When the Fish are Biting . . .

Panama City, Panama

After spending a week in the great city of Ciudad de Panama I guess what’s most on my mind is natural history. 

Did you know that Panama has only existed as a little piece of connected land for the blink of a geological eye? I guess it formed through a combination of volcanoes and sediment type buildup like 5 million years ago. Before that North and South America were truly separated. 

The land bridge explains a lot. Like how indigenous peoples populated South America. But what about monkeys? They’re from Africa originally. It’s not like they came on the land bridge that connected Asia and Alaska . . . How did they get here?

As I understand it the best scientists can figure is that the monkeys floated from Africa to South America on vegetative rafts. I guess they were just hanging out on this vegetation when it broke free from Africa in a storm or something and started floating toward South America . . .

The two continents were a lot closer together back then so it wasn’t such a monumental journey. But still. Who knew that the monkeys could successfully pull off a Kon Tiki thing like that millions of years ago? 

Who knows Kon Tiki? Good book. This Norwegian guy got it in his head that maybe islands in the South Pacific were populated by people “sailing” on rafts from modern-day Chile. The book chronicles the voyage that the Norwegians took to try to prove that it could be done. But the Norwegians were fishing and stuff along the way . . . Not sure the monkeys were that smart. And anyway, I guess the Kon Tiki theory has been pretty much debunked by modern gene research. 

Putting the monkeys aside, I guess after Panama formed all these animals that had been separated since the beginning of time had a big party – with some continuing north and others – like mastodons, saber tooth tigers, and deer – heading south. 

Which makes the North American Porcupine an invasive species. I guess all hystricomorphs (porcupine family) originally came from South America (or maybe Africa, via vegetative raft . . .). Interesting fact: lots of the northern animals managed to thrive in the tropics – but only porcupines, armadillos, and opossums survived the trip north. Maybe the cold really does make you tougher …

Panama kind of brags about all of its biodiversity. I think Panama says it has more biodiversity in its pinky finger than the U.S. and Canada have in their whole countries, combined. 

At first I was kind of skeptical. We hadn’t seen a lot of animals other than cattle and horses before we arrived in Panama City. Even the jungles seemed a little sparse – with all the farmland and such.

But after yesterday, maybe we’re becoming believers. For those of you who fish you know that there are times when the fish are just biting. You can’t always explain it – but you can go hours with nothing, and then all of a sudden there are fish everywhere . . . That’s how yesterday was for seeing animals. 

We biked out to Gamboa yesterday. This is a little community that sits on the Rio Charges – where the river becomes the Panama Canal – about half-way across the isthmus. 

The ride out there? Nothing. I mean, maybe some birds chirping. But animal sightings? Nada. 

Once there we hired a boat to bring us out onto Lake Gatun- the dammed up lake that forms the heart of the canal – and show us Monkey Island. But before we get there I want to divert for a second. 

We’re in the little town and we’re trying to figure out where to go to get a boat. We’re at a little store, but we’re having trouble with how to ask about the boats because the internet is bad and, because of that, we don’t have Google Translate to help. But I notice that the store has those Chinese dumplings that are so prevalent in Panama – so I tell Diana to ask the clerk – who looks like a Chino to me . . .

”She won’t know, and what makes you think she speaks Chinese?”

”This is a tiny town. She’ll know.”

”Habla Mandarin?” I ask.

A confused look. “Habla?”

”Habla Chinese?” I try.

”Si.”

And soon Diana is having a detailed conversation about where to pick up the boat. 

I always knew that Diana would be the primary communicator for our team – I just didn’t know that the primary language would be Chinese. Our reluctant heroine . . .

Okay – back to the animals . . .

So we’re on our way to the boat when we see a whole pack of monkeys up in the trees. We’re not at a zoo. We’re not in a curated national park environment. We’re not in Costa Rica. So this is pretty impressive. No good pictures though – turns out that you pretty much need a telephoto lens to get good pictures of birds or animals that are up in trees . . . The backdrop of light kind of wrecks the pictures . . .

Next up . . . Monkey Island. This one is not so impressive from a random discovery point of view. The boat operators all go to the same place. They drive the boats right into the canopy of trees on the island. And all the Gringos start feeding the monkeys bananas and grapes and, in our case, apples. 

Pretty sure they would not allow this in Costa Rica. Remember how they’re the Switzerland of Central America? Just way too serious to let you do something like this . . .

Panamanians – and, really, anybody else from Central America – are much more interested in making a buck. 

Regardless, it’s a pretty darn good show. Monkeys jumping around between trees and boats. Grabbing food right out of your hands. Throwing the remains into the boats with impunity. It’s pretty fun for sure.

The canal itself? Obviously super cool – but another topic. One we’ll get into a little later in this narrative . . .

Back to Monkey Island. It starts to rain – did I mention that it seems to rain a lot around here? – and we jet back. Okay, now we’re done with the boat tour and heading home on our bikes. 

First up? A toucan. The second in two days. They are super cool. You just don’t see color like that in Minnesota. Love Minnesota. But it’s pretty much 50 shades of grey where Panama is full-on technicolor! 

Next, we’re biking along when we hear King Kong roar from the jungle. He does not sound happy . . .

We stop again, and, sure enough, there’s a whole bunch of monkeys hanging out in the canopy. Diana looked it up later and I guess the roar means that they are howler monkeys. 

A pretty great day.

But we’re not done . . .

We kind of follow the canal back – and we’re almost back to where the visitor center is – where you can see the Morgan Freeman-narrated IMAX movie about the canal (in 3D, no less).

There are two parallel roads that come together, and sitting right in the middle of the other road – the one we’re not on – just sitting there staring at me, is . . . well, I didn’t know what it was. But it was pretty cool. About medium dog sized. But with a big snout. Just sitting there chilling. 

