PANAMÁ Panamá • Panama is the land bridge between North and South America. This small country, only one-tenth the size of Chile, is the southernmost country of Central America, home of the Panama Canal, and a historical crossroads and gateway. During the construction of the Panama Canal, Panama developed a close relationship with the United States. Before era of U.S.-Panamanian relations, Panama was part of Colombia, from which it seceded in 1903, with U.S. support. Today, Panama, a melting pot with a service-based economy (commerce, banking, and tourism), enjoys relative governmental and economic stability. The international and metropolitan atmosphere of its capital and the extensive national parks and natural protected areas attract tourists from all over the world. Panamá Each of the three sets of locks on the Panama Canal was built with parallel flights of lock chambers to facilitate the flow of traffic. Tucán pico iris The rainforests of Panama are some of the most easily accessible of Central America. Eco-tours and birding are popular activities. Panama, which is slightly smaller than South Carolina, is home to 950 species of birds. One of the most colorful and exciting to see is the keel-billed toucan or tucán pico iris. This bird was photographed in the Chiriquí province. Chiriquí, a province in southwestern Panamá, is famous for its friendly people and beautiful landscape. The word Chiriquí is from the Ngobe meaning Valley of the Moon. The colorful beak of the keel-billed toucan lives up to its Spanish name (rainbow beak). El parque nacional Volcán Barú El Volcán Barú is the highest of the three volcanoes in Panama, all of which are extinct. Barú overlooks el Parque Nacional Volcán Barú, in Chiriquí. This 35,000-acre park, established in 1976, protects the ecology, biological diversity, and endemic species of the area. The park is a mixture of rainforest and volcanic landscape. El Río Chiriquí El Río Chiriquí runs through virgin forests in northern Panama, along the border with Costa Rica. Its white water and waterfalls attract rafters and adventure tourists. El Puente de las Américas El Puente de las Américas, which opened in October of 1962, crosses the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, close to Panama City. This was the only bridge connecting the land masses of North and South America until 2004, when el Puente Centenario was completed. El Puente de las Américas is part of la Carretera Pan- Americana, a network of roads and highways that stretches nearly 30,000 miles north to south from Alaska to Chile. The only break in the network is called the Darién Gap, a 54- mile gap of rainforest in the Darién Jungle. Maravillas y misterios: El Canal de Panamá • The concept of a canal through Panama was tossed about as early as the 16th century, but construction didn’t begin until the late 19th century. The project was begun by the French, but when their efforts collapsed, the United States took over, completing and opening the Canal in 1914. The construction of the Canal was riddled with problems and controversy, including diseases and disastrous landslides. Nearly 30,000 men died working on the canal between 1880 and 1914. • The forty-eight miles of channels and locks run north to south from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. The passages takes ships through the canal, its two artificial lakes, three sets of locks, and channels. Maravillas y misterios: El Canal de Panamá El Canal y la selva The water basins for the Canal are protected by artificial lakes as well as parks and natural reserves, including Chagres, Soberanía, and Altos de Campana. The parks protect jungle areas and water basins that serve as water catchment systems for the Canal. Maravillas y misterios: El Canal de Panamá The three sets of locks are Gatún (northernmost) Pedro Miguel (middle, north of Miraflores Lake), and finally, Miraflores (southernmost). All three locations have parallel flights of locks to allow smaller ships to cross in different directions, or two larger ships to pass in the same direction at once. The massive lock chambers are 110 by 1000 feet with a depth of 41 feet or more, dimensions which determine the Panamax, or maximum size a vessel can be to pass through the Canal. The term post-Panamax refers to large modern ships that are too large to pass through the Canal. Una reclusas del Canal Maravillas y misterios: El Canal de Panamá Between the Gatún and Pedro Miguel locks, ships cruise for about twenty miles through el Lago Gatún, an artificial lake formed by the dam at el Río Chagres, then through the Gaillard Cut, the channel that suffered most of the deadly landslides during construction. There are very few settlements along the Canal route, but the Miraflores locks are the most