A Will And A Way

Since the first day we arrived in Panama we have seen methods of transportation we didn’t understand.  First is the Diablos Rojos.  These are colorfully painted and decorated former school buses that have been tricked out with glitter paint, fringed windows, and shining chrome oversized exhausts.  Each one of these busses is operated by an entrepreneur and as if the owners have a no-compete agreement, each has a specific route.  This mode of transport is just a little bit too far out of range for us.  Then, besides the thousands of yellow taxis, UBER, and the city-run MiBus, there is a collection of white vans that bus people around.  Like Los Diablos Rojos, these little white vans were a mystery to us.  At least they seemed more approachable than the Diablos.  Now and then, one of the white vans stops at our bus stop.  We watch as a young guy slides open the side door and shouts a string of Spanish that surely only locals understand.  Some people get on; some people get off.  As if it’s an inside secret, we wondered how this method of transport is accessed.  Where do these vans go?  How much are the fares?

Because we could not rent a car we began earnest research to learn other ways to get around the country.  The end of our time here is quickly evaporating and we urgently want to see just a little more.  We are not done.

So that’s where those little vans go!!!  They deliver people to towns all over this country.  Their routes include many stops and they run often, usually every 30 minutes.  Knowing the trip would consume several hours, we made a dry run to the bus the day before; we learned where to buy tickets and where to meet the van.  The ride should take about two hours, the same amount of time had we driven.

There are a few privileges in being old and retired — we never set an alarm anymore and we don’t rush ourselves unless we have a very important early am appointment.  We are just not going to do it.  The next day we left home about 7:30 am, retraced yesterday’s steps, bought tickets for $4.25 each, and boarded our nicely maintained, comfortable van with about 10 other passengers.  Since the van seats twice that many, we thought, this is going to be one sweet ride.

About three hours, and many, many stops later we arrived at Valle Anton.  At each stop, the “handler” opened the door and as if recruiting other passengers, began shouting his route to people on the street and at the bus stop.   In between stops, our little white bus zoomed along the Pan American Highway.  We seemed to fly up and down the hills.  Just before we reached the crest of the caldera and began heading down into the valley, the driver turned the air conditioner off to reduce strain on the engine.  At this time we probably had 25 people sitting and standing on board.

The last bus returning to Panama City that day was at 3 pm.  Thinking there might be a good number of people wanting to make the return trip later in the day, we vowed to take an early afternoon bus and be at the very first bus stop to ensure we got a seat.

It was just a short walk to the Mariposario del Valle.   I think I’ve mentioned this before but foreigners pay a premium for some attractions.  There are separate ticket prices for children, adults, seniors/students, and foreigners.  Not that I mind, it’s just interesting and probably a good practice.

What a cool place!  A guide first took us to a screened room where a few caterpillars of several varieties are kept.  Everyone knows this from elementary science classes but it is run to review.  In brief, depending on the species, four to ten days from the time eggs are laid on a leaf, larvae emerge and begin to eat.  They do nothing but eat and grow for the next two weeks or so and can grow to be as big as four to five inches long depending on species.  While they look terrifying, they are silky soft and even the hairy spines on some are soft.  Their colors and spines help ward off predators.  When it’s fully grown it attaches itself to a leaf or twig and becomes a chrysalis in which the caterpillar morphs into a stunning butterfly.  Cool, huh?

The butterfly has only one job.  It must find a mate and in the wild may have only a week or two in which to do so.  Some butterflies live their entire lifecycle in one area.  Some species migrate.

We’ve seen butterfly conservatories before at Callaway Gardens, at Niagara Falls, and other places but we’ve never seen so many butterflies in one confined space as in the tropical butterfly garden here.  Like kids, we tried to capture in perfect photos these beautiful creatures as they fluttered and flounced and bounced about.  Although we snapped over a hundred photos, only ten or so successfully actually caught the butterfly adequately.

From the Butterfly Garden, we walked about a mile off the main street to El Nispero Zoo.  This is not an ordinary zoo.  It was never intended to be a zoo.  It just became one.  The man who owns the 7-acre property collected birds and other animals.  He kept them among the plants he raised in his for-profit nursery.    His collection grew as people donated sick, abandoned, or injured animals. The beautiful gardens provide a natural setting for animals like capuchin monkeys, spider monkeys, peacocks, cockatiels, hawks, ducks, geese, chickens, peacocks, pheasants, macaws, and parrots of several varieties —one parrot can speak greetings in both English and Spanish. There was a family of coyotes–the youngster separated from the parents, a tapir, potbellied pigs, and two of the sleekest, regal spotted jaguars I’ve ever seen.  Dirt paths lead visitors from cage to cage and the obviously well-fed, well-attended animals seemed as content as any can be out of the wild and in a cage. 

Once again, Valle Anton did not disappoint us.  We enjoyed our time in this serene resort-like town .. . . we are glad we did not give up on making the trip because we could not get a car.  As the adage goes, where there is a will, there is a way . . . even by traveling via little white bus.

The trip home was a bit more direct.  Tired, dusty, and hungry we were ever so glad to be at our little abode once again.