Return to Panama uncovers a birder's paradise

Sunday, February 26, 2006

By Robert W. Bone, Travel Arts Syndicate

PANAMA CITY, Panama -- Pelicans circled above the bay with the cool deliberation of master marksmen. When one spotted a fish, he snapped his wings into a sort of sharp-angled, italic "Z" and dived into the water. Returning to the surface with his prey, he would slide his prize smoothly into his gullet with a proud shake of his ample beak.

	Robert W. Bone photos Some inspired architecture has been rising in Panama city in recent years. Click photo for larger image. If you go Panamanian Tourism Institute: 1-800-231-0568; www.visitpanama.com.

I admired these deft acrobatics for an hour or two one sunny day in June 1963, in front of my hotel -- the kind of marginal establishment that a nearly broke young vagabond could afford. I can no longer name the hotel, but the pelican scene was firmly fixed in my memory by the time I flew home to the United States the following day. I had never seen a bird dive into the water before and up until that moment, had no idea how pelicans got their food!

Returning to Panama City after more than 42 years, I found myself overlooking the same shoreline. My previous modest accommodations were long gone. But from the balcony attached to a snazzy air-conditioned room in the Intercontinental Hotel Miramar, I saw that the pelicans had managed to remain on duty and that their aim was as good as ever.

Birders love Panama. More than 500 species are said to populate the forests of this narrow country. While pelicans and flocks of slow-flying vultures are prevalent over the city, hundreds of other kinds populate the green jungles on the north and south sides of the Panama Canal.

The canal, one of the world's greatest engineering achievements, was begun by the French in 1881 and finally finished under the direction of U.S. engineers in 1914. It is the raison d'etre of Panama. With the support of the United States, Panama declared its independence from Colombia in 1903 and a wide, fenced-off swath of the country became the U.S. Canal Zone. Those who lived there, who called themselves "Zonians," became the proud residents of America's only overseas colony. They were often described as being "more American than the Americans."

I found Panama City fascinating in 1963. It seemed a loud, helter-skelter sort of a place, but ultimately fun and an especially savory contrast to the antiseptic precincts in the American-owned Canal Zone. There the buildings were uniformly white and set back from smoothly paved streets under cool shade trees and behind well-watered, closely cropped lawns.

The narrow streets of Casco Viejo, the older section of Panama City. Click photo for larger image.

Today, these aspects seem to be reversing. Panama City has become relatively clean and more conservative, dominated here and there by architecturally inspiring high-rise buildings. The former Canal Zone has belonged to Panama since Jan. 1, 2000, and except for the canal itself, the section bordering the city is not much as I remembered it.

The military-style buildings are still in evidence, but many show their age and are now colorfully painted. The grass is taller and grayer, and there is generally a more unkempt look. The streets and roads are often rough and pot-holed, and the former tightly controlled atmosphere of a U.S. government installation no longer exists.

The cultural strains with the Zonians are now considered ancient history, and Panamanians are welcoming more Americans annually, both as tourists and as retirees. Some smile and describe their capital as "kind of like Miami -- except more English is spoken here."

The older parts of the city are still around, among them, the ruins of Panama la Vieja, the original settlement destroyed by the English pirate, Henry Morgan, in 1671 and Casco Viejo, whose narrow, Spanish-style streets were first laid down in 1673. Casco Viejo was favored by the French during their abortive attempt to build the first Panama Canal in the 1880s, so both Spanish and French touches can be seen.

On my recent trip, I crossed over the canal on the mile-long Bridge of the Americas, to spend some time at a new coastal resort, the Intercontinental Playa Bonita. Comparable to the sophisticated, beach-side resorts in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and other sunny locations, it features one of the smoothest stretches of sand for miles around. During Canal Zone days this beach was reserved for U.S. military officers and their families.

The Playa Bonita is also an outpost for Gamboa Tours. They offer an easy way to take in a visit to the Canal, including the visitor center and museum alongside the Miraflores Locks. This is the first watery stairstep up for ships entering the canal from the Pacific. The company also offers excursions to the Gamboa Resort on the banks of the Chagres River, about a 45-minute drive into the interior, and within the borders of the Soberania National Park.

While Playa Bonita was a luxury beach experience, the architecturally daring Gamboa Resort provided a jungle adventure, and some visitors headquarter themselves there. One morning I joined a group led by naturalist Hector Nodiel Sanchez. We sailed on a small boat along the river and into Gatun Lake, which forms an integral part of the canal. Traffic on the water included an occasional huge, ocean-going vessel that seemed out of place in these tropical forest environs.

	A capuchin (white faced) monkey enjoys fruit taken to him on an excursion in Gatun Lake, part of the Panama Canal. Click photo for larger image.

When the lake was created, the nearby hills formed islands, and some contain land-locked colonies of jungle creatures. Hector took us to one he called Monkey Island. It was populated by families of Capuchin (white-faced) monkeys, who enthusiastically welcomed our boat and the hors d'oeuvres that came with it. One of these exuberant residents landed briefly on my head while making his way toward a Snickers bar. On other islands we spotted more wildlife, including Howler monkeys, a three-toed sloth, some tree iguanas, and perhaps a dozen of those 500-plus varieties of birds.

After an outdoor lunch overlooking the Chagres River, more exotic birds and a sleepy caiman, I boarded an open-air aerial tram that lifts visitors through the forest canopy to the summit of a hill. From the top of a 100-foot-tall observation tower, we could see a wide area of the canal. This included the famous, or infamous, Gaillard Cut, a relatively narrow slit that had given the canal builders considerable misery a century ago.

More varieties of birds were in evidence at the tower, among them, a bright toucan. I had never seen a toucan outside of a zoo before. The big-billed creature obligingly posed just long enough for me to make a close-up.

I left for home the following day, and the toucan has now joined the pelicans among my memories of Panama.

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(Robert W. Bone, 73, has lived in several countries and is the author of four guidebooks. He maintains Web sites at http://travelpieces.com and http://robertbone.com. He resides in Hawaii.)