Forecast: 84°/76° with occasional rain continuing through 11 a.m.
Humidity: 89%
Sunrise 6:10 am., Sunset 5:54 p.m.
I got to visit the Amador Causeway again this past weekend -- a strip of land that has a military history and a tourism/ecological present.
The old history of this causeway is that it was built out by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers during the building of the canal. Here, toward the end of the causeway, you can see pillars that used to support a quarantine building, housing victims of Malaria and Yellow Fever.
A different kind of fever--dance fever--is part of more recent history. In the 1980's, a music video called "Mi Cocha Pechocha" (My beautiful one) was filmed along the causeway.
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The (5:32 min) video is here --
just want to warn you that it's a slimy kind of sexist
by today's standards, and maybe even by 1980's standards. |
Nowadays, the causeway is one of the most walkable/bikeable stretches of roadway I've seen anywhere in Panama. It has these cute scenic stands that let you look over the ocean.
This next set of three photos is an attempt to do a Panoramic photo. In the foreground, there's a sign explaining that this portion used to be an island called Naos, where the U.S. stationed canons to protect the canal. Off in the distance, we see an old-fashioned, masted sailing ship and beyond that Cerro Ancon. You an also see more modern ships and the skyscrapers of Panama City.
Turning to our right, more ships, more Panama City, and then a stretch of the distant causeway curling in from the right.
And turning from the sea to the causeway, you can see the red walkway for pedestrians and gray sidewalk for bikes. The roadway with cars is just off the the right of the photo below.
About two-thirds of the way down the causeway is Punta Culebra, which houses the Smithsonian Research Institute Visitors Center, which a friend and I (appropriately enough) visited! It's a bit of a cross between a park, a science center, and a mini-zoo. Non-Panamanians pay $10 to enter.
Here are some of the highlights of our visit, for some reason in reverse order. As we were leaving, we saw a three-toed sloth hand-over-handing it along a fence and then climbing into a tree. They are quite adorable.
Earlier, we got as close as I've ever gotten to a live sloth. It didn't want to look at me, but it seemed pretty comfortable just lying in the tree near me.
There's a small building with aquaria showing coral reefs on the Pacific side, near Caribbean side, far Caribbean regions, and a couple of invasive lion fish (which are quite beautiful, for all the damage they do).
We spent a bunch of time in a butterfly tent. Here are a group of butterflies hanging out at the bar, drowning their troubles in nectar and gossip.
One butterfly decided it really liked my dress, and landed there to hitch a ride around the bubble on me. We became quite good friends before I had to say goodbye.
This butterfly wanted me to take a picture of it, so I did.
Here's a bit more of the bubble, with my human friend Kimberly admiring other butterflies.
There was a nifty turtle tank, with a turtle parade along a log.
The Manta Ray was hiding under the sand, but the sharks huddled together to get their photos taken.
The frog house let me see a bunch of (really tiny!) fogs.
This little frog peeking out below is yellow -- or, the locals say, gold. This "rana dorada" is a symbol of Panama. Unfortunately, it's endangered and might not even exist any longer in the wild.
What endangers frogs? Habitat destruction, pollution (their thin skin makes them especially vulnerable), and a fungus that's swept through many frog populations.
Sigh. It's good to see these little creatures I share the planet with; I hope we people can do a better job of sharing!
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