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Panama Travelogue courtesy of Paul Kiefner
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Day
2 – Sunday, December 23, 2007 We awoke to a warm day and had a poolside buffet breakfast at the Country Inns, Amador, then went for a walk along the paved causeway heading toward the Pacific. The sun was blazing, it was only ten o’clock and Nate saw I was getting red without sunscreen so we headed back to the room. After showering, we took a cab downtown, did a small tour of the old city, Casco Viejo, and had a great lunch at Casablanca featuring locally caught Robalo, a.k.a. Snook, a freshwater fish. Later, after returning to the hotel, we were greeted by a representative of the Panama Big Game Fishing Club and taken to the airport for our one-hour flight to David. Another smiling Panamanian took us to the small port of Pedregal, ten minutes away. Here Captain Tati, who was to be our guide for the next three days, greeted us. Down at the dock, we stepped aboard a Panga, a shallow draft boat common to Latin America. Tati fired up the twin Yamaha outboards and motored out of the harbor before opening the throttles. For the next hour we passed through a maze of channels, mangroves and open water with islands. I think we saw one boat the entire time. At dusk, Tati slowed the boat and approached the dock where three offshore fishing boats were tied up. Our luggage was placed on a small tram, which we boarded and soon we were being pulled up the steep hillside toward the lodge. |
After
placing our luggage in the cabana, Captain Lee Campbell, the operations
manager said hello and invited us in for dinner. Margaritas preceded
dinner, and with Lee as the chef, all of our meals were creative and
delicious.
Day 3 – Monday, December 24, 2007, Christmas Eve
There was a knock on our door at 5 am and coffee was placed on a small
teak table outside of our cabana. Lee served breakfast and we left for the
dock at 6 am. In a break with tradition we were going fishing Christmas
Eve. Gone Fishing. Goners. Gone period. At this time, the outgoing
tide height was around 18 feet and it was ripping past the dock. Tati had
the diesel engines running when we arrived. This boat, an older 31 foot
Bertram, had a flying bridge and was very comfortable and seaworthy.
Accompanying us was the first mate, Eric. Soon we were underway. Our
destination this morning was Hannibal Bank, 40 miles offshore.
Hannibal Bank, famous for its big game fish, rises from over 3,000' deep
to 124' in less than 2 1/2 miles. The shallowest spot is marked by a
pinnacle 200' tall, which is home to schools of Black Marlin and giant
Yellowfin Tuna.
Arriving at Hannibal Bank, we trolled slowly using large Sabiki rigs for Bonita, choice bait for Marlin. Once caught, the Bonita were placed head down in vertical PVC Tuna tubes that use a constant stream of pressurized ocean water to keep the bait alive. Eric rigged some Bonita using very large circle hooks and placed them in the Tuna tubes. Using sonar to locate the best structure, Tati positioned the boat and then Eric threw some live rigged Bonita over the transom. Tati began trolling at 5 mph and before noon Nate hooked a 500-pound Black Marlin that went airborne at least six times and took 45 minutes to subdue. Nate worked harder than he ever imagined and was aided by Eric pouring water into his dry mouth and over his sweaty face. Nate was elated in a stunned kind of way. The Marlin was released boat side, unharmed. Ballyhoo, pre-rigged by Lee the night before, were removed from a cooler and put out into a trolling spread along with some teasers to attract Sailfish. It wasn’t long before a Sail slammed Ballyhoo and was airborne. Then Nate got a nice Wahoo. Then another Sailfish. The two Sailfish caught on Circle hooks were boated and released. On the way back to the lodge Eric prepared the Wahoo.
True to form, Lee presented us with a masterfully crafted,
well-presented dinner and we drank a lot of Margaritas. Somewhere during
that evening’s conversation Lee shared with us his three rules of fishing:
1. Take what the ocean gives you
2. Never leave fish to find fish
3. When all else fails, resort to rule #1
I never thought of it that way.
