Tag Archives: caribbean

What type of Caribbean food should I try in Panama?

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I’m headed to Bocas del Toro, what types of dishes should I expect to see?

The Bocas del Toro archipelago is rich in Afro-Caribbean, American, Spanish and indigenous cultures.  The Caribbean’s food reflects a deliciously vibrant mixture of these influences.  Unlike the majority of Panamanian dishes, spices play a bigger part will in Panama’s Caribbean cuisine, as evidenced by the use of jerk sauces, curry flavors and cilantro.  While Panamanian cuisine on the whole can become pretty repetitive, cuisine in Bocas will keep you pleasantly surprised.  You can expect to see dishes like “corbina con arroz” (sea bass with rice) and “arroz con coco y frijoles” (coconut rice with beans)—a very typical Bocas dish.  You’ll also see “pargo” (snapper) cooked Caribbean style with onion and sweet garlic; patacones (pressed and fried yucca); the very rich Jamaican dish of “rondon”, a soup which includes fish, coconut milk and Caribbean vegetables; and other seafood-based dishes.  To be sure, Caribbean food is delicious, but, for conservation reasons, I highly recommend not trying any dish involving turtles or turtle eggs.

Is Panama positioning itself to be an energy hub in Central America?

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There has been a lot of talk about refineries, natural gas plants, oil pipelines in the news lately.

Panama’s central location in the Americas, plus the Canal, does make it an ideal location as an energy hub for Central America and the Caribbean, and even linking South American and North American markets.  Plans are still (slowly) under way for a major refinery on the Caribbean side, in partnership with Qatar.  In 2008, the defunct TransPanamanian oil pipeline got a new lease on life when British Petroleum signed an agreement to modernize the pipeline for reverse shipments from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and last October there was an announcement that the terminal storage facilities would be expanded, which indicates there is likely to be a jump in usage (think: Venezuela).  Finally, the Ministry of Finance announced earlier this month that the government would be spending $430 on a new natural gas terminal and gas-fired generating plant.  It all seems to point to a very specific plan to take advantage of Panama’s location and existing infrastructure.

I heard the famous explorer Sir Francis Drake is buried somewhere in Panama. Is this true?

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If so, how accessible is the famous captain’s grave? I am a huge history buff and would like to visit this important historical site.

Yes. Sir Francis Drake, famed British naval captain, slaver, politician and pirate is buried in Panama.  However, his grave isn’t exactly accessible.  Actually, divers still look for it as though it were buried treasure.  When Sir Francis Drake was dying of dysentery off the coast of Panama, in 1596, he requested to be suited in full armour and buried at sea.  He was just 55 when he died.  His crew did indeed carry out Drake’s wishes, placing the captain’s body in a lead coffin and dropping it to the bottom of the sea near Portobelo.  Though, his “grave” is not the tourist attraction it would have been if he’d been interred on land, if you’re a true history buff, locals in Portobelo Bay, due south of the Panama Canal on the Caribbean side, are always happy to point you toward where they believe “El Draque” lay.  And, if you’re a diver taking a look around the crystal clear waters of Drake’s Island, then best of luck!

New Species – Panama Central America

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Panama is rapidly gaining a reputation as a hotbed of biodiversity as scientists continue to reveal the discovery of dozens of new species on the tiny isthmus.

Lizards, frogs, salamanders, plants and dozens of marine creatures are among the wealth of new species discovered in Panama in the past year, many of them found in Panama’s protected areas.

Earlier this month, researchers announced the discovery of eleven new plant and animal species in the cloud forest of La Amistad National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site spanning the Costa Rican and Panamanian borders.

Three new salamander species, including a dwarf salamander no longer than a fingertip, were among the discoveries made on an expedition funded via the Darwin Initiative, a UK government conservation program which aims to catalogue the park’s myriad species.

“Finding so many new species in one area is exciting, particularly as this is probably the only place in the world you can find these animals,” said Alex Monro, a biodiversity expert with the Natural History Museum, and leader of the expedition. “It shows that we still have a lot to learn about the variety of wildlife in this region.”

The researchers further uncovered two new frogs and six new plant species, including a mistletoe with a “spectacular flower” during their exploration of the La Amistad cloud forest, the biggest forest reserve in Central America.

In September, researchers published the discovery of four new species of anole lizards in less than 24 hours in a cloud forest in the Panama highlands.

Dr Gunther Koehler, a scientist with the expedition, described the finding as a ‘once in a lifetime experience’.

“During expeditions before, we had found new species, one at a time—but four species within 24 hours, that was incredible,” he enthused.

A fourth new anole lizard was recently found in the Martin Torrijos national park, in Panama’s Coclé province.

Marine biologists are also turning up a wealth of new species in Panama’s Caribbean and Pacific waters, including shrimps, corals and ribbon worms.

In December, an research team from the Smithsonian Tropical Studies Institute (STRI) announced the finding of two new species of shrimp in the waters off Bocas del Toro, near Panama’s western border, and a third near Culebra in the Eastern Pacific.

Researchers with the STRI also announced a ‘biodiversity bounty’ last May, uncovering dozens of new species in the waters of the Coiba National Park, which was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

“It’s hard to imagine, while snorkeling around a tropical island that’s only a three-hour flight from the United States, that half the animals you see are unknown to science,” said the STRI’s Rachel Collin of the incredible finds.

Situated in Panama’s Pacific waters, the marine park is teeming with a diversity of species not usually found in the Pacific, thanks to nearby currents from the Indian Ocean, and the relatively recent emergence of the Isthmus of Panama which separated Caribbean and Pacific waters.