Keith's Panamanian Travel Ramble

The wanderings of Andrea and Keith around Panama

Posts tagged ‘roadway’

The Hazy Campana National Park

Hi Travellers,

Today was warm and close with a noticeable lack of breezes so we lounged around the pool for most of the morning.  After lunch we decided to take a short trip to some higher ground in search of some cool breezes.

Altos de Campana National Park was the first park in the Republic of Panama and was established in 1966. It is an important park as it protects two hydrographic river basins, the Sajalices river that flows towards the Pacific Ocean and the Ciri and Trinidad rivers that join the Chagres river which is a major contributor to the canal and provides the drinking water for the City of Panama.  The park is just under 5,000 hectares in size and is a one and one half hour drive from Panama City.  It has elevations of up to 850 meters.

We loaded our friends Shirley and Dave up and headed to the park which is about a 15 minute drive from where we are staying.  There is a stretch of the Inter-American Highway that is quite curvy for about five kilometers as the roadway descends to the level of the beach communities.  The entrance to the park is part way through this section of the highway.  It is actually  six kilometers west of the town of Capira.

Once in the park, we drove up the steep well paved road in search of views.  There are supposed to be good views of the canal basin and the mangroves at the tip of the mouth of the Chame River at Chame Point from the lookouts in the park but today is quite misty and there is a lot of burning going on in the area to get rid of dead vegetation.  As we continue our climb there are some spectacular views of the coast available.  Unfortunately my filters were not able to remove all the haze from the pictures but I think you can get the idea.

At the top of the mountain we came to a small well-kept town, Campana, and stopped at a fruit stand to buy some produce before heading back down the hill.

Pizza in the Portobelo National Park

Hi Everyone,

We went to Portobelo, on the Caribbean side, a few days ago and visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes the old Spanish fortifications dating back to the early 1600s.  Most people visit the town and then return to wherever they came from, but not us.  When we finished poking around the town and fortification remnants, we noticed that the nicely paved road did not end in Portobelo, so we decided to take a drive to see where it went.  Our guide-book was silent on this part of the world but the GPS seemed to know the road (from time to time).

Undeterred by such details, we pressed on eventually coming to a sign that seemed to show we were entering Portobelo National Park.  The road was a nicely paved two lane that took us through what looked mostly like cattle grazing areas.  The roadway was mostly flat and straight but the scenery included beautiful high hills to our south.  From time to time the road would wind up and over a hill or two.  We passed through a couple of small villages, with their brightly painted houses and stores, before we arrived at a small town called Puerto Linda, right on the Caribbean.  This was obviously a fishing town given the many fishing boats pulled up on the beach.  There are a couple of small hotels here and a restaurant or two it seems.

We were still not at the end of the road, so we elected to continue our drive along the Caribbean on the nicely paved road.  Eventually we decided that maybe we shouldn’t go too much farther so we watched for a place where we could pull over and turn around.  There was none!  The road is built up here and has large-sized drainage ditches along each side.  We continued for a while until we came to another village on the Caribbean.  This one is called Isla Grande, for the island that lies just off shore.  Here we found a parking lot and decided to look around.

It was a short walk down a house lined paved street to the beach.  Along the way, a group of young boys who were playing in one of the front yards, greeted us in concert with a loud “hola” (hello) that soon became “hola whitie”.  They were encouraged by our laughter!

The beach and coastline were beautiful so after the obligatory photo documentation, we got back on the road, heading back towards Portobelo.

A bit of research on the Internet tells me that Portobelo National Park is located in Colon Province, and is about 1.5 hours from Panama City. The park, which is 20% marine area and 80% land is 34,846 hectares or 86 000 acres. Portobelo National Park has 70 km of lovely beach front that is frequented by Panamanians and foreign divers. This area has a diverse cultural, historical and natural significance.

Anyways, on the way back home we decided we needed to stop somewhere for a meal.  Shortly after we had entered the park, from the other direction, we had passed a large newish looking building sporting the name Don Quijotes Pizzeria.  We decided to try it.

