PANAMA BRIEFS

IT’S COMPLICATED

Before the Coronavirus pandemic gripped the planet, Team VFH sailed along the Pacific Coast from Costa Rica to Panama, stopping at various ports of call in both countries. At the time we did not know the severity of the virus and I guess we were lucky to not have gotten sick and we had a great time in these Central American countries. We explored beautiful rainforests, saw an incredible array of animals and birds and snorkeled in coral reefs, all the while feeling safe. Yet, there was once a time when I would have never traveled to Central America and especially Panama. 

NORIEGA

While I was growing up the news out of this strategic country was always dire. There were a series of coups and unstable governments and seemingly endless civil unrest about the United States still controlling the Panama Canal. Street gangs proliferated in Panama City and Colon and the Columbian drug cartels used Panama as a smuggling staging ground. The military dictatorship of Manuel Noriega was especially complicated as he served as a conduit for the CIA in supplying support for the Contra rebels in Nicaragua as a U.S. backed act of state-sponsored terrorism. Though the United States considered him a valuable asset in the “war on drugs” his Panama was the world’s first “Narco-Kleptocracy,” where he not only took money from the U.S. government but also laundered money for the cartels. Eventually tiring of him, the U.S. pushed to have Noriega step down in 1989, and his refusal led to the largest American military action since the Vietnam War.

Since then, Panama has evolved into a stable destination. The strategic canal was handed over to the Panamanians on December 31, 1991 and the contentious Panama Canal Zone, that was a five-mile swatch of land from either side of the canal that was considered a United States territory and afforded protection by the U.S. military was dissolved. Since then there have been several peaceful transitions of elected governments in Panama and this strategic isthmus between two continents and two oceans has become a popular tourist destination.

Despite the success and commerce of the Panama Canal, 40% of the country is still forested and is as fantastic a destination for eco-tourism as Costa Rica. Although our first two stops in Panama, Coiba Island and Iguana Island had sordid histories, the beauty of both places is impossible to overlook. You may remember my valued readers that Coiba Island served as a notorious prison and Iguana Island was used by the United States military for target practice during World War II.

THE ROAD STOPS HERE

Panama is an isthmus, a narrow strip of land separating two oceans, the Pacific and Caribbean Sea and is of great strategic value. She is also a transcontinental country, meaning its territory is on two continents. Southeast is Columbia, in South America and to the west is Costa Rica in North America. In the past the demarcation line between the two continents was the Darien Gap near the border with Columbia, but now the Panama Canal is often cited as the dividing point between the Americas. That would make Panama City, our final destination on our recent trip, a South American city.

New Panama City seen from
the old City

Panama City is a gleaming modern capital, but 40% of the country is still covered by beautiful rainforests and cloud forests. The Darien Gap in the southeast of the country is a vast untamed and protected land where even the lengthy Pan-American Highway stops. The Pan-American Highway stretches from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska all the way to Ushuaia, Argentina for 19,000 miles, but it is interrupted by 70 miles of thick primary tropical rainforest that forms the border between Panama and Columbia. Impassable by car, one has to take a ferry to continue traveling the longest motorable road in the world.

But, even in the metropolis of Panama City there is a tropical forest within the city’s limits. Parque Natural Metropolitano has 573 acres of trails, wildlife, activities and programs. So, it is possible to see some of the forests of Panama without having to leave the city limits.

METROPOLITAN PARK, PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

THE BIG DIG

As an isthmus Panama has been around for about 2.8 million years, but Panama the country has only been around since 1903 when, with the help of the United States, it seceded from Columbia. The U.S. had tried to strike a canal deal with Columbia, but that didn’t work out, so Panama was “helped” in its secession.

Our view of the
Miraflores Locks,
Panama Canal

This finally allowed the completion of the Panama Canal construction by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1914, an idea floated about since 1529 with various countries like Spain and France and even Scotland thought to traverse Panama in their lone failed attempt at colonization. Spain would haul precious metals from Peru across the isthmus to waiting galleons on the other side. During the California Gold Rush in the 1840’s eager adventurous men clamored over the isthmus to save a lot of time sailing from the east coast to the west coast.