Day 4 – Tuesday, December 25, 2007, Christmas
Inshore fishing was the plan for today, but knowing what we now know
should have headed offshore to Isla Montuosa. We were targeting Cubera
Snapper, Roosterfish and Amberjack but Lee was adamant that the inshore
fishing would be off because the very high tides had diminished the water
clarity. He was right, but we did get into some excellent Mahi Mahi action
while trolling near some floating debris. Tati stopped the boat and we
switched to Yozuri Hydro Poppers on spinning rods. And the action was
amazing. Fish were slamming the lures with abandon and taking to the air.
One fish was airborne just feet behind the transom. There were double
hook-ups. Huge Dolphin trailed the hooked Dolphin following them right up
to the boat. Of course we never hooked the huge Dolphin. Small Crevalle
Jacks were taken on poppers and true to form they fought like something
five times their size. Back at the lodge we celebrated another great
day on the water. Everyone is happy! I gave my last (Ronaldo-made)
margarita to Nate who drank too much – a good move on my part.
Day 5 – Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Our
last full day of fishing started early at Isla Parida, 10 km out from Boca
Brava where we caught Blue Runners for bait. The Blue Runners were
concentrated in a surf break formed by a submerged rock. Tati positioned
the boat as close to the break as possible and we caught enough bait to
before heading offshore to Hannibal Bank. The unspoken plan for
today was to troll for Sailfish over Hannibal Bank using Blue Runners as
bait. Several
Sails stole the bait without being hooked thus forcing a change in plans.
Bonita were now the target bait and we caught those on Sabiki type rigs
before motoring over to Isla Montuosa where we fished along the rocks with
poppers on spinning tackle. Blue Trevally were caught and they fought
defiantly like most members of the Jack family. You’d swear they were huge
fish, however, they were only five pounds but one of the most colorful
species being blue and yellow.
From
a distance, Isla Montuosa appears unremarkable, until you get closer to
the shoreline where every form of rocky reef structure abounds. The reef
is extensive, surrounding the entire island – and you could fish it all
day, and I wish we had. I think Tati had it in mind to wear us out because
he put the boat over a specific part of the reef and began live lining
Bonito and placing large sections of dead Bonito on huge circle hooks,
which were then tossed overboard. It didn’t take long before something
slammed Nate’s bait and nearly pulled him over the gunnel before the hook
came free. Not that it mattered because we caught Mullet Snappers that
proved to be fighting beasts. I had a snapper that kept pulling the rod
butt out of the rod holder, pulled me around the boat with ease all the
time with Tati yelling, “Reel, reel!” Chaos erupted with double hookups,
lines crossed, bent rods and cursing.
The day was coming to and end and I was getting that feeling like damn,
it’s almost over. It has to end sometime. But it wasn’t quite over yet.
Eric prepared another live Bonita, tossed it over the transom and Tati
started trolling again. I can’t recall when it happened but a large
Yellowfin Tuna took the bait. Eric set the hook and I took the rod, sat in
the chair, placed the rod butt into the gimbal mount while Eric attached a
nylon strap to each side of the reel to keep the rod from being pulled
overboard. After that it was mostly a blur. Here’s what I recall.
