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Although
Panama has some of the most diverse wildlife in the Western Hemisphere,
the country is largely undiscovered as an ecotourist destination. |
By Joe Rubin
Special to ABCNEWS.com
P A N A M A C I T Y, Panama -While its neighbor to the
north, Costa Rica, is the ecotourism superpower, Panama is considered
by many experts to be the most biodiverse country in the Western
Hemisphere.
Of course, when most people think of Panama, they don't think
of rare wildlife and miles of deserted jungle-lined beaches.
They think of the U.S. military zone along the Panama Canal and
ousted dictator Manuel Noriega. Panama's reputation as a vacation
spot is so poor, in fact, that few of the thousands of tourists
who pass through the Panama Canal every year on cruise ships
even bother to disembark. But all that may be changing.
Now, after a decade of relative stability and on the eve of the
handover of the Panama Canal to the Panamanian government, there
is considerable effort under way to turn this Central American
nation into the next ecotourism hot spot.
Unexplored
Wilds
As a land bridge between North and South America, Panama nurtures
plant and animal life from both continents. Its jungles house
more species of birds than all of North America and Europe, along
with jaguars and howler, spider, white-face and night monkeys.
Hundreds of miles of undeveloped coastline are lined with unexplored
coral reefs.
There are even rain forests right inside Panama City. Metropolitan
Park has hiking trails, monkeys and pristine dry tropical forests.
National parks, great beaches and the Smithsonian's Barro Colorado
Island are all within an hour of the city.
If you decide you want to explore Panama's jungles, coastlines
and cities, you'll be hard-pressed to find a guidebook to show
you the way. (Lonely Planet, however, is slated to publish its
first book on Panama in January).
And you're not likely to bump into many fellow tourists, either.
After my plane dropped dozens of backpackers in San Jose, Costa
Rica, everyone who remained on board besides me was either Panamanian
or on business (Panama is a major trade and banking center).
Strolling
the Canal
When I landed in balmy Panama City around midnight, sans guidebook,
I snagged a few fliers for hotels and ended up at the Hotel Montreal.
Even at $14 a night, it was so shabby and noisy it was no bargain.
But the next day, I did a bit of investigating and found the
Hotel California, where I could live it up in a spacious clean
room with a view of the ocean for 20 bucks a night.
I also met up with Anna Corina Smith, a recent graduate of the
University of Pennsylvania. Anna, who was going to help me with
translation on a news story, also agreed to show me around her
city for a day.
We ended up on a wonderful grassy causeway at the beginning of
thePanama Canal, where we sat in a cheap, open-air restaurant
where ordinaryPanamanians come to drink rum, listen to Latin
pop and watch the ships come in. The bullet marks in some of
the buildings from the U.S. invasion a decade ago are the only
signs that this spot was at one time less than tranquil.
Military
Installation to Tourist Destination
In just over a year-Dec. 31, 1999-the canal and the lush 80,000
acres that surround it return to Panamanian control. The rain
forest, jungle and national parks that line both sides of the
canal hint at the country's promise as ecotourist's dream.
Enterprising Panamanians are poised to catch the wave. The swank
Miramar Intercontinental, (an amazing place to stay with spectacular
views if you can afford $235-$1,000 per night) recently broke
ground on a multimillion-dollar $400-a-night hotel and-you guessed
it-rain forest theme park.
Meanwhile, Raul Arias, one of Panama's leading intellectuals
(once a key opposition leader against Noriega) is spending his
days transforming a giant U.S. military radar tower into a bird-watching
hotel in Soberania National Park. He plans to start taking guests
Dec. 15.
From the outside, with its daunting chain link fence and sign
warning "U.S. Military Personnel Only" the tower still
looks like a military installation. But the inside has been completely
transformed. A spiral staircase winds around the tower through
four large levels. Each floor has giant windows revealing another
fascinating level of the rain forest.
The top two floors feature a dining room and open air rooftop
observation deck where you can easily spot rare bird life and
monkeys. From the roof, you look out over the national park,
and in the distance, there are all manner of ships traversing
the Panama Canal. Arias has hired a former poacher (who knows
the rain forest better?) as a guide. He's determined to prove
to Panamanians and tourists alike that ecotourism is a sustainable
way to preserve his country's forests.
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