Rainforest Adventure
My favorite artifact that I brought back from my friends’ wedding in Panama last weekend is a certificate that documents my participation in a “Gamboa Rainforest Adventure.” Our guide, Ana, wrote my name on it while we were all riding back to the Complejo Principal del Resort (that’s Panamanian for “Resort Main Building”) in an open air tour bus/ tram with wooden seats. Since we were in motion my name is a little bit squiggly, but that makes it more authentic, right?
I earned this certificate by spending 35 American dollars (which happen to be exactly the same as Panamanian dollars) to catch an open air tour bus/ tram to the Estación Principal del Telefércio (that’s the Aerial Tram Main Station), where four of my friends and I were to catch the Telefércio for the “Canopy Tour.” This was to be an hour and a half trip, so we were reminded to use the restrooms before embarking for the Torre de Observación (Tower of Observation) in the heart of the Panamanian rainforest. Hydration had been a priority of mine in the preceding 12 or so hours, so I made sure to empty my bladder. Plus, I was pretty excited, having just witnessed my first authentic specimen of Panamanian rainforest wildlife, a blue butterfly that had skirted the deck of the aerial tram station before disappearing around the corner of the building. Ana, already earning her keep, had informed us that it was …are you ready? …a Blue Morpho. So, after I flushed and washed my hands in the rainforest restrooms, I was set.
We all entered the green aerial tram vehicle. I am in an ongoing debate about what such a vehicle is properly called. I think I’ll go with “gondola” here, but if you have other suggestions, I will happily entertain them. I got the front seat of the gondola. I had my brochure map of the Gamboa Rainforest Resort, which I‘d obtained at the front desk of the Complejo Principal del Resort (Resort Main Building, remember?). This map has (in addition to the actual locations of the tennis courts, jogging path, and full service marina) pictures and fanciful locations of many different species of rainforest wildlife. There are toucans, tree sloths, turtles, alligator-looking-things, a black and white checked frog, a snake, orchids, parakeets, black monkeys with white faces, and white monkeys with black faces supposedly available for tourist ogling at various locations throughout the resort. But, now that I look more carefully at my map, I notice that none of the hypothetical flora/ fauna locations correspond with the route of the aerial tram. Instead, I learned, on the 35 dollar canopy tour, you get a Blue Morpho, the sound of a beetle that brings to mind far off Pacific Northwestern National Forest clear cutting, and a slow, soothing ride through every broad-leafed palm-like houseplant known to humankind. Maybe floating along forty feet above the ground at 12 miles per hour isn’t actually the best way to experience the rainforest. Don’t get me wrong. I am not complaining. You get a nice certificate with your name on it.
I earned this certificate by spending 35 American dollars (which happen to be exactly the same as Panamanian dollars) to catch an open air tour bus/ tram to the Estación Principal del Telefércio (that’s the Aerial Tram Main Station), where four of my friends and I were to catch the Telefércio for the “Canopy Tour.” This was to be an hour and a half trip, so we were reminded to use the restrooms before embarking for the Torre de Observación (Tower of Observation) in the heart of the Panamanian rainforest. Hydration had been a priority of mine in the preceding 12 or so hours, so I made sure to empty my bladder. Plus, I was pretty excited, having just witnessed my first authentic specimen of Panamanian rainforest wildlife, a blue butterfly that had skirted the deck of the aerial tram station before disappearing around the corner of the building. Ana, already earning her keep, had informed us that it was …are you ready? …a Blue Morpho. So, after I flushed and washed my hands in the rainforest restrooms, I was set.
We all entered the green aerial tram vehicle. I am in an ongoing debate about what such a vehicle is properly called. I think I’ll go with “gondola” here, but if you have other suggestions, I will happily entertain them. I got the front seat of the gondola. I had my brochure map of the Gamboa Rainforest Resort, which I‘d obtained at the front desk of the Complejo Principal del Resort (Resort Main Building, remember?). This map has (in addition to the actual locations of the tennis courts, jogging path, and full service marina) pictures and fanciful locations of many different species of rainforest wildlife. There are toucans, tree sloths, turtles, alligator-looking-things, a black and white checked frog, a snake, orchids, parakeets, black monkeys with white faces, and white monkeys with black faces supposedly available for tourist ogling at various locations throughout the resort. But, now that I look more carefully at my map, I notice that none of the hypothetical flora/ fauna locations correspond with the route of the aerial tram. Instead, I learned, on the 35 dollar canopy tour, you get a Blue Morpho, the sound of a beetle that brings to mind far off Pacific Northwestern National Forest clear cutting, and a slow, soothing ride through every broad-leafed palm-like houseplant known to humankind. Maybe floating along forty feet above the ground at 12 miles per hour isn’t actually the best way to experience the rainforest. Don’t get me wrong. I am not complaining. You get a nice certificate with your name on it.
posted by kyle at 10:12 PM
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