República de Panamá

A thousand reasons to visit Panamá

March 2016, Panamá

Tourist numbers are increasing even at the Darien Gap between Panama with Colombia, one of the most dangerous borders in the world.

There are at least one thousand reasons to visit Panamá. I am visiting the country in March 2016 and the scandal with leaked documents just erupted, so the focus of international attention was on the reason for tax evasion. However, there are many other reasons to visit the country. The good business environment attracts foreign visitors, from investors to economic migrants. Housing markets remain stable with growing number of European and American buyers. Panama is doing its best to prevent any negative effect to the growing tourism industry, which became a national priority for this small nation with population of 4 million inhabitants. Every year, Panamá welcomes more than 2 million tourists (2.11 M international tourist arrivals in 2015 and 2.01 M in 2016). There are significantly lower crime and poverty rates in Panama, compared to the average for Central American countries. Meanwhile, its Caribbean and Pacific resorts can even challenge the ones in neighboring Costa Rica, considered as the best in Central America. So yes, the reasons to visit are really quite a lot.

Mine reason for visiting Panama is due to the opportunity it gives for a greater Central and South American experience. In Panama City, country’s capital, there are 3 international airports and plenty of options to visit neighboring Costa Rica or Colombia. So even the travelers could benefit from Panama’s strategic location. The country itself offers very beautiful beaches in the archipelagos of Bocas del Toro and San Blas. There are also many hidden mountain gems like Boquete, located nearby an active volcano.

CIELOS ABIERTOS. Hoy la aerolínea @Lufthansa inauguró el vuelo entre la ciudad de Frankfurt y Panamá. La travesía duró 12 horas y 25 minutos, y llegó directo de Alemania. Con este, ya suman 88 destinos que vuelan al Aeropuerto Internacional de Tocumen en 35 países. #Lufthansa #Alemania #Frankfurt #Panamá

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Getting there
The first step is to deal with the flight tickets. As a regional hub, there are several options to get there from Europe – flying from Paris, Madrid, Frankfurt, Istanbul or Amsterdam. I flew from Frankfurt and by accident got on their inaugural flight to Panamá. The long 12 and a half hours flight ended in quite exciting atmosphere for the passengers, as we was welcomed with water salute upon landing. We saw traditional dancers at the airport and received gifts from Lufthansa and Panamanian Government, represented there by their CEO and Minister of Tourism. Then comes the passport control and here we are in Panamá, officially. Keep in mind the entry requirements in Panamá – you could need to present yellow fever certificate or demonstrate prove of at least $500, either in the bank or cash. In most of the cases, they ask Europeans only for return flight and hotel reservation, but anyway you need to carry everything, in case of request from the immigration officials.

Panama City
Arriving at Tocumen International Airport, you can take the Metrobus via “Corredor Sur” or get a private transfer. There was no metro to the airport at the time of my visit, but in 2019 it should be connected to Line 2 of the urban rail. The first thing you will notice when entering Panama City is the impressive skyline on its Pacific coast, built in the past 15 years. The tallest building – Trump Ocean Club, is a copy of Dubai’s Burj Al Arab, which correspond to the ambitious plans of local architects to build giant skyscrapers. I stayed in San Francisco, a popular residential area with modern architecture and plenty of food & drink options. It is in a high contrast with the colorful colonial buildings in the Old City, known as Casco Viejo.

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Casco Viejo is among the most popular tourist places in Panama City. It is the famous Old City, where Spanish built their homes during the colonial period between 16th and 19th centuries. This kind of architecture is popular all over Latin America, but in Casco Viejo it is mixed with French balconies and French architecture. Between 1880 and 1889, a French company made attempt to build the Panama Canal, but they only completed about two-fifths of the canal, before the US took control over the zone. More than 22,000 people died and hundreds of millions USD have been lost during the French failed attempt to build the canal. However, this influence continued even after the French stopped the construction. Today, many buildings in Casco Viejo like Museum of the Canal at Cathedral Plaza remind us for the French presence here. This influence is even stronger in the city of Colón, located at the Atlantic’s side of the canal.
The Panamanian cuisine is also mixed and you will hardly find restaurants with traditional dishes in Panama City. However, if you want to taste the local food, it is a great option to visit the fish and seafood market, or Mercado de Mariscos. There are a restaurants here offering dishes like ‘Corvina’ fish – a local sea bass, with plantain (a cooking banana), which is probably the most traditional food. There are also local producers of chocolate and coffee, so Panamanian cakes and coffees could be find in places like Super Gourmet, a small and cozy restaurant in Casco Viejo.
Outside the city are located 3 of the fifths Panama Canal locks – Pedro Miguel, Miraflores and Cocoli (the new one). Only Miraflores locks are open for tourist visits – there are a museum and even 3D cinema inside to help understand more about one of the greatest construction projects in twentieth century. You could reach Miraflores easy by public bus from Albrook Bus Terminal or by many tourist agencies, which offer also an additional visit to the nearby Gatun lake, located between Atlantic and Pacific locks of the canal.

