Enjoying a Tropical Paradise

Gamboa is a small town in the Republic of Panama. It was one of a handful of permanent former Panama Canal Zone townships, built to house employees of the Panama Canal and their dependents.

Gamboa is located on a sharp bend of the Chagres River at the point which feeds Lake Gatun. Just south of Gamboa, Lake Gatun and the Chagres meet the Gaillard Cut also known as Culebra Cut, where the Canal cuts through the Continental Divide.

The town of Gamboa is still inhabited, but as a shadow of its former self, maintained, but without the vibrancy and civic spirit it once enjoyed. Many of its houses are not inhabited and several public buildings are underutilized. It remains the primary headquarters of the Dredging Division of the Panama Canal Authority (formerly PCC).

The Gamboa Rainforest Resort, a 5-star hotel offering access to the nearby forest, is the town’s main attraction today, attracting tourists from all around the world.  Among it many attractions is a gorgeous complex of swimming pools of different shapes, water depths, and sizes.  In the midst of lush tropical vegetation is closely resembles the biblical Garden of Eden of Adam and Eve.  Being here is like reaching a tropical paradise.

Below are several pictures of this stunning recreational spot in the midst of a tropical rainforest.  Take a look and feel the warmth of this wonderful country called Panama, Puente del Mundo, Corazón del Universo (Bridge of the World, Heart of the Universe).  Here we go.

Snapshot of the complex of swimming pools at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort Hotel located in Gamboa, former Panama Canal Zone. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

View of the recreational area of the Gamboa Rainforest Resort Hotel located on the banks of the mighty Chagres River in the Republic of Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Take notice of the tropical bright flowers and the lush vegetation of this beautiful recreational spot in the midst of a rainforest in the tropics. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

In this picture con can see the Chagres River in the background surrounded by lush tropical vegetation. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

If you are traveling from a country covered with heavy snow and blinding blizzards, this tropical scenery will mesmerize you. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

This is the end of the road.  The series covering the historic town of Gamboa is finished.  It was an unforgettable experience.  The scenery was spectacular, the food was great, and the fall at the Gamboa Bridge was painful.  Ouch!  It’s time to move on to other topics and other scenarios in this beautiful country of Panama bathed by the two greatest oceans on earth.  Good Day.

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The Mighty Chagres River

The Chagres River (Spanish Río Chagres) is a river in central Panama. The central part of the river is dammed by the Gatun Dam and forms Gatun Lake, an artificial lake that constitutes part of the Panama Canal. Upstream lies the Madden Dam, which created Lake Alajuela, a reservoir that is also part of the Panama Canal Zone water system. The river drains northwest via the canal into the Caribbean Sea.

Gatun Lake is an essential part of the Panama Canal, which forms a water passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, permitting ship transit in both directions. The lake is essential to the canal’s water supply, as it provides the millions of gallons of water at the high level needed for the locks to function correctly. The lake is also part of the navigational canal and provides drinking water for Panama City and Colon.

At the time it was formed, Gatun Lake was the largest artificial lake in the world. The impassable rainforest around Gatun Lake has been the best defense of the Panama Canal. Today, these areas have endured practically unscathed by human interference and are one of the few accessible areas on earth that various native Central American animal and plant species can be observed undisturbed in their natural habitat.

The Chagres River was explored in 1527 by Hernando de la Serna, who founded the town of Chagres at its mouth and built the fortress of San Lorenzo. Goods were transported on foot from Panama City to the coastal town of Cruces, and from there by sailboats on the river all the way to its mouth. This path, called Camino de Cruces, was very popular until the 18th century.  Henry Morgan traveled the Chagres River to attack Panama City in 1670-71.

It wasn’t until the late 19th century that attention was once again focused on the river, this time as part of the planning of the Panama Canal. The Chagres River is the Panama Canal’s chief source of water.  The river’s upper basin is covered by dense tropical forests. To protect that ecosystem, Panama created Chagres National Park in 1985.

Panama City’s dwellers jokingly refer to its drinking water as the “chicha del Chagres” meaning beverage of the Chagres.  It is considered the best drinking water in the region, albeit its quality has deteriorated over the years due to poor management of IDAAN, the government entity responsible for supplying drinking water to the country.

Below are several pictures of the mighty Chagres River and the tropical rainforest surrounding it in the neighborhood of Gamboa.  The pictures were taken from the balconies of the Gamboa Rainforest Resort Hotel, a 5 star hotel set on the Chagres River in lush rainforest.

