Bearded Wonders

Thursday, Nov. 16 — We’ve traveled on planes, taxis, buses, and boat.  Today we get to add the train.

But before that we took a bus tour of the Colon area, and then headed to the Agua Clara locks.  These are the new locks that run parallel to the Gatun locks for the larger ships.

Rey told us a lot about the Colon area, as he lives here, and has most of his life.  During the period of US control of the Canal, he worked for the US, and lived on the base near our hotel.  We were given the tour on the bus, which also kept us out of the rain.  As part of the transfer to Panamanian control at the end of 1999, the bases were turned over to the Panama Canal Agency.  Much of the housing was sold to private ownership, and while the basic structures are all still quite similar to the eye, many have been improved and maintained.

Our next stop is the Agua Clara locks complex, opened in 2016.  In 2007, the Panama Canal Authority was authorized by popular vote to bring the aging Panama Canal up to a higher capacity.  The vote authorized the building of the wider canal lock structures to allow ships that exceed the old Panamax size vessels into the Gatun Lake and to deepen and widen the lake channels so more traffic could flow more easily.

Agua Clara locks on the Caribbean side provide this extra access.  This aerial view of the locks shows clearly one of the obvious improvements over the older locks.  Each lock bay empties its water into three reservoirs, which then are used to fill the bay back up when appropriate.  The older locks on this end get water from Gatun Lake and dump it into Caribbean as they were designed back in the days long before global warming.  The new design diminishes the water necessary to operate the locks.  As with the older locks, there are no pumps, the water is moved strictly with gravity flow from place to place.

The picture above shows the Gatun Lake side of Agua Clara, coming up to the first gate.  Note in the lower picture that the gates are car-capable-road width, and are pushed across the lock bay using hydraulic pressure rather than the electric cable systems used by the smaller gates in the older locks.

Above you see the lock bays emptying into the Caribbean, each bay slightly lower as your vision moves from left to right.

Here can be seen a number of ships that have either just completed the Canal crossing or are waiting for the next opportunity to head for the Pacific side.

After looking around awhile, we headed back to the bus.  When we got there, we discovered that there is a family of howler monkeys in the trees behind where the bus is parked.

In the trees could also be seen this vulture, well camouflaged.

As we drive out toward our next stop, the driver (whose keen eyes provided us the more unique animal sights we saw along the way) caught sight of this sloth and her baby resting themselves.

While we are on the animals we saw from the bus, here’s a Coatimundi that was kind enough to pose for pictures.  I’m told this animal is related to the raccoon that we know and periodically see in Michigan.

Next up is our train ride back across the isthmus to Panama City.  I want to compliment our tour guides for their excellent timing on this trip.  Even though we were visiting at the height of the rainy season, we almost never were out in the rain.  As can be seen in many of the pictures, there were often huge cloud formations above us, but to our comfort, when we were outside (like on the boat trip, or walking around old town Panama City), the rain held off.  This comes up now because our train ride back to Panama City finds us happily sitting in the domed car while the rain pelts down.

As with most train rides I’ve been on, this one opens with a view of the not-so-impressive parts of Colon.

This one is in some senses worse than usual, as we are treated to a view of the garbage dump on our way out of Colon.

Most of the trip (total time one and a half hours, compared to the nine hours on the Islamorada), gives us good views of Gatun Lake.

The clouds break up as we head south (yes, the Canal runs basically north-south as Panama itself can be seen on a map to run basically east-west).

The sun never really comes out from behind the clouds, although we do get some color from the sunset.

When we get to the station on the Panama City side, we are met by our favorite bus and its expert driver.  He uses his considerable skill to take us to our hotel for the night in downtown Panama City.

We have a bit of time to settle in, and then its out onto the terrace looking out on the buildings near by to have our dinner.  It is actually one of the best dinners we have had, and then when we are done eating, Juan Carlos has a surprise for us.  For our entertainment, a group of dancers and musicians perform for us native Panamanian dances in spectacular costumes they have made themselves.

The men in the group wear hats that don’t look like what is considered a Panama hat.  The Panama hat, which is sold by every souvenir store we walked by, has a flat brim all the way around.  The hats these men wear are bent back front and back to be parallel to the rise of the part that fits over the head.  These hats are considered authentic Panamanian hats.  The souvenir Panama hats are modeled after a hat worn by President Teddy Roosevelt when he visited Panama during the building process.  This visit, by the way, was the first foreign visit by a sitting president.

The ladies costumes are quite intricate, as shown by the picture.  These are traditionally made by the dancer herself.