Panama is cheaper than US or Europe, but more expensive than other Latin American countries. The public transportation is very cheap (35 cents for the metro) and Uber is also an preferred option to travel around. The official currency is Panamanian Balboa (PAB), but it is only available in coins up to 1 PAB. In fact, the US dollar is a preferred option for payments, as the exchange rate is fixed 1:1 to the Balboa.

Around the country
It is mandatory to leave the capital as soon as possible, and spend couple of days around the country. You can chose between paradise islands, extinct volcanoes (, nearby Boquete) or inaccessible jungles (Darien Gap).
The best beaches are in Bocas del Toro and San Blas archipelagos. I spent my time in Bocas, which includes around 10 beautiful islands. There are plenty of bars here and many backpackers are stopping by, while the San Blas archipelago is more honeymoon oriented. To Isla Colon, the main island, there are daily flights from Panama City, or ferry service from Almirante on the mainland. Once there, its easy to explore the beauty around. The best experience is to make a day trip to Cayo Zapatilla and dive into the crystal turquoise waters of an uninhabited island. Another paradise island is Isla Bastimentos where you can even spend the night as there is a village on the coast. However, these small islands has a long history. The archipelago was discovered first by Christopher Columbus who arrived in Almirante Bay on 16th of October 1502 during his fourth and last New World voyage. Isla Colon, named on Columbus, soon became a pirate heaven, before the following Spanish colonization.

Unfortunately I didn’t had time to visit another places in Panana. However, if you want to enjoy the extinct volcanoes, the most popular one is Barú. This volcano is located close to the town of Boquete, where is situated the largest expat community in Panama. There is no direct flight or bus route to here, so you need to reach first David and proceed with a bus or taxi. In the last years, more and more people are heading to Darien Gap, an inaccessible jungle area on the Colombia border. In fact, this is one of the most dangerous borders in the world, controlled by drug traffickers and guerrillas. Darien Gap is the sole exception of Pan-American highway from Alaska to Chile, where a total distance of 90 km is dividing the longest American highway on two parts. It is strange how Panama could link two oceans and not two highways, but beside the difficult trace, it could also harm the environment so literally South America is divided to the North by Darien Gap. However, many tourists are wishing to cross one of the most density rainforests so there are agencies organizing special expeditions. Of course they need to notify the local authorities on their route and receive an official permission.

This article was originally published in The Economist's magazine Bulgarian issue No. 15 of April 2016 .

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Iquitos, Peru 2: Meeting with a Shaman

Meeting with a Shaman

March 2016, Iquitos (Peru)

There are many shamans hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest and many foreigners and local people are visiting them

Northern Peru has a rich history in the traditional medicine and the area is known as the ‘health axis’ of South America. Many indigenous tribes like Cocama, Urarina, Yagua and Bora still live in the rainforests around the upper stream of Amazon river. So here I am, in the remote city of Iquitos, on my way to meet the famous shamans and to learn more about their culture.

I sailed from Iquitos with Eduardo Cuellar, local photo journalist, and Joel Huaymana Sangama, a small boat owner from indigenous origin. Shortly after our departure, we turn to one of tributaries of Amazon river – Rio Nanay. Due to the differences in temperature, speed and water density of Amazon and Nanay, the meeting point of two rivers is really impressive. Amazon river water appears in light brown, while Nanay is a blackwater river. This phenomenon can be seen again in downstream of Amazon river where Rio Negro joins.