On arrival, we found the place empty of patrons but there were five or six staff keeping themselves busy.  They must do a decent take out business as we spotted about 50 pizza boxes being built in an adjoining room.  You pass through a wide arched entrance way into a good sized holding room.  If you continue through the next arch, you are in the dining room which is open to the hills.  The view is magnificent!  You look over level farm land to beautiful green hillsides.  While we were there, it was kind of cloudy but the light was shining through onto parts of the hillside, making a striking vista.

We ordered pizza, which is cooked in a wood fired oven.  The service was great, the atmosphere was perfect and the views were stunning.  Oh, and the food was excellent as well!  Once again we experienced a private dining experience in a wonderful place.  If you are ever in Portobelo, drive down the road a bit farther until you see Don Quijotes Pizzera on your right about 10 minutes after you enter the park.  It’s definitely a place not to miss!

The Bahai Egg

Howdy Travel Fans,

This is the third time I have been in Panama.  Each time, we have tried, unsuccessfully, to get to the Bahai Temple.  Our first trip, five years ago, was without a GPS and we tried to navigate to it using a mickey mouse map from the car rental company and information from an outdated guide-book.  The Bahai Temple is located on top of a hill with a beautiful view of the city, valley and jungle around it.  On this trip, we could see the structure but could not figure out how to get to it.  After several attempts, each involving paying a toll on Corredor Norte, we gave up.

Our second trip, two years ago found us armed with a GPS that showed the temple.  We set out, following the GPS only to find massive amounts of construction in the area where we were trying to find the entrance to the temple.  Also, the GPS has a wrong co-ordinate in it so it tried to take us into a residential neighborhood in the opposite direction from where we were supposed to go.  We finally gave up but at least this time we were able to avoid paying extra tolls on Corredor Norte.

 

 

 

This time I checked the GPS, that had an updated map, before we set out only to find it contained the same error.  I have followed another Panamanian blog while here and they had recently posted a piece on the Bahai Temple that contained some detailed information about how to find it.  Apparently we are to look for a large black steel gate with gold filigree decoration.  Also, the signs that identify the temple access are small and close to the ground.

The Bahai House of Worship here in Panama is one of only eight in the world.  The Bahai laws emphasize that the spirit of the House of Worship must be a gathering place where people of all religions may worship God without denominational restrictions.  The Bahai laws also stipulate that only the holy scriptures of the Bahai Faith and other religions can be read or chanted inside in any language; while readings and prayers may be set to music by choirs, no musical instruments may be played inside.  Furthermore no sermons may be delivered, and no ritualistic ceremonies practiced.

 

 

 

All Bahai temples share certain architectural elements, some of which are specified by Bahai scripture. It is stipulated that an essential architectural character of a House of Worship be that it requires to have a nine-sided circular shape ( Nonagon ).  While all current Bahai Houses of Worship have a dome, they are not regarded as an essential part of their architecture.  Bahai scripture also states that no pictures, statues or images may be displayed within the House of Worship and no pulpits or altars incorporated as an architectural feature (readers may stand behind simple portable lecture stands). 

The Bahai temple in Panama City was completed 1972 and was designed by Peter Tillotson.  It serves as the mother temple of Latin America. It is perched on a high cliff, “Cerro Sonsonate” (“Singing Hill”), overlooking the city, and is constructed of local stone laid in a pattern reminiscent of Native Americanfabric designs.

The dome is covered with thousands of small oval tiles, and the entrance gates of the temple are constructed in a unique three-dimensional design each consisting of an equilateral triangle of three vertical posts with multiple rows of bars stretching between them at various angles, each row of which gradually changes from vertical to horizontal.

There is also great importance given to Panama in the Bahai writings – “You must give special attention to the Republic of Panama because at this point the East and the West are united through the Panama Canal and it is placed between two oceans: in the future it will gain most great importance.”