In finishing this engineering marvel, called the “Big Dig”, the United States was allowed to carve out a territory five miles from either side of the canal for jurisdictional purposes, maintenance and military protection. From the onset of this “agreement” there was contention between Columbia, Panama and the United States.  

THE LAND DIVIDED – THE WORLD UNITED

The Canal Zone was abolished in 1979 after the Torrijos-Carter Treaties that would give Panama eventual full control of the canal on December 31, 1999. Critics of the treaties felt that Panama had a history of unstable governments and the coups and dictatorial regimes of Torrijos and later Noriega, the latter requiring intense military intervention by the United States in 1989, seemed to prove them right, but since Operation “Just Cause” Panama has had several peaceful transitions of government through the democratic election process. On December 31, 1999 full control was given to the Panamanians and this strategic waterway is maintained by the Panama Canal Authority and has recently expanded the canal to allow larger ships through the 51-mile canal.

A WORTHY DESTINATION?

Despite Panama’s complicated history, she has a stable government and a smoothly running Panama Canal, which will probably always be the most popular tourist attraction, but vast amounts of the country are still forested and worthy of exploration. I wished we had more time in Panama..

Who knew?

Thank you for reading.

Love Janet and greg

© 2020 by Greg Dunaj

BEE’S KNEES AND A SANITIZER SIDECAR

LIFE DURING VIRUS

Admittedly there was a bit of thrill to it all, a death-defying drive through suburbia and pulling up to an ominous looking warehouse. No signage, but the GPS led us here. We were worried, even the dog who had the special ability to sniff out the virus whimpered. We were close, but frightened. It felt dangerous. We thought to turn back, but this was the first time we had been out of the house in two weeks. We couldn’t turn around. We needed these supplies!

Donning our masks, I guided the Prius around to the back of the warehouse. Janet hugged the dog tighter, her eyes wide. As soon as we rounded the corner a stout man, also wearing a mask and gloves emerged from the drab warehouse and gruffly challenged us and demanded the code. “Greg Dunaj,” I said, stammering, as if I were evoking Beelzebub.  He sharply pointed to a number on the macadam. “Parking spot #1, and don’t move.”

He disappeared into the warehouse. Our eyes darted around the small enclosed area; fearful we were being set up. Was this a mistake? The dog whimpered again, echoing our emotions. Would someone leap from the roof of another warehouse twirling a machete, teeth gnashing, demanding our special dog or our life? For an interminable stretch our hearts quickened as we waited. Was this a mistake!? Janet quivered uncontrollably and the dog’s eyes bulged as she squeezed it ever tighter in her fear.

and a sidecar of FREE
hand sanitizer 

When the man re-emerged from the warehouse he held aloft the prize and demanded nothing else. It was a bottle of Bee’s Knees, a gin concoction this craft distillery sold by the liter to thirsty quarantined patrons like ourselves.   

Immediately Janet threw the dog into backseat and ignored the cur’s yelping as she snatched the bottle from my hand and drained half of it before I even thanked the fellow. Feeling bolder, I asked if we could get some of the hand sanitizer they were also distilling now at the Boardroom craft distillery in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. and giving to all who asked. “Of course,” he said now and he took our condiment bottle and filled it for us.

Boardroom Spirits is another craft distillery in Pennsylvania. They offer vodka, gin, whiskeys, bourbon, rye and rum. They are one of three in the immediate area of Collegeville, where our middle-class garret is located. There is also Bluebird Distilling in Phoenixville and Manatawny Still Works in Pottstown. All are open for pick up in these sad pandemic times, but Boardroom alone offers the mixed drinks. A bit expensive, it was $52 for our Bee’s Knees with the tax and tip, but it was the novelty and uncertainty about the whole process that was alluring, plus getting out of the house for the first time in 2 weeks was exciting. Boardroom is also giving away their hand sanitizer for free as a humane gesture and so the cost of their Bee’s Knees liter was offset by the good feelings the whole day evoked.

