One needn't look hard to find a lively and informative
virtual landscape linking history, travel, and exploration in
Darién and Panama. Sites range from jungle survival (tens of thousands
of American servicemen were schooled in Panama) to neotropical
field biology (Darién is one of the most species-rich rainforests
in the world) to modern Panama Canal history. Here are some of
my favorites:
For a Panama Canal interactive tour with 1911 video
footage:
www.pbs.org/newshour
A modern, highly visual starting point for any
canal buff is the official Panama Canal website (with English
translation). A webcam at the Miraflores and Gatun locks gives
you a perpetual bird's-eye-view of ships in transit:
www.pancanal.com
If you have questions about a relative who worked
in the Canal Zone, as tens of thousands of Americans did, make
contact with the Florida-based, 4,000-member strong Panama Canal
Society or CZBrats, a cyber organization with vast online resources
(including a "nostalgia menu'' contributed by former Zoners):
www.panamacanalmuseum.org
www.czbrats.com
The Museo del Canal Interoceanico offers a lively, native-based
historical perspective on the wild French and American pre-canal
eras:
www.panamatravel.com/pcmuseum
A newspaperman described the completion of the 1855
transcontinental railroad between Panama and Colon as "the
most sublime and magnificent nuptials ever celebrated upon our
planet, the wedding of the rough Atlantic to the fair Pacific
Ocean.'' You'll find an abundance of period images, with lively
biographies of the key players, at:
www.TrainWeb.org/panama
In a similar vein, there is an excellent virtual
exhibit on the California Gold Rush, the precipitating event to
both the railroad and the ship canal:
www.library.ca.gov/goldrush
If you want more than a taste of history, there
are three must-see U.S. government archival sites— The Naval
Historical Center; the official Navy website; the Library of Congress;
and the National Archives:
www.history.navy.mil
www.memory.loc.gov
www.nara.gov
Cornell University's archival "Making of America"
project has produced a massive digital library of 19th-century
magazines. Over 100,000 journal articles, including those from
Harper's New Monthly and Scientific American,
have been scanned into their database and may be accessed for
free:
cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa
The American Philosophical Society is another treasure trove of
early American scientific explorations, with virtual exhibits
and a searchable manuscript collection. Available online is William
Stanton's comprehensive inventory of "American Scientific
Exploration, 1803-1860":
www.amphilsoc.org/library/guides/stanton
A robust selection of 19th-century travel narratives,
many of them Darién-related, can be purchased through online antiquarian
booksellers. One of the best is:
www.Abebooks.com
For Darién travel, a pre-trip necessity is the South
American Explorers Club. They feature a pithy online newsletter
and a fee-based archive with years' worth of trip accounts from
individual trekkers visiting Darién:
www.Saexplorers.org
The hip guidebook publisher Lonely Planet also offers posts from
its intrepid correspondents:
www.lonelyplanet.com
Regrettably, the U.S. State Department's site is
worth a look. It details any current travel advisories for Darién
and Panama:
www.travel.state.gov/travel_warnings
Most U.S. outfitters contract with the guides at
Ancon Expeditions of Panama, the leading experts in Darién trekking
and naturalist trips:
www.anconexpeditions.com
The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Native Lands
is a strong advocate for the Darién rainforest and it indigenous
inhabitants. Its site features Darién-related articles and an
online bookstore selling books and maps:
www.nativelands.org
If you're curious about flora that may or may not
kill, you should consult the Tico Ethnobotanical Dictionary,
a comprehensive inventory of plantlife assembled by James Duke,
author of the phenomenally obscure Darién Survival Guide:
www.ars-grin.gov/duke/dictionary/tico/
The Panama City-based Smithsonian Tropical Research
Institute is home to the superb Tupper Library (which is searchable
from the site) and lists ongoing seminars:
www.stri.org
If you're searching for a way to visit Darién
but don't want to rough it, try the luxurious Tropic Star Lodge,
on the Pacific side:
www.tropicstar.com
The latest "Survivor: Pearl Islands" was
filmed in the Panamanian island group off the Pacific coast of
Darién:
www.cbs.com
If you like action-suspense films there is the 2003 flick Basic
(Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta) which is set in Darién at
an Army Ranger Survival Training Camp:
www.sonypictures.com
Critically acclaimed director Brad Anderson's Darién
Gap (1996) is the ruminative polar opposite—the troubled
Gen X protagonist fantasizes about trekking the gap but never
gets closer than Boston:
www.blockbuster.com
A Tramp in the Darién (BBC/WGBH,
1988), a personal travel documentary, is author Jonathan Maslow's
funny and informative account of his trek through the heart of
Darién. The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) has
also produced other programs about Darién in
addition to a cyber site where you can test your general jungle knowhow
and survival instincts.
www.wgbh.org
www.bbc.co.uk/nature/programmes/tv/jungle
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