"I Feel Like....."

Before I begin this random post on my feelings from a paper write in Panama, I have to tell you how much of a visual person I am.  Do you ever find yourself needing to download your pics first before writing your posts?  I do.  Except for the pieces that were written by hand previously.......This next post was written on a notepad under a mosquito net. June 27th, 2011.

Me on Coibitas Island, Panama

"On our trip, all of us used the phrase, "I feel like" so much that it became a running joke.  Here are some reflections about Panama using our popular start to a sentence, "I feel like.......".

At the museum of the Panama Canal, Miraflores Locks

I feel like we ran into a larger variety of tourists on this trip.  On each of our excursions, there were the older and much more quiet yet sophisticated birders.  There were the dirty and younger backpackers.  We also ran into the surfing community on a lean budget. There were also the general tourists(or as I'd like to call them...the "Vegas crowd") who stayed in the air conditioned hotels within the confines of Panama City.  Finally, there were also the sports fishermen and their girlfriends.

Taken in Gamboa, Panama at the Gamboa Rain Forest Resort

I feel like most of Panama is a haven for birders.....which it is.  Almost everyone, professionals and your everyday Jose, knew a lot about birds.  If you aren't a birder, you'll become one quickly after this trip.

One of the old train cars in Boquete

I feel like too many people speak English in this country.  So while it's frustrating for a Spanish teacher to hear English, it's comforting for many tourists who don't speak the language.  Plus it's a bonus that the American dollar is used for their currency....although they'll use the word balboa instead of dollar on occassion.  No currency exchange here!

Jail time on Coibas Island

Finally I feel like if you plan well, your trip will succeed beyond your dreams here. If you don't plan, this country will just be "meh".  I suppose that this is true about a lot of places but more so with Panama. After seeing primary forest for the first time, I wished people hadn't messed around with Mother Nature so much in the earlier days of our human development.  The good news is that people are catching on and "fixing" our ancestors mistakes...for the most part. Preservation is now on the forefront of Panama's developing future.  The country is in the process of restoring many things.  It's also growing fast with a lot of international development.  Donald Trump is building his skyscraper in downtown Panama City.  The Panama Canal is adding on more locks which will be completed in 2014, but the park systems are also growing and getting stronger as tourism is picking up in this country.  And this is how I feel."  More tomorrow....

Wildlife Refuge outside of Boquete

LOST! in Gamboa

Sometimes magic happens when you least expect it.  We left Panama City and in 45 minutes time, we were taken back in time to the quiet community of Gamboa circa 1915.  The town was abandoned when the US turned the Canal over to Panama. Gamboa remains today a reminder of the past where Smithsonian scientists go to escape the City and some Panamanians remain to tell their stories.  A part of the Canal still functions as workers dredge the bottom of the river so vessels won't get stuck.  However, many of them don't stay in the town but instead take a bus back to Panama City. There are no real super markets except for the tiny shop behind the purple house near the bus station. There's really nothing here for urbanites and that's why the town is left alone.  So keep it secret; keep it safe:) Today's post is a fun one....pure fiction and stupidity on my part.  I didn't realize how special this place would be for me until it came time to go home. Imagine a bubble where time stopped and the ghosts of our past remained. While we were here, I was reminded of the TV series LOST!  Here is some evidence that we think created the inspiration for this show.

We were surrounded by lots of wildlife as this ghost town kisses the border to one of Panama's premier birding locations in the world.....the infamous Pipeline Road.  But iguanas weren't the only things we saw.....

We saw evidence that the "Others" lived in or near the Soberanía National Park.   It was eery to think that beyond the howler monkey situation, there were people watching us.  But it didn't stop there.....

Signs were barely visible behind all the vegetation indicating there may be some dangers lurking around us.....

The Smithsonian kept a research center on tropical plants that looked very much like the Orchid Station.....but where were the scientists?

Old structures on the verge of collapsing, which also included a Catholic church, were reminders that a civilization once lived here.

Apparently, super humans existed with great big muscles.  Were they still there?  Or were THEY "the Others" we had read about?  The back sign reads, "DEAD end".  Luckily we weren't attacked by these ball loving super human monsters.

These gorgeous Panama Canal homes just sat empty.  We tried to escape within them to protect ourselves from the race of agouti that had overrun the town, but we discovered that a lot of the wood had been rotten.  Staircases were dangerous to climb.  Therefore, we had to run elsewhere.....

Constant rain and lightening reminded us that it wasn't a good idea to remain too long on the empty streets.....

These homes had a lot of vultures around them waiting for some unsuspecting tourist to die.  NO ONE was around.....I wish I could really buy one of the old homes and fix it up. Can you believe that no one lives in them??  In the US, they would be purchased in a snap, but here in Panama they just sit.  Perhaps indications that there were crocodiles around waiting to eat humans........Best move on!!!

What is this????  The animal race known as the Agouti.  They were all over the city and today, they are the only living creatures you'll see around town. 

This is a dead leaf.  It was just cool to look at......

Final evidence that we were LOST! in Gamboa......a lighthouse full of bats!!!  Catch the video below to see the action pics......

Tomorrow we'll take a serious look at Soberanía National Park and the infamous Pipeline Road.