A landscape shot of the Chagres River and its adjacent tropical rainforest famous for abundant flora and fauna specimens. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the Chagres River taken form the balconies of the five-star Gamboa Rainforest Resort Hotel located near Panama City, Panama. Notice the pristine tropical rainforest surrounding it. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the mighty Chagres River which supplies drinking water to Colon and Panama City, Panama and the Panama Canal. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Another view of the vital Chagres River surrounded by lush tropical rainforests. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the Chagres River near the town of Gamboa and the Panama Canal. Specialized tours are organized to explore the rich population of tropical plants, trees, and wildlife. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

A splendid landscape view of the great Chagres River as well as the tropical rainforest which surrounds it. It's a great place to visit if you enjoy Nature and the outdoors. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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A Nature-Oriented Hotel by the Chagres River

The Gamboa Rainforest Resort Hotel was built to accommodate people who like the outdoors and explore the wonders of nature.  It is located on the banks of the mighty Chagres River which supplies water to the Panama Canal.  Without this river, there would be no canal.  It is that important for the economy of this small country in the middle of the world—Panama.

The view from the hotel rooms is nothing less than spectacular.  As far as the eye can see are acres and acres of tropical rainforest dressed in all the colors of the rainbow.  The blue water of the impressive river adds to the magic spell of this tropical paradise near the urban center of Panama City.

The Gamboa Rainforest Resort, a hotel offering access to the nearby forest, is Gamboa’s main attraction today, attracting tourists from all around the world. An especially large population of tourists visit the resort through a Noolitours package only offered to citizens of Canada. Built in the Gamboa Ridge area, the Resort incorporates the former 9 hole golf course (although it is not maintained or in use), the town’s Clubhouse and a row of typical former Canal Zone wooden quarters on Goethals Boulevard. The area is also home to many opossums, jaguarundis, and iguanas. The Resort is also equipped with 2 tennis courts and a gazebo, providing tourists with an excellent view of the lake and beautiful sunrises.

Below are several pictures of this gorgeous hotel in the middle of a tropical rainforest.  Here we go.

View of the entrance of the Gamboa Rainforest Resort Hotel and the parking lot full with cars. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Another view of the nature-oriented hotel with several Panama flags waving in the wind. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

View of one corner of the hotel located on the banks of the Chagres River. From this viewpoint you can see the rainforest and the Chagres River in the background. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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The Gamboa Bridge

The original truss bridge carries the Panama Canal railway over the Chagres River. It dates from 1911. The attached one lane wooden bridge carries highway traffic—very slowly.  As a construction point for the canal work, Gamboa (which means a tree of the quince family) first came into prominence when the French Canal Company began excavation.

Over the Chagres River, at Gamboa de French built a bridge over which materials were hauled across the river and to a nearby spillway.  The bridge was about 365 feet long, the north span being a girder about 58 feet long.  In a flood in 1890, this girder was carried away and the pier on which the channel end of it rested, was tipped.  When work on the Panama railroad started. a relocation bridge at Gamboa was initiated in 1907.  The pier was righted and the two truss spans used for construction purposes.

Gamboa is located on a sharp bend of the Chagres River at the point which feeds Lake Gatun. Just south of Gamboa, Lake Gatun and the Chagres meet the Gaillard Cut also known as Culebra Cut where the Canal cuts through the Continental Divide.

A single lane iron and wood bridge crosses the Chagres and is the only road access to Gamboa. This bridge is still in use today. Vehicles waiting to pass over the bridge must wait for a stoplight to enter the bridge, since it is only capable of providing space for one lane of traffic at a time. In December 2010 this bridge was the site of massive flooding and huge floating islands passing under the bridge, with trees violently hitting it, which led to the temporary closure of the Panama Canal.

Below are several snapshots of this picturesque bridge adjacent to the Panama Canal.  Here we go.