popular spot for watching ships pass through the Canal. Un barco en el Canal Artesanías: La mola Molas are a handmade tradition from the Kuna, a Panamanian indigenous group that lives on the San Blas Islands off of the coast. The word mola is from the Kuna language, meaning clothing. Molas are created by layering panels of different colors of cloth, cutting patterns into the different layers, and stitching them together. Molas can be used for many different things, from framed wall hangings or placemats, to clothing and purses. Artesanías: La mola The quality of a mola is determined by the number of layers, the quality of the stitching and cutouts, including details such as zigzag borders and embroidery. Geometric designs are the most traditional, originating from the art and folklore of the Kuna culture, but many mola designs depict animals and marine life as well. The molas pictured here depict fish and use very detailed patterns and stitching. Un diseño de mola típico La Isla San BLas The San Blas Islands are an archipelago of about 360 islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama. About thirty of the islands are inhabited by the native Kuna, a tribe that has fiercely defended its way of life and culture for more than 500 years. In 1925 after suffering years of abuse and cultural censorship, the Kuna staged a revolution to gain autonomy. In 1930, three autonomous comarcas were officially recognized, the biggest of which is Kuna Yala. The Kuna Yala includes the San Blas Islands, as well as a narrow strip of the mainland that runs the length of the archipelago. La Isla San Blas, donde viven los artesanos de las molas Carteras y billeteros de mola Tourism and visits to the San Blas Islands are strictly limited, but the Kunas take their molas to markets in the surrounding areas. Many simple, less valuable molas are made to cater to tourists and used to make purses, wallets, and other items. While these can be beautiful, note the difference in their quality compared to that of the fish molas in the other photo. Naturaleza: Unesco Panama has fourteen national parks that cover about 22% of the country’s surface. One of the parks, la Amistad, is international, as it lies in both Costa Rica and Panama. Panama also has over forty forest and marine reserves, sanctuaries, and protected areas. Three of Panama’s parks and reserves have been sited by UNESCO as World Heritage sites: Darién National Park, Amistad Park and Reserves, and Coiba National Park. Pictured here are scenes from the first two. La Cordillera de Talamanca La Cordillera de Talamanca lies along the Costa Rica-Panama border. The reserves on this range were recognized in 1983 as .part of a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1983. Parts of this range are also included in el Parque Internacional La Amistad. This park was founded with a joint agreement between Panama and Costa Rica in 1988. Located along the Talamanca range with a little more than half of the territory in Panama, the park protects this important water basin and the flora and fauna that live there. First recognized as a World Biosphere Reserve (1983), the transboundary cluster of the Reservas de la Cordillera de Talamanca, along with El Parque Internacional La Amistad and some other properties were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990. El Parque Darién Located in the eastern part of the country bordering Colombia, el Parque Darién is the largest national park and reserve of Panama. Sited by UNESCO in 1981 as a World Heritage Site and in 1983 as a World Biosphere Reserve, el Parque Darién is one of the most important and thickest natural reserves of Central America. Three indigenous groups live in the park: the Kunas, the Emberá and the Wounaan. The latter two are riverside cultures that were once collectively called the Choco, because they migrated from the Choco region of Colombia. The Kunas are famous for making molas, Alongside and sometimes integrated with the Amerindians who live within the park are populations of African ancestry. Panamá hoy: La capital La Ciudad de Panamá, capital of Panama, is a modern, cosmopolitan city that has been strongly influenced by the U.S. culture and the U.S. dollar. Many visitors are surprised to find such a modern city in Central America. This “modern” part of Ciudad de Panamá is actually one of three cities within the capital city: Panamá la Vieja (ruins of the original capital city), el Casco Antiguo or Ciudad Colonial, and la Ciudad Moderna. La ciudad moderna Panamá la Vieja is the ruins of the original city, founded in 1517 to help transport the Incan goods that the Spanish explorers took from the Incan empire. This was the first city established by the Europeans on the Pacific coast of Central or South America.