The Lighthouse

We're getting close to Halloween and I thought it would be fun to look at a scary moment that we had in an abandoned lighthouse in Panama. From the road near the Canal, we saw this really cool looking lighthouse.  On our last day there, we hiked up this old structure.  As I walked up the spiral staircase, I heard lots of squeaking and it was disturbing.  I was already halfway up when I noticed A LOT of black furry critters flying all around me.  The pic above looks like my black kitty featured below and made me smile.  Note. I didn't use flash, but our friend Desiree did!!!  Boy did she hear it from us:)

Here's the lighthouse.  Thankfully my friend Desiree snapped the pic.  I was more concerned about getting pictures of the bats. 

While the bats held our attention, it was this alien looking nest on top that scared us the most.  It looks like a termite nest, but really, I don't know what it was.  We were just careful not to touch it.  Nasty. We had to pass it to get onto the lookout.

There was a window with a large nest hanging over it.   We walked first to this place, but Desiree had crashed on the bed at our b & b in Gamboa so we didn't want to wake her.  Sleep is precious in foreign countries.  However, she did wake and realized that we were gone and figured we had headed to "her lighthouse", but by the time she got there, we were already gone.  So she climbed the steep stairwell alone discovering all these cool things on the way up.  I wish I could have seen her face!  She came back all freaked out and we laughed. To be honest, I don't know if I could have climbed that thing alone. 

This is my black cat that looks like the bat above.  Her name is Cassie! and she has vampire teeth.  More ghoulish fun on the way:)

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.