The Waiting Game

Now that I have my medical, security and diplomatic clearances all passed for my upcoming service in Panama, the period of waiting for the March 14th departure commences. Part of the fun of going to another country for an extended period is learning about the history, geography and culture ahead of time, so that what I've been doing.

To begin, this map will give you an idea of where I'll be posted. It's the town of Torti, population about 8,000, located on the Pan American Highway, about 2 hours east of Panama City.

Just follow the PanAm (HWY 1) east past El Llano and the big lakes and you'll see Torti. There are few roads other than the PanAm in this areas, though some of the rivers to the Caribbean coast are navigable. Unfortunately, that area of the coast is off limits, due to high drug trafficking. I'll likely split my vacation time between the rain forest and the white sandy beaches and a boat trip through the canal.

The history of Panama (properly pronounced with the accent on the final syllable), is a checkered one. Columbus landed on the isthmus in 1502, but it was Balboa who made the jungle crossing in 1513 and figured out that the Pacific was on the other side. Spain used the area as a transit point for moving gold and supplies between the Atlantic and Pacific. They didn't fortify it well, which led to notable plundering by Sir Francis Drake (1572) and Henry Morgan (1671). After the Spanish American Wars of Independence in the 1820's, Panama was part of Gran Colombia, which also included present day Ecuador and Venezuela.

Enter the good old US of A, which had its heart set on building a canal. When it couldn't make a deal with the Gran Colombian government, it started a revolution in Panama, backed by the Marines, which resulted in Panama's independence. And, of course, we got our canal lease.

Then there was the takeover by the military, ending with the US again sending in troops to topple our once good friend Noriega.

The good news is that things look pretty stable today. The currency is the US Dollar, they have great revenues from the canal, banking and other services. Tourism is on the rise. 70% of the population lives in cities (especially the Panama City - Colon metropolis) and they are doing quite well, earning in the range of $10K to $20K per year. The problem is that the other 30% living in the rural areas are not doing so well. The World Bank estimates that most all the rural folks are living below the poverty line and many in extreme poverty. These are the folks I'll be working with - helping to build water system capacity and train system operators. Also training folks to build composting toilets and teach hand washing.