Commentaries on

LONELY PLANET, PANAMA  By Scott Doggett

Corrections, additions, embellishments and opinions by Angel Rodriguez.  Last updated April 2002

I’ll start by saying that we are no way associated with Lonely Planet, and have never met Scott Doggett, author of Lonely Planet’s Panama guide. It is a good book, and if you are coming to Panama you should have it. Just take these corrections, etc. with you.

Carla, my wife, and I live half the year in Panama and half the year in the western US. In Panama we have a house in the highlands of Chiriqui. We have also traveled extensively in Central America, the western US, and lots of Asia and Europe. We like to travel on a shoestring, and most always have Lonely Planet books with us. We realize that the Panama guide is not one of their Shoestring books, but we have been happy with their other country guides, which appreciate the value of a hard-earned dollar and the charm and idiosyncrasies of budget accommodations and restaurants.

Tony Wheeler, the publisher of Lonely Planet books, says, "I hope to send people out with the right attitude about travel." That’s why we use Lonely Planet and not Fodor’s. So my first comments are not regarding details of place or price. My first comments are regarding the right attitude about travel.

Personally, I have some trouble with Scott calling entire towns "ugly." Any town has some nice touches, even if it’s only a widow’s garden. It defies human nature to want to live in an ugly place. People make a living and live where they can, and if they live in a less than lovely place it’s usually because they have fewer choices than do you and I.

I tend to question all of Scott’s food comments, from the word for the Panamanian lunch plate, to his opinion of reasonably priced, to his apparent preference to eat as if he were at home in the US. He seems to like $6 soup at ritzy hotel restaurants. Good food is worth paying for, but don’t overlook decent local food in your search for waiters in bowties. Why say the culinary specialty of an entire town is "grease"? The eating establishments of a town reflect what people will buy and eat. It might be insects or it might be fried. Why ask for a margarita in an ordinary Panamanian restaurant and then complain about how terrible it is? Order una cerveza Soberana bien fria or un Carta Vieja con Coca Cola. If you’re looking for a good margarita, go to Mexico. Or Southern California.

Based on my real knowledge of Panama, Costa Rica, and Central America, Carla and I can get a very good meal just abut anywhere for $3-5.00 each. Especially if you eat what the locals eat. In small towns like Jacque (Page 355, C2, P4) which have no restaurants, we have always found someone who would share a meal or make a meal to order. One of the all-time best meals I have ever had was in Jaque. The lunch was prepared for us by a woman named Gumi; it was a feast from the sea and the jungle, of things we had never seen or heard of. And we didn’t stay at the "ugly " hotel which Scott refers to. Upon asking around, we found Dona Vicenta, a local lady who provides lodging for visiting doctors, teachers, and tourists. With a little effort on the travelers’ part, even apparently unattractive towns begin to shine.

It assaults my "Lonely Planet attitude" to dedicate two full columns to the Tropic Star Lodge. It costs $5500 per person per week, and you’ll meet only millionaires and celebrities. Scott gives neighboring Jaque just six lines, and one of those lines has the word "ugly" in it. They share the same unparalleled forest, which he claimed is the reason he recommends the Lodge. While this may be the most extreme case in the book, please note that Scott’s taste in accommodations and food is not "shoestring," and at times, not even "reasonable."

All that said, we think Scott has generally done an outstanding job, and you’d be foolish to come to Panama without his book.

We are going to maintain this page during the months we are in Panama: December to July. Most of the entries will simply be corrections, but sometimes we will emphasize, embellish, poke fun, and maybe even wonder aloud what Scott was smoking that day. There are many parts of the book that we won’t comment on because we just haven’t spent time there or don’t do those activities. We don’t care for "night life" anywhere. Nude sunbathing and whorehouses are of no interest to us so we don’t know much about those things. However, if you have a specific question feel free to e-mail us.

Page 14, C2, P1. Scott talks about Barriles and the Barriles culture. The life-size stone figures were found in the mid-1940’s on what is now our farm. Lots of pottery and some gold have also been found here. Barriles is a wonderful place with an excellent view of the Volcan Baru, which is really impressive.

Page 21. The caption on the drawing should only say musician; he’s not much of a politician. You can’t live in New York and do politics in Panama.