The Tuna was very strong but so were the rod and reel combination. I’m guessing the reel was spooled with 100-pound test mono. And the leader system was very beefy too with a Bimini Twist and god knows what else thrown in. Within 10 minutes the Tuna was visible over the transom and was under water about ten feet. Nate was exclaiming, “Holy Shit!” It got interesting when Eric asked Nate to gaff the fish. My immediate reaction and words to Nate were, “You are not gaffing that fish!” Then we started arguing – a waste of time, so we stopped. Eric had attached a long piece of nylon rope to the gaff with the other end of the rope attached to a circular float. Meanwhile the Tuna was starboard with Eric holding the leader and Nate holding the gaff. Eric was leaning over the gunnel and Tati was trying to keep the boat in position to control the Tuna. The Tuna moved and the leader crossed over Eric’s neck. I managed to get a hand on the leader to raise it off of his neck. Nate went to gaff the fish, all hell broke loose, and the Tuna surged and snapped the line like it was sewing thread. Just like that. No Tuna for you Mr. Kiefner. It happened so fast. Now there were three very upset people. We all went different directions to sulk – we all felt bad. Tati headed back to shore, two hours away. It was a long and quiet boat ride back to Boca Brava. Later, Nate told me he felt badly for not gaffing the fish. I assured Nate that it is not an easy task and expressed to him that I thought there should have been a better-defined process for boating a Tuna, especially considering the size of the fish and that he had never gaffed a fish before. I still don’t understand the process for boating such a large powerful fish, however, I did remember that when all else fails, take what the ocean gives you. After some introspection I was happy for the fish. After all what do you do with that much Tuna flesh?
Day 6 – Thursday, December 27, 2007
It was another beautiful sunny day in Panama. After breakfast we climbed
up the galvanized ladder to the lookout tower on top of the lodge. The
vistas of water and mountains looking toward Boca Chica were breathtaking.
Then we took a walk down to a small beach and went back to the lodge to
prepare for our departure to Gone Fishing Panama at Boca Chica, a
10-minute boat ride just across the water. We bid our farewells and
boarded the Bertram with Tati and Eric who then dropped us off at the dock
at Gone Fishing Panama. This is where the owner kept his 29 foot offshore
center console. Johanna, enroute from Panama City to David was being
met by at the airport by Donna Edwards of Gone Fishing Panama - they
arrived at the resort around 3 pm. On arrival, the beauty of the resort
amazed Johanna and we showed her to our cabana. Boca Chica was very hot
and humid but very nice. There was a pool if you wanted to cool off and
the veranda offered escape from the sun. Our meals, taken on the veranda,
were superb and consisted of fresh fish, vegetables, fried plantain, and
Panama salads, etc., all skillfully prepared and beautifully presented.
Donna and Bruce Edwards have created a wonderful resort, and Jorge is an
excellent chef plus he is extremely warm and personable. Typical among
almost everyone we encountered.
Day 7 – Friday December 28, 2007
Snorkeling was today’s activity and we were ran out to Isla Bolanos, about
five miles offshore and east of Isla Parida. Our transportation to the
island was a thirty-foot Panga. Bolanos had white sand beaches with
excellent water clarity. Hermit crabs covered the beach by the hundreds in
every size, shape and coloration. Fish could be seen right up against the
rocky shore in just two feet of water holding close to the structure.
There were at least six species of fish. Nate and Johanna swam out a short
distance and saw Parrotfish and an Octopus. There were small iridescent,
sapphire blue fish about two inches long and white, nearly translucent
fish six inches long. It was very hot and the water was perfect for
cooling off, even though it was eighty degrees.
Day 8 – Saturday December 29, 2007
We scheduled a half-day of fishing so Johanna would have the opportunity
to catch something. Bruce took us out to Isla Ladrones, about 38 km
offshore. Trolling with an Ilander on the surface, Johanna caught a Cubera
Snapper, aka Dogtooth Snapper, which is a beautiful fish, the first, and
last, caught on this trip to Panama. She has a knack for catching species
I cannot. Soon after, a Dorado struck the Ilander and was brought to
the boat. Both fish were put on ice. For dinner that evening we were
served Cubera Snapper, by far the finest fish eaten during the trip.
Day 9 – Sunday December 30, 2007
Once again we’re on the move leaving Boca Chica for the highlands. But not
before we enjoyed another glorious morning and breakfast on the veranda.