Shaman

Short while later we moored at Padre Cocha – it’s the first village on our way located at the river bank of Nanay. Then we have to take a mototaxi in order to reach Don Luis Rimachi’s healing center. Despite having made arrangement in advance for a meeting, Don Luis has not been informed about it so he went to Iquitos to buy herbs for tonight’s ayahuasca ceremony. So we were left without a choice and prepare ourselves to spend the day waiting for Rimachi. Fortunately, Joel had no such intention so he offered us to visit another shaman. They are quite a lot and every healing center has a shaman. Although many of them were created due to increase of foreign visitors, indigenous tribes used such centers for past centuries as their single access to medicine.
The global roots of traditional medicine leads to Cupisnique culture in 1000 B.C. It was a Pre-Colombian culture which flourished in Northern Peru and parts of Ecuador Pacific Coast. During all these years, the traditional medicine was kept alive here due to many circumstances like availability of natural resources and culture of indigenous tribes. And despite the conventional medicine development, today many locals and foreigners as well still prefer to entrust their health to shamans, instead of hospitals.

Don Lucho

We are now going to Luis Culquitón famous as ‘Don Lucho’. He is from Manacamiri – a small farming community on the river bank of Nanay. The roots of inhabitants here are related to an indigenous tribe called Cocama. I haven’t make any appointment so that could be a problem. So we left our boat in Manacamiri and headed to Kapitari Healing Center where Don Lucho is located. The distance from the Nanay river bank to Kapitari is approximately 4 km and we need to walk them since there are no longer mototaxis available. After walking through muddy jungle path we finally reach the healing center. We were welcomed at the entrance by locals involved in banana picking at the surrounding plantation. The whole center is quite big and includes vast area of rainforest, plantations of cacao, bananas and any other fruits, vegetables and herbs. Wooden lodges are seen among them, as well as small lake and special place for ceremonies. Fortunately, at the time of our arrival a kind of ritual takes place so we were able to observe how small group of indigenous people walk around in a circle while singing in unrecognizable language.

Don Lucho is nearby and while waiting for him, I had a short conversation with some visitors coming mainly from Europe and North America. Here comes the shaman. Despite his almost 70 years, Don Lucho looks quite younger. He is one of the most famous shamans in Peruvian Amazon because of his skills in the field of traditional medicine. Recently he visited Italy to treat patients so he is already known in Europe.

It was 4 PM and I still hadn’t had breakfast so gladly took a meal. The food was vegetarian and all visitors eat it during their treatment – it’s really important to purify themselves. But the most important part of treatment process are Ayahuasca ceremonies. It’s a magical brew made from plants that grow in Amazon jungle, containing DMT (Dimethyltryptamine). Due to it’s powerful psychedelic effects, DMT has been classified as a Schedule I drug by DEA. However locals do not accept this drug classification, because ayahuasca doesn’t lead to addiction and is usually taken once. Moreover it has been proven that Ayahuasca treats drug addictions.

I can’t try ayahuasca now, because it means one more week in the jungle. But after being under pressure all day long, Don Lucho gave me an extract of cocona leaves. It has an instant effect so I am finally ready to proceed with the interview…

- Don Lucho, how one can become a shaman?

- It’s a bit like studying medicine to be a doctor. You need to study at least 10 years. In the beginning I had some receipts from my grandfathers, from my family, of course. But the rest is a gift from my connection to the nature. I had some visions that showed me how to do. I studied a bit of technical medicine because you have to know a lot of plants and their effects. You have to stay humble, to manage the dose of plants. And the biggest secret is to make strict diet. That’s how I found a way to treat the people.

- Is traditional medicine a substitute of conventional one?

- No. We have to use both traditional and conventional medicine. They work in different way for the people and they work together. The advantage of traditional medicine is that you can get the same effect easier and cheaper. In the hospital, you can get a diagnostics and analysis for a lot of money. The same you can get just in one ceremony with ayahuesca. Last but not least, natural treatments don’t have side effects and you can see the result immediately, unlike the medicines. That’s why people come here.

- What kind of treatments they look for?

- They treat mainly drug addictions, stress, psychological problems and physical problems related to stomach and hearth, skin problems and all other kind of sickness.

- Is there a competition between all the shamans in the region?

Indeed they are quite a lot, not only here, but also in Brazil and Ecuador. This is good because more diversity we have means more solutions to people. It’s not about money. There is no competition, but there’s a lot of jealously.

