In any country other than Panamá, our plans for Day 4 would be unreasonably ambitious. We hoped to drive from one side of the continent to the other twice and to swim in both the Atlantic and the Pacific. But this is just a slightly above average day traveling in Panamá. At its narrowest, the country is less than 35 miles wide. The major destination for today was an old Spanish fort on the Caribbean – El Fuerte de San Lorenzo. Not many roads cut across the isthmus, as most of the development in Panamá is on the Pacific side. But there is a road that parallels the canal to reach Colón, which is the only major city on the Caribbean side of Panamá. After the fort, we planned to drive back to Panamá City on the Pacific side. As a result, our drive would be taking us to the Pacific, then to the Atlantic, and then back to the Pacific.

Since we were going to be passing inevitably close to both oceans, we had to try to swim in both. We started our day with another wonderful breakfast on the terrace at Casa Grimaldo.

Soon, we had packed up the car and left El Valle. We had joined the ranks of the many Panamanians with deep fondness for this special little town. As we dropped altitude, the temperature climbed, and by the time we turned back onto the Inter-American Highway, it was more than 90 degrees. In planning our trip, I had looked for a good place to swim in the Pacific and picked the beachside town of El Palmar simply because it was just a 10-minute drive from the main highway. When we arrived in El Palmar, the tiny town was nearly deserted like many places in the off season, but we asked around a bit and found out about a nearby surf school where for $5 we could park, swim, and then shower. It was perfect. In no time at all, we were in the Pacific. One ocean down!

We cleaned up and piled back in the car right on schedule. We drove back over the canal on the massive Puente Centario (Centary Bridge), which was the same bridge we had taken before. The 3,400-foot-long bridge passes 260 feet above the canal to leave space for the huge boats, providing great views. Immediately after the bridge, we took an exit and stopped to merge into another highway. We suddenly heard a loud bang and felt the car lurch. We had been rear-ended by a truck. Fortunately, the collision was minor, and nobody was hurt. But the adrenaline and frustration I felt in the driver’s seat was very much real. We hopped out of the car to check the damage.

Julie took charge of talking to the other driver. I got out to assess the scene. I was pretty confident that the accident was not my fault given that we had been stopped at a stop sign, but we weren’t sure how this was going to go.

With help from the other driver (Hector), we contacted Budget. We had to wait for representatives from two insurance companies (one for each car) to arrive on motorbikes. I was starting to worry that we wouldn’t be able to visit el Fuerte de San Lorenzo, which closed at 4 pm. It was 1 pm and we had more than an hour left to drive. Plus, we were concerned about the cost of repairs to our rental car. We had declined Budget’s collision protection when we rented the car because our credit card provides insurance as a benefit. But we’ve never put that claimed benefit to the test. Moreover, we were in a foreign country and didn’t know if that would matter.

However, we have a motto when abroad: “There are no mistakes in travelling, just new experiences.” We started saying that when we lived in Europe in 2017. We travel to have new experiences, but something inevitably doesn’t go according to plan. And apparent mistakes simply lead to unplanned experiences, like riding a tow truck in Germany or staying an new hotel when your AirBNB in Norway is gross. Also, when traveling, our time is precious, and it’s not worth wasting being upset. If the castle you’ve driven to visit is unexpectedly closed for a wedding, you wish the couple well and head to the next destination.

It was time to live by this philosophy. And we did get an impactful unplanned experience. Specifically, we had an opportunity to once again be impressed by the people of Panamá. In the United States, our insurance companies advise us in strong language not to admit fault at the scene of an accident. But the other driver in our accident, Hector, not only admitted fault but also signed an official form so stating. I’m not sure what the effect of this statement is, but thus far we haven’t heard anything from Budget about the cost of repairs. Also, in the end, the entire process only took us about an hour. If we got back on the road — and if we got back into the right frame of mind — we could still enjoy everything we had planned.

So, we got back in the car and headed off, driving across the isthmus toward the Colón before passing over the canal again on the Puente Atlántico (Atlantic Bridge). This massive bridge is more than 9,000 feet long, providing great views of the Caribbean and the nearby jungle. After the bridge we passed through the remains of an old US Army base (Fort Sherman) that dates back to the time when the United States owned the canal. Indeed, at the same time that the United States built the canal, it also constructed military bases to protect it. These bases were a part of the larger Canal Zone owned by the United States, which extended five miles in either direction from the center of the canal. The Canal Zone was largely self-contained, with housing for military personnel, as well as for civilians operating the canal. Those people then needed food, schools, and so on. In 1977, the United States agreed to return the Canal Zone, including the canal itself, to Panamá, though transfer would be gradual so that Panamá would not have full control until 1999. Evidently, Panamá had little use for some of the former US facilities, as they have fallen into disrepair in the past 24 years, likely because the Puente Atlántico was not completed until 2019.