 BOARDROOM SPIRITS

NO BEER HERE

Now, anyone familiar with liquor laws in Pennsylvania will consider craft distilling a wonderful advancement. It used to be in the not so distant past that one could only purchase beer by the case from beer distributors and wine and spirits were only sold by the Commonwealth through their stores called Fine Wines and Good Spirits. Currently the LCB is delivering select wines and spirits for a cost, and will soon start a curb-side pickup program, but its been difficult to get through to them online. The craft distilleries were there to the rescue!

Now the laws have changed. It is possible to purchase beer by the six-pack at restaurants or brew houses like Sly Fox in Phoenixville, which is still open for pick up of food ordered online and six packs and even supermarkets like Wegman’s and Giant offer beer and wine. I’m not sure how the craft distilleries can operate with the heavy hand of Pennsylvania liquor laws, but we were happy.

Bee’s Knees is made with Boardroom’s gin, lemon juice and honey-ginger syrup. It was flavorful and strong. Go to their website to see what else is offered and please feel welcome to swing by Collegeville with an extra bottle. Just drop it off on the front stoop and then leave!.

BREAKING NEWS.... 

Despite all the revelry, there is breaking news from VFH Central. The Coronavirus Pandemic is still raging. Be safe, wear masks when outdoors, keep your distance from others and wash your hands often. This shit is killing people so do your part to NOT get sick, or sicken others.

Thanks for reading and be safe!
love Greg and Janet

© 2020 by Greg Dunaj

PANAMA and IGUANA ISLAND

ISTHMUS BE MY LUCKY DAY

The history of Panama is somewhat complicated, although while waiting on the Playa El Cirial a beautiful long white sandy stretch on Iguana Island off the eastern coast of the Azuero Peninsula, it certainly seemed tranquil enough. The water was placid, the sky azure. It was hot though and a languid breeze did not cool us as we sat in the shade. Hundreds of hermit crabs did a cha cha along the sand and we busied ourselves ogling them as we waited and sweated and waited some more.

 

Keeping Iguana Island safe

Though the water was inviting we were told not to venture from our shady spot. We were waiting for the Panamanian Public Forces to finish checking our paperwork.

The Greek crewman, who spoke no Spanish, had piloted the zodiac tender to shore and was challenged there by a ranger. There was a bit of shoulder shrugging and it took a good while to clear things up. Ominously, as we waited, a Panamanian patrol boat with several men wearing balaclavas and flak jackets and carrying guns pulled up to join the party. Costa Rica abolished her military after a bloody civil war in 1948. Panama also abolished its standing army after the United States' Operation 'Just Cause' overthrew the military dictatorship of Manuel Noriega in 1989, but the country still maintains a small air and maritime force.

This is MY island

It was supposed to be a simple relaxing day of swimming and snorkeling at the Iguana Island Wildlife Refuge, in the morning and afternoon, with a quick trip to the M/S Panorama for lunch in between, but the morning was taken up by the logistics of travel. There was just enough time to walk to the other side of the island to see the frigate nesting site, before it was time for lunch.

BOMBS AWAY

Dodging spiders and iguanas and ever mindful to not deviate from the trail lest we find some ordnance left over from World War II when the U.S. military used Iguana island for target practice, we crossed the island to see the frigate colony and admire the surf at the secluded El Faro beach near there, before heading back to Cirial and then back to the Panorama. Indeed, one highlight of our little hike, the island is just 136 acres, was to peer into a massive bomb crater.

IDYLLIC TODAY

As I waited my turn for the tender to return to the Panorama, I stepped into the ankle-deep water to watch pufferfish lazily swim in the coral just below the water’s surface and several little red fish swirled around my feet looking for some nutrients I disturbed with my steps. The water was very clear and felt, despite the bomb crater and that history, all very untamed and unspoiled. Though Panama has the canal, over 40% of the country is still rainforest. Much of the population is concentrated near the canal, leaving places like Coiba Island and Iguana Island largely alone and rural.

