Golden frogs and golden showers

Today was a fabulous day - even though it's David's last day in Panama <sniffle>

Rogelio took us to El Valle de Anton.  He picked us up at O'dark:30 (aka 8 am), still in his cast since the doctor delayed taking it off by a week.  He was understandably annoyed.

We sped off on the Pan American Highway, crossing the Centennial Bridge and then heading off into the countryside.  There were a lot of billboards that are now "Disponible" (for rent) - recently vacated by the political parties, although there are also a lot of flags and other signs that remain.  It seemed from an unscientific view that many - even most - of these were for Jose Domingo Arias of the Cambio Democrático, or  CD Party.  This is the party that would have been heir to the current government and that even included the current President's wife as Arias' Vice Presidential running mate.  I mentioned this to Rogelio who said that complaints about this had recently aired on TV.

I hadn't really noticed how many new developments there are just outside Panama City - or how many properties are for sale even without new development.  It's kind of insane.  In other places - like Colorado for instance - development has spoiled many special places and homes have often remained vacant or unsold.  It is too bad that this appears to be happening here in Panama, although it is certainly understandable that people want to live in these lovely places.

We turned off on the road to El Valle and twisted and turned our way up to the lip of the ancient (and extinct) volcano that encircles El Valle.

This way!

It claims to be the only inhabited volcano and it is the only remaining place that the incredibly rare (actually critically endangered) Panamanian Golden Frogs live.  Or lived.

Although it is hard to see,
the yellowish blob on the
right is a Golden Frog

Although Golden Frogs have extremely toxic skin to protect themselves, they are threatened by both habitat destruction and, more importantly, by a fungal infection that has all but wiped the species out in the wild.  They are now kept in captivity to protect them from this fungus.  Unfortunately, they cannot be reintroduced into the wild at this time because there is no cure for the fungus that remains rampant in the wild.

Luckily, captive populations, including in El Valle, are thriving.  The San Diego zoo also has a Golden Frog Conservation Program which both breeds the amphibians and also sends money to Panama to assist them in their conservation efforts.  In addition, the Houston Zoo has provided money to fund the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center.  We were able to see this elusive animal at El Nispero Zoo and Botanical Garden.

Other frogs and toads (actually the Golden "Frog" is a toad) included these fellows:

A green poison dart frog whose
skin is so toxic it will kill you if you touch it
(although apparently, poison dart frogs
in captivity are less toxic due to diets that
don't include the things that make them
toxic in the wild)

This sleepy fellow was sitting
on a leaf.  Many of the others
were hidden or in places that
didn't lend themselves to
photography.

The center also has a number of plants for sale.  There were many that were simply gorgeous.

The organization uses the proceeds from the sale of these plants to help support that entire enterprise.


In addition to plants for sale, the organization also grafts different plants together to create interesting and unusual results.

There are also many birds.  I quickly lost count of them and forgot their names but I took photos for my birding friends.  For instance, look at the following beauties.

 Many, even most of them are not native to Panama, instead coming from China, like the Golden Pheasant on the right,  India, like the peacocks - here in full display, although in neither case did their display appear to be working for them as the peahens simply milled around them, totally ignoring them, and Africa, like the ostrich below.

 

OK, he's not exactly a beauty,
but he sure was friendly

 The parrots and hawks were native to Panama, however.  There were also many other lovely lorikeets and parrots, including Scarlet Macaws and Blue & Gold Macaws, who were too shy for photos.

And then there were the animals.  Monkeys and an ocelot (who insisted on continuing to snooze while whipping his tail in annoyance at the kids' noise) and others.

 


And then there was the tapir.

As we stood admiring the tapir, it came over as if to greet us.  But it quickly turned its back on us and sprayed David.  Whether it was threatened by him, or jealous of him (although I'm not sure that says anything good about either of us) or marking him as his own, or something else, he gave David a rather stinky "Golden Shower"!

Shocked, as you can imagine, but thinking quickly (of course!), David ripped off the sprayed shirt so it would not smell up the rest of his clothes.  The guide told him to wash it in the small waterfall leading from the Wishing Pond.  I'm pretty sure we both were wishing that the tapir had remained uninterested and had quietly stayed on the other side of the cage.  I would gladly have foregone a photo to avoid this rather nasty experience.

There were still a few opportunities for photos of us and of the guide.

We bid adieu to the guide and headed to the Craft Market.  There, we saw (but resisted) many interesting and beautiful things.  And many uninteresting and ugly things too.  We were well able to resist because we are definitely "Over-Stuffed" at home.  It was good to remember, as David mentioned to me (and as I had already thought), we had just gotten rid of many similar things - like wooden bowls and platters and tchotchkes.

There were some local pastries and candies however.  David got some yummy cookies and I got milk candies for my colleagues at work.  It started to sprinkle just as we got back into the car.

And then it started to rain in earnest.  Big, fat drops fell increasingly fast and, after a few minutes of driving around the area, we decided to head homewards.

David, who slept very little last night, fell asleep almost immediately as the car swayed from side to side as Rogelio drove up to and along the rim of the volcano and then down the other side.

When we arrived home, David washed his shirt by hand, and then we washed it along with the regular clothes.  And luckily, the entire load didn't become "Tapir-ized"!  

Videos from Panama (mostly rain!)

Leaving Ukupseni Village on Thursday afternoon by boat gives an impression of the size of the village.

About 1/3 of the current island is built on landfill because the Community is running out of room.  Children account for over 60% of the current population of roughly 2000.  The population can swell to 3000 or more during festivals.

~~~~~~~~~

Earlier in my time here, I recorded several intense rainstorms.  The sound and the volume are amazing - and when you think about how much water actually fell, well, they were remarkable storms.  But not all that unusual here in Panama!

Rain in Panama City is fierce and this was my first experience of the effects of sudden downpours on the traffic.  In the first video, we are heading in one direction, and in the second, we are heading the opposite direction at the same spot so you can see it a bit more dramatically.

These 2 videos were taken during a torrential downpour just as we were leaving the UTP Regional Center in David.

This final video is of our driver, Sr. Sanchez, navigating through David following the heavy downpour recorded above on campus.  It was incredibly intense - so intense that it flooded the streets. of David.  (Please forgive the early attempt to show the action out the side window!)