Also of interest to us is the use of the number nine.  There are nine sides to the building and there are nine entrances.  Each entrance has nine overhead lights.  The main entrance stairway has two sets of nine stairs each.  Nine is obviously a significant number to the Bahai believers as it was many years ago for Feng Shui in China.  While in China we learned of the importance of the number nine there as stipulated in the rules of Feng Shui.  Nine is the Emperors number and as such, doorways used by Emperors had nine decorative studs on them.  Buildings used by the emperor had nine rooms or, in the Forbidden City in Beijing, 999 rooms.  There is a curious commonality about the interest in the number nine.

Our trip to the “Egg” this time was successful!  What we didn’t understand is that the roadway up to the building is actually a narrow driveway, nestled between the SDS Storage and Turbotec businesses on Via Boyd Roosevelt.  Directly across the street from the driveway is Conway Design.  In order to use the driveway, you must be travelling southbound on Via Boyd Roosevelt.  The one lane driveway climbs steeply to the top of the “Singing Hill” and takes several minutes to navigate.

Once there, you are above the hustle and bustle of the city and there is an obvious serenity as you circle the temple, viewing the city below and vistas of the jungle and hills.  You are welcomed to enter the building, which is open and airy and has a simple shiny marble floor.  The temple is elegantly equipped with beautifully finished highly polished wooden benches.  Sit and collect your thoughts for a few moments and enjoy the breezes, silence, presence and beauty of this place before you continue on with your busy day!

On the Road to Santa Fe

Hi Travellers,

We checked out of our little resort and went for breakfast around 9AM.  We were at the Artash Restaurant to get one last bacon wrap and an Internet connection to catch up my posts before we left El Valle.

We had agreed to pick up Octav from the Bayview Hotel on the beach in San Carlos at around 11AM to give him a ride to Santa Fé.  Its only a couple of kilometers out of our way just off the Pan-American Highway.  We have been here before.  It has a restaurant right on the beach with a magnificent view from the deck.

On our way to Santa Fé, we decided to check out a little restaurant in a place called La Pintada (pronounced La Pin Tada) that we really enjoyed the first time we were here.  When we were here the second time, we drove up to find it closed and out of business.  Now, I read that it is open again so we want to check it out for a potential day trip with our friends who are coming in mid February.  La Pintada is 13Km north of Penonome (pronounced Pen a no me), which is on the Pan-American.  La Pintada is a beautiful small town with really nothing much to draw people but the restaurant.  We arrived to find the beautiful little town was once again equipped with a great little restaurant.  Restaurant Casa Vieja La Pintada!  If you are in Panama, this place is well worth the little scenic detour you will take to get here.  There is a beautiful small recently painted white church on one side of the well-kept square with this restaurant on the other side facing the church.  The restaurant appears to have fresh paint and our server was a little Panamanian girl who was attentive, had a big smile and spoke enough English for us to get by.  We just had a cool drink, snapped a few shots and were on our way.

On our way back to the Pan-American, Andrea spotted a small fruit stand in front of a house at the side of the road with a supply of grapefruit stacked on the shelf.  We stopped and this little guy sold us six beautiful big grapefruit for $0.50, (total, not each) once he had his mother’s permission.

We continued back toward Penonome but in a few minutes our GPS wanted us to turn west.  We looked at the road and found it wide and paved but with no lines.  Now normally, Andrea won’t take advice from the GPS but this time, with two of us encouraging her, she agreed to follow it.  It turned out to be a nicely paved secondary road that our GPS called “Road”.  It basically, just cut off the need for us to go back through Penonome.  It brought us out on the Pan-American 20 or 30 minutes west of Penonome after taking us through beautiful rolling hills and past lots of fields of cattle and horses.  Out in the back country I might have thought we would find unkempt properties and homes but that was not the case.  Homes were neat, tidy, artfully landscaped and painted bright colors.  There was no junk lying around.  Then I remembered, we were in Panama not Mexico and this is the norm here!  There is a pride of ownership that shows everywhere.

Shortly after getting back on the Pan-American, a motorcycle carrying a police man passed us at a high speed.  In a few minutes we came around a bit of a gentle curve and saw a little white car of some kind on its side in the middle of the median.  The shot is a bit blurry but I think you can get the idea.  There was shattered plastic everywhere.  We wonder what actually happened because the road was flat and almost straight. In a few minutes we saw an ambulance approaching from the other direction.  It was not in a hurry and the emergency lights were not on.

