April 2009. Months of planning, hours on the telephone, hundreds of dollars spent at REI and other stores like it. I've been on an airplane three times in my life at this point, all of those occasions flying with friends to continental US destinations. I'm alone, laid over in the Miami International Airport waiting to climb onto an American Airlines flight bound for thee Tocuemen International Airport just east of Panama City, Panama. Upon my arrival, I'll be joining up with a friend from Canada and spending 10 days crossing central and western portions of the country.
Two and a half hours in the air the wheels come down and the stewardess comes over the PA system welcoming visitors to Panama, first in Spanish then following her greeting in English. I haven't used Spanish on a regular basis since high school so I really begin asking 'what the hell am I about to get myself into?' I depart the plane and fill out the necessary paperwork for entering the country, pay the 'entrance fees' and pick up my baggage. Somehow I got away with stashing about 60 lbs. of photography equipment into the overhead compartments as my 'carry on' bag, leaving all of my field gear to be piled into a travel duffel nearly my size. I find a place to plop down and wait for my Canadian counterparts - I power up my cell phone for the hell of it and get word that my friends are delayed due to snow and missing flights, so I have hours of waiting by myself where I speak a handful of Spanish phrases at best....
Panama's culture is a influential mixture of native tribes (7 of roughly 20+ still exist in the country), descendants of the Caribbean slave trade and Spanish explorers . The majority of the country is relatively remote and eastward into the Darien province (click on map photo for a larger view!), travel conditions are difficult - underdeveloped roads, guerrilla insurgents filtering in from South America trafficking narcotics, and disease issues to name a few. However, in recent years development as a tourist destination has taken lead, and things are becoming more accessible. Laws in the country bring down double the penalty if an act of injustice is taken against a tourist. It is a fabulous escape if you don't like cold weather - temperatures tend to stay around 90 degrees year round with the rainy season running from April until about September.
I sit curled up in an uncomfortable row of chairs in the airport, looking over my Nat Geo guide to Panama for the 37th time hoping my iPod doesn't die before my counterparts arrive. Finally, after about 5 hours of waiting around I see a familiar face dragging luggage through a mix of locals. We proceed to then bounce from rental car stations to try and find the best rate on a 4x4 SUV that will be our means to seeing this wonderful place. At roughly 7:30PM, we grab our keys, pack in all our gear, and set out for the forests of Gamboa in central Panama....
No comments:
Post a Comment