punta Uva was our very first to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica (so that is the sunrise above). The beaches there are widely regarded by most Costa Ricans to be the most beautiful in the country. After passing a couple of days in Punta Uva's white sand, calm surf, and perfectly clear water it is hard to disagree. Despite the renowned beauty, often the eastern province of Limon considers itself to be largely forgotten by the booming tourist industry which sends most of its business to the northwest in Guanacaste. Nevertheless, it is truly a blessing in disguise seeing as how the lack of steady tourism leaves the beaches clean and quiet and perfect for a day or two of relaxation. The shore is also packed full of wildlife, we spent time chasing crabs, watching birds, and even came across a rare Hercules beatle. We also spent some time exploring small tide pools that acted like natural aquariums for the tiny fish starting their lives there. The other beaches around the cities farther north may not always be as clean as the southern most beaches but are still better than some on the Pacific coast.

We also had the opportunity to spend a short evening in Puerto Viejo where we were able to experience the heavy Rastafarian and Jamaican influence. Limon is as famous for its beaches as it is for is Caribbean way of life. There you will find the population of Afro-Caribbean peoples who immigrated to Costa Rica to work on the construction of railroads during the 1870's and 1880's. Their Jamaican heritage is particularly present in the food, music, and abuse of marijuana that is prevalent in the urban areas. Nevertheless, while some drug problems exist, as tourists we had no issues and ultimately enjoyed our short stint in the town of Puerto Viejo where we enjoyed listening to some reggae while sipping on cervezas at the beach bar.

Our last day in Limon was spent at Cahuita National Park where we went snorkeling along some of the parks famous reefs. The coral reefs at Cahuita are the largest in the country and provide some of Costa Rica's best snorkeling. Sadly, a huge portion of the reefs have disappeared over the past 50 years mostly due to damage done by humans and agriculture but also by a 1991 earthquake that forced the sea floor upwards exposing large portions of the reef that eventually resulted in their death. What reefs remain support a great variety of sea creatures including many species of fish, sharks, and sting rays along with 27 species of coral. In our snorkeling adventure we were startled by a barracuda, two nurse sharks, and a handful of sting rays skating along the sandy ocean floor. A few species of sea turtles also make their home at Cahuita, however, we didn't stumble upon any during our time there. In a month or so they will begin laying their nests in the parks sand and we will regrettably be back home in Michigan. Either way, it leaves us something to return for and I know Limon will definitely be one of the places I will go back to during my next trip to Costa Rica.

The island where Cristopher Columbus landed and discovered Costa Rica in 1502.

Pictures below are from Google but give you an idea of what we saw while Snorkeling

La Paz Waterfall Gardens and Sarapiquí

(Pardon the lack of picture placement in this post. Blogger is seemingly failing me today) La Paz Waterfall Gardens just outside of the Poas volcano, is a pleasant little tourist attraction when Poas is to cloudy to be viewed. There used to be five waterfalls there but after a devastating earthquake last year three of them have been destroyed. Nevertheless, the two that remain are impressive by anyone's standards, and in addition to the waterfalls the park serves as a small zoo, offering great close up displays of Costa Rica's diverse wildlife.

After a few hours in the park we made our way up to Sarapiquí to the northeast of San Jose. Sarapiquí is in the neotropic zone of Costa Rica, consisting of a mostly wet climate with extremely diverse flora and fauna. There is a sort of void in Costa Rica's tourism industry here yet but it is definitely showing signs of a vibrant life. At out hotel we visited a museum comprised of our program director's private collection and archived footage of the indigenous cultures in Costa Rica. On display were the tools of shamans, festival masks, traditional, headdress, and the architecture was modeled after that of the indigenous peoples of the Talamanca mountain range in the south. Our sole day spent in Sarapiquí was a busy one. Don Jorge set up a tour consisting of horseback riding, a canopy tour, and some white water rafting all of which we did in a persistent light drizzle. We finished the day soaked and exhausted but with a wealth of experiences that few will get to do in there lifetime, let alone in one day. Yet, perhaps the most entertaining thing for all of us was having Don Jorge and his wife Doña Ana with us the whole time doing the exact same things as while in there sixties. Along with the plethora of activities that fill up our time here, we always appreciate Jorge and Ana's presence providing us with not only an education but an important underlying lesson on growing old that is as invaluable as anything we have done. In case I haven't expressed it before, they are what make this trip special for Aquinas College, and I cannot think of any better way to enjoy Costa Rica other than with them. (Pictures coming soon of the activities too....)

(I guess we must be getting sentimiental now that our time is coming too an end here... less than a month to go, but we are looking foward to a trip the Caribbean, Arenal Volcano, as well as Panama so expect at least a few more posts!)