panamanian red zone marathon training
ahhh…panama city…the sites, the sounds, the smells…
took off last night from chilly portland, a quick stop through houston and on to Panama City. Very uneventful flights which is what i prefer…
landing in a foreign country is so inspiring, as the pilot announced final approach, i clicked on some kirtan - nothing like chanting the names of gods as we glide into a unknown land…i was so full of enchanted gratitude, a childish grin on my face as our plane flew over a grid lock of ships waiting to pass through the canal (more to come on the canal)
surfboards arrived safely (whew) and our driver picked us up and off we went through the roadways of Panama City. for the first time in my travels, my sense of smell recognized the familiar scents of cooking food, not so processed waste, and exhausting petrol…hmmm, back in the third world…
we found out that our bus up north to the surf camp was not tomorrow, but actually tonight at 10pm - a surprise to us, one that we made Oliver (our resident translator) confirm more than a few times - “noche¿ noche¿ noche¿”
after a great meal in the hotel bar and two cervescas, Luke and I decided to head out for a little adventure. It was around 3pm and neither of us wanted to nap. Panama City has a great skyline - nearly 30 skyscrapers, modern towers of glass, clustered near the coastline south of the entrance to the canal stood before us. we looked at a map and it seemed like the canal was close, so we put on our running shoes and started to head north.
from our original vantage point, the area north (at the mouth of the entrance) was an old, classic port town with 16th century church towers. a quick jog through the fishing port brought us closer to the core culture of panama - i was feeling grounded after traveling for the last 12 hours. we headed to the church towers to find a quaint, preserved section of panama city - beautifully restored 19th century spanish style flats, center courtyards with statues of various non-panamanians who once occupied this region. the pinnacle of the area, a lookout at a point where we could see ships entering the canal just a mile away.
the sun was still an hour from going down, so we decided to head east around the point to catch a view of one of the great wonders of the modern world.
as we left the harbor point district, the area became much more urban…large project style buildings, many locals hanging out on the streets. at one point, we started to turn left down a side street, but a bunch of locals yelled out to us and cautioned us to not go there…i started to get a little concerned…but the sun was out and there were police (with bulletproof vests) out on the street…it was great seeing the culture of the people, again the smells of the street, the sounds of a foreign language…
we reached to top of a hill where we planned to turn north to meet the canal when a taxi pulled up to us - “where are you guys from? you´re in the red zone, you better get out of here - it´s dangerous!”
luke and i looked at each other…time to turn around! we quickly switched directions - i dropped into a zone of vigilance - like mile 23 of a marathon - running with an intense core purpose…although this purpose was to get back to the hotel! we ran back through the streets that seemed to jubilant and free just 15 minutes earlier, now the voices seemed like warnings, heeding an impending doom…the sun was setting and the shadows getting heavier…a family with a little girl whom we had passed earlier approached us - the little girl told us to run straight and don´t go down any side streets - her father nodding his head approvingly…looking at us with concern…
with more purpose, we kicked up the pace…the street seemed much longer this time…the shanties more omnious…luke thought he heard a crowd of people cheering for us as if we accomplished some feat that most foreigners never do…
finally we ran back to the port district - other tourists returning to their taxies to be swiftly evacuated from the creeping darkness…only 10 more minutes to the hotel…we took a breather…
i turned to luke - “that was probably the craziest thing i´ve ever done in a foriegn country…” i mumbled between heavy breaths…
we jogged back to the hotel - satisfied and amazed at what just happened…we observed how the common - maybe even lower-class panamanians lived…there was a sweetness beyond the grime and strung out vagrants…kids playing soccer in the fields, people conversing, listening to music…compared to the vanilla, desolate communities that we are building in suburban america - where families hunker down in 3500 sqft homes, it seems like a meltingpot of humanity…one that we were not welcome in, but lucky enough to catch a passing glance at…
lesson learned…no more unplanned runs for me…but eternally grateful to be here experiencing planet earth…
February 4th, 2007 at 4:36 am
Running in the Red Zone! Beautiiful!