- Can you export traditional medicine outside Amazon?

- The traditional medicine is related to the plants we use and it’s not so simple to export them. For example, when I went to Italy I brought a Cocona plant. It helps for the blood pressure, cholesterol and the heart in general by very simple way. People liked it because the effect Is immediate. But to produce and export more first I have to get a laboratory, then I will be able make these treatments around the world. That costs a lot and for that moment, I don’t have these money. Also in the ceremonies we do it’s important participants to have a connection with the nature, that’s why we involve the local indigenous tribes in the process. We should not forget the need to legislative changes. Then we will be able to export effectively our medicine abroad.

- What advice could you give to people who practice traditional medicine over the world?

- In every country, there is much of knowledge about traditional medicine. We are all equal. The thing is to start cooperation around all the world. Then we would be stronger and we could work together with conventional medicine to achieve much more. It’s a need for the all. Because if we coordinate ourselves we could make something more sustainable.

This article was originally published in The Economist's magazine Bulgarian issue No. 21, May 2016 in the series called 'Cultiral Travel Guide'.

PDF (original) 

Credits: Luis Culquiton – Don Lucho (Shaman, Kapitari Center), Renaud Leglise (Contributor, Kapitari Center), Eduardo Cuellar (Photo Journalist, Iquitos), Joel Huaymana Sangama (Boat Owner, Bellavista–Nanay Port)

Iquitos, Peru 1: The Wild Amazon

The Wild Amazon

March 2016, Iquitos (Peru)

Going deep into the Amazon and visiting the largest inaccessible by road city in the world.

Exactly one year ago, I was watching a Jeremy Wade’s TV show in searching for river monsters in the Amazon. He went there in search for a 4-meter long arapaima in the upper streams of the most voluminous river worldwide. I was quite interested but never imagined myself eating arapaima at the Amazon’s river coast. During my recent trip to Peru in March I limited my time in Cusco just for Machu Picchu. Instead, I headed to my most extraordinary adventure so far.

Humidity: 95%
I’m flying to Iquitos – the world’s largest city that is inaccessible by road. It could be reached only by boat from any Amazon navigable port, or by plane from Lima, with an exception of a road to Nauta, a small town nearby. As usual, I’m full of enthusiasm upon arrival at any new place which manifests in capturing this special moment. Unfortunately, not this time. In just a few seconds the camera lens got wet outside so nothing is visible anymore. The humidity doesn’t fall below 80 percent over the year as august is the driest month. But March is the driest month along with April and this year’s El Nino increased rainfall so I found myself on a place with 95 percent humidity in the air. On the next day I got used to new levels of oxygen content in the air, ready to explore the area.

Motortaxies instead of cars
I quickly noticed that my taxi to the hotel is one of the few cars on the road. Most of the vehicles are motortaxies or ‘tuk-tuk’ (the same as Bangkok’s). They are more fuel efficient, driver explained to me, and that’s the most important in Loreto, one of the poorest regions of Peru. On the other hand, vehicle transportation to Iquitos is a more complicated process and last but not least, the lifetime route of any car here is limited to few blocks along the main street. So it really doesn’t make sense to have a car here.

Survival lesson in another era
Already in the hotel. There are just a few good hotels to stay in the city and saving money on accommodation could cost a lack of many things used elsewhere. Most of the tourists arrives in Iquitos because of the famous healing centers around so they don’t stay long in the city. That’s why hotels are like this while the best and most expensive accommodations are outside the city, accessible only by boat. Actually, the main tourism developed area in Peruvian Amazon basin is Puerto Maldonado. It’s close to Cusco and quite far from Iquitos. Right there the government is improving the touristic infrastructure, unlike Iquitos. Here everything is as neglected as your stay will turn into a survival lesson in another era.
It seems that time has stopped in some parts of Iquitos. Typewriters are still used on the streets and ‘professional typists’ offer some paid services. Even the computer clubs are equipped with 90s like PCs that brings me back to my childhood. And while the technologies do evolve, albeit slowly, there is a place here that will hardly change...

