36 | SUNRAYS MAY 2014
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50-mile passage, with its three sets of
locks—one on the Atlantic Ocean side
and two on the Pacific Ocean side, was
then, and remains today, one of the man-
made wonders of the world. The U.S.
turned operations and control of the
Panama Canal over to the Panamani-
ans at the beginning of 2000.
100 years later
The morning after the canal transit
found us docked in Panama City, at the
Pacific entrance. With a population of
700,000, Panama City is a bustling mod-
ern city of skyscrapers—80 percent of
which did not exist 10 years ago. In the
near future, a sure-fire tourist-draw will
be the not-yet-completed Biomuseo, a
museumwhich celebrates the incredible
biodiversity of the region in both flora
and fauna. Designed by “deconstructiv-
ist” architect Frank Gehry, Panamani-
ans joke that the building looks like it
was hit by a tornado.
On our way up the coast of Panama to
our final destination in Costa Rica, we
stopped to do some snorkeling at tiny
Granito de Oro island, an experience
that resembled swimming in an aquar-
ium, through schools of colorful sergeant
major fish, angel fish, parrot fish, and
others too numerous to catalog.
At other stops, we walked through tow-
ering lush rainforests, ogled scarlet ma-
caws and toucans, and marveled at the
variety of orchids and bromeliads that
grow so prolifically here. As we unpacked
our winter jackets to head home, we
couldn’t help but wish we could somehow
take the white sand beaches and warm
turquoise waters with us as an antidote
for one of the coldest Texas winters in
recent memory.
Continued from the previous page
"Scorpion"orchids!
Sandy, her husband Nick Martinez, and others were able to go snorkeling off Granito de Oro Island, Panama.
