The Tower Articles & Speeches by Raul Arias de Para The Canopy Tower Story | The Canopy Tower Story |
|
|
|
June 28, 1992 Raúl Arias de Para
Back then I did not have a clear concept in my mind about what exactly I wanted to do, but I knew the areas around the Canal were unsurpassed in the whole world for ecotourism. Where else can you see 380 species of birds in a 24 hour period (a world record)? Where else can you see huge passenger ships navigate through a lush tropical forest? Where else can you see the Panama Canal, a true wonder of engineering and human ingenuity? Only in Panama, of course.
Consequently, in August of 1995 I met for the first time with Dr. Nicolas Ardito Barletta, the recently appointed Director General of the Autoridad de la Region Interoceanica (ARI), the agency of the Panamanian Government in charge of allocating the real estate being transferred to Panama by the United States in compliance with the Carter Torrijos Treaties. I received enthusiastic support from Dr. Barletta, support which was essential to materialize the dream two years and countless meetings later.
First I began to explore the area around Gamboa, specifically Pipeline Road which is known among bird watchers world-wide as a superb bird watching area. Being a bird watcher myself, I naturally looked for sites in which I could also practice this peaceful and challenging hobby. After several week-ends of exploration in which Howler monkeys, White-faced Capuchins, Titis (Geoffroy's tamarins), were my frequent companions, not to mention Toucans, Trogons, Gato Solos and Neques (Coatis and Agoutis), I came across indications of a spot in which the US Army many years ago had some type of installation. The site and a road leading to it appeared in maps and in aerial photos taken 20 years ago, but more recent pictures showed only trees and more trees were the installation had once been. Obviously, nature had taken over the area which made it even more interesting.
Having found the "ideal" place for an ecolodge I approached ARI with the results of my investigations. ARI then had to contact the Panama Canal Commission because the chosen site was within the operating area of the Canal. After several weeks and several letters and memos back and forth it was found that the site was under still under the control of the US Army. Specifically the US Tropic Test Center so the ARI had to approach the Army for permission to inspect the site. Again, several weeks passed and several notes and memos were sent to the US Embassy (Treaty Administration), which in turn contacted the Southern Command, which in turn contacted the US Tropic Test Center. Finally the word arrived: NO. "We need this place", although it had been abandoned for years.
Back to square one! Undaunted by this setback, I began the search again. This time I explored the area past Gamboa near where the US Air Force had a small landing strip, right next to the Canal. I wanted a spot that could be reached by car and this ruled out the many beautiful islands and coves of Gatun Lake. Again, I spent several week-ends walking the area and once even got lost for about two hours but I found a beautiful spot with a small lake and a spectacular vista of the Canal. This was IT, fantastic!
I approached the ARI once more with the "ideal" spot in the bag and the process began again. Letters, memos, aerial pictures, maps, meetings, you name it... I complied with every request and met with whomever had anything to do with this approval, even remotely, but to no avail. The spot was too close to the Canal and the Commission was not too keen on the idea. I was told to look for another site because it would not be approved.
Back to square one again! I was ready to quit then. I had been in this search for over a year and I was fed up with bureaucracy. I seriously considered dedicating my efforts to expand my operations in El Valle de Antón where I had recently completed an ecoturist attraction called the Canopy Adventure. But sometimes dreams are worth pursuing so I kept going.
This time it was a U.S. employee of the Panama Canal Commission whose support proved to be critical. Tom Duty, Manager of the Real Estate Management Division, said offhandedly at the end of a meeting in which site no. 2 had been turned down: "Raúl, have you ever been to Semaphore Hill? There is a USAF radar tower there and it reverts to Panama in November of this year, take a look at it, you might like it". I had never even heard of the place... Semaphore Hill...it was not in Gamboa, it's name brought images of traffic and street lights and, frankly, I was despondent but I decided to take a look at it anyway.
What the heck, I thought, I have invested so much time and effort in this project I might as well take a look at this hill. And, after all, as we say in spanish; "A la tercera va la vencida", on the third try you win! And win I did!
Two weeks later I visited Semaphore Hill accompanied by Gladys Diaz, who is Tom Duty's Deputy, several USAF and ARI personnel, and a couple of civilians of the Treaty Implementation Department of the Southern Command. Even though nobody brought the key and we couldn't go inside the building, I immediately liked the place. I did not know what I was going to do with it but I liked it right away, it was indeed love at first sight! Why? First...
...the one mile paved road to the top of Semaphore Hill takes you through a beautiful tall semidecidous forest with plenty of mammals and birds. I remember that the first day we heard howlers and saw several Coatis and Agoutis cross the road.Second, it was only 30 minutes from Panama City. Third...
I was told that from the top of the tower you could see the Panama Canal and the Culebra Cut and Fourth...
...the metal structure was "interesting", unique, it made me want to go in and see what was inside. Eventually, I did go in and spent many hours in the tower admiring the surrounding rain forest, watching monkeys only meters away, observing many species of birds (specially birds that live in the canopy and are otherwise very hard to see) and seeing ships navigate through the Canal.
Slowly the project began to take shape. This was indeed an extraordinary place. It combined history; spectacular vistas of the Canal and the surrounding forest; great birding and abundant wildlife. I felt I could transform this into a world-wide attraction, a must-see-place for every visitor to Panama.
However, there was one little problem, one more obstacle to overcome, Semaphore Hill was inside Parque Nacional Soberania so INRENARE (the National Park Authority ) had to give the green light also. Therefore, in addition to ARI, the PCC, the Southern Command and the USAF, I had to negotiate with INRENARE! Furthermore, it was known that INRENARE did not look with kind eyes towards private concerns going in national parks. I took a deep breath, tightened my belt (me amarre los pantalones) and jumped in. In reality my project did not entail building inside a national park, something which is "taboo" to park authorities, my project meant transforming an old military installation into a center for the observation and study of the neo-tropical rain forest. To complete my project I did not have to cut a single tree or use bulldozers. It was simply proposing to remodel a military building and make it suitable for visitors interested in observing the rain forest and its inhabitants. On the other hand, I am a believer and practitioner of conservation so I sympathize with INRENARE's efforts to protect our rapidly vanishing rain forests. However, I also think that ecotourism, if done correctly, is a sustainable activity that can provide employment without damaging the natural resource. Thank God, my arguments conviced the park authorities and they gave the green light.
Consequently, on September 16th, 1997, more than two years after my first meeting with Dr.Ardito Barletta, I signed a concession contract with ARI and INRENARE which allows me to transform the radar tower into an ecotourist center. That is what I am doing now. I expect to open in January of next year, the exact date is undetermined as of today because the park authorities still have to approve an Enviromental Impact Study which I submitted two weeks ago. But it is now a question of time because the study concluded that the negative impacts to the environment are negligible. In fact, the project will have significant positive impacts, namely: our presence in the area will help to control poachers and the project itself will educate visitors about the need to support conservation efforts world wide. Finally, I wish to thank all who had something to do with this project. The list is long and rather than forget one person I will not name anyone, but there are plenty of people in ARI, INRENARE, IPAT (the Panamanian Tourist Bureau), PCC, US Army Southern Command and the USAF who helped me along the way. A million thanks to all you guys, please come by the CANOPY TOWER in January and have a cold one on me.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