Belen Market
It’s called Mercado de Belén – the largest market in Peruvian Amazon, located in the floating neighborhood of Belén. It‘s close to the river coast and thousands of farmers and fishermen come here every morning to sell their production. Here you can find all these strange fruits and vegetables of Amazon that indigenous people eat. Restaurant owners and Iquitos citizens are the main consumers here, as well as locals from nearby villages along the river. It took me only a few minutes in Belén to realize that it’s the weirdest market I’ve been and ever will be. There were giant arapaimas, fried alligators, bloodthirsty piranha, turtle meat, hallucinogenic plants for shamanic rituals and many more unusual products for an open market. It was not enough for me so I continued to wander around the market until I found myself in a clogged by discarded meat street. I tried to ignore the vultures around me but a local guy pulled me into his home-made alcohol producing workplace. I didn’t have a choice and had to drink a cup of Siete Raices straight from the alcohol fermentation drums. That’s a sugar cane distillate infused with the root and bark of seven local plants and it’s meant to be a super drink to fix everything. In my case, it helped me to follow my inner wisdom so I finally left this place and got back to the city.

Rubber barons and 'Fitzcarraldo'
Among the few worth visiting places in Iquitos are the river walk and Plaza de Armas (or Plaza Mayor) area. The mansions owned by European rubber barons of the early 20th Century based in Iquitos still stand impressive. La Casa de Fierro (The Iron House) is probably the most famous of them, it’s been designed by Gustave Eiffel for Exposition Universelle (1889) in Paris among with the Tower. The Spanish rubber baron Anselmo del Aguila purchased it and brought in pieces to Iquitos to assemble it one year later.
European’s Industrial Revolution made demand for raw rubber to grow and that’s why many Europeans came in Peru and Brazil. As the main port in Peruvian Amazon, Iquitos became the center of First Rubber boom (1879 – 1912) in Peru and grew quickly. Many people made a fortune until the collapse of Anglo-Peruvian Amazon Rubber Company due to investigative report by Roger Casement. Thousands of Indians slaves were killed or died from mistreatment and disease (it’s believed that at least 100 000 died) during the rubber boom. The British board of directors were investigated by British government, while the Peruvian owner Julio Cesar Arana escaped from justice and became a politician in Loreto department. Basically nothing changes except that rubber trees were cultivated in Malaysia for Second Rubber boom and barons move on. 
Carlos Fermín Fitzcarrald were one of them. He had an intention to build an opera in Iquitos and forced native workers to transport his steam ship over the hills. His story is the inspiration of the German’s ‘Fitzcarraldo’ by Werner Herzog, awarded at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. Fitzcarrald was based in Iquitos and today many places here bears his name. Though the extravagant stories abound, most shocking is about rich family who sent their laundry each week to Paris on a ship instead letting locals to wash.

Amazonian Cuisine
Iquitos gastronomy is another unique experience and in my opinion, is the best one. Prepare a space in the stomach, because It takes time to try what Amazon brings to local people. But It absolutely worth it, because it’s quite possible that what you try here won’t be available elsewhere. The most popular fish is Arapaima, or also known by locals as ‘paiche’ or ‘pirarucu’. It’s the largest fish in the Amazon River basin and one of the largest freshwater fish at all. Arapaima’s weight is up to 200 kg and almost 5 m length. As a predatory fish, arapaima feed primarily on other fish, but also on birds. Among with the fish, instead of fries, you will get a portion of so called ‘patacones’ made from cooking plantain. Although plantains looks like green bananas, they taste differently and it really could be compared to potato. Of course, I can’t miss the ice cream! It’s hot year-round here and considering the high levels of humidity, it’s hard to survive without ‘heladerias’. Right in the center there are some ice cream parlours and you can chose between many different Amazonian fruits. The best ones are made from so-called here ‘Aguaje’ (or Moriche Palm, grows in whole South America) and ‘Ungurahui’ (or ‘Oenocarpus bataua’, grows only in Amazonia).

 

Coming up next...

Exploring the city is just a small piece of real life in Peruvian Amazon. And no matter how long you stay here, it’s a mandatory to take a boat on Amazon river and go deep in the jungle. In the next issue I will share my adventure on the upper stream of most voluminous river worldwide, what kind of indigenous people live around and how to become a shaman.

This article was originally published in The Economist's magazine Bulgarian issue No. 19, May 2016 in the series 'Cultiral Travel Guide'.

PDF (original)

Credits: Eduardo Cuellar (Photo Journalist, Iquitos), Joel Huaymana Sangama (Boat Owner, Bellavista–Nanay Port)