The other day we visited a little tourist-y town north of where we are staying here in Panama. It was the first afternoon we had with my sister here (she'll be with us for about a week) and we had a lot of fun. El Valle is actually the largest inhabited volcano crater in the world.
We used a Lonely Planet Panama book to find things to do in El Valle. We ended up spending half the time hiking, half of the afternoon at the zoo and a little bit of time at the tourist/artisan market.
Pre-Columbian Rock Carvings
Our first stop was a hike to see some waterfalls and a gigantic rock with Pre-Columbian (that is, before 1492 when Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas) drawings. The picture above is of Hubs and I under the drawings. Unfortunately nobody knows what the pictures mean, but they are interesting to see. This hike was $5 per person.
Square Trees
After that hike, we went to see what Lonely Planet called "the square-trunked trees". We thought these might be some kind of man-made spectical, but weren't sure. We couldn't find any type of visitor center or place to pay, so we went into the nearby hotel to ask. A lady there took our money ($3 per person) and led us to a rusty little gate in a patch of woods beside the hotel. From there we walked for 15 minutes or so until we reached the square trunk trees.
We used a Lonely Planet Panama book to find things to do in El Valle. We ended up spending half the time hiking, half of the afternoon at the zoo and a little bit of time at the tourist/artisan market.
Pre-Columbian Rock Carvings
Our first stop was a hike to see some waterfalls and a gigantic rock with Pre-Columbian (that is, before 1492 when Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas) drawings. The picture above is of Hubs and I under the drawings. Unfortunately nobody knows what the pictures mean, but they are interesting to see. This hike was $5 per person.
Square Trees
After that hike, we went to see what Lonely Planet called "the square-trunked trees". We thought these might be some kind of man-made spectical, but weren't sure. We couldn't find any type of visitor center or place to pay, so we went into the nearby hotel to ask. A lady there took our money ($3 per person) and led us to a rusty little gate in a patch of woods beside the hotel. From there we walked for 15 minutes or so until we reached the square trunk trees.
 Me with a big square tree. |  Large bamboo |  Square trunk tree |
While the trees were certainly interesting, Lonely Planet didn't specify why the trees were so unique, and to me they looked a lot like some of the other trees we have seen in Panama. However, according to one website I read, the trees are a type of cottonwood that are not supposed to grow with square trunks, and rarely do hard angles ever appear on tree trunks. Researchers have concluded that the growing conditions here (volcano crater, perhaps?) have allowed the trunks to grow square.
The Zoo
Our third stop at El Valle was the zoo. This was probably my favorite stop. Like many other things in Central America, the zoo was rather old and out-of-date, but there were plenty of animals to see. There were lots and lots of birds here, with colors so vibrant I couldn't have designed them myself. And I adored the old-fashioned bird cage design!
The Zoo
Our third stop at El Valle was the zoo. This was probably my favorite stop. Like many other things in Central America, the zoo was rather old and out-of-date, but there were plenty of animals to see. There were lots and lots of birds here, with colors so vibrant I couldn't have designed them myself. And I adored the old-fashioned bird cage design!
Bird cages
Our Lonely Planet book noted that "if you are sensitive to caged animals, you should probably skip this one". The cages were much smaller than zoos in the US. This meant we could actually find and see the animals close up! However, some of them were not really happy to be penned up. One ostrich just kept pecking at the lock on his gate, and there was a male cat (ocelot?) by himself that just kept pacing and sniffing the outside edge of his cage. Online there are a lot of terrible reviews for this zoo because it is "inhumane" or "sad". But I'm sure the owners are doing the best they know how to with what resources they have. It is Central America, you know. I really enjoyed seeing the different animals up close and personal, plus the price was right at $5 per person.
 Turtle cage |  A bird |
The zoo was also a little strange because there were large areas of potted plants and a TON of chickens. We weren't sure where the zoo ended and the farm/nursery began. Many of the buildings and most of the farm animals were unmarked. We thought maybe the chickens were used to feed the zoo's meat eaters, or perhaps the owners had a little side business to help support the zoo. Apparently the zoo is also a botanical garden, which might have accounted for all the potted plants. We got to visit a reptile building there, supposedly home to some of Panama's endangered golden frogs. Unfortunately we couldn't find any golden frogs, but we were able to see some other tree frogs and poison dart frogs, which I'd only read about in books.
 Potted lime tree cuttings |  Lime blossoms! |
Our last stop of the day was a tourist/artisan market. We spent about 45 minutes poking around through hats, bags, beaded jewelry, hammocks, figurines, bowls, painted plates, and a million other things. I ended up buying a soapstone nativity set.
On the other side of the market we bought some fruit (cheaper than the grocery store) and just for kicks I bought some Panamanian sweets/candy. The stick-like candy is made with milk and sugar, and tasted a bit like toffee. The brown granules are made with coconut and cane sugar. They are an interesting flavor blend of coconut with a hint of molasses. I've definitely had worse!
Til next time,
-Bethany
-Bethany
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