Page 21, C2, P3. Volcan Baru may be dormant in some folk’s opinion, but not mine. It’s certainly isn't spewing lava or hot ash, but does have fumaroles and mudpots at the top. It last erupted around 600 years ago, which is like a few minutes ago geologically speaking.

Page 22, C1, Geology. I know geology is not important to most travelers, but Scott brought it up and it’s one of my interests. Just off Punta Burica is the intersection of three, not two, tectonic plates. The Cocos plate, the Nascos plate, and the Antilles or Caribbean plate. Burica and Chiriqui are the most geologically active areas of Panama. Just today (March 1, 1999) we have felt our house move three times. Check out this URL for more on Panama seismicity.

Page 24, C1, P1. This about men preferring trees to women is a bunch of crap and insulting, in more ways than one.

Page 25, Conservation Organizations: INRENARE has changed its name to ANAM, Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (National Environmental Authority), and now has a little bit more power but not much. So anywhere in this book where it says INRENARE replace it with ANAM.

Page 26, C2, P3. Turkey vultures do migrate but many, many of them just live here. You’ll see them everywhere.

Page 27, C2, P1. I agree, don’t eat the turtles or turtle eggs, or conejo pintado or neque or venado. I have never seen them on the menu anywhere, but then I haven’t been to the north coast much. You might see turtle there. Shark is a different story. Shark is no more endangered than any other seafish we eat, and if you like it, go ahead. If you order corvina or pargo (snapper) in a restaurant, there is a good chance you’ll get shark; it’s plentiful and cheap. I have been fooled, and it’s not so much that I ate shark, but that I was charged for corvina, which is pricey. If you order fried fish sticks or fish chunks, it will most likely be shark.

Shrimp, on the other hand, is totally illegal during the veda, the shrimp-breeding season, which is from January to March. Fishing, catching, selling, cooking fresh shirmp during the veda is punishable with a fine. Any restaurant that serves shrimp has to be able to prove that it was purchased before the veda and was frozen. So forget fresh shrimp during those months. Fishing for shrimp during the breeding season almost destroyed the shrimp industry here in Panama, to say nothing of the shrimp.

Page 35, C2, P1. Folkloric music in Panama is called musica folklorica. It’s only played in certain festivals and stage presentations. Dorindo, Osvaldo and Sammy and Sandra are very popular, and their music is called tipico or most likely pindin. The music and culture surrounding it correlate most closely to country western in the U.S; it has some vestigial ties to folklore, but has moved on. Victorio Vergara died in 1998. You really should make an effort to go to a pindin dance. During the dry season there are big signs along the highways and byways announcing the name of the artists and the date of the dance. Dancing starts around 11 PM and goes until dawn. You may have to pay a $1 or $2 cover charge, though at many dances you can still listen all night, but the minute you get on the dance floor a guy will appear, asking you to pay then stapling a ticket stub to your collar (men only, women dance for free). You can expect to pay $5 or $6, which is a day’s pay for most of the people on the dance floor.

Page 36, C1, P2. Hats made in Panama are not, never have been, and never will be Panama Hats. Those hats are made in Ecuador (the gold-frenzied ‘49ers bought imported hats in Panama while waiting for ships to take them to California, and that hat has been called the Panama Hat ever since). The hats made in Panama are very nice, and are properly called sombreros pintados. However, on page 151 in the sidebar, Scott does get it right, mostly anyway. But a sombrero pintado is not a copy of an Ecuadorian-made hat, nor do they resemble one another very much, in my opinion.

Page 39, C2, P1. Everything Scott says about Panama City is probably correct, but the rest of the country is much more casual. Carla almost always wears nice shorts, as do I. I do carry long pants in the back of the car just in case I have to go into one of the more stuffy government offices. I would say that Panamanians are more concerned about your personal hygiene than your choice of clothes. Tourists are allowed wide latitude in matters of clothing but if you or your clothes are conspicuously dirty you’ll be treated like a pig.

Page 40 C1, P1. You don’t want to find yourself in a Panamanian jail, even by mistake.

Page 40, C1, P4. The greeting during the AM is buenos dias. Buenos with an "o." In the afternoon it’s okay to say either buenos dias or buenas tardes. After dark, it’s buenas noches. It’s important and easy.

Page 41, C1, Language. Spanish is really the only language spoken in Panama, especially once you leave the Panama City and Colon urban areas. To really enjoy Panama learn a few lines of Spanish.