Iguana Island is considered the top snorkeling spot in Panama and later that afternoon some of us were dropped off to enjoy the water and the views. It took all day to get to swim, but it was worth it. I came away feeling fortunate I was able to see Iguana Island. There is no way I would have found this place on my own without our guide and though I might have wanted to lounge about more on Cirial I know those hermit crabs would have the last say on that.

Iguana Island & M/S Panorama 

Tourism is growing in Panama and maybe the quiet serenity of places like Iguana Island may not survive. The government offers tax and price discounts to foreign travelers and retirees and the number of venders offering tourist destinations have steadily increased over the years with these visitor incentives. Actively pushing tourism and the income it generates it now accounts for roughly 9% of Panama’s GNP.  

I’m glad we were able to visit Panama now.

Thanks for reading.

© 2020 by Greg Dunaj

Wearing an official Vacations From Home t-shirt

PANAMA and COIBA ISLAND

THE BIG DIG, DAVID LEE ROTH and MARIANO RIVERA

As a travel destination Panama was never on my radar, and for that matter neither was Costa Rica. All I knew about Panama was the canal, the song from Van Halen, which was really about a stripper, and a vague recollection that the Hall of Fame pitcher Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees was Panamanian.

Well, this sailing adventure along the Pacific coast of Central America had proved to be a lovely surprise for the Costa Rican part of the trip. The beauty of the land, the biodiversity of the birds, animals and plants, the black sand beaches, the coffee and the Cacique had made Costa Rica an unexpectedly delightful visit. Topping those experiences in nearby Panama would only be possible if I got a chance to play catch with Mariano, or so I thought. Panama proved to be as worthy a destination with its own set of beauty and experiences.

HOW DID I GET HERE?

Serendipity and chance were very kind to us on this trip, because we simply followed a deal without any preferred destination, and we were rewarded handsomely. We just wanted to be somewhere warm in February.

We booked this trip in mid-December for a mid-February departure through Unforgettable Cruises, which is effectively last minute. Revenue is forever lost whenever a ship leaves port with empty berths, and we had seen the half-price special offered on their website. We had sailed with Unforgettable Cruises in Croatia last summer and the level of comfort and the range of experiences had us coming back. Turns out Unforgettable was helping another small yacht company Variety Cruises in the booking, but there was no drop off in care or comfort. In fact, with Variety we were alone on the Pacific, whereas our July trip in Croatia was a somewhat crowded race up the Adriatic with several other cruise lines plying the waters.

Good Advice:

Always check the specials offered by Unforgettable Cruises, and Variety Cruises, the two companies we traveled with this past year. You’ll never know where you’ll end up.

 VARIETY CRUISES

UNFORGETTABLE CRUISES 

WHERE AM I?

Our last stop in Costa Rica was at Corcovado National Park, but before the M/S Panorama could leave for Panama, she had to rendezvous with customs and immigrations officials coming out of Golfito to pay an “exit clearance fee” and to check passenger and crew lists. At the time I thought this was out of the ordinary because of the Coronavirus pandemic that was just starting to spread, but was assured that although immigration officials could demand a full-face control of passenger and crew against passports, they just randomly checked the paperwork and paid the fee. This was normal procedure and not related to Covid19.

Once the ship pays its “exit clearance fee” she is not allowed to call on any other Costa Rican port or territory and must sail away.

Incidentally Costa Rica does require an “exit fax” whether flying out of the country or crossing the border overland. The airport fee is $29 usd or the equivalent in colones and this is usually included in your airline ticket. Check beforehand to avoid confusion at departure. The fee for crossing into Nicaragua or Panama by land is $7.00.

