Flying to Panama

Despite the facets of traveling overseas to accomplish research, we were committed to getting to the site before the frog extinction wave hit, making the necessary measurements, and going back again after the wave had passed through. Planning such a trip is not an easy task. As with all trips to developing countries in the tropics, immunizations and travel precautions were required. Packing for an extended trip is always difficult. Adding the requirement of accomplishing cutting edge research exponentially increases the difficulty.

We needed to plan the experiments in exact detail, while accounting for the inevitable contingencies that arise in the field when plans meet reality. I have driven three hours to a research site, only to turn around 15 minutes after arriving for having forgot an essential piece of equipment. The prior Panama research team had a pump break down and a student sat next to the stream for hours making exact additions of test solutions. Best laid plans go awry, which could spell disaster in places so far removed from sources of scientific equipment and materials. Requirements for air travel (chemicals cannot be packed in suitcases so must be ordered by an institution in Panama) compound the situation. Travel restrictions following terrorist attacks now preclude carrying significant amounts of fluids onboard, yet solvents and chemicals that cause concern are required for our research.

Not only does is planning required to get research equipment overseas, but also arrangements must be made so samples can be brought back. It is difficult to keep a significant amount of sample material frozen during international travel. Only very small quantities of dry ice are allowed on airplanes and many samples are unusable if they thaw out. Also, permits are required to remove biological materials from other countries and transport them into the United States. Permits necessitate a lot of advanced paperwork, planning, and waiting.

Restrictions on bringing biological materials back into the States are reasonable; incalculable economic and ecological damage could result if the wrong pest was released into the US. It has happened before, and will happen again. Take for example kudzu, water milfoil, purple loosestrife, zebra mussels, and many other nuisance species introduced into the states. People try to smuggle all kinds of animals and plants across international borders. Restrictions are also in place to stop trade in endangered species, living or dead.

Pieces of equipment absolutely essential for successful completion of experiments must be carried onto planes. This expensive equipment could be lost in transit or damaged by inattentive baggage handlers. In simpler times carrying undefined, but complex electronic equipment onto airplanes was not problematic. Our $8000 oxygen/ temperature probes with data loggers are long, bazooka-like tubes crammed with electronics. These tubes are guaranteed to catch the attention of airport security. Every time we try to check into a flight with them, we are questioned and searched.

We made it onto the plane. Lists had been made and checked, experiments designed and discussed, travel arrangements made and verified, equipment checked and packed, and the adventure was beginning for real. The plane took off, and we all worked on papers or other materials to offset the time we were losing to a day of travel.

We had left our comfortable homes typical of the middle class in the United States, and arrived in Panama City around 10:00 pm after a long day of travel. I had started at 5:00 am. We boarded the plane in North America in February, wearing jeans and long-sleeved shirts and stepped into a hothouse climate as we exited the airplane.

The wet tropics smell unique. If you have never smelled it before, it is hard to describe. If you have smelled the tropics before, the sensation rushes back at you every time you return, like the smell of grandma's closet never quite leaves you. It is a sweet funk that never develops, even in the summer, in temperate climes. It is not the reek of party effluvia that courses through Bourbon Street, but part of that odor is there. The odor, in part, is spiced by the perfume of tropical flowers that always bloom where there is no winter. Flowers that would smell like sleazy perfume in a cheap bar, were they not the real thing. The odor is part mashed bananas and citrus, slightly fermenting. The smell is mixed with the musk of fungus and rot encouraged by moisture and continuous temperature optimal for growth of microbes.

Humidity envelops the traveler immediately as they leave the confines of the temperature controlled jet. On my walk into the terminal, the heat and humidity, the smell, and the language on the signs and of the travelers in the airport affirmed that I was not in Kansas anymore.
We stumbled through immigration and the Panamanian officials only took a cursory look at our passports. They obviously wanted to go home and we were clearly not a threat. We made our way to the baggage claim, where we met with some of the members of the party who were already in Panama City, Roberto Brenes (a student from Matt?s department), Edgardo Griffith (hired to live in Panama and help with the project) and a couple of temporary workers on the project.

Edgardo made a strong impression at first, but I did not realize he would end up being one of the central figures in this story, and that we would make a strong bond of friendship over the next few years. Edgardo is a large personality, so difficult to tell how tall he is. He has dark skin, curly hair, liquid brown eyes and a huge smile with prominent white teeth. He wears the clothing of youth with large sagging shorts and t-shirts. Edgardo has the Creole look of Caribbean jambalaya heritage, difficult to put a finger on, maybe some African, some native Indian, and some Spanish. Whatever, I suspected that he has little trouble getting noticed by women. More importantly his gregarious smile puts everyone at ease immediately.

There were lots of bags and it was to be expected that it would take awhile to get them all. After the last bag came off the carousel, mine still had not appeared. Shoot! Immediately I started thinking through what equipment I had that we might have to do without. I was glad that I had carried on my digital camera and wished I had carried on my toiletries. It was obviously going to be a late night because we needed to fill out the baggage tracking forms. Luckily Edgardo helped with the baggage claim service. My Spanish is good enough to get a hotel, a bathroom, a drink and a meal with a bit of struggle and copious hand signals. Describing a lost bag and understanding how the airline would deal with it was beyond me, and the airlines had no English speakers on duty. Edgardo settled things as far as they could be settled and gave them all our Panamanian contact information.