Page 42, C1, P3. Really true about there being no hotel rooms during carnaval and many other long weekend festivals in Panama. The Azuero Peninsula is the heart of Carnaval celebrations. The crowd in Panama City is big, but that’s just because they can’t all get out of town to where the real action is. If you’re intent upon partying at the best party in all of Central America, head for Las Tablas, Chitre, or Los Santos.

Page 45, C2, Exit Permits. Take it very seriously when the book says you need an exit permit, especially at the airport. If you need one and don’t have it you simply will not get out.

Page 47, C1, P3. You cannot drive into or out of Panama at Rio Sereno unless you already have already done the paperwork at Paso Canoas. And in no case can you drive a rented car across Central American borders.

Page 48, Cash, and Money. In Panama you can only really spend dollars. Make sure that your travelers’ checks are American Express and in dollars. You can change most Central American currencies at Paso Canoas. I also feel that the worst bank in Panama is the Banco Nacional de Panama. It’s government. Banco del Istmo has about as many branches and they try harder. Not much harder, but they do. You can use your cash card and credit card as long as they belong to Plus, Cirrus, or Clave. You can use your cash card to get cash from a live teller if there is no automatic teller.

Page 51, C1, P1, Haggling. If you pay the posted price for anything, without asking for a better deal, you’re Mr. Barnum’s kind of customer. One is born every minute. If you are going to buy a camera or piece of jewelry, the price is always flexible (if your not paying with a credit card). Even in the interior when buying souvenirs, ask for a discount. Here is how you might ask in case you’re out of practice. Say in Spanish, "This is very nice and I like it, but I just not prepared to pay this much. Is there anything you can do for me?" Then just wait for the answer; don’t say another word.

Page 52, C2, E-mail. Most good-sized towns have an Internet Cafe they charge between $1 and $1.50 per hour. Before you leave home check out www.sinfo.net and www.chiriqui.com Set up a Hotmail e-mail account, or one you can check with just an internet connection.

P 53 Internet Resources. Needless to say, any list of Internet resources will quickly be out of date. Here are a few more to take a look at; use your search engine to find more.

P 54 Books. Add Amazon links

P 55 Nature and Wildlife. Add mammals book to list, and link.

P 55 C2 Indians. A very fine book about Kuna art and life was published in 1998 in conjunction with an exhibit sponsored by the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. It is the culmination of 10 years of work. The Art of Being Kuna, Layers of Meaning Among the Kuna of Panama, Mari Lyn Salvador, Ed.

Page 61, C1, Malaria. Chances of getting malaria in Panama are quite low, but the best thing you can do is carry a mosquito net and sleep under it. Carla and I have used a mosquito net for the last 20 years. It's great to just read or take a nap in the afternoon without being bothered. The other precaution for malaria is to avoid being bitten in the late afternoon and evening. Cover up or use plenty of insect repellent. Malaria is a problem mainly on the Atlantic Coast.

Page 62, C1, P2. Chiggers are not the same things as sand flies. You can get chiggers in the grass just about anywhere. They are called coloradillas, which means little red things. They will burrow into your skin at tight places, such as the waistband of your underwear, sock cuffs, armbands, and the little tight things on your wrist that you bought in Guatemala. They will itch for days if not weeks, but you won’t die. They are worth digging out with a needle to reduce two weeks of itching to only one week. Sand flies are found at the beach and are called chitras. The bites are annoying, but not long-lasting.

Page 69, C1, Top. That particular hiker called home from Costa Rica a few months later. It seems that it was the second time he had disappeared. We have not heard of anyone getting lost on or around Volcan Baru, much less dying or getting eaten. (Shame on you Scott.) If you want to hike into unmarked rainforest do like everyone else does, and mark your way out. We use bright orange engineering tape. On some routes other folks have left rock cairns like they do everywhere else in the world. Local guides are also available just about everywhere. They may not be tour guides, or know anything about the flora and fauna, but they’ll keep you from spending extra hours in the woods. Pay according to the guide’s knowledge; a route finder is doing great to earn $10 per day.

Page 70, C1. Most banks are now open from 8 to 3 M-F and 9 to 11 on Saturday. Banco del Istmo is.