The dancers went through several traditional dances, and then invited a few of the group to join them for the final dance.

After the dancing was completed, Rey, Gabe, and Juan Carlos (l to r) were thanked by all of us for the wonderful job they did throughout the program.

Tomorrow, we go back to the airport for our return to Palm Springs.  The return trip turned out to be a lot longer than it should have been, and we missed our plane from Miami to Palm Springs.  We were rebooked on the next flight to Palm Springs, but instead of a comfortable trip on a 777, we had to settle for an uncomfortable one on a 737.  Oh, well, the visit was fun, and quite a very well done tour!

Monday, November 11, 2018 — the first day of our official Panama Canal tour, and arrival day for everyone else.  We spent the day relaxing and reading about our adventure ahead.  We ate dinner at the hotel’s independent restaurant, TGIF’s.  It is a bit of a surprise to see this restaurant here.  The offerings on the menu are not significantly different than what I would expect to see at any TGIF’s in the US; definitely not local Panamanian fare.

Tuesday, November 12, 2018 — we meet after breakfast and spend a little time getting to know one another.  Our group numbers around 43, so it will not be possible to get to know many of them in this short week.  Many are retired (like us), and as might be expected there is more than one admitted engineer. interested in the design of the canal and the details of how it was built.  We have three group leaders (Juan Carlos, Rey and Gabe), each offering his unique perspective on the canal, its history and context including the current political situation here and the flora and fauna of this country carved out of the rain forest.  Juan Carlos is of an age with our son Kyle, and like him, he has a new-born keeping him and his wife awake at night.  He is the leader of the leaders.  Rey is the veteran of the crew, perhaps in his 60’s, he lives in the Colon side of the canal, and has done a number of things in his long life.  He provides the perspective of one who has lived through the transition of Canal control from the US to the Panamanians in 1999.    He was employed by the US prior to the transition, living and working on one of the US bases we will visit on that side of the Canal later on.  Gabe is the youngster of the crew, and our expert in residence on the rainforest and its residents.

Next up is the tour of old town Panama, so we load up three small buses (the local streets are too small for the standard-sized tour bus we will use the rest of the journey), and off we go.  On the way, we pass by this local monument to Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid. He was founder of the Panameñista Party and a three-time president of Panama during the 1940s. Each term ended prematurely by a military coup. The ensemble depicted on the monument represents the classes of citizens who followed the popular political leader.

Our first stop on the tour is the Headquarters of the Panama Canal Agency, an arm of the national government.  Our tour leaders take us to the central rotunda of the main building, a place that has the feel of a small version of the US capitol building.  Our group fills the rotunda completely.  Above us are four paintings depicting scenes from the build process.

This picture depicts the bulk of the digging and rock removal.  Digging the Culebra Cut, the place where the canal cuts through the Continental Divide, was one of the major engineering marvels of the whole construction.  It remains the narrowest place along the canal route, and the reason that the canal is a one-way traffic only operation.

This next picture depicts a railroad structure.  Temporary railroad tracks were laid to move heavy equipment to the Cut, and more importantly to transport the dirt and rocks blasted out on a daily basis to the designated landfill areas.  Upon completion, the peak of the Continental Divide had been reduced from 210 feet above sea level to 39 feet across a 299-foot-wide base.  This effort required the removal of approximately 120 million cubic yards of earth and rock.  For comparison purposes, a so-called half-ton pick-up truck can carry approximately half a cubic yard of dry aggregate material.  The bottom of the Cut at 39 feet-above-sea-level is covered by water to bring it up to the 83 feet-above-sea-level of the Gatun Lake water contained between the locks of the canal enabling the large vessels to travel safely through.  The surface of the water at the Cut is approximately one-third of a mile (1760 feet) across.

Continuing around the dome, this picture is centered on the circular drainage culvert running between two side-by-side lock bays.  This central culvert is 18 feet in diameter and is connected to smaller culverts that run below each of the bays.  The picture also shows several of the different types of cranes used to move equipment, concrete, framing timbers among other things around the lock sites.

The last picture gives a closer view of the framing and structure of the miter gates (so called because they come together in a wide “V” shape) used to hold the water in or out of each lock bay.  Each gate leaf is 64 feet wide by 7 feet thick, varying in height from 47 to 82 feet, depending on the bay’s height.  Hinted at in these pictures is the science and engineering developments necessary to form, mix, shape and let harden appropriately the concrete used.  Concrete is a precise mixture of sand, water and cement with rock of defined size.  Construction use of concrete is something that was new in the late 1800s, and use in the quantities and structures of the Canal was unprecedented.