Snapshot of the Gamboa Bridge next to the Panama Canal. It's one of the many icons of the famous international waterway. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

The same shot as before, only in bright color. You can see my shadow taking the picture. The sun was radiant this Sunday morning in Gamboa. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the Gamboa Bridge and the Gatun Lake towards your left. The sight of the Panama Canal on this intersection is magnificent. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the Gamboa Bridge taken from a different angle. The bridge is used by the Panama Railroad to transport containers from one ocean to the other. This railroad functions like a dry canal moving merchandise to different ports of the world. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the Gamboa Bridge taken from the railroad. This is the same railroad where I fell after taking these pictures. Glad nothing serious happened. Only a good shakeup. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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An Accident at Gamboa Bridge

For several years I’ve felt the itch to go to Gamboa and take a few pictures of the Gamboa Bridge and the Gamboa Rainforest Resort at the Panama Canal.  Since the Canal Zone had been turned over to the Republic of Panama on midday of December 1999, I hadn’t returned there.  I cherished the memories of both sites and couldn’t resist the temptation of finding out what had happened to those two places since the turnover.  For one reason or another, the visit had been postponed for more than eleven years.

Yesterday, Sunday, January 22, 2012 I woke up early and set my compass to the Panama Canal.  Finally I was determined to take those pictures no matter what.  Had breakfast about 6:00 a.m. and started the engine of my car half an hour later.  Driving to Gamboa was a breeze, since traffic was almost nonexistent.  When I got to Gamboa Bridge, I pulled over to a lookout of the Chagres River, parked the car, fetched my Birthday camera and walked over to the famous single track bridge that crosses the Chagres River exactly at the point where it flows into Gatun Lake.

The day was perfect for picture-taking.  The sky above was pale blue, the trees were twinkling with a zillion shades of green, the shining sun was out,  and there was a persistent soft breeze blowing from the North-West.  The scene was perfect for my pictures.  I strolled over to the bridge and took several shots of the structure and to a Panama Canal tug stationed just outside Culebra Cut floating above the deep blue waters of the canal.

 When I had enough pictures taken, I walked back to my car, using the Panama Canal Railroad as my route.  I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but abruptly I lost my balance after stepping on the pebbles of loose gravel and like Humpty Dumpty, fell to the ground.   My glasses went down, as I tried to cushion the fall using my left arm and my right knee.  The pain was excruciating.  For a while I just lay there, thinking if I was dead or alive.  I turned on my back and looked at the blue sky above.  I was paralyzed with fear and would not move an inch.  No kidding–for a brief moment I didn’t know if I was part of this world or not.  It’s scary to think that in a blink of an eye, you can cut the frail thread that connects you to a thing called Life.

Then gradually I started moving my limbs in slow motion, trying to determine if I was still in one piece.  Fortunately I was intact, except for an acute pain on my left arm and a bruised right knee.  I got up and limped painfully to my car where my wife was waiting in a state of shock.  She thought I had fallen off a precipice and was dead. When I got up, she told me she had seen a ghost.

She aided me to the car and gave me some water to calm my nerves.  I was badly beaten up.  The pain on my left arm was too hurtful to put in printed words.  My pants were all torn up at the height of my right knee.  I looked like a perfect wreck.  Still I was determined to drive over to the Gamboa Rainforest Resort and finalize my picture-taking project.

Driving very slowly, we got there, had a buffet breakfast with a price tag of $22.38 and rested for about two hours enjoying the view of the hotel and its accommodations.  The vista of the lake and the rainforest was absolutely awesome.  Even though I was hurting badly, the visit to the hotel was a rich experience.  As the saying goes, “No pain, no gain.”

We got back home at approximately eleven o’clock in the morning.  I could hardly walk and there was a new pain on the left part of my chest.  I could hardly breathe.  We called out family doctor and he prescribed an antibiotic called Fucidin cream to avoid any infections on my knee, and Vol Taren Emulgel to alleviate the pain on my chest and left arm.  He said to intake Arcoxia 120 miligrams pills after breakfast if the pain persisted.

I’m writing this blog post at exactly 12:42 a.m. barely touching the keyboard with my left hand.  It hurts a lot, but the show must go on and Lingua Franca has to continue.  All photographers have felt the pain in one time or another for their passion.  If I plan to become a photographer, I must pay the price.  Today I earned my Purple Heart.  That’s Okay, I’m willing to pay the price.  Next time I’ll avoid the railroad, or crawl instead of walking,  and do anything to get the shots.

Below is a picture of my punctured black pants.  Their useful days are over now.  It’s a rag, a strong reminder that there is no such thing as a free lunch, a walk in the park or easy as pie.  After completing this post, I plan to go back to bed and finish the evening the best I can.  The pain is still inside my body.  Ouch!

Snapshot of my torn and soiled black pants, a silent victim of my accident at Gamboa Bridge on Sunday morning, January 22, 2012. The garment is now worthless. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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