Panama: Get in on the Secret

Christopher Gil

Panama is a well-kept secret. There are miles of lively rainforests teeming with exotic flora and fauna, stretches of untouched white-sand beaches affording the traveler the opportunity to swim in the Atlantic and the Pacific on the same day, and a bustling, modern capital with its eye toward the future. This is all topped off by the easy smiles of a populace welcoming you to their beloved country.

Most travelers land in Panama City, population 700,000, situated in the center of the country on its southern coast. The capital stretches 12 miles along a beautiful bay to the south, the busy Panama Canal to the west, forested hills to the north and the ruins of the original city to the east.

The city's skyline is modern, with commercial and residential structures reaching toward the sky, especially at Punta Paitilla and along Avenida Balboa. The gleaming InterContinental Hotel rises gracefully along the latter, like a lighthouse overlooking Panama Bay.

Spanish governor Pedrarias founded Panama City in 1519 on the site of an Indian fishing village. This settlement fast became a strategic center of church and government authority. Also, gold and other plunder from the Pacific Spanish colonies were taken from this point north to the Caribbean. The downside of this bounty was that the settlement became a target of attacks, the worst being in 1671 when Sir Henry Morgan, a Welsh pirate, attacked with his band of 1,200 men. The city was ransacked and a conflagration occurred. The vestigial stone ruins of the original city are called Panama La Vieja. Today, this attraction offers visitors enamored of history an insight into a time long past.

The city re-emerged just three years later about five miles west on a rocky peninsula named Casco Viejo, situated at the foot of Ancon Hill. The theory was that this small piece of land jutting out into the bay could be more easily defended. The streets of the new city were laid out at right angles about a central plaza. A governor's house, cathedral and bishop's palace would eventually face this stately plaza, Parque Catedral. A tour of today's Casco Viejo offers visitors a glimpse into a lively neighborhood with a colorful past.

Panama City is a cosmopolitan capital, with nightclubs and restaurants featuring diverse entertainment and cuisine. The other point of interest in the capital-after the tour of Panama La Vieja and Casco Viejo-is the Panama Canal. You can get to the canal via taxi. Be sure to barter a round-trip price beforehand, and request that the driver wait as you watch a ship go through the famed, century-old Miraflores Locks.

I set up a complete daytrip with one affable cabbie, with him taking me to the Canal, Panama La Vieja and Casco Viejo in a half-day sojourn. This personable driver was a wealth of knowledge and offered insight that could be garnered only from a local. He took me through the back streets of earthy Casco Viejo, where he lived as a boy, showing me the brightly colored homes with railings reminiscent of Havana. Edifices of note include: the French Embassy, near the water's edge at Plaza de Francia; the Palacio de las Garzas on Avenida Alfaro, where the president of Panama resides; and Muelle Fiscal, a market.

While Panama City is enjoyable, my main reason in going to Panama was for a respite. It was to the sea that I looked forward to heading. I had decided upon the Bocas del Toro Islands, which sit off the northwest coast of Panama near the border of Costa Rica.

To get to the Bocas del Toro Islands, take a flight from Panama City's Albrook Airport, which used to be the Americans' airport near the Panama Canal. You can fly on Aeroperlas or Aero Mapiex to Bocas del Toro town on Isla Colon. The flight costs around $110 round trip; I was able to purchase a ticket at the counter on the day of departure.

The Bocas del Toro archipelago is a biologist's fantasy. The islands and adjacent shoreline represent an isolated pocket of lowlands, semi-circled by the foothills of the Talamanca Range and by marshes at the mouths of the Rio Changuinola and Criscamola.

The isolation of the region leads to there being species found nowhere else on the planet. For example, on Isla Bastimentos, you'll find a species of small, red, poison-dart frog.

The islands experience two seasons: wet and wetter. The "drier" season in this tropical locale is December to April. The temperatures remain warm throughout the year because of the proximity to the equator.

While the archipelago contains numerous islands, there are around 10,000 residents on its six main islands: Isla Colon, Isla Bastimentos, Isla Popa, Isla Cristobal, Caye de Agua and Cayo Nancy. Only Isla Colon has roads; it also features accommodations and food, as does Isla Bastimentos. A unique, conifer-like tree dominates the forest canopy of these larger islands, with interiors highlighted by forest palms and vine tangles.