Here is the US State Department’s website on the exit tax:

U.S. EMBASSY COSTA RICA 

TO HELL AND BACK

By 9 am we were still sailing for Coiba island, the largest of the 38 islands in the 430.000-acre Coiba National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005. The beautiful and isolated Coiba Island is the largest island in all of Central America and has remained pristine and untouched from human contact. According to UNESCO Coiba’s Pacific Tropical rainforest maintains an exceptionally high levels of endemic animals, plants and birds because of “the ongoing evolution of NEW SPECIES” and is the last refuge of many rare and threatened animals that have disappeared from the rest of Panama like the crested eagle and the scarlet macaw. Abundant marine life in the park includes over 700 fish species, 33 shark species like hammerhead and whale sharks, the largest fish that can approach 20 meters in length, and 20 different species of marine mammals, like dolphins, orcas and humpback whales.

UNESCO on COIBA NATIONAL PARK

COIBA ISLAND PANAMA

The isolation and subsequently the conservation of Coiba Island proper has a dark history. Once a notorious penal colony Coiba was Panama’s version of Devil’s Island, the infamous French prison island off the French Guiana coast. The prison operated from 1919 to 2004 under deplorable conditions. The most dangerous felons and enemies of the state were sent there, some to cells and others to live in camps where groups of men fended for themselves by farming and ranching the land. Some men were sent to Coiba for a specified time, others stayed until they died. Stories of torture and of mass graves and dismembered bodies being fed to sharks still persist as Coiba was home to “Los Desaparecidos”, ‘the Disappeared’ during the dictatorships of Omar Torrijos and Manuel Noreiga. Hundreds perhaps thousands of political prisoners were dumped on Coiba, never to be heard from again.

This dark history of Panama has actually preserved the natural isolated beauty of Coiba and has flourished because many Panamanians, tourists and developers fearful of this dark place have stayed away after the prison was shuttered. Except for the crumbling structures of the penal colony, slowly being reclaimed by the jungle, much of the island is untouched. Today access to the park is highly restricted and accessible only by permits issued by the woefully underfunded Autoridad Nacional del Ambeinte or ANAM. The rangers’ task is daunting; to supervise the vast area and to protect if from poachers and illegal tree logging. 

 

VIEW FROM COIBA ISLAND

The ANAM maintains a small ranger station on the north side of the island where we finally spent a relaxing day on the beach and hiking around the immediate area including up a steep hill where we were rewarded by a beautiful view of the nearby islands of Coiba National Park. At the station there are several modest two-room cabins, with air conditioning, for overnight stays. Tour operators from the mainland offer ecotours, fishing, scuba diving and snorkeling trips and we watched several such groups come ashore to have lunch in the small pavilion. The crew of the Panorama also came ashore to provide us a Greek BBQ lunch.  Variety Cruises is a Greek enterprise.

COIBA NATIONAL PARK, PANAMA

ECOTOURISM?

Part of the allure of Coiba National Park is that it is possible to see whale sharks. The season to see these massive, but docile fish as they migrate through Coiba’s waters runs from January to April. Whale sharks often swim near the surface with their massive mouths wide open to capture the plankton they eat. Some tour groups offer scuba diving for around $150 or snorkeling trips for around $30 to see the whale sharks that feed near the islands of Coiba at this time. Usually the tour operators operate out of the fishing village of Santa Catalina on the mainland.

COIBA DIVE CENTER

JUVENILE WHALE SHARK

Sadly, these beautiful endangered creatures are sought after for their fins, meat, and oil and according to the WWF even shark tourism presents a threat as it can interrupt their feeding. Because of their massive size these rarely seen gentle giants travel great distances in search of plankton and where the whale shark shows up is a good indicator of the health of the ocean. 

WORLD WILDLIFE ORGANIZATION

A few years ago, scientists tagged a whale shark, and she was recorded as having made an incredible migration journey of 12,000 miles. It was tagged in Coiba’s waters and eventually ended up near the Philippines. You can read that story here:

WHALE SHARK MIGRATION STORY 

After our very satisfying and filling lunch we headed to a small beach on another nearby island to snorkel. Our little group was the only one there. The coral was beautiful and I followed a sea turtle for a while. He allowed me to keep up with him for a while as he kept looking over his shoulder at me before losing interest and gliding away effortlessly.

