9/8 Rainforest Hike, Sex Lives of Howler Monkets & Al Capone!

We’d planned to hike in Panama City’s Natural Metropolitan Park this morning by ourselves but were so lucky that Jerin, owner of panamadaytrips.com, had extremely generously told us yesterday that he and his assistant, John, would take us back to Soberania National Park for an early morning hike followed by some other sightseeing, all complementary because of unavoidable issues that cropped up on our tour with them yesterday. We didn’t think there had been any issues that merited their kind offer but were thrilled to take advantage of another half day or so in their company so we could learn more about the flora and fauna of Panama and also see the most famous set of locks on the canal.

Jerin told Steven, another tourist from yesterday and me we had to look at the sign in front of the church in Gamboa, situated halfway up the Panama Canal!

Just as he did yesterday, John, an MBA accountant from Venezuela turned avid environmentalist, had his face glued to the windshield so he could detect any birds or animals while Jerin drove toward the park located just a few minutes from the city. If eagles have the sharpest eyes of any mammal, it seemed that John and Jerin must have the most acute eyesight of any humans. 

John shortly spotted a tiger heron in a field or bog next to the road which he then showed us.

Minutes later, he caught sight of a cayman; its tail is in the bottom right hand corner of the photo.

Rather than hiking in the city park, Jerin thought we’d prefer hiking on Soberania’s old Pipeline Rd. which was built by the US in one year in 1941 next to the oil pipeline. The narrow road was constructed so it was invisible from the air so it couldn’t be detected and bombed. The pipeline was built so, if the Canal were attacked, oil could be transported another way. It was never used however and the road is now mostly used by avid birders and scientists from the Smithsonian.

 

Before starting our hike, we applied copious amounts of insect repellent just in case the mosquitoes desired our blood! Luckily, the strong smelling DEET must have turned them off as it was very potent!

A termite nest:

I wish I could add audio to this post as the early morning sounds made by the rainforest animals were almost deafening at times. Jerin and John were able to pick out the screeches made by the howler monkeys and parrots who were battling each other high in the branches overhead. They remarked that they’d never heard so many of both animals together before in their previous outings on the Pipeline Rd.

The howler monkey sure comes by its name honestly; it sounded like a roar from a bear, it was so ear-splitting and frightening. It wasn’t surprising then to learn that the howler has, in fact, the loudest roar at 160 decibels of any other mammal.

Jerin told us that the louder the howl, the smaller the testes but the larger the ‘harem’ or more mates. The weaker the howl equated to the larger the testes but fewer mates. It meant that both types of howler monkeys had an equivalent chance of reproduction. Another interesting tidbit of useless information: the monkeys are the only mammals that can see color!

John showed us the hollow Ceropia Tree that sloths love to sleep in and also eat its leaves. Some indigenous Panamanians use the leaves to make tobacco.

The aptly named hot lips flower:

John and Jerin spent most of the hike with their eyes glued to their binoculars peering at animals high above us. They were remarkably patient showing us where to look and see the various animals. 

Steven in almost every case was able to then detect them but I was pretty worthless finding them except for the parrots below. I did appreciate the sounds all the toucans and howlers made, however!

Blue-headed parrots:

Hercules’ Club Tree:

We saw lots of the tiungara frogs’ nests in small puddles of water; inside the white cotton-like ball are the eggs.

Steven playing 'Tarzan' once we reached the Panama Rainforest Discovery Center after hiking or, more like strolling, after 90 minutes!

Jerin suggested we turn around at this point even though the Pipeline Rd. continued for another 20 plus miles. He and John still wanted to take us to the Panama Canal 's Miraflores Visitors' Center and see a ship go through the Miraflores locks.

Jerin estimated that there were 200 plus caterpillars on this one strangler fig tree.

One of the few vehicles that we saw all morning was this one containing scientists from the Smithsonian.

The indigenous Chunga people make baskets from this black palm tree.

If you’re a birder, the hike on the Pipeline Rd is probably already on your bucket list as it has so many varieties of birds that can be spotted in one day as I mentioned in my previous post. Neither Steven nor I are birders but, after this hike with two extremely knowledgeable bird enthusiasts, we had a far deeper appreciation for, and knowledge of, birds. Just as we left, the group of birders below was starting their discovery on the trail.

We drove past the large Smithsonian Frog Research Lab on our way out. Jerin explained that the lab is trying to find new antibiotics and other medications from the rainforest.

A view of the Chagres River, where the Panama Canal is located, from the very upscale Gamboa Rainforest Resort where we made a quick pitstop.

Another Maersk mega ship making its way southeast toward the Miraflores locks from Colon on the Atlantic coast.

The Culebra Cut through the former Continental Divide. Because of the construction of the canal, there is no longer a Continental Divide in Panama. Sorry the next few pictures are fuzzy; I took them from the moving van through the side window and a fence! I hope, though, they illustrate the vastness of the canal.

Jerin told us this ship had seven thousand cars aboard!

We had had such a great time in the rainforest that we came pretty close to missing seeing the last ship of the day pass through the Miraflores locks near Panama City heading northbound. We jumped out of the van and hightailed it to the Visitors' Center upper deck to almost get a front-row view of the ship transiting through the lock chambers.

