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-Alisa Proctor

Kuna Kids

Our time in the San Blas Islands of Panama was filled with stunning beauty.  The fish filled reefs, the native rainforest, and the palm fringed beaches were all spectacular (see our Sept. and Oct. postings for stories and pictures of this area).  And we found the native Kuna people to be just as beautiful as the landscape.  We loved connecting with the Kuna people, and developed some rewarding relationships with many of them.  And, the children we encountered were particularly delightful.  Kuna kids seemed to be, well, simply happy.  See for yourself in this slideshow of some of our favorite snapshots of Kuna Kids...

Nuedi!

Walking Across the Panama Canal

At left, Brady is walking across the Panama Canal....!!!

I’m just going to cut to the chase: 
We WALKED across the Panama Canal.  
In shock and awe, we tripped along the little one lane road running at the base of the Gatun Locks,  looking up at the huge double doors holding back millions of gallons of water. 

Millions of gallons of water being held back by the massive doors.

The Panama Canal is a modern marvel - truly one of the engineering wonders of the world - which allows ships (and even small boats like ours) to travel across the Isthmus of Panama.  The only other option to get from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean (or vice versa) is to travel all the way around to bottom tip of South America, a long and often treacherous journey.  Just ask Ferdinand Magellan!  Many early explorers’ main goal was to find a short, easy, and safe passage from Europe to Asia.   But there was no short, or easy way between the great oceans until the Panama Canal was constructed across the narrowest section of Panama in 1914.***

A bulk carrier moves on as the canal doors close the lock.

The lock on the left is full of water, ready for the next
ship to enter and be lowered down a level.

Looking down the Gatun Locks, out toward the Caribbean.

The Panama Canal was completed about 100 years ago, giving mariners a “Path Between the Seas” (which is the title of the great book by David McCollough).  The canal raises ships up 85 feet to Gatun Lake through a series of “locks”.  

Image from: http://www.thepanamadigest.com/2011/10/panama-canal-expansion-accident-10-injured/

Three locks up, and three locks down now help shuttle thousands of boats across the 50 mile distance from one ocean to the other.

Entering the locks from Gatun Lake.

Now, over 14,000 ships transit the Panama Canal each year.  

It's a very busy place!

As we sailed near the Panama Canal, the radar showed multiple hits. (Understatement.)
We counted at least 35 ships around us waiting for their turn to transit.

Waiting to transit.

Tugs help move ships into the Gatun Locks.

Our boat was anchored just a bit downstream from the Gatun Dam in the Chagres River.  We decided to do some exploring, and see if we might be able to walk across the dam...and maybe get a closer view of the actual canal and locks. 

A cruise ship passes behind the Gatun Dam.
At the far right, a car can be seen crossing the spillway bridge.

We left our dingy at a small dock in the Chagres River and followed the road uphill toward the dam, which holds back the water forming Gatun Lake.  A road leads over the spillway, past the dam and hydroelectric power plant,  off toward the Gatun locks.  And so we followed the road, watching the ships move slowly behind the mounds of earth supporting the canal.  

Superstructure of a ship transiting the canal, as seen from the road below.

We had no idea if we’d be able to get close enough to view the actual locks, but we figured we’d go find out.  

A Crocodile patrols Gatun Lake.

After a couple of miles, we hit the west side of the Gatun Locks.  The road turned and headed downhill before it came to a dead end, and wondering what could be found there, we continued down the road.
  
And then, there it was.  We saw the guard shack and the one lane road that allows cars to creep across the canal, at least while the gates are closed and ships aren’t passing through. 

Past the guard gate, black lock doors in the distance...

...and under the canal walls.

About to cross the bridge across the canal...

We watched the cars go across, and wondered if we could cross by foot.  Finally I decided to go ask the guard.  Could we walk across?  Si!  Our only admonition: No Stopping!  

No Stopping in the middle of the canal!
Check out the water rushing out of the locks toward the Caribbean.

It was a “pinch me, am I awake?” kind of experience.  The doors were enormous from our vantage point, and rushing water below our feet could be seen through the metal walkway.  In our excitement we nearly ran across...no stopping! 

OMG!
We are WALKING ACROSS the PANAMA CANAL!!!

And then, we turned back to look in amazement, not quite believing our luck.  Yep, we had just walked across the “ditch”!

Two ships in the Gatun Locks...one locking up, one locking down.

From the east side of the canal, the Gatun Visitor Center can be accessed. So we spent the next few hours watching from the viewing platform, as ships completed their day long passage from the Pacific by locking down into the Caribbean Sea.  

A bulk carrier fills the canal.

Workers watch from the bow of a ship.

Nearly 100 years in operation...1914-2014.

