Panama Project: Am I Still In Panama?

Monday, August 19

We left the Castillo’s house about 7:00 am after a breakfast of huevos rancheros and more amazing Panamanian coffee. The coffee was much needed as I did not get much sleep after my computer was giving me problems uploading pictures to the blog and I was determined to get it done last night, which I didn’t. Manuel was so hospitable and gave us his card and told us that if we need anything in Panama to call him and he would take care of it. His son is considering attending TCU Ranch Management and Manuel really wants him to go.

After we left we had a two hour drive to the Province of Chiriqui where we would make our first stop. The road was once again rough as a corn cob but Jess got some dramamine from a grocery in Santiago and was out. She did however wake up when things got interesting at a police checkpoint. The police stop all cars and ask for ID’s which has been no problem up to this point. We didn’t think anything of it until Luis could not find his license to show the authorities. Luis had forgotten his license at a gas station we stopped at where he gave the attendant his ID but never got it back. They pulled us out of the car and brought a drug sniffing dog to search the car. After the Panamanian drug dog, really a puppy, had jumped in the car and smelled our bags and everything checked out ok, obviously, we thought we would be fine. Luis explained our situation but the authorities were giving us the run around and he was having to talk to a lot different "hefes" that didn’t really have any answers. They told Luis he could not continue to drive so we didn’t know what to do and thought we were going to have to sit and wait for someone to come get us untill Jess suggested I drive. We walked back to the building and asked if it was ok if the Texan with the big sombrero drove. After they ran my passport and ID and had to talk to even more "hefes" they finally approved our plan and we were on our way. Im not going to lie, the situation was a little tense for a few moments and yes I got a bit nervous, but it will give us another great memory and something to laugh about when we look back. I think Jess was pretty happy about getting someone else behind the wheel, no offense to Luis but the drivers here are petal to the medal and then get to the brakes hard and fast.

THE Checkpoint

Vamos

After we were on our way, we headed to Abel Miranda’s ranch. Abel was a cow calf producers who also finished his cattle on grass and sold them for harvest. He used a lot of crossbreeding which included Brahman, Simental, Angus, and Beefmasters in which he AI’d his cows to produce both good milking replacements, and good gaining calves. They were one of the first commercial operations we have visited that was tagging cows and keeping records on them. Abel did not feed anything besides mineral year round with the exception of a little salt and protein supplement near the end of finishing. Now it is off to David to the transportation department to try and get Luis an ID. Wouldn’t be a good trip without a little adventure.

Abel (left) explains his crossbreeding operation

Some of Abel's cattle

From left to right-Abel's son, me, Abel, Luis-our host and tour guide

After meeting with Abel we headed into David, Chiriqui to eat lunch and check into the hotel. For lunch we went to El Fogon, a favorite spot of Luis, and had probably the best meat we have had so far. The cut was called Punta de Pallimillo,the point of the sirloin, and is the beef tenderloin of Panama. After tasting the first bite I realized why it was so loved, the meat reminded me a lot of flank steak but had great flavor and even had a little fat which has not been common on the trip so far.

After lunch we checked into the hotel and headed to the University of Panama-Chiriqui campus. The college was a satellite campus and specialized in agriculture, specifically research in all areas of agriculture including fruit production, forage production, beef cattle, dairy cattle, and even pigs and sheep. We met with Dr. Juan Osorio, who took us on a tour of the research farm and then returned to his office were he explained the agriculture industry and markets in Panama with us. The stop was very enlightening and it was great to see the research they were conducting and get a glimpse of what they see the future of animal production in Panama consisting of.

Entrance to the University Of Panama-Chiriqui

Beautiful Campus

Dr. Osorio explaining the research

An embryo transfer calf from Germany-it is a dairy breed of Simental

Dairy Simental and Geer cross calves

Feed mill at the research facility

Dr. Osorio discusses the market structure and obstacles for the industry in Panama

We left the University research center and drove to Valcon, Chiriqui. As you might expect this is a dormant volcano and is the tallest mountain in Panama standing 11,390 feet tall and located on the far West side of Panama just off the border with Costa Rica. As we drove up the mountain the ecosystem changed drastically and the temperature fell as we drove into the clouds surrounding the volcano. It was as if we had been taken out of Panama and placed in Interlaken, Switzerland because it did not even seem like the same country. It was about 70 degrees (finally relief from the heat) and drizzled rain the entire time. The climate was a lot more temperate and the cattle were much more English bred dairy cattle. We even passed one purebred Red Angus producer. Luis took us to a spot where the road was going down hill but when he put the car in neutral we literally began to roll backward uphill. I know you think I am crazy and I don’t know if it was an optical illusion or some sort of freak anomaly of nature but it happened, I promise. Luis said it happens every time you go the spot and it is only a short stretch of road a couple hundred feet long. After witnessing the crazy phenomenon we went back to a small cafeteria where we enjoyed coffee and local cookies on a porch as it rained down. If you ever get the chance to come to Panama, the mountains in West Chiriqui are magnificent, as if the rest of the country is not, and an extremely refreshing break from the heat and humidity.