A Bug´s Life

Panama is one of those truly condensed countries. Much as Great Britain punches above its weight in the artistic and cultural stakes, so Panama does for the natural world. In an area roughly the size of Scotland live 125 uniquely Panamanian animals, 226 different types of reptile including some extremely venemous snakes, and more bird types (approx 940) than anywhere else in Central America.

To try and get closer to this outrageously abundant wildlife, we headed for the National Park La Armistad, near the border with Costa Rica, to a recently opened backpacker eco-lodge called "Lost and Found". Andrew, the young Canadian owner, and his Panamanian wife, Steph, have sunk all their hard earned cash into an extraordinary concrete structure clinging to the side of a hill in the Cloudforest, with views across the valley that reach all the way to the Pacific.




At night, we were visited by various creatures we´d never heard of: the `kinkajou´ (Jonny´s favourite) a racoon like animal with a prehensile tail, the `cacomissel´ and the`olingo´ to name but a few.


But it was the insects that I found truly amazing. Not normally being a lover of things with six legs, I was enthralled by the size and beauty of the bugs that landed from the night sky. Out of various fireflies and giant grasshoppers, the winner of this entomological beauty contest was, hands down, the Gold Jewel Beetle. Described by Andrew as the most expensive bug in the rainforest (they sell on ebay for $160) this completely golden beetle - gold legs, antlers, wings, body, everything - landed on the dinner table to the awe of everyone present.

After a couple of days of Spanish practise and animal spotting, we said goodbye and good luck to Andrew and Steph and travelled in the direction of Isla de Coiba on the Pacific Coast.

Coiba is Part IV in our world tour of former prisons; Robben Island (Capetown), Port Blair (Andaman Islands), Oxford Castle (England - now a very nice Malmaison!) ... all we need now are Alcatraz and St Helena (where Napoleon was imprisoned) and we´ll have a complete set. We had been inspired to come to Panama in the first place by pictures and articles of Coiba´s pristine wilderness in the British Press. As the largest island off Central America, its surrounding waters form part of the same submarine mountain chain as the Galapagos Islands, and are teeming with marine life of all descriptions. On the way to and from the island, we saw Humpback Whales breaching at 30m distance, dolphins and, unbelievably, dozens of Manta Rays jumping out of the water 10 feet into the air.

Diving here is quite unlike Caribbean or Asian waters. Visibility was poor, and the rocky sea bed wasn´t exactly pretty, but with dozens of White Tip Sharks and odd unusual find such as the ´guitar fish´ (like a cross between a Shark and a Stingray) it was still fun. But the real beauty of Coiba is arriving on the beach to hundreds of butterflies and, despite being confined by dense jungle to a small promontory where the Ranger´s station is situated, within ten minutes seeing a snake, an Iguana, a flock of vultures and several of Coiba´s unique rodents (like giant squirrels), not to mention ´Tito´ the huge crocodile who had famously robbed a Park Ranger of one of his legs.


Coiba feels like the Garden of Eden (or, as we like to think of it, an episode of "Lost"). It is remarkably unscathed by man, and gave us an insight into how the pirates and conquistadors must have seen the Americas before the wholesale destruction of the indigenous tribespeople and their environment. Although the authorities have so far resisted attempts to place a tourist infrastructure on Coiba (although we stayed for one night at the Ranger´s Station in basic huts) and it has now been declared a UNESCO world heritage site , without the dangerous prisoners and fear of Sharks to keep the Punters away, who knows how long it will remain the untamed beauty spot it is today.

Arriba! Arriba!

Ever since being robbed at gunpoint in Antigua, Guatemala, I´ve been wary of Central American cities. Even the most picturesque colonial town can change dramatically when the sun goes down, and taking local advice as to which areas are best avoided is at the very least sensible, and in some places mandatory. So, as we sped towards our guest house in Panama City´s Casca Vieja (Old Quarter), it didn´t exactly inspire me with confidence to hear the taxi driver spelling out just how dangerous the area was and how, if we had any sense, we should be staying down town in the Intercontinental.

We arrived at Luna´s Castle, a huge old colonial mansion that was recently converted into a backpacker doss-house. It´s well and truly part of the Lonely Planet ´hostel mafia´, described as "far and away the best backpacker joint in Panama City" in the latest LP guide book, which was published a good six months before it even opened. The author of that singularly useless tome must be breathing a sigh of relief that all those free Cuba Libre´s haven´t completely ruined any future journalistic career and that Luna´s Castle is in fact now open and, indeed, vying for the top spot amongst backpackers looking to meet greet and party in Casca Vieja. Here we met globe-trotters from all over, but mainly America, and got up to date on what was hot to do in Panama. It´s one of the world´s great outdoor destinations, and we stocked up on recommendations for everything from surfing (probably not) to hiking and tree-top canopy tours (can´t wait!).



Casca Vieja also thankfully turned out to be everything we were looking for to kick off the Latin American denouement to our travels. A well policed district in the centre of the old town has been the focus of an extraordinary urban regeneration project, where virtually every building has been restored from scratch, or is in the process of being rescued. In amongst the restored buildings are older ones with families still living in them, which helps to retain the soul of the old town. What was once a violent slum is now home to museums and galleries, not to mention the President of Panama, and boasts wonderful views across the bay to the financial district, where the modern city skyline rivals that of Hong Kong or Miami. The streets buzz with the sound of salsa music, and at night its easy to stumble across live music and cheap drinks in the atmospheric bars and clubs. The ´joi de vivre´ of Latin America is alive and kicking here in the richest of all Central American cities.

A trip to Panama would not be complete without a visit to the Panama Canal, where the world´s ships traverse the isthmus between the two great oceans of the Atlantic and the Pacific. The focus of a visit here is the giant lock at Miraflores... not that interesting if you´ve ever seen a lock before, but what is really fascinating is a trip around the museum to understand the history of this great feat of engineering. What began as a French project lured thousands of Caribbean workers, mainly from Jamaica and Barbados, who were the backbone of the building work. Most died of Malaria and Yellow Fever in Panama´s unforgiving jungle environment, but after an overhaul of working conditions and a discovery by Dr Carlos Finlay that Yellow Fever was carried by mosquitoes, the project was finally finished.

Looking up the canal at the mile upon mile of water, all dredged and redirected to form the lakes within the canal zone, is a real testiment to man´s determination to conquer the natural world, as Panama´s jungles and cloud forests, particularly in the Darien gap between Central and South America, are probably the most dense and dangerous on the planet. Although there are plans to widen the canal, the water shed around the canal is a hugely important part of keeping it full of water, and is home to a myriad of bird, animal and insect species endemic to the area; what initially destroyed so much, now ensures the protection of all the surrounding wildlife.