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Show Page 8 The Ogden Valley news Volume XIX Issue VI July 1, 2011 I Never Thought We Would Drive to the Panama Canal . . . . By Jennifer Hanni I can now put a big check in my bucket list because I have been to see the Panama Canal! It is not a close destination to our home (of six months) in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, but there is a law in this country that requires non-residents to leave every 90 days to renew their Visa. We had been watching the flight-rates for months and the cost of flying to Panama was outrageously expensive, so we decided to be brave and drive. We laughed as everyone we talked to told us dramatically different stories of how long it would take to drive there; everything from 10 to 20 hours. We decided to find out for ourselves during the six days we had to spare before my husband, Jason, had a business trip planned. The kids traveling in the van. We arrived at our hotel at 6:00 p.m., and determined that we had spent approximately 14 hours driving, many of which were in the pouring rain. I was starting to feel a lot better, but Britton (9) began getting stomach flu symptoms. Although it felt wonderful to be in a comfortable hotel, poor Britton was up the entire night feeling very ill. The next morning, Britton was feeling a lot better and we decided to go see the canal. We were not disappointed. We were grateful for blue skies and, although hot and humid, it was definitely tolerable. This is what Austin (14) had to say about the canal: “I loved learning about how the Panama Canal works, and seeing the canal was the highlight of my trip. The problem they had with building the canal, it went up to a lake with the Pacific and the Caribbean oceans on either side, and they couldn’t just boat straight through it; the oceans are at different heights. What they decided to do is create a lock-based canal. If you were on a boat, you would drive into the canal, and then they would close off that part of the canal and fill it with water. Then they would slowly drain it down into the next lock and open the lock doors when the water was at equal levels. It was quite brilliant! We saw some really cool ships come through, including a Brazilian military submarine, which our tour guide said is really rare. Many members of the military were standing on the submarine and waving. It felt kind-of like a parade. We saw cargo ships with 1000s of truckloads of stuff on one ship! To think that each of those containers is pulled by one semitruck was daunting! I also learned that they are building another set of locks so that going through will be faster and can accommodate much larger ships. The museum there was also very interesting. We saw a bug exhibit with huge bugs that Another concern we had about driving—the 2001 Ford Windstar minivan we purchased when we arrived has been in the shop longer than we have actually had a chance to drive it! The wear-and-tear that vehicles endure here takes a big toll. But after replacing the transmission, the stereo, all of the tires, and even some upholstery, we decided to take our chances. What an adventure we had! After church let out at 4:00 p.m., we drove until 1:00 a.m. to the Panama border and stayed in a less-than-wonderful hotel. To my dismay, I woke up with the stomach flu, but I was determined not to let that stop us. Let me just say that the next five hours were not pretty, but I was really grateful that I was able to get much of my strength back and muddle through. The kids were really patient, and we loved seeing the green rainforests along the way. Past the Panama border, the roads were much more updated and provided a smoother ride. When we A Brazilian submarine coming through the Panama Canal. arrived in Panama City in the dark, all of us were in awe of the majestic, brightly-lit are in the local forests, and we were able to city, especially after going without seeing for “operate the boat” in a simulator, and there was quite some time, the conveniences we were tons of historical information about the canal’s accustomed to in Utah. We laughed as the kids construction and operation. We then went straight to the shopping mall were looking out the window with big eyes and exclaiming comments such as, “Mom, there’s a and ate in the food court and everyone had a KFC… and a Wendy’s… and a TOY STORE!” big smile on their face. I never thought such a I have to admit, I was drooling at the big shop- simple thing could bring so much happiness to our family! We walked around the mall and I ping mall and movie theatre we passed. was able to find a few items of clothing to buy; it was wonderful! We had a good night’s sleep and began driving back toward our home in Costa Rica, with a few destinations in mind on the way home. Our next stop was Boquete, Panama, which was absolutely breathtaking. Rachel Nielsen of Eden, who had brought her family to Costa Rica to live for six months a few years ago, Austin, Jason and Brock watching a cargo ship come in through the Panama Canal. had said that this city was one of her favorites. We found some serene cabins way up into the mountains and we all breathed a huge sigh of relief to be out of the heat that we have endured for four months. Here is what Grace (7) had to say about Boquete. “Hi guys! Boquete was so fun, cool, and so nice. The hotel was amazing and nice and beautiful. We went to a garden and it was cool and beautiful and had lots of fish and kitty’s. They were so cute. Breakfast was so good. I had eggs, ham and bacon.” We then drove another several hours and passed the border. I laughed when a government worker approached me and told me (in Spanish) that I looked like I was feeling a lot better. I think I had made quite the spectacle of myself a few days earlier! We then drove several more hours and arrived in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. This destination was absolutely breathtaking with the steep cliffs and breathtaking beaches. We all took one look at the beach and said, “I want to be there.” I looked on tripadvisor.com to find out what was desirable to do there and the #1 thing to do was to take a guided tour through Manuel Antonio National Park, which is a dense rain forest brimming with animals and insects. Our tour guide had an extremely strong scope and, remarkably, he knew where all the creatures were hiding; he had so much fascinating information to share. The kids and parents on the tour were captivated the entire five hours, and the time melted away so quickly. This is what Brock (12) had to say about the national park: “There were a lot of different animals and insects. There was a spider that has the strongest web in the world. They can catch birds in their webs! Scientists are trying to copy the structure to make bulletproof vests. “I didn’t expect to see sloths, squirrel monkeys, bright red crabs, and Boa Constrictors! We went to a beautiful beach with water as clear as glass. We swam and swam in the warm ocean. It was amazing. I love living here so much.” We didn’t want the trip to end, so we decided to find an animal shelter. We were all still covered in sand and sopping wet from the ocean, but our guide took us to a remote location about 45 minutes from Manuel Antonio where we could see a few animals being nursed back to health after suffering injuries, often caused by poachers. This is what Britton (9) had to say about the animal shelter: “It was a very cool place and was a really fun place to see. We saw lots of animals including a toucan, a deer, a hog, spider monkeys, and many others. There were two white-faced monkeys that were pretty tame because they are around humans so much, and they climbed all over us. Another toucan comes to visit the toucan that is in a cage, and eventually, when the toucan is healed, they will let the toucan join his friend so that they can be together. Another spider monkey that was wild was sitting on top of the caged spider monkey’s and we were laughing when he was stealing their food with his tail. “There were also a lot of plants we learned Austin has a new friend… about. There was white-faced monkey! one plant that the Indians used to paint their skin in the olden days and I even painted my own skin.” We had a dinner the animal shelter provided for us, and we got a late start for our five-hour trip home. An hour from home the brakes of our struggling van started making a strange noise, and we were grateful when we made it home safely. Of course, the next day the mechanic told us that all of our brakes needed replacing (surprise, surprise), but we were very grateful and relieved that we made it to our temporary home safely, and that we had been able to share Jason at a waterfall in one some memories of many gardens of Boquete,of a lifetime. More of the Panama Hanni’s adventures can be found on their blog at <hannipuravida.blogspot.com> |