Because most of the canal lies at 86' above sea level, each ship that passes through must be raised to that level with three locks as they enter it and brought back to sea level with three locks on the other end. Miraflores had two levels of locks, which move vessels between Pacific sea level and Gatun Lake, a man-made lake.

Building the Panama Canal courtesy of the Lonely Planet travel guide: By the time the SS Ancon became the first ship to tranist the Panama Canal on August 15, 1914, numerous records and engineering innovations had been accomplished. One of the largest was the damming of the Chagres River with the Gatun Dam, a massive earthen wall 1.5 miles long and nearly a mile thick. It was the largest dam in the world when built and the reservoir it created, Gatun Lake, was the largest man-made lake.

The ship was pulled along the chamber by the trains. Each lock chamber is 1,000' long and just 110' wide and water flows in and out of them by gravity as there are no pumps. Jerin mentioned it takes just eight minutes to raise the 26 million gallon water level. 

As you can see, the size of the ship dwarfed the Miraflores administration building behind it which was completed in 1913.

I was surprised at the fast clip the huge ship moved through the chambers as I thought it might be like watching paint dry! Steven and I were both really glad that we'd had the opportunity to see a ship pass completely through the Miraflores Locks. It was amazing to think that engineers from over a 100 years ago had adequately designed for the exponentially larger ships of this century!

There was a 40 horsepower engine to close each 700 ton gate which is buoyant.

Look at the water level as the gate closed.

It filled up remarkably quickly in my opinion.

John on the left and Jerin on the right at the viewing deck.

Magnificent frigate birds hovered above the ship the entire time it was passing through the locks.

We toured the Mirafloes Visitors' Center next. I learned about the extensive methods used to eradicate the yellow fever and malaria epidemics which had caused the deaths of 22,000 Frenchmen when they had had attempted to build the first Panama Canal. The streets in Panama City and Colon were paved, doors and windows were screened, each house was fumigated, water supply and sewer systems were installed, undergrowth was cut and marshes and stagnant water were drained to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes.

Concrete used to build the locks, dams and spillways was a combination of gravel, sand and Portland cement. Until then, concrete had seldom been used as a construcion material.

When we had been in the rainforest this morning, several gorgeous iridescent blue butterlies fluttered around me, probably because I was wearing a similar blue colored t-shirt. I had never known until I saw this exhibit at the visitors' center that the word 'mariposa' was really the Spanish word for butterfly.

A map of the Panama Canal with Panama City on the south.

A Lego replica of the locks; the set was only sold in Panama but later fetched a huge price on the collectors' market.

The crowd celebrating the opening of the much larger Agua Clara locks which serve the largest ships, now 7% of the world's shipping fleet, to use the Canal.

Jerin and John drove us next to the Panama Canal Authority Building in downtown Panama City.

The imposing monument in front signified the three sets of locks and honored Major General Goethals, the chief engineer of Panama Canal, with the following tribute: master builder, engineer of genius and man of vision dedicated by his fellow Americans.

Steven, Joseph, the other tourist on the tours yesterday and today, and I wanted to thank Jerin and John for taking us out again today by inviting them to lunch at a restaurant of their choice. They chose a place on the Amador Causeway which linked the mainland to three offshore islands. It just happened to be where Steven and I had planned to visit later so we were thrilled with their selection.

On the way we drove passed the Frank Gehry Bio-Diversity Museum which looked like more Lego blocks!

Al Capone's boat that was used to run rum from Miami to the Domincian Republic. It's now used to transit tourists through the canal. As a result, it's the most traveled boat through the canal!

Some of the yachts at the Causeway that are probably owned by Panama's politicians, Jerin joked!

The Bridge of Americas was a massive bridge in its own right but the huge tankers only just get through underneath.

I had one last request of Jerin: to stop at a handicrafts' market on our way back to our hotel. He kindly complied so I could find a lightweight bag to hold my pen and tiny sheets of paper to write down my notes for the blog.

You can see I was successful although Steven was chagrined I hadn't tried it on before buying it and noticed the strap was long. Lots of molas - fabric pictures - in the background, by the way. We finally said our profuse thanks to both Jerin and John when they dropped us off at La Iglesia del Carmen, the most visited church in the country by international tourists.

The two elaborate towers stretched upwards towards the sky and are said to elevate the prayers of the people to the heavens. Some say the towers symbolize the extended hands of a man ready to embrace God. Whatever the meaning, the church's design was beautiful!

The official name of the church is Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen and, as its name suggests, the church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmen. The church is the only Gothic architectural style building in the country.

It had been a long and somewhat tiring day so escaping into the coolness and peace of the church was what we both needed then. It was the first time I think either of us had seen post-it notes on a crucifix; they were requests for prayers.

The church was built by the congregation of the Carmelites, who emigrated to Panama in the 1940’s. They began construction in 1947 and the church was inaugurated on July 16, 1953, even though it was two years later before the final completion of the two impressive towers.

Writing this post a couple of days later, I am still amazed at how we lucked out with the amazing tours of the Panama Canal and the rainforest. We learned so much more and enjoyed ourselves so much more thanks to Jerin and John who shared their love for, and knowledge of, Panama with us.

Posted from Cartagena, Colombia on September 10.