Page 76, C1, Cycling. We think cycling on the Interamerican highway is dangerous. We love cycling (see www.rodcycle.com) but we don’t do it on Panama’s well-traveled highways. There are some nice places to ride a bike but it should be a mountain bike, since even the paved roads are rough and often potholed. If you are riding through Panama there are some nice non-Interamerican options in places. E-mail us.

Page 78, Food. Scott is mixed up in this section. I think he woke up with a hangover in Costa Rica and thought he was in Panama. I never been offered, or been able to get, chivo in Panama, but I haven’t been everywhere. Casado is Costa Rica’s lunch plate, so you’d better ask for comida corriente in Panama. Even in Paso Canoas you’d have to cross the road to the CR side to get gallo pinto, and anywhere else in the country you would just get a funny look. In a bar in Panama you could wait all day and not get a boca. That is purely a Costa Rican custom and it’s rapidly fading.

P78 C1 Bathrooms. Many small hotels, especially in the warm lowlands of Panama don’t offer hot water. However the water from the tap is usually tepid, and quite refreshing. Once you try a cool shower on a hot afternoon or evening, you may not go back to showering with hot water during your entire stay in Panama!

Comida corriente is the daily special that consists of a choice of meat, rice, beans, and with some luck, a strip of fried plantain and a salad or vegetable. It will cost between $1.25 and $2.50, depending on the meat you choose, whether you’re in luck, and the general atmosphere of the restaurant. You can also order a la carte and often the "carte" is painted on the wall. It’s not unusual for Carla and me to have lunch with beer and coffee and get out for less that $5.00 altogether, including tip; 25 cents is fine.

Page 80, C1, P2. Green coconut milk is called agua de pipa and the green coconuts are called pipas.

Coffee in Panama is hit and miss, usually miss. What good coffee there is, is exported. And (no offense to my neighbor) Café Duran is not good in the Starbucks sense. There are some good coffees, but you have to seek them out, and they are not served in restaurants. Most of the coffe is arabica and is roasted very lightly; Americans have come to appreciate very dark roasts robustas. If you need good coffee bring your own. We do. Actually we are beginning to roast and grind our own. Forget about decaf.

I now drink Janson Coffee which is roasted on their coffee estate which you can visit, check out www.estatecoffee.com . My friend Kai Janson makes this comment to me :

Angel, I would point out that Americans are actually coming to appreciate dark roasted arabicas not robustas (sbux does not use robusta and the starbucks phenomenon is arabica flavored milk imho - in my honestopinion). But the main point is that there are cafe's like Janson family coffee that are selling good coffee. I have not tasted Koyner's coffee at the airport but the coffee offerings have improved since 1999. In comparison with CR, Panama coffee is considered generally to be much better.

Page 81, P1, last line. Naturally fallen coconuts are ripe, and are what we’re all most familiar with. They are perfectly okay as long as they have plenty of juice sloshing around inside; ripe coconuts are usually harvested off the ground. Inside the big smooth husk is that brown nut you see at the markets in Panama and the US. Green coconuts are called pipas, and must be knocked down.

P82 C2 P1. Panama is the training ground for many Olympic and World Champions in boxing. Not long ago, a newspaper story featured a photo of six Panamanian World Champions together. Panama is proud of Roberto "Manos de Piedra" (Hands of Stone) Duran, but he is just one of many illustrious boxers.

Page 93, C2, P3. You can not drive into or out of Panama at Rio Sereno.

Page 100, C2, P1. The location of the airport has changed to Albrook.

Page 103, C2, P1. The train in Puerto Armuelles stopped running a few years ago.

P103 C2 Car and Motorcycle. All of Scott’s advice is good. I would add that it makes immanent sense to do your sightseeing around Panama City via taxi, and then, if you are inclined, to rent a car to see the provinces.

Page 104, C2, P4. If a car flashes its light at you, it mostly means there is a cop ahead, so mind your speed. It can also mean, "I’m coming through so get out of the way," usually at a one way bridge or other tight spot. But then it can mean there is a cow in the road, or the road has been washed out and you’re going to fall off a cliff. Branches in the road means there is or was a vehicle being repaired on the road. And don’t be surprised by big rocks in the road. They were being used as chocks for the vehicle that was being repaired and once fixed, they just pulled away leaving the rocks in the road.

Page 105, C1, Bottom. No one says cuatro por cuatro we all say doble, as in carro con doble.

