Theme 3: Economies, Peoples and Cultures

These three countries lie between Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to the north, and Colombia to the south; Managua, our starting point is about 12 degrees north and Panama City, the finishing point, 8 degrees north of the Equator. It is an area of active volcanoes, especially in Nicaragua which lies at the intersection of three continental plates; and the entire area is a continuation of the Pacific fault line which runs down the west coast of North America. The Arenal Volcano is very live and there are great photos on sale of it erupting, but unfortunately it didn't perform while we were in the nearby town of La Fortuna.

For the visitor, the currency in Nicaragua is the cordoba (exchange rate $ 1= Cordoba 21) and in Costa Rica the colones ($1=Colones 518). Dollars are routinely accepted, with change given in local currency. Local currencies are not convertible across the borders. At these exchange rates, Nicaragua is very inexpensive: a large bottle of water cost $1 in Nicaragua and $2.86 in Costa Rica. However, Nicaragua is a poor country, its per capita income being the lowest in Latin America. Panama is a completely $ economy, including coinage, although there appeared to be local coins minted replicating their $ equivalent. I can't really make many valid comparisons as we didn't visit many large towns or cities because it would have made for dangerous cycling. The only capital we stayed in was Panama City; we flew into Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, but it was dark and we travelled straight away to Granada (which has a very attractive, restored old centre near the lake shore). There appeared to be quite a lot of subsistence or very small scale peasant farming in Nicaragua. The extremes between wealth and poverty seemed most evident in Panama: the area around the border was pretty dismal with real urban squalor and poverty (our family visited Nuevo Laredo in Mexico, walking over the border from Laredo in Texas, while we were staying in Dallas in 1982, and it was similarly dismal). In Panama City, where one third of the population lives, the skyscrapers of the so-called financial district sit cheek-by-jowel with the poverty and crime in areas close to the old city (Casco Viejo). The skyline has mushroomed as the city gained prominence as a centre of international banking, cocaine trafficking and money laundering, until Bush Senior invaded the country in December 1989 with 'Operation Just Cause'. The occupancy rate of some of the skyscrapers didn't seem high, but one doesn't need many people to manage letterbox ('shell') companies! The Panama Canal has of course brought big economic benefits.

Proximity of these Central American countries to the United States means that the US influence has been and continues to be substantial-sometimes benign, more often perhaps malign. Nicaragua has a history of involvement with the US as far back as 1909 when the US Marines were sent in to overthrow the Liberal president; they stayed there until 1933. Readers of a certain age are likely to remember the 1978/79 revolution against the Somoza Government by the Sandinista guerillas. After heavy fighting and over 30,000 deaths, the Sandinistas took over; and then won the election held in 1984 with Daniel Ortega elected President. The US failed to recognize this democratically elected government and supported the Contra rebels in a lengthy guerilla war against the Sandinistas which went on until 1990. Reagan on one occasion wore a t-shirt with the label 'I'm a Contra too'. A major political scandal in the US during this period was the 'Iran-Contra Affair' of 1986 when a US flight crew was shot down over Nicaraguan territory. The subsequent period has seen a continuing series of political controversies, with Ortega, as leader of the FSLN party, the dominant political leader.

In Costa Rica, there is some tradition of democratic government going back to 1889, and the country is more stable than its neighbours. The 'revolution' of 1948/49 led the the dissolution of the army which could be somewhat problematic if the current border dispute with Nicaragua isn't resolved by diplomatic means (see following). Other challenges have concerned the role of the US banana multinationals; and issues associated with privatization and deregulation; as well as the allegations at some times of government corruption and links with drug traffickers. Generally, good government and planning appears to have brought major tourism benefits both in beach and wildlife tourism, mainly I assume from the US, but my personal experiences were quite limited.

