and Somewhat Confusing

(Not to Say Bizarre)

HISTORY OF PANAMA

There is not a rich heritage of sensational ancient civilizations in Panama of the likes of the Inca and the Maya. It is thought that there were people there about twelve thousand years ago and that is presumably by default because there were people in this part of the world then. And today, there are still many indigenous tribes in Panama, but tribes whose names you have likely never heard: Ngobe-Buglé in the western highlands and eastern Costa Rica, Kuna Yala, Wounaan, Emberá; seven in all remain. Indigenas, they are called, rather than “Indians”, which is allegedly pejorative.

Big trouble started around 1500 with the arrival of: the Spanish, of course. Looking for gold, as was their wont. The first mate on the first trip was a chap named Vasco Nuñez de Balboa. Shortly after that, another Spaniard named Cristobal Colón showed up in Bocas del Toro, which is that very tropical area on Panama’s west Caribbean coast. We know him as Christopher Columbus. He named some things, apparently, then left the new world for good. Too many Spaniards there, I guess. Balboa, for whom Panama’s currency is now named, even though their currency is actually American dollars, go figure, was getting deeply into debt in the Dominican Republic and escaped his creditors, so the story goes, by actually stowing away on a boat bound for Panama, in the grand tradition of all national heroes.

So, of course, he returns to the isthmus and goes to the Darien, of all places, and starts subjugating native peoples, according to the standard operating procedure for Europeans vacationing in the new world. Long story short, Balboa decides, in the year 1513, to hack his way west into the jungle and, quite remarkably, actually makes it to the Pacific ocean in less than a month, where, of course, he claimed the western half of the planet for the Spanish king. Because, see, he “discovered” it. The Indigenous Ones probably didn’t think so, but… I call this remarkable because I once saw one of those TV nature adventure specials where a modern team of adventurers tried to cross the Darien and were utterly unable to do so. They ended up, after many days of trekking, right back where they started. They blamed the guide.

Anyway, whatever nasty things Balboa may have done in his time, he was re-paid for them by having his head cut off by a rival Spaniard governor named, no kidding, “Pedrarias the Cruel”. If I were hanging around with a dude named anything “the Cruel”, I do believe I would stay alert. He (the cruel guy) founded what later became Panama City.

The next thing everyone always mentions is that the Englishman Henry Morgan sacks and burns Panama City in 1671. No one ever says why, though. (Actually, the story of Henry Morgan is rather amazing, but too long to go into here.) I suppose the Spaniards couldn’t find any more gold or something, because they granted Colombia, Panama, Ecuador and Venezuela their independence in 1821. Panama, however, was still part of Colombia, and many Panamanians disapproved of this situation. (I am skipping a lot of historical mayhem here.)

Now, what really happened after this was that the French tried to build a canal across the country and failed miserably, but the Americans thought they could pull it off. Colombia wasn’t interested in further foreign investment, however, and demurred. Knowing that there was an independence movement in Panama, the US said, basically, “We’ve got your back”. US warships showed up off the shores of Panama and, since the ocean is really the only way you can get from Colombia to Panama, the former country just gave up and Panama was a new country and the US had a canal project underway. Strangely, the Colombian forces showed up on the north side of the country and planned to take the train to Panama city to hold their war. Really. Someone had the foresight to pull all but one little train over to the capital, leaving a note for the commander to hop into the single car remaining and pop over for a visit. This he did, whereupon he was promptly arrested. You can't make this stuff up.

This was in 1903 and so, Panama has two independence days: one from Spain and another from Colombia. Well, three actually, if you count 1999 when the US gave them back their canal and finally left town. And we just had the one little invasion thingy back in 1989 where George Bush the First decided to take out the unpopular dictator Manuel Noriega and ship him to Miami on drug charges.

There are a series of amusing (and some not so amusing) things about this, as he was receiving a good deal of CIA money at one time. Which was not unusual for Central American dictators who ran drugs as a hobby. Of course, Noriega had seized power after a general named Torrijos died in a plane crash, who was actually popular even though he seized power from a guy named Arias, who was actually elected. It was Torrijos who negotiated the return of the canal with Jimmy Carter. Noriega was bivouacked in a Catholic church or some such (I am too lazy to look this up) for sanctuary and the US forces allegedly drove him out by blasting Ted Nugent songs from an outdoor speaker system 24 hours a day. ) That would certainly break my will to live.

At least, this is what we saw on TV in the US. My memory of this is not perfect, but it seemed to me at the time that this was something in the nature of a fraternity prank. What we were not told was that tens of thousands of Panamanians lost their homes in our little invasion and over 500 of them were killed. Maybe a lot more than that. Thousands went into US prison camps, according to one source I read. There is speculation that one of the reasons for the invasion was to destroy the Panamanian army, thus paving the way for a continued US military presence in the country to "protect the canal" - even after turning the canal over to Panama. 

OK, so after Noriega, and (eventually) after the US military installed some sort of government of their own choosing, Panama started having elections again. Are you ready to hear who is the current elected president at the time of this writing? Torrijos’ son, that’s who. But the fun doesn’t stop there. Guess who finally is supposed to get out of jail in September of 2007. If you guessed Manuel Noriega, you would be correct. He wants to return to Panama, but France wants him extradited on money laundering charges. I believe he is also wanted in Panama on murder charges. Some old girlfriend of his wants him back uncharged, so to speak. She likes him a whole bunch despite his complexion (his nickname was “pineapple face”) and tried to whip up a rally of support for his triumphant return in Panama City last month. Reportedly, almost a half dozen people attended the festivities. I read that there is now a law in place in Panama that people over a certain age cannot be held in prison. If this is true, and if we do send him home, I guess he could sit around on a veranda sipping Ron Abuelo and watching the birds flit by.