After dinner on the Panorama I decided to smoke a cigar, I had one left over from our stop in Quepos, Costa Rica and as I lingered over my martini I was joined by a number of other passengers as well as a flock (?) of beautiful moths that hitched a ride through the night This was a beautiful trip and a fantastic first day in Panama..

Thanks for reading. I guess I can’t say Pura Vida any longer because we no longer were in Costa Rica, but that serene feeling remains. 

SMALL SHIP PANORAMA COMES UP BIG

I would be remiss if I did not give a special nod to the crew of the M/S Panorama. We are safe at home now, but the crew of the Panorama are still out there and recently came to the rescue of Cuban crew members who were stranded because of the global pandemic and repatriated them to Havana. The Panorama was refueling in Barbados ahead of a transatlantic crossing returning to Greece when they learned 19 healthy crew members of the MSC Preziosa, a supersized cruise ship, were stranded with no appreciable way of getting home. Variety Cruises accepted a request from the Cuban government to repatriate the healthy crew, a seven day journey in the opposite direction from home. Cuba paid for the fuel, but Variety asked for no other compensation. It's an incredible story of kindness in this new normal we are living through. 

PANORAMA TO THE RESCUE

In case you're wondering. I never saw Van Halen in concert, but I did run into David Lee Roth at a Bottom Line show in NYC. He was drunk. 

Our version of Panama is much better.

LIVE LOVE TRAVEL 

© 2020 by Greg Dunaj

DAY TRIP AT CORCOVADO NATIONAL PARK

JUST SCRATCHING THE SURFACE

The M/S Panorama had anchored in Drake Bay on the northern side of the Osa Peninsula the day of our Corcovado shore excursion. It was our last day in Costa Rica before sailing into Panamanian waters. We were on a week-long trip along the Central American Pacific coastline and Corcovado is literally saving the best for last. It is perhaps the most biologically intense place in the world, with such a variety of animals, birds, insects in this 164 square mile old growth tropical rainforest on the remote Osa Peninsula that it would be impossible to see it all in one day. Our four hours in the park would literally just be scratching the surface of what Corcovado has to offer.

Drake Bay is named for the English pirate Sir Francis Drake who used this area as a port in the 16^th Century and might have buried some of his treasure here. There were two other excursions Variety Cruises offered that day around the Drake Bay area, but there were no takers. One was a tour of the mangrove reserve Sierpe Terraba and the other was a snorkeling excursion to the clear blue waters off nearby Cano Island where the biodiversity of Costa Rica extends underwater to coral, schools of colorful tropical fish, rays, sharks, moray eels, sea turtles and an occasional dolphin, reef and bull sharks. Humpback whales also ply these waters on their annual migrations between August and October.

Corcovado Beach
Sirena Ranger Station

All 16 passengers aboard the Panorama opted instead for Corcovado,

The ship’s inflatable zodiac tenders were too small to carry us all from Drake Bay to the Sirena Ranger Station on the southern shore of the peninsula so the tour group pulled up in a speed boat capable of carrying everyone. Sirena is the most difficult to reach, but the hiking there is flat and perfect for a day trip. The forest is newer here, there were people living in this area of the peninsula and they had cleared the land before Costa Rica reclaimed it to form Corcovado National Park. So, here it’s not primary, old-growth tropical rainforest, but in the 40 plus years of its existence the trees are still massive and the animals are still everywhere.

Landing site Corcovado
Sirena Ranger Station

It is possible to hike elsewhere in the park and it is best to arrange this with a tour guide.   It is also possible to stay overnight at the Sirena Ranger Station where there are rustic bunk room accommodations that share a common bathroom and food is served. Hiking more than a few days in Corcovado allows one to see more wildlife and walk along beautiful beaches and landscapes. One possible hike is from the La Leona Eco Lodge to Sirena, about 16 km, which takes about 7 hours to complete, and timing on this particular hike is important because of both the tide and the heat. At low tide one can traverse the rocks along the shore or go inland on a trail parallel to the beach, but one must be aware of the crocodiles and the bull sharks in the tidal areas. Yeah, take a guide.