Bruce Edwards drove us to David, about an hours drive to where we took a
cab north to Boquete. David was hot and humid but as we climbed in
elevation the air became noticeably cooler. Boquete, twenty miles north of
David, lies in a bowl surrounded by mountains and was markedly cooler that
the lowlands. Isla Verde (Green Island) was our destination and was within
easy walking distance to the center of Boquete. Isla Verde is the creation
of Eva Kipp, a German expatriate who has created an amazing bed and
breakfast consisting of several roundhouses on a beautifully landscaped
property with hundreds of plants. Our roundhouse served as a perfect base
for our explorations. Breakfast was prepared and served every morning in
the hemisphere of a geodesic dome, which had one portion open to the yard.
Boquete From Road
Isla Verde
We explored Boquete by foot for the remainder of the day. Downtown Boquete is quite charming and lively. There are numerous shops, real estate offices, banks, adventure travel offices, restaurants, new construction, all sorts of people everywhere and trash, yes trash. The sides of the road are littered with trash and many of the commercial establishments had trash that needed to be removed. In some ways Boquete seems to be growing too fast and careful planning does not appear to be a consideration. But nothing is perfect and there are a lot of positive aspects to Boquete and its surrounding towns. We signed up for a Monday raft trip on the Chiriqui Viejo with Panama Rafters.
Day 10 – Monday, December 31, 2007 New Year’s Eve
If driving through the mountains for 20 miles on a dirt road that drops
off into oblivion with no guardrails and then whitewater rafting for 16
miles through a remote jungle canyon is your idea of fun then I guess you
missed out this time. It began when Kevin Mellinger, the owner of Panama
Rafters, picked us up at Isla Verde in a diesel powered VW van. With him
was Josh, a raft guide from Idaho. Josh took a bus from San Jose, Costa
Rica down the Pan
American highway to David. Gosh Josh I bet that was fun. As Kevin is
driving he mentions that he has to pick up some more people at a gas
station before we head up into the mountains. These people were going to
raft the lower section of the river and would get dropped off before us.
So he pulls into this gas station to rendezvous with his customers. There
were already five of us in the van and there were another six at the gas
station. And four of these people, a family, were huge - and I mean huge.
The father was about 300 plus pounds and the kids were proportionally
large. All I could think was, “How are we going to fit
them in and then get up the mountain!” I know Kevin was thinking the same
thing. Thank god this VW had the mechanical advantage of a diesel
engine, otherwise we would have descended the mountain backwards, and that
is a guaranteed fact. At one point during the drive Kevin mentioned that
he might be buying a new SUV for these trips and I thought, “Great, just
in time for our adventure!” After 10 miles of driving we stopped.
This was the starting point for the group of six. Now, let me tell you
that Kevin was certainly not politically correct in his demeanor and this
became evident more so when he was giving instructions to the group of
six. As he stood there, dwarfed by the giant father and one giant son, he
started asking the kids their ages and was not subtle about expressing how
much older they appeared because of their size. I was thinking, “Hey
Kevin, you better shut up or you might end up as giant food.” After the
raft and paddles were unloaded we got back into that sorry old VW van and
drove higher up into the mountains on a dirt road to our destination.
Truly, and I kid you not, there were cliffs two feet from the edge of the
road and if that rickety old van came too close it would have been Hasta
La Vista Baby! Finally, we arrived at the put in. The river was 1000 feet
below us and there were some very nice looking rapids. Josh and Jorge, our
Panamanian guide, pumped up the raft and then threw it down the terraced
cliff side
where it bounced along and stopped. This was repeated until it could be
carried down to the river. We descended the terraced cliff and soon were
at river’s edge. Why were we here? Because my stepson had never been
rafting and he wanted to try it. Actually, I really wanted to see this
river but I was reminded of how much effort it takes to do these trips. If
it weren’t for him I may have opted out. Any trepidation I had was
unfounded, for the narrow roads, and that rickety old VW van, proved to be
more dangerous than the rapids. We launched the raft at a narrow part of
the river and before long we were into rapids. The water level was not
very high because the rainy season was over. For the next four hours we
ran fifty rapids of mostly class 3
sprinkled with a few class 4’s. The river was never very wide but it did
have some steep sections where rafts have been flipped. Had the river been
a foot higher it would have been quite challenging. This is a very remote
and beautiful canyon and is no place to get stranded. About midway down
the river we stopped for lunch and swimming then continued on to the
takeout at the Pan Am highway. Having had enough excitement for the day we
went to dinner at the Palo Alto restaurant just outside Boquete and had an
excellent dinner. We were in bed before 10 - so much for an exciting New
Year’s Eve.