So that is my lightning summary of the history of Panama. I may have left a few things out. 

The Panama Canal

Frankly, I haven’t mentioned the canal much. The guidebooks go on and on about the canal and I didn’t really visit it as such, so I ignored the topic here. However, when you consider the fact that we finally managed to undo what tectonic floating plates did three million years ago in joining the two continents; I guess it really is a big deal. The French attempt at the canal was an abject failure. Not only did the bankruptcy deeply wound the French economy, but they also lost the lives of about 22,000 workers. (22,000!) The Americans had the good sense to eradicate yellow fever and malaria before making their attempt, but, even so, they lost 5,000 men before the canal was completed in 1914.

I have mentioned the continental divide before because I did visit that. It is much lower in elevation at the canal crossing, but still, it does rise to 270 feet above sea level there. Or rather, it did. The digging and dredging of Culebra Cut continues today. It was only supposed to be 300 feet wide but, because the walls kept collapsing, it ended up being a lot wider than that. They dammed the Chagres River, creating Lake Gatun, which, in turn is connected to the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean by three locks on each end of the canal.

When they created the lake, some mountains became islands. One of them of over 3700 acres is called Barro Colorado, which is where the Smithsonian Institute has maintained a tropical research station since 1946. About 200 scientists a year come here to do research – right in the middle of the Panama Canal. But wait! There’s more! I have some summary remarks scheduled for later in this piece, but first, a little bit of information on the Darien Rainforest.

Concerning the Darien

Lest you think I am naïve about the Darien province, let me point out that I am aware of the other “little problem” of that region. Besides jungle, I mean. That is, the drug runners and gun-toting guerrilla crazies who like to kidnap people for a hobby. There is a national park there – quite a large one - and there are a few adventure resorts which are supposed to be safe to visit. The most dangerous areas, I am told, are inland south and east of Yaviza (where the Pan American Highway ends pathetically in a dirt road) and up to the northern coast and, of course, into Colombia. As I mentioned, there is (still) no road between Colombia and Panama. They call this the “Darien Gap”. It is the only break in the whole Pan-American Highway. Colombia, lately, has expressed a desire to close the gap and open a road through. Panama always has refused to do this. (I suspect they remember the colonial days.)

People have been told over and over again not to enter this region. By the US State Department, by locals, by the Lonely Planet guide, even.  However, in the year 2000, upon hearing that someone had actually managed to hike through from Panama to Colombia, two young crazy guys, Tom Hart Dyke and Paul Winder (orchid collector and adventure traveler respectively) decided to try it as well.

They almost made it to Colombia before being ambushed by the notorious FARC guerrillas who held them hostage for nine months, hoping to get ransom. Finally, their captors grew tired of dragging them all over the Darien waiting for ransom money which never appeared and…released them! Well, it makes for a good yarn and you can read it for yourself in a book they wrote called The Cloud Garden – A Story of Adventure, Survival, and Extreme Horticulture. I recommend it. I also love the title. Oh, and if you were wondering why the families of these two young fools did not pay the ransom, it was because they never got the ransom note. Those Shining Path rebel types were never known for having a good public relations department.

Concerning the Republic of Panama and Various Rumors Concerning Same

So now: Good things about Panama? Many things! The nature views of mountains, the weather, the huge diversity of plant life, friendly people, and the low cost of living. Worst things: Diesel exhaust and scary roads. Possibly, probably, I can get used to the latter. I found areas that, while attractive, are not practical to live in because of the excessive amount of driving required to get to David. I discovered some promising areas I did not know existed. Made some contacts, discovered that every plant that grows in Miami will grow in the Chiriqui highlands, plus many more besides. I found out that Panamanians do not litter or beg (though this might not be true in Panama City) and though a lot of the indigenous peoples may be very poor by our standards, they seem to be content.

I also discovered that Panamanians have seemingly repealed the law of gravity and can walk straight up steep rock roads all day long without breaking a sweat or stopping to rest. (Could we eventually adapt to do this as well?) I discovered Gunnera and tree ferns growing in the wild along with huge trees I did not recognize. (This is a big deal for a botanist.) I found out that there is an absolutely huge amount of virgin mountain forest in Panama. Real estate sharpies are trying to trick Americans into panic buying – into thinking that all the good land is going fast, but this is not the case. There is still plenty of inexpensive land, I think.

There is, however, the question of Volcan Baru. The US Coast & Geodetic survey says it will erupt again - very likely with devastating results to the western highlands, including Boquete, Volcan especially, and perhaps even David and Concepcion. Personally, I'm now looking a bit further east.

So now: I also found out what I suspected all along – that the gated communities are to be avoided by people like us at all costs (except possibly one on the continental divide, which may turn out to be very special) and that many other Americans there agree with us on this point. The Americans, Canadians, English, Germans and, most importantly, Panamanians are friendly and helpful. Every foreigner I talked to there said they love the place. Did I mention that Boquete was founded by Europeans? That’s what the books say. “Boquete” is an actual word in Spanish meaning something like “gap”, among other things. It is in a valley surrounded on all sides by mountains, so I guess that makes sense.