Information about the Caribbean coast of Panama
The newly elected President of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, has been talking the talk on the subject of improving the Caribbean coast of Panama, and today we saw him walking the walk. The President took the path of countless pilgrims before him and walked the historical rout to the Caribbean town of Portobelo to participate in the annual Cristo Negro Festival held on the 21st of each October. We had the opportunity to greet President Varela twice along the 35km pilgrimage route as he steadily made his way under the hot, tropical sun on a beautifully picturesque Caribbean day, and drove past him along with his entourage a few times while traveling up and down the coast.
President Varela has previously indicated a strong interest in improving the province of Colon, the most notable of which was a trip to the city of Colon on his inaugural day. In his speech to the residents of Colon, he asked the city’s youth to give up the gang violence and crime that has contributed to the negative image of the city, promised to contribute finances to city improvements and increase employment opportunities, develop the touristic appeal by renovating the architectural appeal of the colonial-era neighborhoods and hold the Colon Free Trade Zone more responsible for contributing to the development of the city.
With his inaugural speech appealing to the local communities of Colon, President Varela also promised that he would not forget the Caribbean coastal communities of Panama and today he returned to sweat it out with his fellow Panamanians who make this annual pilgrimage with dedication and passion every year. The journey is a challenge to anyone who undertakes it and while years past have seen police presence and medical services along the route, this year’s route was particularly well stocked with emergency support services represented by the National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc), the National Aero-Naval Service (SENAN) and countless officers from the National Police, Transit Authority (ATT) and other services. No matter how well protected and prepared-for the President may have been, he pushed through what is clearly a difficult journey and we know that he will be feeling it in the days to come!
We can only hope that as President Varela spent the 7-8 hours that it takes to complete the pilgrimage along this beautiful coast, he had plenty of time to take in and reflect on the natural and historical treasures that this region offers, as well as the potential that exists to both conserve and develop this area as a real asset to the nation of Panama. It has been a long time since a Panamanian President took this journey and even longer since Panama took care of its the Caribbean coast. If President Varela is to truly set himself apart from his predecessors as he claims to be doing, developing the Caribbean regions of Panama and building Colon up to once again be the beautiful city it was decades ago may be one of the greatest national legacies that he can leave behind when he passes the torch on to the next leader of Panama.
The World Economic Forum recently published it’s Global Gender Gap 2013 report which ranks 136 countries world-wide according to the equality that the genders experience in society. The report focuses on health and survival, education, politics and economic equality as indicators of improving gender equality. (more…)
Paleontologists working along the construction site of the expanding Panama Canal are discovering a treasure trove of valuable riches that no pirate would have thought to plunder. As construction equipment excavate large areas next to where the new channel will be built and dredge the existing canal, paleontologists working with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and funded by the Panama Canal Authority, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society and a private donor comb the upturned terrain for fossils that provide valuable clues to the natural history of this Panamanian isthmus.
Exciting discoveries about this important area of Central America are changing previous geological assumptions about when the Caribbean Sea was formed: (more…)
As Lucy Cooke, the creator of the website Slothville.com puts it, the sqeaks that a baby sloth makes “goes straight for your ovaries and makes you want to protect the baby sloths.” For those of us who don’t have ovaries, I would have to say it still brings out the deep natural drive to nurture a helpless creature.
In this National Geographic interview, Lucy talks about why the baby sloths squeak like this and also mentions an important tropical forest study that was conducted in Panama that suggests that sloths are one of the most successful mammals in the rainforest. (more…)
The Panama Canal was originally built to create a through-way connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, thereby eliminating the time and danger of going around the infamous Cape Horn, the southern tip of South America. With our global dependence on international trade, the Panama Canal is more important than ever and is now inspiring other Caribbean nations to adjust their perspective on the role that they play in the international community.
David Jessop of Caribbean Intelligence suggests that a new approach is needed in the Caribbean community: (more…)
Panama shares the #2 ranking on “Top 5 Places in the World for Women to Travel Solo” with our next-door neighbor Costa Rica. The list was featured in an article on FOX News Travel and was written by Susan L. Eckert, the founder and president of AdventureWomen.
The list includes:
If you haven’t noticed, we are fans of sloths. Our mascot on our logo is a sloth – his name is OSHO – and we recently had the privilege of giving the name to the first rescued sloth at Safarick’s Zoologico in Maria Chiquita, Colon, its name is Hagrid. Unlike the half-giant wizard from the famous Harry Potter series that he is named after, our Hagrid lives a much more peaceful and slow life…but there is still magic happening here.
Hagrid the Sloth at Safaricks Zoologico
Whether Panama is ranked as tied for #1 happiest place on earth along with Paragua or listed as #7 on the Happy Planet Index, it seems clear that Panama offers a uniquely positive energy to visitors and locals alike.
The Caribbean Sea is certainly a contributing factor to this global awareness of well-being. The warm and nourishing waters of the Caribbean-Atlantic have called to European travelers for many centuries and the tropical lifestyle of areas like San Blas and Bocas del Toro are sure to provide the backdrop for the dreams and fantasies of any desk-bound professional. Now, with recent development picking up momentum in the Costa Arriba area of Colon including the development of an extended highway, travelers and locals alike are able to drive just an hour or two from Panama City in order to reach exciting new attractions as well as historic treasures along the Caribbean coast of Panama!
A significant step has been taken in the development of transportation infrastructure on the Caribbean coast of Panama. The Inter-American Highway that connected Panama to the US via one continuous road of asphalt, gravel or dirt was completed in 1967 but the Panamanian segment of it runs along the Pacific coast and into the center of the isthmus as it crosses over to Costa Rica. While it was originally conceptualized to transport US military equipment to resupply the defenses that protected the Panama Canal from German naval threats, the Inter-American Highway ultimately contributed to the commercial development of Panama’s Pacific coast and many have been waiting for a similar vital artery to be constructed along the Caribbean coast.
Since the 1950’s there has been talk of paralleling the Inter-America Highway with a Caribbean coastal highway which would ultimately connect and unite the various major Caribbean regions including San Blas, Costa Arriba, Costa Abajo and Bocas del Toro. Plans were introduced and even approved but the project was never tendered. Now with the resurgence of interest in the Caribbean coast, recent efforts to improve the City of Colon and the construction of new locks at the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal, the Panama Caribbean Coastal Highway has crept into the realm of conversation and speculation again and now a concrete step has been taken towards that effort. A recent posting by Central American Data confirms that a coastal road has been tendered at $18 million and will stretch from the “End of the Road” in Cuango to Santa Isabel. Santa Isabel has been chosen as the site for the new $50 million Decameron resort on the Caribbean, and surveying/planning for the road and the resort have already begun.