For the next week, all government offices are closed.  Panama is celebrating their independence from Columbia over 100 years ago.

I’ll try to relay what I was told regarding it, so if you want to google it go ahead and read the approved version.

Panama used to be part of Columbia.  At that time, they brought in the French to do the Panama Canal.  They failed and left.  It was such a fiasco – 20 000 dead from yellow fever, dengue fever, all the money spent, etc… – that the Columbians didn’t want to pursue it further.

The ‘muricans didn’t care for that point of view.  The canal has Panama city on one ocean, and Colon on the other.  All the military brass was staying in Colon, and decided to inspect the Panama city side, at which point they all boarded the train, and upon arrival at the other side, the ‘muricans arrested them all.

There was a Columbian gunship in the bay over there, and they fired a few rounds into the city, killing a goat (that’s what I was told – lol) and nothing more, and it became what is now known as a bloodless coup.

Panama became a country, the ‘muricans took control of the canal in that they owned the land for 1 mile on either side of it all the way through, and then finished it.  Thus was born “the Canal Zone”.

The ‘muricans have milked the canal for well over 100 years, and this country has seen next to nothing for it aside from the best infrastructure in Central America, and stability.  Pretty much throughout Panama, you can drink the water from the taps, and no one will be allowed to rock the boat down here.

Considering the fact that were you to look up and around wherever you are in North America, roughly half of what you see would have made its way through this canal, you’d think this country would be glittering with gold, but it’s not.  The last guy that thought the arrangement unfair was Noriega, and we all know what happened to him.  Sorry, let me rephrase that… we all know what we are told…. nope… let’s try that again… we all know he’s bad… and that’s about it.  LOL

As always, the history of Central America is only found from the mouths of those that lived here.