SIRENA ESTUARY  

The speed boat still took an hour to travel from Drake Bay to the landing site near Sirena and along the way we were entertained by a pod of frolicking dolphins and a breaching sea turtle. It was low tide when we reached the landing area so our boat dropped us off and we had to wade in knee deep water along a rocky uneven bottom. The sand was black and as as I could see along the coast it was desolate.

Thick forest edged the beach and the brilliant sunlight of the day was quickly shadowed by the canopy of the rainforest. Before we could gather ourselves and break up into two 8 person groups with our own guide, a tapir and offspring slowly walked through the forest into our midst, ignoring us as they lumbered across the trail. Awestruck because these nocturnal animals are rarely seen we parted reverently, making sure to remain silent, although I am sure the animals could hear our hearts beating loudly. Later we saw this pair again enjoying a mud bath in a nearby stream.

TAPIR

Even the guides were excited at this rare sighting.

All told that day we only “hiked” a little more than 3 km or roughly 2 miles, along a well-maintained flat trail, but within that small area we saw, thanks to our guide, an incredible array of plants animals and insects. Everyone was photographing everything seen and “airdropping” pictures to each other… You see, I am learning new technology.

NOT ALL RAINBOWS AND BUTTERFLIES 

The birds and animals we saw in a very relatively small area of Corcovado was fascinating. We saw bats hanging beneath leaves, birds eyeing us curiously from perches or from the hollows of trees, and a little lizard with its grasshopper lunch in its jaws trying to escape our prying eyes. At the Sirena estuary it was low tide and we could see the rocks at the shoreline but thankfully no crocodiles or bull sharks. At one point just off the trail a coati trundled along ignoring us, like the tapirs exhibiting no fear of the respectful humans on its home turf. We smelled the pungent odor of a peccary, also called a skunk pig, before he chortled past on the trail ahead of us. We saw hummingbirds and brilliantly colored dragonflies and heard Toucans and Macaws and very loud Howler Monkeys but did not see them. We were entertained by spider monkeys though as they slung through the trees just above us. At one point I shook a sapling and a monkey “attacked” it knocking small branches scattering over Janet’s head.

Though we did not see any big cats, like a puma or jaguar, there was an extremely helpful informative sign put up the rangers telling us what to do if we were "lucky" to encounter one of these usually reclusive felines. It was a chilling reminder we were in a jungle and it's not always rainbows and butterflies. These are all wild animals and we were on their land.

The hit of the day, at least for our guide, “Charlie”, (he said there were too many guys named Carlos), was a very weird looking caterpillar on a tree. He had never seen it before and excited at the find. Like everything else in Corcovado National Park, we got up close and personal with the menacing looking critter.

When we finally emerged from the jungle to reach the Sirena Ranger Station, we were hot and had a 15-minute rest. Sirena is a neat rustic complex of buildings and quite a welcome sight in the middle of the jungle. We were asked to remove our shoes so as not to track the jungle onto the open-air porch where several people were lounging on chairs. There’s a small canteen there for food and drink purchases. Believe it or not I had a coffee and Janet had a mocha drink. I didn’t have enough Costa Rican money, Colones, so I conveniently used a card. We used the washroom facility and got a glimpse of the bunk bed accommodations; each had mosquito netting.

SIRENA RANGER STATION CORCOVADO

The station is on the edge of a grassy airstrip, that is sometimes used by charter carriers to bring in tourists. To see such commerce and civilization juxtaposed to the jungle proved we were simply scratching the surface of Corcovado. At Manuel Antonio National Park the bustle of commerce was just on the other side of a fence, but here in this biologically intense jungle, Sirena Ranger Station felt like a guest to the great expanse of Corcovado, respectfully sitting, admiring the nature that surrounds it. Beyond the ranger station was the wild Corcovado National Park, living, breathing and beautiful.

Thanks for reading.

PURA VIDA

© 2020 by Greg Dunaj