Page 106, C2, P3. A good Asian-made bicycle will cost you about the same as in the US. A US-made bike will cost 30% more, due the import tax. So you be the judge of how much a good bike will cost. Mine would cost more than $200 or $300.

Page 108, C1, P2. There is a group of taxis whose plates include the letters SET. Unless you just like to pay money don’t use them. The letters mean Servicio Especial Turista, and the only thing special is the price. Just go hail a cab. It is also common for cabs to pick up more passengers while you are in the car. I don’t allow it most of the time and you shouldn’t either. It’s not really legal, and I think it’s unsafe. Tell the driver you will get out if anyone else gets in, and if he stops to pick up someone else, get out.

If you’re a shoestring traveler: only rip-off SET taxis are allowed into Tocumen Airport, and no buses. Just 200 yards away there are buses that will take you to the city for 25 cents, and taxis that will go to town for $10. We also know that those first 200 yards can be the hardest; you’re tired, probably a little disoriented and unsure of how things work. Chat with one of the porters, they might be able to help, or go to the right hand end of the passenger pick-up area and wait until some employee-types are leaving on foot and leave with them. They are going to catch the bus 200 yards away.

Page 111, Guides. Carla and I may (someday, but not soon) start a fee-based trip planing service but until we do, we can answer questions as we have time. E-mail us at angelr@chiriqui.com.

Page 117, C1, P3. I think writing to a Panamanian government office and hoping for response is a goofy idea.

Page 130, C1, P3. The Balboa Yacht club burned to the ground in Feb of ’99. So sad.

P153, C1 Molas. A nice mola will cost $20 to $25.

Page 154, C2, Bottom. Take the collectivo or see above comment about Page 108. Depending on the time of day and traffic, the trip to the airport can take much longer than an hour. Ask your hotel desk staff to recommend a departure time.

P179 C1 Chepo. If you find yourself in Chepo one early morning, go the 5km or so to Puerto Coquira. Transport boats, usually large cayucos, or dugout canoes, leave for points up the coast, loaded with passengers, household goods, ice, and whatever else the people in the small towns need. There is a little café, and you can enjoy a cup of coffee while taking in the bustle of the port. Though few signs remain, Chepo was one of the first Spanish settlements in what is now Panama.

Page 202, C1, Bottom. Chiriqui Grande might not be the Tropic Star Lodge, but I would not call any town in Panama "industrial ugly." Maybe Chengdu or Detroit, but not Chiriqui Grande, in spite of the oil tanks on the hill. The oil pipeline has not been used in years, and there is very little industry from that source. Petro Terminales is beginning to use Chiriqui Grande as a port to ship bananas to points east.

P208 C1 P2. I’ve not visited the wetlands, but I highly recommend close-toed shoes for any outing in the forest. Snakebites have become rare in Panama and all of Central America where people have switched from their homemade sandals to rubber or leather boots and shoes while out and about. So wear your shoes, and don’t put your hands in places you can’t see. Think about the snakes, and protect yourself!

Page 211, C1, Highlights. The biggest mystery about the carved boulders at Nancito is how they made it onto the highlights list for Chiriqui. Read the chapter for some really great places to go.

P213 C1 P2. The Guaymis now prefer the name Ngobe-Bugle. Their native lands were designated a reservation, or comarca, in 1998. It comprises over 10% of Panama’s landmass. Nearly 30% of the area of Panama is set aside in National Parks, Reserves, and Comarcas of the indigenous populations.

P215 C2 Special Events. The fair is held in the week surrounding March 19, the saint day of its patron saint, San Jose. The fair is a lot of fun, but lodging in David is difficult to impossible. Call ahead for reservations, or stay in an outlying town.

Page 216 C1, P4. Pension Castrejon has changed its name to Residencial Primavera.

P217 C2 Entertainment. There is a 4-screen movie theater next to the Hotel Nacional. The movies are in English with Spanish subtitles, except those for small children. Fifteen to 16 showings per day.

Page 218, C1, bottom. If you are going to Cerro Punta, be sure to take the Cerro Punta bus. None other goes there.

