Published on April 01, 2015
The abundant fields are tended by hand and the rich volcanic soil of the Boquete region is the source of most of Panama’s fruits, vegetables and coffee.
Pilot correspondent answers student’s questions about his Panamanian journey.
Islands correspondent Jim Hildebrand will be answering questions from Grade 9 students at J.M. Olds Collegiate during his ongoing vacation in Panama.
The end of June and my Panamanian vacation is drawing to a close. It is certainly nice to be enjoying the warm temperatures as I read about the storms and nasty weather that my friends in Twillingate are having to contend with.
There are still many questions that have been forwarded to me from Miss Singleton's Grade 9 English class at J.M. Olds Collegiate. I will continue to answer them the best that I can and hope you enjoy the response.
A. I would have thought this would be an easy answer. I was positive when discussing this that soccer would be the outright favourite sport, however, I quickly learned this is up for debate.
Panamanians love Major League Baseball (MLB). As we arrived in Panama one of the first landmarks that we saw was the Rod Carew Stadium. The Hall of Famer was born in Panama and is revered by the population. In stores and bars pictures of former Yankee pitcher and future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera can be seen adorning walls.
There have, and still are, Panamanians who are making their mark in MLB. The Panamanian Major League (also known as the Panama Baseball League) consists of 12 teams and has been in existence since 1945.
Well I guessed that soccer would be the next in line for popularity but again there were those that argued that I would be wrong.
Boxing rates high in approval and I doubt if there is a Panamanian alive that doesn't know that the nickname of Roberto Duran is "Hands of Stone". I have certainly been told this many times.
Panama has a rich history in boxing and together with baseball players, boxers are the most popular athletes for the people of this country.
In the foyer of the resort called Valle Escondido where I am staying are pictures of movie stars who have visited including Sean Connery and Mel Gibson but a whole wall also gives credence to Panamanian boxing with snapshots of their pugilist heroes - The Black Whirlwind, Teofilo Alfonso "Panama Al Brown", Ismael "El Tigre" Laguna and other notables.
I did say that popularity is up to debate and that is because the Panamanian National Football (soccer) team narrowly missed out in the 2014 World Cup Qualifications. They were 90 seconds away from advancing before losing to the USA. It has really raised the profile of the sport in the country.
Other sports which are followed are the NBA and the NFL.
A. We have stayed in two different towns in Panama.
The first place we stayed was in a resort only 15 minutes outside the city of Coronado. Coronado is the gateway to the Pacific beaches of Panama with a regional population of approximately 20,000 people. It has a large expat community (North American retirees) and therefore has many conveniences, stores and restaurants that cater to them.
The population in the area can really fluctuate around holidays as Panamanian's love to party at the beach. During Carnival in February, one website reported that 129,000 vehicles were on the road from Panama City to the beaches around Coronado. It was gridlock.
We found Coronado to be a pleasant place to stay, but it is clearly not fully developed as a tourist destination. There are points of interest to visit but they are very poorly marketed and we relied heavily on other people's experiences in helping us explore. Good maps are nonexistent and even when you have an idea of where to travel, one must rely on a sense of direction due to a lack of road signs, and street names.
The temperature is hot, hot, hot. I don't think we could have survived without a pool and air conditioning. From the moment the sun rises, the morning heat rises to temperatures that border from 35 to 40 degrees Celsius. If you enjoy heat, lots of sunshine and beaches you will enjoy vacationing around Coronado.
From Coronado we moved to Boquete. Boquete is in a valley of the Baru Volcano in western Panama and much higher in elevation. No air conditioning needed here. The weather is a comfortable 25 to 30 degrees Celsius.
The population in Boquete and the surrounding area is approximately 22,000. Boquete is a quiet little town but it has become an attraction for North American retirees. There are Americans and Canadians everywhere and the restaurants, stores and bars are heavily influenced by their presence. We love it here.
The climate is much more agreeable and the landscape is breathtaking. There is beautiful clear waters, lush vegetation and colourful birds. Farms occupy the fertile volcanic region and a myriad of crops are being harvested. Markets are stocked with pineapple, oranges, watermelon and a myriad of other fruits. It is abundant, fresh and sweet. Vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, onion, broccoli and cauliflower are just some of the vegetables that this area has to offer.
A guide told us that Panama's agricultural exports and 85 per cent of Panama's fruits and vegetables to feed the countries population are grown here. What is very interesting is that we don't see any farm equipment. The fields are sown and harvested by hand; mostly Ngobe Indians. It is incredible to watch these people working in the field, turning sod with hoes, and carrying harvested vegetables in large sacks to trucks that will deliver the goods to market. Trucks are spilling over with vegetables and fruit.
This area also produces some of the finest coffee in the world. Geisha coffee - which is grown on the slopes of the volcano - has been the only coffee to score 10/10 in the world coffee tasting. This coffee has sold for over $300 a pound.
It is the end of coffee harvesting now and the last cherries are being picked from the bushes. Trucks can be seen loaded down with huge sacks of cherries to be taken to processors. Again this is a very labour intensive task as each coffee bush is hand picked. Also it is the Ngobe Indians that are the backbone of the labour force. It would be very easy to move here. The weather is very agreeable and everything seems very laid back. Prices for food and entertainment are agreeable and because of the large expat population there are numerous businesses that cater to the North American palate. I say this easily because we are just short time vacationers. There are things and friends that would be missed.
The weather is certainly pleasing, however, one of the things that has been mentioned many times is that the people who move here miss the changing of the seasons. It is virtually summertime here all year round. As you shovel the driveway you may think that this would be a bonus, however we have grown up our whole lives adjusting to the four seasons. Winter activities are a part of our being.
Our summers, even though they may be short, are savoured when juxtaposed to cold rain, drizzle and fog. Living in Canada and enduring harsh winters is in our DNA and just maybe all this sunshine would be hard to live with. You just aren't Canadian if you aren't talking about the weather. We revel in our stories of the amount of snow that falls or how low the mercury drops in the thermometer. Maybe it wouldn't be that easy to move here?
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