We arrived in Santiago on the Pan-American which is where we turn north for Santa Fé.  We joined a line of mostly little yellow taxi cabs at a service station to load up our trusty Toyota with fuel before leaving Santiago which, we were warned, is the last place we can get gas.  Strange!  This busy little fuel stop was the first service station we have found that takes credit cards.  We left Santiago, heading north along a nicely paved two lane road with yellow center line and white lines at both edges of the road.  The hills are rolling and every now and again you get a chance to see the beautiful hilly vistas from the road.

We had planned to stop in a place called San Francisco which is 17 Km along the road from Santiago, to see a very important historical church that dates back to 1621.  Restoration work has been recently completed.  San Francisco is a tidy small village with narrow roads.  The whole place looks recently paved and again we find the homes all beautifully landscaped and well-kept.  Here are a few shots of the church.  The interior is amazing.  It is full of beautiful intricately carved pieces that show so well because of the fresh restoration work that has been done.

We continued north on the little hilly road for the remaining 35 Km to Santa Fé.  The GPS is not up to date with the roadway.  It looks like the road has been modernized somewhat and the map has not!  It showed us travelling in the general area of the road but not on it.  We eventually met one of the little Toyota Coaster busses that runs from Santiago to Santa Fé and followed it part of the way.  There is very little on this road.  No houses, no cows, no people, just tall grass, fields of nothing, lots of vegetation, beautiful distant hills and one small Toyota.

Our resort had provided us a map to get us from Santa Fé to their property, which is just a little over two kilometers.  We got to within a couple of hundred meters from the main gate and, following the map, turned off the paved road onto a dirt one with a hill on it.  Now a dirt road here means slippery red clay with no gravel and lots of deep ruts.  When you add an incline and water from a recent rain to this recipe, you need four-wheel drive, which our little Toyota doesn’t have.  Andrea managed to get us almost up the hill before we lost traction and could not go forward.  I hope no one from Budget is reading this!  We were probably 20 meters from the resort gate.  I got out and walked to the resort to get help and she backed the Toyota back down the hill.

As I walked through the front gate of Casa Mariposa, I was immediately faced with terrain sloping off into the distance and an  amazing view of hills, mountains, and jungle that unfolded at my feet.  First impression?  I was mindful of Shangrala!  It was stunning!

I met one of the owners, Kevin, who said to take the car back to the intersection with the pavement, and that he would meet us there with his four-wheel drive to bring us and our luggage to the resort.

There are two new villas right inside the gate at the top of the hill.  Each is beautifully landscaped to maximize the privacy between them.  Our villa is called Toucan and the larger one is called Motmot, after the bird.  I will show you a couple of pictures of the Motmot in the next post.  We were warmly greeted and oriented to the ways of the Casa Mariposa by the owners Kevin and Erica, who are from Ontario.  The routine here in this brand new resort is like in a five-star resort.  We sat and visited with Octav on the large deck of the Motmot, where he is staying, trying desperately to take in all the amazing view.  Rachel came to explain the dinner specials and to take our order.  They have a menu of around a dozen items or so.  Graham, the chef will prepare the meals and he and Rachel will them serve them to us on the Motmot deck.  So far we have experienced friendly helpful owners, who are attentive and follow-up on every small detail as well as a wonderful gourmet dinner capably served in the most beautiful restaurant, the deck of the Motmot!

The dinner selection I chose was horseradish and parmesan encrusted red snapper filet with home-made rye garlic bread and braised green beans.  Andrea chose the homemade french onion soup featuring Erica’s homemade bread, then the stuffed chicken with mozzarella, shiitake mushrooms, olives and bacon served with a shiitake mushroom white wine sauce along with purple nayami (a local root vegetable something like potato)and braised green beans.  For dessert we chose the pineapple upside down cake with a ginger sauce.  Amazing!  Now tell me!  What other jungle can you think of that serves gourmet food like this with such a view from the dining room?