Late yesterday afternoon we took a walk about in the jungle just across the road from the marina. You are immediately swallowed up into a Rambo type of experience. The marina disappears in a heartbeat. The jungle is so dense you must stay on the path someone cut through the growth so thick you would have to work hard to penetrate just a few feet. This jungle is dotted with forts, big cannon emplacements and underground tunnels and living quarters. This area was Fort Sherman. Don did internet research and it was constructed in 1911 to defend the Panama Canal that was completed in 1914. In 1951 it became the Jungle Operations Training Center (JOTC). The Panamanians have taken it over from the US as part of the canal turn over in about 1998 to 1999. My software was designed to not function beyond the year 2000, hum, I wonder if this was always part of the plan.
As we walk the trail we notice little miniature trail systems following along, crossing and branching often into the jungle. Upon closer examination the little trail is full of ants hurrying in both directions. In one direction ants are carrying pieces of green leaves several times their body weight. We pick a big green leaf and lay it in their path. The ants start immediately to slice the leaf up into pieces small enough to carry. In minutes the leaf is gone. The last pieces can be seen wiggling down the miniature path into the jungle where it will feed the colony.
There are monkeys, little dark ones and some have white faces. Anthony saw a raccoon and we saw a little house pet sized animal with a stubby tail; I did not recognize what it was. This animal could run really fast leaping in an arc and landing 10 to 20 feet ahead before running again and the jumping again.
As we returned we saw some teenaged kids playing volleyball. The evening really started to cool. We enjoyed a sundowner in the cockpit and had dinner in the marina restaurant. The same kids that were playing volleyball were now play cards in an activity room provided for cruisers. They drifted in to eat dinner with their parents. It turns out there are several families cruising with their kids. Think of all the home schooling required of these families.
Today we went to a new, still under construction with a few stores open, shopping mall in Colon that included a very nice supper market that was like something between a Wal-Mart and a common US supermarket. On the way there the bus drove over a hinged bridge at the Atlantic end of the Gatun lock on the Panama Canal. The bridge opens and closes in sync with the first lock gate.
The prices in the store were surprising very low. In no case was a price more than you would pay in the US. The selection was very wide and many brands we recognized. All the labeling was in Spanish, so a lot of association observation was required before making a purchase. Wine was from Panama, Chile and Argentina; prices run from $2 to $10 a bottle. The store layout was the best we have ever seen; it is extremely easy to find what you want. We had two cups of great coffee that cost 25¢ each waiting for the $4 bus ride back to the Bella Donna.
This post is long enough; I will report on transit starting tomorrow.
God Bless Bella Donna.
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