Day 11 – Tuesday, January 1, 2008 New Year’s Day
New Year’s Day we relaxed and took a long walk along the road to Palo
Alto. Palo Alto is a very beautiful hilly area just north of Boquete with
many streams and coffee plantations. The Caldera and Palo Alto rivers run
through here as continuous whitewater. Johanna had a massage by Kitze, who
was a professor at Bentley College and lived in Panama six months of the
year. We had dinner at El Sabroson, a cafeteria that serves basic
Panamanian food. This is the least expensive eatery in Boquete and dinner
for three cost $10.00.
Day 12 – Wednesday, January 2, 2008
After breakfast we walked into town and rented a car, which had to be
delivered to Boquete from David. A visit to Paradise Gardens was on our to
see list so we walked along the road heading south out of Boquete to
Volcancito. I thought it quite unusual that there was a sidewalk for at
least a mile that followed the road through the mountains. Soon we came to
the road going west to Volcancito, home of Paradise Gardens, an animal
rescue shelter founded by a British couple. Paradise Gardens was aptly
named. There were acres of gardens, walkways, birds, mammals, reptiles and
stunning mountain views. The animals were rescued from abusive owners or
were found injured in the wild and were being rehabilitated. Nate
befriended a Howler Monkey.
On the walk back to town we stopped at a coffee shop where
we met a couple that had recently retired to Panama from Texas. They soon
bonded with Nate as he lives in Austin. They love living in Panama for the
weather and low cost of living. We arrived back at Boquete, had lunch then
picked up our car and drove to David just to knock around. David is
uninspiring but a good place to purchase items not available in Boquete.
Some of the stores seemed like throwbacks to the 1950’s in the US. Because
of our great dining experience at the Palo Alto restaurant we went back
again and had an enjoyable evening despite the forty-mile per hour winds
and rain that rattled the large windowpanes.
Day 13 – Thursday, January 3, 2008
Caldera Hot Springs lies about one half hour southeast of Boquete along
the Caldera Canyon Road. Of all the places we visited, the area
surrounding the hot springs and the village of Caldera were the most
amazing. After crossing a suspension bridge spanning the Calder River, we
parked the car where the road became impassable. It was a quarter mile
walk to the hot springs and we paid the landowner one dollar to use the
hot springs. Rock
walls formed a cirque around the pool of the spring. We sat in the
100-degree water, but not for too long. Then we walked over to the river
and watched as Nate submerged himself in the 70-degree water – with us
next.
You can tell by the pictures it was a shocker for Johanna and me. Nate faked being relaxed. Caldera plateau is currently being developed with gated communities for retirees. There are at least three developments but they do not appear to be progressing rapidly as development tracks US housing trends. It is a truly spectacular area with a moderate climate that does not require heating or air conditioning.
Day 14 – Friday, January 4, 2008
This was our last morning in Boquete. We drove the rental car to the
airport in David, got lost, used Nate as our Spanish interpreter, and
managed to find the airport. Once in Panama City a tour guide met us,
Gisele, who took us to the Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal where we
saw a Chinese container ship move through the locks. It was a major
tourist attraction and it was easily a sweltering 95 degrees. Our last
evening was spent having dinner at Casablanca in the old city. To Panama
and many happy memories!
Here’s looking at you, kid.
Many thanks to our clients
for sending the great photos!
Click Photos To Enlarge