Cayucos

[Ted Hoppe]

[Ted Hoppe]

As kid we used to race them 50 miles for ocean to ocean in Panama. it was a multiday affair.

[Paul Pless]

Dugout?

[Ted Hoppe]

here we are lining up at Pedro Meguel Locks.



You can tell there was an evolution of the boats.

[Ted Hoppe]

I had one like this. Would paddle up the Chagras and then into a smaller river and camp with the then tamed indigenous natives (less than 2 generation prior were practicing cannibals). Being toe headed blonde teenage boy, i was welcomed as a special guest as i appear albino to them (with the possible ability to talk to the spirits). I would carry candy, sugar and some cloth and give to them. The men and boys of the tribe showed me how to hunt and survive in the thick rainforest and Darian jungle. This boat shaped my life. It has been my regret i never took my own son there, to my forest and greater Panama. The CZ expereince never leaves one soul.

[Ted Hoppe]

Dugout?

yes a dugout. Depending on the use - the wood could be anythig from balsa to mahogany. It was the best adventure boat ever. for 25 dollars you could have a log burned out and shaped by axe and heavy blades. The boats would last several years unpainted and then released once the hull started to break up.

[Ted Hoppe]

It used to be really an Zonian (American - Canal Zone) but now Panama has turned it into a national pride thing.

[Ted Hoppe]

[Paul Pless]

lovely pics ted
thanks for this thread
one of my best friends, fellow hell raiser in college and after* his father a retired colonel worked at the embassy in panama during the 1980s
my friend's nickname to this day is 'panama'


* my wife despises panama and i always get into some type of trouble when we get together - although lately it has been a long time since either of us has gone to jail

[Ted Hoppe]

lovely pics ted
thanks for this thread
one of my best friends, fellow hell raiser in college and after* his father a retired colonel worked at the embassy in panama during the 1980s
my friend's nickname to this day is 'panama'

* my wife despises panama and i always get into some type of trouble when we get together - although lately it has been a long time since either of us has gone to jail

The connection between me and your Panama is a one or two people, beers, rums, other diversions and some great salsa away.
I am sure he went to the same high school i attended with most of the same teachers, did the same amazing sh!t, maybe even drove the same cars, lusted after same latin beauties and ruled for a brief period a peice of epic paradise in a free zone.

[Sky Blue]

A novelette of your unique experience as a youth at that time and in that place would no doubt be a very interesting read, Ted, with your lovely prose a nice bonus.

[Ted Hoppe]

A novelette of your unique experience as a youth at that time and in that place would no doubt be a very interesting read, Ted, with your lovely prose a nice bonus.

What a thing to ponder. Thanks for complement and the inspiration. I think I would have to invent a new magic english- latin surrealism with character like men our Palidin and Paul's Panama helping me explore the mythical era to the beat of great salsa, Pierre Cour, Abba, Rush and Van Halen. It would be a great round out and so much fun to write.

[Iceboy]

Nice pics Ted. My ship surveyed the Panama coastline in the mid 70s. Some great memories for me.

[Ted Hoppe]

Nice pics Ted. My ship surveyed the Panama coastline in the mid 70s. Some great memories for me.

There were a few survey vessels i remember. Panama is pretty amazing with a very diverse ecosystem, currents and coastlines.

What ship were you on and what was your mission? That must have been quite stimuating and good deal of fun.

[Ted Hoppe]

[Ted Hoppe]

In the San Blas - the indigenous folks (Kuna) have developed along side thier cayucos. Genetic selection has lead to longer, strong arms has worked for these amazing people.

[Ted Hoppe]

The raid and sacking of Porto Bello by Henry Morgan, the pirate, was not done by his ships but the native indians like the Kuna and thier hundreds of cayucos who sought to rid themselves of the Spanish.




Porto Bello - The Spanish Stronghold & Fort

[Iceboy]

USNS Chauvenet. We surveyed the entire coastline to out a few miles including river mouths. It was quite a bit of fun. Went to several islands and places most don't get to go to. Several survey equipment sites in remote locations.

There were a few survey vessels i remember. Panama is pretty amazing with a very diverse ecosystem, currents and coastlines.

What ship were you on and what was your mission? That must have been quite stimuating and good deal of fun.

[Ted Hoppe]

Siempre Panama Dave!

Love those huge dinosaurs.

Please create a thread for this. I would love to see and read about your experiences and views of this wonderful, vibrant country. I really hope it is magical for you too.
I have been away too long.

[WI-Tom]

As kid we used to race them 50 miles for ocean to ocean in Panama. it was a multiday affair.

You grew up in Panama, Ted? How'd that happen? What was it like?