Beyond the rotunda our leaders took us to the terrace looking down on a small park with the Goethals monument at its center. Colonel George Washington Goethals was appointed Chief Engineer of the Panama Canal in February 1907 by President Theodore Roosevelt.  The president had decided after some wrangling with interested parties that it was best to have the Army Corps of Engineers run the canal construction instead of an independent contractor.  Goethals managed the job to a successful conclusion two years ahead of schedule.  He was widely acclaimed for his work on the Canal, garnering numerous awards and accolades. In 1914, shortly after completion, President Woodrow Wilson appointed now General Goethals the first civil governor of the Panama Canal Zone.  He left this post in 1916 to become Quartermaster General of the US Army as the US was preparing to enter World War I.

Now it was back to the buses and on to the old town of Panama City.  The first stop on this walking tour was the Panama Canal History Museum, where we received our first instruction in the more detailed history of the building of the canal.  After we completed this, we walked to Plaza Mayor.  Here we had an unscheduled stop as a group of protestors were walking around the plaza announcing their concerns with loudspeakers.. Juan Carlos explained to us that they were retirees who were complaining that the Panamanian version of Social Security was not sufficient for them to live on.  He explained that the average monthly entitlement was around $250.  This is far below the minimum wage of approximately $600 per month, so the protest was reasonable.  He also said this was part of a yearly process, and in the past, such protests had led to improvements for the retirees.

When we were allowed, we continued our tour.  Shortly thereafter, we came upon the ruin of Saint Dominic’s Church.  The major feature of this ruin is the internal arch which supported the choir, designated the Flat Arch.

This arch (15 meters long and 10 meters high) was a popular tourist attraction in the 19th century, despite being part of a ruin.   It was declared a national monument in 1941.  Unfortunately, for reasons unknown the arch collapsed in 2003, but has been rebuilt with the same bricks.  The photo was taken from the terrace where Gwen is relaxing.

We continued on to the Plaza de Francia, as Gwen and I had seen it the day before on our own walking tour.  The picture below, taken from the walkway shows the obelisk and if you look closely, you can see the twin towers of the Cathedral at Old Panama.

Spinning about a quarter turn from this spot, off in the distance can be seen the distinctive roofline of the Biodiversity Museum.  After a brief stop for lunch, our tour group broke into parts, and I chose to visit this museum.

Situated on an isthmus that parallels the Canal entrance channel, close to our hotel, the Biodiversity Museum provides a look at the biological history of Panama in the context of the the broader biological history of the Earth.  The museum discussion starts with some broad statements about what biodiversity is, then we are drawn down a corridor leading to a diorama of life size animals all of whom have lived in Panama at one time or another.

Down below the diorama there are columns with pictures and stories concerning the change of biological life from prehistoric to modern times, with some further discussion concerning future problems and efforts to solve those problems.  After that, it’s on to the biodiversity gardens outside the building.

The building’s architecture is even more colorful when seen closer up.

Fascinating information: did you know that plants reproducing via seeds, the predominant method used by the vast majority of flora in today’s world is only the latest mechanism?  From 350 million years ago until 280 million years ago, plants reproducing through spore production dominated the damp rainforest-like landscape.  As the earth continued developing, the continents separated and dryer land became common, the much more efficient seedling approach became dominant.  This information, along with example gardens developed around the theme of sustainable food production with walkways around and through form much of the area behind the building.

There, as well, is another spectacular example of those large fig trees with roots extending from and supporting its branches.  On the one side of this area is another spectacular view of the Panama City skyline,

and from the other side is a grand view of the Bridge of the Americas, the bridge we’ve seen from several angles before.

From here it is a simple walk back to the hotel.  Well, maybe simple, but longer than anticipated.  Along the way, there were some interesting sights.  A great heron caught my eye.

There were also several large houses that upon closer examination appeared to be abandoned.

The tour group gathered again later in the afternoon and heard an excellent presentation given by a gentleman named Jaime, who has worked for the Canal Agency since before it was turned over to Panamanian control.

Early in November this year, I turned 70.  My wife Gwen and I have gotten to the point where celebrating birthdays and anniversaries only happens when they end in 0 or 5.  Otherwise, we acknowledge it but don’t do anything special for it.  For this one, we decided that a trip to Panama would be a celebration we both would enjoy.

Our usual method of choice for such trips is Road Scholar, as we enjoy the educational aspect to their tours, they are well-prepared, populated with friendly folk, and we’ve enjoyed them several times in the past.  This one is no exception.

