2. ✭ Travel & Tourism
Panama’s Chagres River and Gatun Lake Area Activities
Published by Panama Simple, May 20, 2013 | By Dennis Smith
Embera, Fishing the Panama Canal and More
The Chagres River, Gatun Lake and the Panama Canal all meet. Panama’s Chagres River flows into the
Panama Canal Watershed and is surrounded by the rainforest of the 320,000acre Chagres National Park,
which is the largest of the National Parks protecting the Panama Canal Watershed. Gatun Lake was formed
to feed the operation of the Panama Canal lock system. Together Chagres and Gatun provide locations for
diverse tours and activities. And best of all, the Basin area is only a 30 or 45 minute drive from Panama City.
You can meet the Embera and learn about their culture. The perennial favorite is boating upriver to spend a
day with the local Embera Indians in their village of Embera Drua. You travel the river in a motorized dugout
canoe or similar small boat to the village. Once at the Embera village you will be greeted, and delighted with,
traditional dances and music.
If you like cultural anthropology, you can learn about Embera customs and their coexistence with the local
nature. You can buy baskets and other handcrafts. If you are truly adventurous, you can get painted with the
traditional jagua dye the Embera use to tattoo their bodies from the neck down. Then it is a traditional
Embera lunch and back down the river, then back to Panama City.
You can go fishing in the Panama Canal. You will be driven along the Panama Canal on the Gamboa road
passing the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel Locks to the Chagres marina in Gamboa. There you board your
charter fishing boat that comes fully equipped, including tackle and bait.
Then it is into the inlets of the Canal. Your Captain is looking for where twotothree pound Peacock Bass
are hungry. You can also troll for snook and tarpon. Who knows, you might even get a Yahoo. Game fish of
all kinds are abundant in this area.
You can explore the wildlife of the Panama Canal. Take an expedition boat to explore the waters of the
Panama Canal and look for Panama’s countless species of birds, reptiles, monkeys and more.
You can walk in the footsteps of the Spanish Conquistadors. The Cruces Trail at Camino de Cruces National
Park is a historical road that was built more than 400 years ago by the Spanish Conquistadors in order to
connect Panama City to Fort San Lorenzo on the Atlantic side of Panama. The goal was to transport gold
and silver across the Isthmus for final transport to Spain.
Imagine a morning trekking through history – expect to hike of about 9.5 km (6 miles) in around 5 hours, and
then taking a rainforest boat tour exploring the wildlife and nature along the Chagres River and Panama
Canal. Along the way it is not unusual to see the big ships, Green Iguana, Threetoed sloths, Crocodiles,
Ospreys, Toucans and maybe a Harpy Eagle – Panama’s national bird. How is that for variety?
This post was written by Dennis Smith – who has written 60 posts for Panama Simple. Dennis Smith earns
2
3. his living as a copywriter, online content creator & manager, writing business plans for small businesses
and editing whatever is necessary. Dennis is also a certified Inbound Marketer. He lives in Panama where he
acts as a consultant for foreign businesses that want to enter the country.
Let’s talk about how I can help you at dennis.dean.smith@gmail.com?
3
8. ✭ Expat Lifestyle
American Expat in Panama ‐ 17 Years and Still Here
Published by Panama Escape Artist | By Dennis Smith
July of this year is my 17th anniversary as an American Expat in Panama. To me that is amazing since I
didn’t intend to come here ‐ and certainly never thought I would stay. Panama, where’s that? What follows
are my observations. If you are interested, join me in my living in the real Panama. If not, so be it.
I said goodbye to the States in February of 1988 ‐ something I have never regretted. I backpacked and
puttered around Asia for years until enough was enough. Ended up in Costa Rica. After 3 months, I had to
do a visa hop to get my passport stamps renewed. Someone suggested Panama because it was close. I
walked across the border in Sixaola in Bocas del Toro in sandals and shorts with an Aussie bush hat, and
good or bad, have been here ever since.
Now I live across the Bridge of Americas, which spans the Panama Canal in a small fishing village (pop.
around 30,000), a 20 minute drive from Panama City. Happily, I live with my Panamanian wife of 9 years.
She has shown me the real Panama since she has the dubious distinction of being from the what the local
papers recently named the most dangerous place to live in Panama City.
Overall, life in Panama is easier compared to other Central and Latin American countries ‐ including Costa
Rica. And living here is certainly easier across the board than in America, Canada or Europe. What I have
found is that you want to get in trouble here, you have to really figure out how. Think about that.
As ‘Gringos” (Americans) or Extranjeros (foreigners from anywhere else), we are accepted and generally
welcome. (Since I am a Gringo that will be my bias for this narrative from here on.)
In Panama City, a lot of people speak English, or you can get by in ‘Spanglish’. English is easy in Colon,
Bocas del Toro or Boquete. If you want talk to Panamanians in the rest of the country, you need at least
passable Spanish ‐ or someone to help you. The language issue is important as it is in any country where
English is not first.
A couple of phrases to watch out for. ‘Respectame’ is number one and my favorite. In Panaspeak,
‘respectame’ literally means ‘respect me’ and Panamanians will pull this jewel on you and other
Panamanians when you catch them lying or cheating. (Respectame should be in the national anthem.)
‘Prestame’ translates to ‘loan me’. The underground translation is ‘give me never to be returned’. This ranges
from money to a cigarette. The last gem is ‘no se’ or ‘I don’t know’. They probably do but are not about to
tell you.
Another thing to watch for is pre‐conceived notions. There is a long good ‐ bad history between Americans
8
15. ✭ MLM Copywriting
NOTE: This is an excerpt from a fulllength sales page. This never went live but the client did pay for
it.
‘Say No!’ To Cancer
What would you do if you found a way to improve your odds of beating Cancer
right now? If the method came naturally from within your mind and body would
you try it?
Of course you would!
The great news is, you can Maximize Your Fight Against Cancer
no matter whether you are using drugs, doctors, hospitals or an alternative method.
Do you want to take control of your life again?
Beat Cancer Now!
A simple new discovery makes this easier
then you probably think is possible.
If you have been diagnosed with Cancer, typically the treatment is one or a combination of
the following methods:
● Radiation Therapy
● Chemo (Chemical) Therapy
● Both Radiation & Chemo
● An Alternative or ‘Natural’ Method
If you are using these powerful but potentially deadly treatments, why not use the power of the mind to
augment them, and to protect you from the dangerous parts of the treatment?
No matter which treatment method you are using, the secret program that we are now introducing you to is
designed to maximize your treatment.
This program will help you get better naturally that part is guaranteed. This is a brand new healing option
for you!
Let’s talk about how I can help you at dennis.dean.smith@gmail.com?
15