Tom

[L.W. Baxter]

As kid we used to race them 50 miles for ocean to ocean in Panama. it was a multiday affair.

wait, you paddled the panama canal? as a kid?

wild stuff, ted.

[Ralphie Boy]

Thanks for sharing, Ted! Sounds like an incredible experience!

Would love to hear more stories of this.

[Ted Hoppe]

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That Royal blue has been through a lot. They are special spirts of the Jungle. They are like magic when you see them fly with the bright blue flashing. I hope you see many more of them.

When I was young i always had a butterfly net - i had quite a collection of butterflies which i would pin to a board then later put under glass. Royal blues were always very difficult to catch - their flying ability has to be as good or better than the birds on the wing that would try to intercept them. Catching them with a small net without breaking their wings and brilliance takes skill.

Here is an old photo of me catching the preschool bus in Margarita in the Canal Zone, between Coco Solo and Gatun locks on the Atlantic side. We previously had lived in Gatun, very close to the first set of locks and also where i got my first jungle fever from Sand Fleas and mosquitos that nearly killed me. Huge boils formed all over my body - lancing became a daily affair. It took a some sage medicine and swimming in local chlorinated pools to stop the blood infection from getting worse. After a few months - i stopped getting sick.

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Growing up in Panama was wonderful, living with the thick rain forest Jungle as truly was my back yard, with all that water around and the center of world commerce - there was little doubt if I was going to be a waterman, became quite adept and atuned the the jungle learning to communicate with all manners of animals and birds; becoming a citizen of the world - so proud to be an American among folks who not only built the Panama Canal but made the country of Panama hospitable enough so most people who no longer would get sick and die. I grew up speaking English, Spanish and a strange dialect of black West Indian english from my nanny housekeeper from Colon who adored me.

My father had a very prestigious job after being a Texaco Supertanker Captain at 28 - He was a Panama Canal Pilot. The status of that job in the Canal Zone was enormous.

Gatun Locks.

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Gatun Yacht Club - This is where I got my first Cayuos at 3 years old - it was a waterlogged balsa dugout. More log than boat but very cool. It was the first place I learned to fish from and launch my boat where i would go out for hours unsupervised sometimes without a life jacket...

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[Ted Hoppe]

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Oh man - Gambia! The eco-lodges there are suppose to be spectacular. The monkeys, birds song and insects call you; reminding you how close the jungle is. It was also the last place i saw a large roaming jaguar. (I understand there are still a few close by.) It is also a place to see more royal blues than most can imagine flying at the same time.

I used to launch from the pier there in a late 50s fiberglass boat with a 25 horse. I caught so many rainbow bass from there - Would fill a 40 gallon cooler in a hour almost every time we went out.

The Gambia Store in your photo was a Panama Canal outpost store, in a US built building from the 1920s and 30s. It used to operate 24 hours a day and was part of emergency response when the great cuts would collapse causing slides into the canal; teams of men would be deployed to dredge so the canal would remain open.

[Ted Hoppe]

Our house when we moved from the Atlantic to the pacific side; Diablo Heights jungle, grassland savanna and Canal behind it.

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[LeeG]

have fun Dave

[Ted Hoppe]

Oh Dave. This thread is so nice. Thanks!

I know that place well too. Chiriqui (Boquitte) is a very special place - up in the mountains. Really good sleeping weather. I love the mist that floats in the early morning and the rain showers in the middle of the afternoon wakes/makes you up. We would go up there at Easter too. I kinda want to believe we stayed in those cabins too; they look familiar. If you get up early in the morning - you are going to find a sloth or two crossing over that property. The chorus of birds and other animals waking is pretty magical.

The coffee that comes from that area is also sworn as a male medicinal enhancement. Some fresh milk and raw sugar as a sweetener.

[Ted Hoppe]

The working girls of Panama were-are legendary. Many came from Columbia and Costa Rica also known for their great beauty and exotic, passionate nature. Many young men learned the art of sex due to their trade. Quite a few guys that i grew up with were taken to the famous Ancon Inn as a ritual by their fathers, scout masters and older men. In that Latin culture, being a great male lover is something to be learned and taught. The puritanical nature of American Christian society was written by married folk, a nice line blurred being 2500 miles away from home and being so lonely as a sailor, engineer or skillful mechanic. These young men could only hope they got the girl that was the 1 out 10 who was not carrying an infection. The more popular ones with a higher infection risk had much more to teach.

I am so glad you are seeing some of the best parts of Panama and relating in the historical aspects to your own tropical experience.
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Do you think you will make Taboga Island for a night? The ferry ride and open air hotels in those gardens are special.