EL VALLE DE ANTON 🇵🇦 PANAMA

The isthmus we know of as Panama is said to have formed over millions of years with the collision of two tectonic plates in the deep ocean creating a chain of volcanoes that later emerged above the sea surface. El Valle de Anton is a village in the crater of one such ancient volcano surrounded by mountains and clouds just north of Vista Mar Marina and Buenadventura Marina. For many Panamanians that live and work in Panama City, El Valle is the 'country' where they visit their family, grow and harvest fruits and vegetables, and/or spend time on the weekends in nature.

The town is located in the flat wide caldera of the 6 km wide El Valle volcano that is inactive; there is evidence that it erupted as recently as about 300,000 years ago. Because of its elevation (600 m), it is cooler than the Panamanian lowlands. This cooler climate is a welcome respite from the heat at lower elevations.

windswept trees — Windswept trees hi above El Valle de Anton with a view of the Pacific Ocean

Natural attractions near El Valle include the Chorro El Macho waterfall, Las Mozas waterfall, the “square” trees behind Hotel Campestre, and a group of small natural thermal pools. There are many developed hiking trails to walk on. Birding is phenomenal. The area around the town is also known for being one of the last habitats of the critically endangered Panamanian golden frog. Some of the forests around the town are protected areas.

panamanian golden frog — Critically endangered Panamanian golden frog

butterfly — Butterflies are abundant in El Valle in part due to the efforts of the Butterfly Research Station.

The valley is very fertile and produce grows in abundance. There are many people living in and around El valle that sell fresh produce at an open air market in the center of town. In July we found a very wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Some I had never even seen before like this red spikey fruit sold on a branch or by the bushel.

rambutan — Mamon Chino or Rambutan is considered the national fruit of Panama

rambutan fruit — Inside the odd, soft spiney skin is a white, juicy fleshy fruit with a huge seed in the middle.

There are two museums in El Valle de Anton as well. Both highlight the history, culture, biodiversity, and uniqueness of this special place in and of itself, and as it relates to Panama at large. One museum is older, one is quite new; while both tell the same general story, they tell it in very different ways.

A visit to El Valle de Anton is well worth the trip.

by EDITOR

GRAN COLOMBIA

As we are rolling out the new

https://oceanosse.com/colombia

website section(s) with weather - pilot charts and chart-lets our very observant friend

María Lucía

SV PILIALOHA

pointed out that I was using the wrong flag for Colombia - so I asked here to give us a little background - and here is a fascinating story of Colombian History - here is the story

"Thank you for your interest in this flag history of Colombia .

Well, from 1819 to 1831 there was a country called Gran Colombia (Greater Colombia) that encompassed the present territories of Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela and some parts of northern Peru and northwester Brazil.

The flag of unequal horizontal stripes of yellow, blue, and red was adopted in 1822 by Gran Colombia. Although Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, the succeeding states (Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela) incorporated the flag’s tricolor design into their respective flags. Colombia and Ecuador have the yellow covering half of the flag, the other half is blue and red. Colombia’s flag does not have the coat of arms, the Ecuador’s flag has it. The three colors in the Venezuela’s flag have equal sizes and has 10 stars in the blue stripe.

Panama was part of Colombia until 1903 when Panama separated from Colombia because of the construction of the Panama Canal by the United States. This is another interesting history. Below I am coping an excerpt from a web page about this topic.

“With the support of the U.S. government, Panama issues a declaration of independence from Colombia. The revolution was engineered by a Panamanian faction backed by the Panama Canal Company, a French-U.S. corporation that hoped to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans with a waterway across the Isthmus of Panama.

In 1903, the Hay-Herrán Treaty was signed with Colombia, granting the United States use of the Isthmus of Panama in exchange for financial compensation. The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty, but the Colombian Senate, fearing a loss of sovereignty, refused. In response, President Theodore Roosevelt gave tacit approval to a rebellion by Panamanian nationalists, which began on November 3, 1903. To aid the rebels, the U.S.-administered railroad in Panama removed its trains from the northern terminus of Colón, thus stranding Colombian troops sent to crush the insurrection. Other Colombian forces were discouraged from marching on Panama by the arrival of the U.S. warship Nashville.”

Cheers,

María Lucía

SV PILIALOHA "

Historic Map of Gran Colombia

Flag of Ecuador — Current flag of Ecuador

by OCEANPOSSE