Page 219 C2, bottom. I don’t know why Scott would call any town in this country ugly. That’s his value-laden opinion. Puerto, as the locals call it, is a town with a flavor all of it’s own. The wooden houses have a unique Caribbean style, and are a throwback to the days when it was a United Fruit Company town. Puerto is also the gateway to some of the nicest beaches in the country. Go to and through Petro Terminales, and from there the beach is used as a road. You can camp just about anywhere and you can go all the way to Costa Rica at the tip of Punta Burica. There are some services at Las Mellizas and Limon and several other places on the beach. There is public transportation in the form of pickup truck with seats that goes up and down the beach as the tide permits.

P221 C1 P2. The Hotel’s boat sunk while in the custody of Customs. The scandal received national attention. Follow Scott’s advice to call ahead; I’m not sure if the hotel is operating.

P222 C1 P4. Cerro Colorado is not operating now, due to the low world price of copper. The operation continues to be controversial because of its ecological impact, and sovereignty disputes between the Panamanian government and the new Ngobe-Bugle (Guaymi) administration, on whose land the mine lies.

P222 C1 Bottom. We went to these hot springs upon reading of them in the book. Our persistence paid off – the springs are lovely. But the driving instructions are simply wrong. The turnoff is 7km west of the entrance to Las Lajas (not some distance in the other direction). The turnoff is also 2km east of the hamlet of Juay, and practically on top of the official marker for Km #372.

I don’t know who the Indians were that Scott talked to, but they aren’t the caretakers of the hot springs. Doña Angela and her grown children live in the adjacent houses. They run the little store, rent rooms, and keep the area in impeccable condition. Rather than take the 6-pack in, do her the favor of buying your pop and other snacks once you get there. She will prepare meals for you, but if your group is large, bring some of the basic ingredients, especially meat and vegetables. She quoted $3 per person for lodging.

P222 C2 Rock Carvings. These are worth a stop if you’re driving, but not if you’re riding the bus. The carvings are 3.5 km straight uphill from the highway. The turnoff is at Km marker #349, 2.5km west of the Santa Maria river, and its big bridge; some 10km west of the turnoff to Tole. In Nancito, turn left at the T to reach the petroglyphs. I think Scott’s odometer was on the blink when he wrote page 222.

Page 223, C1, P1. Kiosco Criollo burned to the ground early in 1998 and will not be rebuilt.

P225 C1 P1. Mi Jardin es Su Jardin (My Garden is Your Garden) is the welcoming sign to Jardin Santa Marta. The owner has traveled the world collecting plants to delight visitors. There are 9 gardeners on staff, and the owner is often in the gardens, chatting incognito with visitors.

P226 C1 Special Events. La Feria de Las Orquideas is held in April. The fairgrounds, with an advertised 10,000 varieties of flowers, is open all year, and is at its best during the fair in January and in the following dry months.

The next section is about Volcan. We live here so we might seem like we’re rough on Scott. But like we’ve said before, we’re very glad he took the time to write this book, and any monumental project is bound to have room for refinement.

Page 228, C1, P2. I’ve lived in Volcan for years and have not heard about this. I agree that it would be very foolish to start up Baru in shorts and t-shirt.

P228 C2 Bottom. With a guide, you can hike up to the summit of Volcan Baru from the Volcan side. Expect the trip to take about 7 hours for a small group in reasonably good condition. Coming down could take equally as long, as the route is rather rough. I don’t think anyone will notice that you’re in the park, much less charge you $3. But the official entry fee does exist.

Page 228 C1, P3.

Here is a picture of a conejo pintado (Agouti paca).  Now do you think it looks like a raccoon?

Page 229 C2, P3. The tourism thing near the Shell station is gone, but it was never staffed anyway, so it’s not missed. The best place to get tourist information is at the Hotel Don Tavo. The internet café ($1.00 per hour until 2:00 and $1.50 per hour after 2:00 until 11:00) is at the hotel, and you can see this page and the Volcan tourism page there. The hotel is also a nice place to stay.

P229 C1 P1. Concepcion is at about 200m elevation. The road does not end at Guadelupe, but rather loops around to Cerro Punta again. The climate is somewhat cooler than in Boquete; Cerro Punta sits at nearly twice the elevation.

P229 C1 Volcan. Maybe Scott wasn’t impressed, but we like our hometown, and you can see why by clicking here.