On Sunday, Nov 11, we travelled from Los Angeles Intl. Airport to Miami to Panama City, Panama.  This was a long trip, but comfortable, as the plane rides were more or less on schedule.  We arrived late in the evening, and took a taxi to the Radisson Hotel for a comfortable day on Monday, and then the first meeting with our tour group on Tuesday.

Monday morning, we got our breakfast and began our holiday by studying our surroundings.

Out on our balcony, we have a clear view of the Panama Canal.  It turns out all of us on the tour have rooms on this side of the hotel, thanks to our tour leaders.  To the left are several ships probably lining up to take their turns to go through the lock systems, headed from Panama City (the Pacific side) to Colon (the Caribbean side).

To the right, we have a great view of the hotel’s huge pool area with the Panama City auto bridge in the background.  Panama City has grown into a large metropolis, and many of the people who work there live outside the city.  They are building two more bridges to help ease what we are later told is a Los Angeles-size traffic jam every week day.

We also get our first view of one of the large container ships making its way to the first of the canal’s locks {just beyond the bridge}.  We would learn that this ship, while large, is not the largest now accommodated by the locks.

We took a stroll around the hotel, and came upon this unusual tree.  It’s huge, and its most distinctive feature are the roots that drop from the branches embedding themselves in the ground below to find nutrients and to help hold up the branch.  These are fig trees; we had seen similar ones in Hawaii.

Monday afternoon, we decided to take a taxi into the old town of Panama City (Casco Viejo), even though we knew we would see parts of it again on Tuesday with our tour group.  Mainly we wanted to get an opportunity to try a local restaurant and enjoy the good weather afforded to us.

The taxi driver dropped us at his recommendation for a good place to eat: the Casablanca Cafe, located across from the Bolivar Square.

The paella is tasty with spice, but the fish bits are rubbery and thus unappetizing, unfortunately.  Gwen’s chicken in sauce dish was bland, so this place does not get our recommendation.  As we are at Bolivar Square, however, we decide to take a look around.  Simon Bolivar lived in the early 1800s, and was the most memorable of the political and military leaders in the fight to free the central and south American peoples from domination by Spain.

On the other side of the square, behind the statue, is the Iglesia de San Francisco de Asis.

It is a pretty church, and we enjoyed visiting the sanctuary with the tremendous altar.  Encouraged to continue our self-guided walking tour, we come upon the Plaza Mayor, and to one side is the Cathedral at Old Panama, or the Sacred Heart Cathedral (Spanish: Catedral Basílica Santa Maria la Antigua de Panamá).  or the Metropolitan Cathedral (Catedral Metropolitan).  It is  currently closed for renovation in anticipation of the Pope’s visit in 2019. The outside is quite spectacular, making us wish we could have seen the inside.  It was built starting in 1688, and finally consecrated in 1796.  Why does it have so many names?  I am not patient enough to wade through the internet references to find the answer.  It probably has something to do with its age, the specific congregation it serves, or perhaps the level within the Catholic hierarchy of the religious leader to whom it serves as home.  Maybe all three.  I did find that roughly 69% of the Panamanian population regard themselves as Catholics, thus explaining the Pope’s pending visit and the number of such churches we have seen in our walk.

We continued our tour, eventually finding ourselves in a park that juts out into the body of water that serves on one side as the entrance to the Canal, and on the other borders downtown Panama City.  This is the Plaza de Francia, with the Instituto Nacional de Cultura as its central building and a giant obelisk as its central attraction.  A stairway winds around the obelisk and up to a walkway above the Cultural Institute, and so I leave Gwen at the bottom of the stairs and climb.  At the top is a view to a highway raised just above the water running all the way around this little peninsula.  Looking to the left, I am treated to a breathtaking view of Panama City’s skyline.

The picture does not do justice to the view, especially the first time I saw it.  The airport is on the other side of the city so we’d been driven through these buildings the night before, but I didn’t realize how spectacular the city’s architecture is until getting this view.  Like any city skyline, the buildings are each distinctive in their own way, but most emphasize the vertical geometry as they reach for the clouds in the sky above.  The one exception in this skyline is the one pointed at by the thick white wall that borders the walkway. Instead of emphasizing the vertical, this one twists as it rises and glows with a curious green color.  

This building is the F&F Tower named for the construction company that built it.  Called the Revolutionary Tower on the drawing board, this office building was opened in 2011.   Designed around the themes of a rotating geometry and a prism, it quickly became and remains one of the most iconic buildings in Panama.

Gwen shortly joins me on the walkway, and after we admire the view some more, we continue walking, enjoying the sights, eventually finding a taxi and returning to the hotel.