We had taken our boat through the canal 20 years ago, so it was great to be able to show the boys where the boat had been, and point out how these very locks had been used to move our boat from the Pacific to the Atlantic.  And although we didn't transit the canal by boat this time, we DID get to cross the canal after all...on foot!  A memorable transit indeed.  

Expansion construction on the canal is under way,
which will allow even larger ships to transit.

New doors for the new, bigger canal addition.
Construction of the new locks is scheduled to finish in 2014.

*** Read more about Magellan here: http://www.rmg.co.uk/magellan.  

Also, this site has a great interactive map of some 

of the early explorers: 

http://www.phschool.com/atschool/ahon/history_interactive/mvl-1021/common_player.html

Rio Chagres

Most everyone has heard of The Panama Canal, which connects the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.  But you may not have heard of the Chagres River.

Points Beyond, up the Rio Chagres

The Chagres River, surrounded by rainforest.

Although not as well known as the Panama Canal itself, there would be no canal without the Rio Chagres.  

Panama Canal Diagram, with the Chagres River area we explored circled with a white dotted line.
Source: Wikipedia

The river snakes it’s way through the rain forest,  and is the main watershed for the canal.  Two dams along the river help create Gatun Lake, which is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world.   From the Caribbean, the Chagres River is navigable all the way to the Gatun Dam, located about 6 miles from the mouth of the river. 

Fort San Lorenzo, at the mouth of the Chagres River.

The Chagres River was “discovered” by Christopher Columbus in 1502, and was explored by Hernando de la Serna in 1527.  He founded the town of Chagres and built a fort, San Lorenzo, on a promontory at the mouth of the river.  The river was used as a transportation trail from the Pacific, across Panama, from which gold was “exported” from Peru to Spain.

Looking out the the Caribbean from Fort San Lorenzo.

Fort San Lorenzo, under cover of jungle growth.

View from the fort, with the Rio Chagres in the right corner.

We had heard that the Chagres River was worth exploring.  In fact, we had heard that it was a “don’t miss it!” spot, and so we crossed the bar into the river with great expectations.  The fort is still at the mouth of the river, and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

A view of the River from inside the fort.

The square slab is the fort cistern. 

The original cannons still stand sentry around Fort San Lorenzo.

A Royal Crest can still be seen on this cannon.

And the river still meanders through the rainforest as it flows downstream from Gatun Dam.  Was it as magical and mystical as described to us?  A “don’t miss” kind of place?  Oh Yes.  Yes, it was.

Magical, mystical Rio Chagres.

Rainforest all the way to at the edge of the river.

We sailed up the river, all the way until we came in sight of the dam, where we anchored and listened to the noises of the jungle.  There are no buildings, no visible man-made structures of any sort between the fort and the dam. 

No sign of humans...except us.

We were completely alone, having traveled upstream without encountering any other people or boats, and it stayed that way for days.  But truly we were far from alone.  The jungle is teeming with life.  

We spotted toucans, red parrots, green parrots, yellow headed caracaras, osprey, and a variety of other flying creatures. 

Toucans!  Where are the Fruit Loops?

Cute birds hanging out on our bow rail.

Yellow-headed Caracara.  (I think.)

Osprey?

We watched families of Howler Monkeys, Spider Monkeys, and White Faced Capuchins, too.  

You looking at me?

Seriously.  You looking at me?

Capuchin family, with baby on the mother's back.

Capuchin monkey, having a stare-down with the humans.

 

Oh, hello!

And then there was the sloth, who wins the funniest/strangest creature award for sure.

Sloth.  Strangest creature candidate.  

Sloth.  Or Sasquatch.  Could be either.

Check out his claws!  

The noise of birds and bugs is constant, even though at the same time it is incredibly quiet and peaceful.  Until, that is, the howler monkeys start howling.  Howling doesn’t quite describe this incredibly loud roar.  We weren’t sure what it was at first; it sounded like a cross between wolves and lions.  Only louder. 

Can you spot the howler monkeys in the jungle?
You could if this picture included sound.

Ah, there's a howler.

Howler monkey swinging from a vine.  

Howler monkeys are said to be the loudest land animals; the sound of their calls can travel up to 3 miles.  They tend to howl most at dawn and dusk.  Or if you happen to speed by too close to them in your dingy.   

A spider monkey checking us out.

Spider monkey.  These guys are quiet.

We spent nearly a week in this wonderland, and felt like we could have happily spent a month exploring tributaries and jungle paths.  

Sunset on the rainforest canopy.

At anchor in the Rio Chagres.

From our anchoring spot near the dam we were also able to visit the Gatun Locks of the Panama Canal.  This unforgettable experience included (spoiler alert!) WALKING ACROSS the Gatun Locks.  Stay tuned for our upcoming post for the details on our Panama Canal experience.

The Gatun Dam as seen from the Chagres River.
Just behind the dam a cruise ship can be seen as the ship transits the Panama Canal.