On the other side of the base we entered a large natural area. Along the road we saw agoutis, which are large somewhat-feline-looking rodents. In one spot, a coati approached our car. After some careful deliberation, we decided that it was, in fact, adorable.

(Though it’s licking its paw, we did not feed it.) We continued onward toward the old Spanish fort, passing through an extensive wilderness area. It was clear that there was significant investment into the area as a natural reserve. The roads had been recently repaved, bridges were being improved, and a large ranger station was being constructed. We reached the fort at 3:30, leaving us just 30 minutes to do a quick tour. There was only one other car at the fort, so that once again we were nearly alone.

Like many things in Panamá, the history of Fuerte San Lorenzo is tied to the Spanish extraction of gold and silver from the Americas. As described in the first Panamá post, the Spanish would plunder valuable metals in South America, ship them to Panamá City, trek them overland to the Chagres River, load them on boats to float to the Caribbean, transfer them to larger vessels, and sail them to Europe. The gold and silver brought pirates, particularly where the Chagres met the Caribbean. As a result, Spain built el Fuerte do San Lorenzo on a bluff overlooking the mouth of the Chagres. The fort was constructed at the end of the Sixteenth Century, finishing in 1601. Almost immediately, the fort was under assault. Remember Captain Henry “I just want to market rum” Morgan from the first post? Who attacked and destroyed the original city of Panamá in 1671? He started his campaign by capturing el Fuerte do San Lorenzo in 1670, which he used as his base of operations. The battle was apparently horrific, with the invaders capturing some of the guns and turning them around to attack the fort at point-blank range. Today, the crumbling fort perched in the edge of the jungle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Back to our visit, since we only had 30 minutes we had to move quickly. We first passed a majestic tree covered in woven nests made by black and yellow birds (Montezuma Oropendola).

We started our speed tour by crossing a bridge over a defensive moat.

It was hot, but we all wore long pants to avoid any problems with bugs. Lydie’s sweatpants were particularly effective at making her sweat. All-in-all we were pleasantly surprised by the low level of bugs at the fort and throughout our trip. That’s not to say that there weren’t bugs. In fact, the fort was covered in leafcutter ants hard at work.

The girls enjoyed exploring the fort, bringing back memories of castles from our time in Europe in 2017.

The doorway in the rear of this picture led to a tunnel that connected to the moat.

We turned around and went back inside the fort, where we met up with Julie, and the three girls climbed some of the steps in the old barracks.

From the ramparts of the fort, we could see the mouth of the Chagres River.

With our time dwindling, the girls and I climbed the upper battery behind the fort, the aged stone steps cut into the hillside providing unsteady footing.

From this spot, we could see further out into the distance.

We didn’t see any pirates or privateers, but from our vantage point, we did spot another agouti.

We wrapped up at the fort and headed just a little further down the road to the mouth of the Chagres, where there is a small boat dock. There, we had great views looking back across the water to the fort.

We had one more stop for the day. I still wanted to swim in the Caribbean. In planning the trip, I had picked out a good beach, la Playa Diabillo (the little devil beach), and dropped a pin Google Maps. The problem was that the beach was down a dirt road. After our experience with Pozo Azul, we were a little unsure whether our SUV could make it down the road. We decided to walk instead. Fortunately, as we parked on the side of the road and prepared to hike in, a gentleman who was passing nearby stopped to tell us that we should drive instead. See? Nice people in Panamá. And we were glad we drove, as the beach was further away than we would have liked to have walked given the rough jungle surrounding the road. Here’s a quick time-lapse we made driving out.

We soon made it to the little hidden beach, where we heard howler monkeys yelling in the distance. I got my second swim of the day!

The girls were content with just dipping their toes in the water.

We enjoyed walking around the secluded beach looking for shells, finding some small but pretty ones. It was soon time to go. We wanted to be sure to get back to Budget Car Rental to talk to them about the accident, and they closed at 8 pm. On our way back to the car, a man emerged from the jungle carrying a machete. Clearly recognizing that he might look threatening, he told us not worry and kept his distance. SEE?! Nice people in Panamá.

We got back on the road and were soon on our way to Panamá City. Looking back, I am struck by the timelessness of Panamá. We had driven to a crumbling fort that more than four centuries ago was used to protect the shipment of gold and silver down the Chagres River. To get there, we drove through the crumbling remains of an American fort, also used to protect the shipment of goods and also involving the Chagres, as the lake formed by that river powers the entire canal system. Since Columbus “discovered” the Chagres on his fourth and final voyage in 1502, the river — combined with the geography of the narrow isthmus — has repeatedly and profoundly impacted Panamá, and all signs indicate that’s not changing anytime soon.

We made it back to Panamá City in good time and managed to return the car without any more accidents. It was late so we decided to have a simple dinner at La Rana Dorada, where enjoyed cool drinks and played cards (using cards we bought traveling in Canada in 2019).

We’d crossed the continent twice in one day and swum in two oceans. What a country!

-Will