Of the several dozen Indian tribes that inhabited Panama when the Spanish arrived, seven now remain. One of these tribes, the Guaymis (or Ngobe-Bugle) inhabit Isla Bastimentos. This group maintains its traditions. The men leave to fish during the day, heading off in cayucos, which are canoes shaped from an indigenous tree. They tend to small plots to feed their families, and the rainforest is also used for sustenance. Traditional thatch-roofed huts on stilts still provide shelter from the 100 inches of annual rainfall.

Historically, Columbus was in this area in 1502 when he had some boat repair to do. A century ago, the main town of Bocas del Toro was a banana boomtown. That heyday ended in the 1920's, but some of the stately Colonial buildings and parks from that time still remain, part of a landscape that seems stuck in time.

Upon arrival at the small airport strip in Bocas, you can walk to town, providing you just have only a carry-on bag; otherwise, a cheap cab ride will drop you at your hotel. Bocas town grows on you. As night falls, locals take to the streets for a leisurely stroll as the sun's hot rays dissipate. Children ride their bicycles in circles. Tame, indolent dogs look for scraps. A drink is had at an open-air bar. Vendors in street-side stalls peddle fruits. The few tourists mix in, perhaps having a romantic dinner on the waterfront. This slow, easy pace is infectious and makes you want to hang around for a few days.

Once you've had your fill of Bocas town, you can take day trips to snorkel, dive or fish. I decided to head to an even more remote locale, Isla Bastimentos, population 1,400. The island features Panama's first national marine park, which also incorporates the rainforest of the island. I took a 40-minute water-taxi ride across the placid waters, enjoying the salt air and seabreeze. Upon arriving at my desolate accommodation-featuring a private beach, a pier, many hammocks, six rooms, a cook/maid and someone to tend the property-I immediately decided to extend my stay from three to five days. The other guests I encountered were all Central & South Americans or Europeans. All were delightful, intriguing and there for the same reason: to leave their worries behind. That was no problem is this spectacular, unspoiled preserve.

The first day, I did nothing much except drink fresh coconut milk and swim for hours in the shallow, turquoise waters. I also met some indigenous children, who showed me which berries were edible in the trees surrounding the hotel. I decided the following day would be for an exploration of the rainforest, which backed my hotel with a canvas of exotic foliage and birds of vibrant hues. I had heard that you should not hike the rainforest without the help of a local, for it is dense and unmarked. I enlisted the assistance, for a nominal fee, of an indigenous Guaymi named Aravil.

As we started out, there were planks over the flat ground, mud already starting to cake my walking shoes. I noticed Aravil was wearing high boots and wondered how arduous this trek would turn out to be. It was indeed tricky as we ascended then descended slick hills, grabbing vines to lead us downhill as gingerly as possible, the inevitable fall occurring. I never encountered another tourist over the course of this five-hour hike. The only other people I saw were Guaymis in their village, nestled in the verdant hilltop astride the rainforest. It was fascinating to see people living off the land as they have for centuries, sans electricity and what most U.S. residents would deem necessities. The smiles on the locals' faces seemed more genuine than any back home, so I was given much to ponder.

The rainforest revealed beautiful plants, some bearing edible or medicinal fruits. My guide would pull a fruit off a tree and show how to crack it open and what sections to eat. The most interesting fruit was the size of a cantaloupe and had a spine with large seeds attached. The seeds are placed in your mouth so that you can eat the outer coatings. It was a sweet, refreshing flavor-perfect after all that strenuous exercise. The natives desiccate the seeds and then grind them into a powder for a drink similar to cocoa. Other foliage included an amazing array of flowering plants and huge palms, the likes of which I had never seen.

The rainforest also teemed with animals. From the sloth I watched meandering up and down a vine to the tiny, red poison-dart frogs found nowhere else on Earth to the monkeys rustling through the treetops, it was quite the natural zoo.

Snorkeling on the island is good, for there is a coral reef offshore. You can take a paddleboat to the reef. Interestingly, at nighttime I could see electric fish in the waters off the pier, especially when I would shine my flashlight in the sea first. It was quite the show. Sitting at the edge of the pier on a lounge chair provided an idyllic spot to witness the pink and purple sunset or gathering rain clouds, too.

The rest of my time on this island was spent taking long morning and nighttime walks on the beach, reading books, swinging in hammocks and sleeping soundly at night and during my required afternoon nap.

When my water taxi arrived to take me back to civilization, I was revived and ready to take on the world again. Yet I knew I would someday return to this secret place I had discovered and fallen in love with so fast. "Buenos," indeed.

Managing Editor Christopher Gil last wrote of New Zealand.