Panama's Tropical Paradise a "hub of biodiversity"

(CNN) A hotbed of biodiversity, Panama's tropical habitats are home to some of the most diverse and exotic species of plants and animals on Earth.

Covering almost half the century's land surface are immense tracks of rain forests, mangrove wetlands and mountain clouds. Even the country's cosmopolitan capital of Panama City boasts a forest within its city boundaries - one of the last tropical forests in Central America.

In all, the country houses over 10,444 different types of plant species including 1,200 orchid varieties, 678 fern species and 1,500 varieties of trees. As well as 255 species of mammals and 972 indigenous bird species, according to the National Society for the Protection of Nature, Panama.

The reason for such ecological abundance is the country's prime geographical position. Dividing the Pacific Ocean from the Caribbean Sea, the country serves as a "biological corridor," connecting both North and Central America. This, makes Panama a "hub of biodiversity." "The Isthmus of Panama and Central America arose over three million years ago through volcanic activity and has served as a bridge ever since - allowing land and freshwater species to migrate from north to south and vice versa."

The most famous part of this "corridor" is the Darien Region. Forming the easternmost part of Panama and boarding Colombia, the almost impenetrable wilderness of the Darien Region is perhaps most famous as a hiding ground for guerrillas, narcotics traffickers and paramilitary forces. But despite the negative connotations, it is one of the most biodiverse areas in the entire world." Due to its remote location and lack of infrastructure, the area has remained a haven for countless species, home to haguars, giant anteaters, harpy eagles and American crocodiles as well as sheltering various tribes of remote indigenous groups.

It is a constant battle to keep developers at bay. The region is definitely one of the most inaccessible areas of the country, but there is always talk about opening it up and constructing a road through it. What science and research has clearly indicated is that as soon as you cut a road through any fires it unfolds a chain of deforestation. Colonizers come in and extractive industries start to com in. The Panamanian government says it plans to keep the Darien Gap closed.

But not all areas remain safe. Various mining companies have announced future drilling operations in the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, while the authorities plan to build the "Gran Costanera," a new road along the Caribbean cost - most of which is still forested.

Out and about our yard

I can actually walk out and pick some hot peppers, and they are hot. The more we pick the more grow.

We also have a few strange flowering plants. This one is called "shrimp" in Spanish - "camaron." Because of its shape. Can you see it?

Frogs are always everywhere, especially where there is water and when it rains. You can see them as you drive down the road, on the yards, well everywhere. Sometimes in the morning where you least expect you will lift something and you will be greated by a frog. Of course it might be a huge toad but still you need to be careful as they can be poisonous to us humans. There are supposed to be several types of frogs. There is also the red frog, a frog with stripes and the famous golden frog that is facing extinction as it is being currently studied by the Smithsonian. That one is highly poisonous especially to pets. It secretes a jelly-like substance and when licked you have 15 minutes to save your pet. You do that by giving him mustard to make him throw up and honey around his mouth for protection. Weird huh? but it works.



Then there are bugs. This is one I came across about a week ago on my terrace. What struck me was that it was about 4 inches long BUT the top was very silvery looking. Later on I realized the silver was its wings but while they are closed it just looks like a silver streak. Just interesting tid-bits!



There is always something different we learn about each day. There are a multitude of birds that we wish we could take pictures of, bugs and othere types of LARGE animals that prowl in these parts that make each day pretty interesting.

A busy sunday!

The day started with me sorting out a ton of plant cuttings that I picked up yesterday from a friend. When I mean a ton I mean a ton! You can see at the bottom of the photo the ferns that were removed and I packed in my car along with cuttings of other types of plants. So I planted some of them in individual pots to get them started again while I can plant them in my own lot. By early May I should be able to since that should be the real start of the rainy season.

Some of the cuttings went to my Panamanian neighbors as they are starting to plant their own back yard. They immediately planted them in between the huge rocks and it won't be long before they have ferns and other plants growing and decorating their yard. So when I took the cuttings to them we ended up having a late morning breakfast of eggs, bread, fried tortilla, coffee.

From there we took off to visit our artist friend here in Altos - Vera and Ricardo. I took some ferns that I knew were different and she would totally love them and Ronnie took the usual supply of salsa. We intended to drop off and come home but it was impossible. Once here you quickly learn that once you drop by you need to plan to stay and visit. We had to come in and chat but in the meantime a "Rum and Coke" appeared in front of us. As we tried to leave, Vera came running out of the kitchen with a plate of canapes, salsa and crackers. She loves the salsa! As always we end of talking of food and we agreed that we would make the typical Chilean "pastel de choclo" with tomato and onion salad and empanadas. They agreed and suggested we go over there and bring our portion, they would add some meat and sausages for a BBQ as well as make pisco sours! This will probably not happen until Ronnie gets back from his visit to the US. We spent about 2 hours there totally relaxed. Their house is a mini paradise and it is really hard to leave. We can totally understand why they love to come every weekend!

We left, came home, took the dogs out, got in the car and left to go to our other friend's house also in Altos. He is Panamanian (Rey) and his wife is Chilean (Cristina). She is an artist also and teaches art/painting at the University in the city. They had quite a few relatives visiting including a cousin that just flew in last night from Chile. We exchanged a lot of thoughts on the earthquake and the current situation. One of those there is an owner of a restaurant in Panama City - Estilo Campo - which we decided we must try. Also we met Clelio who is a well known artist and interior designer from Panama City. Rey and Cristina also had a BBQ along with a few other dishes. Always plenty to drink!

It is always fun to visit them and Rey recently decided that in order to make a drink it must be decorated with a flower or plant. So this time it was a rum and coke to be followed by many glasses of wine. There was some rain that was actually going sideways due to the winds coming from the top of the mountain, I have never seen the rain doing something like that. Although the rain was not coming down hard it was amazing to see. We stayed there till 7:30pm and saw a beautiful sunset. A lovely way to end a very busy but relaxing day!