I’m taking out my phone, and Diana’s riding up and we’re about to take a picture – when, HONK. And, of course, cool, chilling creature is now spooked and takes off toward the forest. I get a terrible picture – but at least it’s something I guess . . .

Have I mentioned how sick of all the honking we get sometimes? My goodness. There’s no one else on this section of road. Did you really have to honk? Thanks a lot!

Ruined our chance to see what we later on concluded was a lesser anteater. And not a road kill version. This was the real thing. Ready to cross the road so it could chow on some termites or leaf-cutter ants or something. So sad.

So we start to take off again . . .

But before we have gone 50 feet, I see this car pull over and this guy jumps out. He’s waving at the traffic and then I see him approaching a monkey near the side of the road. It’s so sad. It must have been hit. It even has its arms stretched out toward the guy – looks like it is just begging for help. 

And then, before we can compute what’s happening the guy has picked it up and he’s crossing the road toward us. 

Wait. This isn’t a monkey at all. It’s a sloth. And, like all sloths, it’s not doing much. In fact, it looks like it’s enjoying the ride. 

The guy deposits Mr. or Mrs. Sloth on a tree on the other side of the road – the Morgan Freeman side – where we are. And then the guy takes off. All in a day’s work for a Panamanian – but he doesn’t have time to stick around . . .

Okay, sloths are so cool. They look at you with these sad, slightly mischievous eyes, and they sit there in these yoga poses: downward sloth, or, channel your inner bat, or, a personal favorite of this guy’s: toe wrapped around a tree limb.

This was a three-towed sloth; we know, because we counted. I mean, other animals are cool and all. But only a sloth lets you just hang with it as long as you want. Well, maybe a porcupine would be good for this as well. But they’re not quite as cuddly. 

Eventually we decide we need to go home . . .

But we’re still not done. 

We come across what amounts to a large rat. Diana says it’s an agouti. 

So now we’re believers. More so even than Costa Rica, Panama is the Wild Kingdom of Central America. At least in the area around Panama City. Two different kinds of monkeys. A toucan. A lesser anteater. A sloth. And an agouti. Without even really trying. 

That was a fun day. 

I don’t want to go on too long right now – but I know Jimmy Carter just died and I wanted to talk a little about the canal anyway. After all, the canal pretty much dominates things in Panama. 

First off, what is the Panama Canal? I kind of envisioned a 50 mile long Erie Canal – only way wider. Not quite. I mean, that’s what the French were basically thinking when they tried building the canal in the late-19th century. But that idea didn’t work. Too hot. Too humid. Too much rain. Too many tropical diseases. Too much rock – their plan would have required digging (blasting) out 300 feet of rock to bring the canal down to sea level. That was probably never going to happen – but particularly not when all their workers were dying from malaria and yellow fever and stuff.

When the Americans came in the early-20th century they had some new ideas. First, rather than build the canal at the same level as the ocean they would have most of the “canal” run 54’ above sea level – by using huge locks and dams at each end, and by damming up the Chagres River – thus making a giant (and super pretty) artificial lake and waterway for the ocean going boats to go through. 

Not easy – but way easier than blasting down through 300’ of rock for 50 miles . . .

Second, they figured out that the tropical diseases were coming from mosquitoes – not noxious jungle fumes. So they treated for mosquitoes – I think in the same way that we do in Minnesota – and all of a sudden their disease problem went away. (Not sure, but I think they continue to treat for mosquitoes to this day. Even Diana says she hasn’t detected any of the nasty things in Panama . . .)

After, I think, ten or eleven years of work and investment, the canal opened in 1914 – on the same day World War I started. 

Lots more to talk about here – but let’s fast forward to 1977. By this time the Panamanians are sick of having the Americans here occupying their land (the canal and 5 miles on either side of the canal – the “Canal Zone”) and they want us out. 

Enter Jimmy Carter. Carter signs a new treaty giving the canal back to Panama – saying that “it was the right thing to do.” Not obvious, because a) the U.S. provided the technical skills and the financial investment necessary to build the canal, b) it wasn’t obvious at the time that the Panamanians could successfully run the canal operation, and c) Panama was, at that time, still under a military dictatorship of sorts. 

But it turned out great. I think great for everyone. By the time we fully turned over the canal to Panama, in 1999, Panama had a stable democratically elected government and they had the technical know-how to operate the canal. Because of the canal, Panama has one of the strongest economies in Latin America. And the U.S. has a huge ally in this isthmus country. And, really, if the canal ever came under any real threat I think the Panamanians would be glad to have the U.S. help defend it. 

(Diana and I had lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall place the other day. Some of the best food we have had here in Panama – but that’s another story . . . Anyway, it was owned by a guy named Eric. Eric lived for five years in the U.S. in the early-90s. He explained that when Noriega was in charge in the late-80s that he had the people of Panama in what amounted to a choke hold. Eric had to leave in order to support his family. When I asked him if he was happy when the U.S. took Noriega out, he said it was “a good question” and that the U.S. is like a big brother to Panama. My interpretation is that Eric – and probably a lot of Panamanians – were not exactly happy that the U.S. had to intervene like this, but they are also happy to be rid of Noriega . . .)

I know Carter took a lot of heat for turning over the canal at the time. But, I think, it is an example of some great leadership on President Carter’s part. In the end, he was a man of integrity and decency who worked tirelessly to leave the world a better place. 

We could use more Jimmy Carters in the world! 

Lots more to say about Panama and Panamanians – but that’s all for now. 

Tomorrow we fly to Cartagena – then a week there with family before we resume our riding with our freshly rested legs . . .