P229 C2 Bottom. Unfortunately, calling Barriles "ruins" and an "archeological site" is a bit of an exaggeration. The Landau family has gathered together, from all over this end of the province, quite a bit of interesting stone work and pottery. But the Barriles culture Indians lived throughout the region and left no building ruins. Just lots of pottery, carved rock, a bit of gold, and gravesites that have been dug up and the contents dispersed by amateurs over the years. Glance down to your feet as you walk in the back country around Volcan, and you’re likely to find a pottery chard as a souvenir of your visit.

Page 230, C1, P3. As an aside, most places in Panama that have the word Motel in their name are rented by the hour and are mostly know as "push buttons" by Panamanians. The odd name is because to get into the rooms you press a button, pay through a slot, and they buzz the door to let you in. Don’t forget to pull the curtain behind the car. Though they might not all be as sophisticated, the point is that the customer remains anonymous. You pay about $10.00 and you have to be out in two hours. All that said, Motel California is not such a place.

Oasis is not worth a second look unless you want to be close to the action, and the noise.

Mar y Sol is for sale, and in our opinion not as good as many places in Volcan. We will add a listing of all the lodgings in Volcan sometime soon. There are plenty of nice places not listed in the book.

Page 230 C2, Bottom. Scott says that the restaurant at the Hotel Dos Rios has the only decent food in town. He’s wrong. It’s no better and no worse than many other places in town, and if you want a beer with your meal, good luck; the bar is often not open and you can’t get one. I eat lunch there when I want privacy, because it’s always empty.

There are two places in Volcan that have some of the best food in the country. La Luna is a Chinese restaurant on the road to Cerro Punta at Paso Ancho, (2-3km from central Volcan). The place doesn’t look like much, but you can talk to Alex, ask him what’s fresh, tell him how you like your food, and he’ll cook it up for a good price. We’ve eaten lots Chinese food, even in China, and we think the food at La Luna is great.

La Biga is right in town, across the street from the Accel gas station. The place looks very European and the pasta and pizza menu changes every week. The food is wonderful, and so is the coffee and dessert. They have a nice selection of wines. The prices are a little higher than in most places in Volcan, but this is not most places. We eat there often.

We also eat at the Hotel Don Tavo because we’re at the internet café there a lot. It’s just like any other restaurant, and sometimes the pizzas are very good.

Scott goes on about the food at the Hotel Bambito. We think it is over-priced, not especially well-made, international-looking food. We don’t know why you would eat there, unless you like the big hotel restaurant atmosphere.

Page 231, C1, Lagunas. If you followed the instructions on how to get there you’d never arrive. If you got anywhere, you’d get to Las Fuentes, which is a nice enough place but not Las Lagunas. Las Fuentes is a nicely maintained city park which features a group of big springs, which are the headwaters of the Rio Gariche. The swimming is good, if a little chilly.

To get to Las Lagunas, take the street to the airport; it’s the one after the street to El Valle, as you head towards Rio Sereno. Ask how to get to the airport since you have to make several turns, always maintaining the same general heading. When you get to the airstrip, go straight across and follow that dirt road until you come to the sign for Las Lagunas. Take a left through the gate at the sign, and close the gate. The bird watching is nice there.

Page 231 C1, top. You can also take any bus that goes to Volcan, Rio Sereno, Cerro Punta, or Caisan. They all go through Volcan. Only the buses marked Cerro Punta go to Cerro Punta.

P232 C1 Bottom. Scott’s two roads leaving Cerro Punta are really one loop road. Take either to start the 5 to 6km circuit. The bus makes the loop.

P232 C1 P3. Plan more like 15 min. to drive to the Fernandez house, depending on the condition of the road.

P232 C2 Bottom. Guadelupe lies at the mid-way point in the loop road that returns to Cerro Punta. Keep going!

P232 C2 P1. Note that Sendero Los Quetzales (the trail through the National Park to Boquete), and Los Quetzales (a hotel and cabins) are not one and the same, and are up different side-roads from the main loop. There is only one Sendero Los Quetzales sign, a large brown sign with a map carved into it, at the location Scott indicates. There are many small signs leading visitors to the hotel, and from the hotel to the remote cabins.

P282 C1 P3. The market vendors and local rural residents are, for the most part, Latinos. Few Indians live in this part of Panama. The market is no less colorful an attractive for that fact.