I have talked about the benefits and controversies surrounding relations with the US over the Panama Canal. We stayed in the Albrook Inn in Panama City which is located in the area which housed the US Air Force base of Albrook Field, until the Canal Zone became Panamanian territory. According to our trip notes, the opulent dwellings which were residences for American military officers, are now dwellings for the elite class of Panama with good connections to government. The ownership of the Canal was a source of bitter resentment for many years. The ending of Panama's protectorate status by the US in 1939 and the limiting of the latter's rights of intervention, having little effect on anti-US feelings. A key political figure in the years from the early 1980s was General Noriega who had both removed existing Presidents and annulled elections before formally assuming powers as Head of State in 1989. The US miltary 'Just Cause' invasion, mentioned above, led to Noriega's arrest and extradition to the US on drug trafficking and related charges. Noriega was sentenced to 30 years in prison and released in 2007. The country has had a reputation as a dumping ground for international political criminals seeking asylum, and the political situation remains highly volatile. Personally I didn't get good vibes in Panama City - although it's hard to put a finger on the reasons. It may simply have been the big city environment after the peace of the countryside and the small towns we experienced for most of the trip. One (of many doubtless) remnants of US influence in Panama is the celebration of Thanksgiving: so I had a pretty genuine Thanksgiving dinner at the Pencas Restaurant set right on the bay of Panama City, comprising Turkey soup, Turkey and accompaniments, and Apple pie; a bit weird but enjoyable.

Aside from internal politics and US relations, inter-state relationships can also be volatile. I had heard the story of the border current dispute between Nicaragua and Costa Rica from our Trip Leader and from Walter, and The Economist newspaper discussed it too in its 13th November 2010 edition. In what can be considered the first 'Google War'(!), the Nicaraguans claimed that Google Maps showed the south side of the San Juan River (until then Costa Rican territory) to be in Nicaragua. Google then admitted an 'inaccuracy' in its map, noting that its maps 'should not be relied on to make military decisions' (The Economist, p66). The dispute is bound up with Nicaraguan politics and the aims of the former Sandinista guerrilla leader Daniel Ortega to seek a third, unconstitutional, term as President of the country. Nicaragua has the support of Hugo Chavez of Venezuela who has provided donations to offset the cut in Western aid associated with Ortega's trampling over the constitution. Walter, however, asserted that Chavez was seeking to revive an old plan to build a trans-ocean canal along the San Juan River and through Lake Nicaragua to the Pacific. In fact this route had been a serious contender with the Isthmus of Panama in the early days of exploration, but current plans seem like a pipe-dream, especially with ongoing works to widen the Panama Canal. As a postscript to the above, The Economist (March 12th 2011) reported that the 'International Court of Justice ruled that Nicaragua must remove its troops from Calero Island in Costa Rica. Nicaragua sent the soldiers there last year when it began dredging a channel in the San Juan river, which marks the border between the two countries. However, the court said that Nicaragua could go on dredging, despite Costa Rica's claim of environmental damage.'

I have mentioned already about the Afro-Caribbean population on the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica. They are primarily in the province of Limon, where black peoples of Jamaican descent make up around one third of the population, speaking Jamaican English as their native tongue. My guide Walter at the Hanging Bridges reserve was of Jamaican mixed-race origins and still spoke in a Jamaican accent. He told me that his grandfather had come from Jamaica as a slave to clear the forests and work in the banana plantations, followed later by his grandmother. He commented that until the 'revolution' in 1948/49 (primarily about disputed election results and the country's constitution), the Caribbean population were not allowed out of their coastal enclaves, meaning discrimination and segregation by race (I'll need to check the accuracy of this). Once free movement was allowed, many of these black Jamaicans moved inland where their English language capabilities were valuable in customer-facing businesses (including tourism) in the cities. Reflecting this trend, the black population in Limon had declined from 57% in 1927 to 33% fifty years later. While a topic for comment on a later day, there was considerable international pressure in the 1990s over poor labour conditions, labour rights abuse and low levels of unionisation (despite supposed constitutional guarantees of union freedom) in the banana plantations.