P285 C2 P1. A kid who may lead you to the petroglyphs would honestly earn about 25 cents for his effort. The mentioned "couple of dollars" is an outrage, when a hard-working laborer in Panama earns about $6 per day. I know that you feel that you can afford more than a quarter, but it is not fair to skew the local economy. It is not fair to a youngster’s work ethic to give him a huge unearned handout. And it isn’t fair to future tourists who will be viewed not so much as a source of honest work and income, as chumps worthy of cheating.

P295 C2 Parque Arqueologico. This is the only archeological site open to visitors in Panama (Barriles is an uncatalogued collection of artifacts displayed in the yard of a private home). In 1998 El Cano received special funding, and an article in the newspaper announced new visitor facilities.

P306 C1 P1. Heed Scott’s warnings about Colon. It really is that bad. The local residents who enjoy a comfortable income live in surrounding communities, and they don’t walk around in Colon.

P327 C2 P2. Though Spanish will likely be essential in an extended visit to more remote islands in Kuna Yala (the Kuna’s title for their territory), there are many English speakers living in the islands. Kunas were preferred workers in the Canal and on the American military bases for many generations. As a people, they place much importance on good education. So, between retired workers, recently laid-off workers, and returned young people with an education, you are likely to run across more English in Kuna Yala than in other equally remote parts of Panama.

Though it isn’t the same as thoroughly exploring the islands, a few days at one of the hotels listed in the book is easy, pleasant, and very exotic. I recommend it.

Glossary

cacique – used throughout Central America to mean Indian chief

comarca – Indian reservation

cuatro por cuatro – uncommon literal translation of 4x4. Say doble as in carro con doble

gringo/a – any pale foreigner, tourist or resident, esp. North American. Not meant to be offensive.

huaca – technically a pre-Colombian gravesite from which is taken gold, pottery, and carved rock artifacts. The word huaca is now applied equally to any artifact, as well as the gravesite.

INRENARE – now ANAM (Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente).

pozos – pools or wells. Springs are ojos de agua (eyes of water).

P362 Getting Around.

Bus station – terminal de buses. Autobus is rarely used. Camion is always a cargo truck.

Bus – bus. Not camion or autobus.

P364 Panamanian Slang. Leave slang to the experts! The list in the book might help you understand what is being said, but unless you are quite sure, don’t try it yourself. When (not if) you make a mistake with slang, at best you will make a fool of yourself. At worst, you will get a bloody nose, or a trip to the police station if you have offended a public official. I have special concern about two phrases:

chombo/a – about as acceptable as the n-word in the United States.

Eres un comemierda – literally "You are a shit eater," but with rather stronger and more offensive connotations. It is so dangerous in fact, that I have never heard it said in the second person, but only as a complaint in the third person, where the "eater" is not present. The phrase’s inclusion in this list makes me wonder. Does Scott think that someone might say it to you? Does he think that you might like to use it?

From Angel, if you say this to someone at a bar in the interior of Panama be sure that you have more friends with you that the guy you’re saying it to. Otherwise you may the stuffing beat out of you. Those are at best very unfriendly words.g

Finca La Suiza Jungle Lodge is a new inn on the road from David to Chiriqui Grande, 3.4km past Los Planes. Herbert Brullmann and Monika Kohler offer double bedrooms with private bath and hot water, each with a terrace. The highlight is a 5-½ hour jungle walk in the highland cloud forest. The trail is open all year, entry from 7:00am to 10:00am, $6, no children under 12. The lodge is open from Dec. 1 to May 15, and all of July and August. $25/32 single/double. The Finca is adjacent to the road, and you can arrive by bus. Tel. 615-3774, 7:00pm to 9:00pm (this is a cellular number, and the caller pays additional fees as well). Email: afinis@chiriqui.com Mail: Apto. 1152, David, Chiriqui, Rep.de Panama.

Panagator, Parque del Crocodilo, is a private crocodile park and farm, where the creatures are being raised commercially. They invite guests to see the raising, care and feeding of crocodiles and caiman, and to learn about the different native species and their habitat. They dedicate 5% of their profits to conservation of the animals in the wild. Stay for lunch, and dine on crocodile if you so please, and visit the gift shop. It is located on the Carreterra Transistmica at mile 16.5, in Chilibre. Tels. 216-6037, 216-6011, and fax 216-6016. Email: inavasa@pty.com

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