IN SEARCH OF DENDROBATES
Panama, June 1995  Part 1

Paul Armitstead

As we stepped off the plane that, incidentally, was the new D11 commissioned in January this year for KLM, the heat and humidity hit us WOOOOMPH!

It was around 7.00pm local time, and Panam¶ was six hours behind U.K. We went through immigration and found our way to a taxi - or should I say about a dozen taxis found us! We got into one and I asked the driver to take us to the Hotel Montreal in the City itself. For those who have never been to Central America I will explain....

It is a case of every car for itself; no rules, no give-ways, no signals and no M.O.T.s. The cars are falling apart around your ears, and if you are lucky they will have four tyres with a little tread and only half a dozen dents, and... there is only one speed - fast!

Anyway, shaken but not deterred, we arrived at the hotel that was recommended to me by Bernd Pieper. We checked in for two nights and collapsed onto our beds.

In Panam¶ it gets dark around 6.50pm and light at 5.30am. The next morning we were up at 5.45am ready for our first day. We had breakfast served by three lovely Panamanian girls and headed for the town centre. Briefly, we spent the day making enquiries and booking our internal flight for the Province of Bocas del Toro.

In the afternoon we wandered towards a hill covered in forest, on the outskirts of the city. It was a U.S. base of some sort. Anyway, as we approached there were some large Nephilia spiders, well over three inches (7.5cms) long on their webs between bushes, and a large, unfortunate Boa flat on the road.

As we walked off the path and into the forest, there were hundreds of Leaf-Cutter ants hurrying along with sections of neatly trimmed leaf in their mandibles. They all followed their well-trodden paths and disappeared into the forest undergrowth. As I scanned the area, right in front of me hopped a jewel of a frog. I shouted to Ian, who came hurriedly with excitement. 

It was clearly an auratus, but it was a beautiful Bourneville-chocolate colour, with lime-green spots. I got out a container and caught the little beauty for closer observation. It was over two inches (5cms) in size and had a powerful hop. Another caught my eye and in all we found seven. The base colour was the same, but the spots were stripes on some of them. We heard no call at all from them but we got the camera out and filmed the little gems.

After being bitten by just about every mosquito in the neighbourhood, we decided to return to the hotel. We were supposed to meet a friend there but he had not checked in, so we had a great meal that evening of langoustines, which are like crayfish done in garlic. After the meal we went to the balcony and picked out at least seven different frog calls. The air was alive with their croaking.

The next morning, still not having heard from our friend, we got a taxi to La Paitilla Airport and caught a twenty-seater plane to Ganguinola Airport, as Bocas was still closed for repairs after the earthquake in 1991. We now have it that it will re-open in September of this year.

The flight took one hour and forty minutes, and we flew over the Panam¶ Canal from the Pacific, inland across to the Caribbean. It was so beautiful looking down on the rainforest below and over the Provinces of Code, Colon, Veraguas and, finally, Bocas del Toro.

As we approached the Province, we were saddened by one thing - our damned luggage had been left behind at Paitilla Airport. What the hell were we to do?

It seemed that the plane was 200lb over weight with luggage, and so some had to be taken off. Yes, you've guessed it, ours was part of it. Now, the next flight to Changuinola was at 4.15pm and the time now was 8.30am. We had 8 hours to kill, and as we were surrounded by banana plantations for a dozen or so miles each way, we had to stay put. We decided to book into a hotel next to the airport, so we could at least have a shower, but as to a change of clothes, they were back with the luggage in Panama City. And to top the lot, lan's luggage label had the wrong destination on it. As far as we could tell, it was going to the Darien, totally the opposite way from us. Boy, what a day we were having!

Anyway, to cut a long story short, we had a shower, went for something to eat and after yet another shower to kill some more time, we went back to the airport to wait for our rucksacks. lan and I got chatting to the local police and immigration officers, so it passed the time away.

4.15pm finally came and we were so pleased to see BOTH our rucksacks. Now we could continue on our journey to the Bocas Islands. While we had been waiting for our luggage, we had arranged for a taxi to take us the 30 or so kilometres to Almirante, our next stop.  We piled in and off we went, again at breakneck speeds. It is funny how my memories of car journeys in Panama are just GREEN BLURS!

The journey took about 35 minutes, but the scenery was stunning. We went over the Rio Changuinola and that was again unbelievable as the bridge was a railway track for bananas, and God help you if there is a train coming!  Apparently more than one vehicle has been seen disappearing over the 40 foot high bridge. To cap it all, alligators abound down there.  However, as we came down the other side of the mountain road, there in view were the Islands - and what a breathtaking sight.

We arrived in Almirante at about 5.15pm and the driver took us straight to a water taxi. Not the regular one, as we had missed them for the day. This was a private one and yes, it was going to cost more. We hired a nine-seater boat for $25. Unbeknown to us he had two other people to pick up as well, and charged them the same. One hell of a racket he's playing!

As we put distance between us and Almirante, the scenery was a sight to behold. Lush green primary rainforest adorned the edges of the river while parrots flew overhead squawking for all they were worth. Soon we were meeting the part where the river meets the sea, and that became a bit rough. Mangrove islands were dotted around everywhere. About 40 minutes later we arrived at Isla ColÚn and pulled alongside a hotel at the water's edge. We had planned on staying at the Hotel Bah®a, but again unbeknown to us the water taxi was paid to bring guests to this place, the Hotel Thomas or as others call it Hotel Las Brisas. We did not mind, though, as it had been a long day and we were to find out later that this was paradise compared with the Bah®a.

We booked in for three nights initially, as we were told the hotel would be fully booked after that by a party of Americans. The room was great, air conditioned and very clean. Outside the window large purple and orange crabs scuttled about, foraging for any scraps of food they could find.

The next day we got up bright and early and found a place a few hundred yards down the main road that served some sort of breakfast. Having eaten, we got our cameras together and studied the map on the hotel wall. A friend of mine to whom I had been introduced by Bob and Val Davies had been to these islands two weeks prior to us, and she was doing a film on Dendrobates pumilio for American television. She had given me invaluable information on the location of Dendrobates and she had even set us up with a local Indian guide who we were to meet later. She told us that some people she met out here - namely Phillipe and Shirley Barcer - had a patch of land called Big Bight, and that it was rainforest with resident D. pumilio.

We flagged down one of the eight taxis on the island and asked the driver if he knew of this place. We ended up showing him on the map, and right away he recognised it. Five miles later we were there, and I arranged for him to pick us up in four hours' time. Five dollars would ensure that! We looked around and this was it. About 200 yards up ahead there was rainforest, and nothing else. We set off.

After 150 yards we spotted two people harvesting some sort of crop. One of them saw us and came over to greet us. It was Shirley, and she made us very welcome. We told her who we were and that Emma, my friend who had been out earlier, had told me about Big Bight, and so we had decided to visit. She showed us a small trail, and we were to shout if we needed any assistance. Some hope of them hearing us where we were going!

As we disappeared out of view, we were aware of all the creatures hurrying around us. Ants of all sizes were carrying one thing or another. Butterflies with magnificent colours fluttered about, jewelled lizards ran up and down trees while spiders of all shapes and sizes sat in their webs. Suddenly, a snake came into view and stopped when it sensed me. I took out the video camera and started to film. It looked like a vine snake and as I approached it reared up, mouth agape. What a sight this was, but lan was keeping a safe distance. Not me. The closer the better. I never did have any sense of danger. It entwined itself around the various plants and then off it went.

Suddenly, the noise we had been waiting to hear started - ek ek ek ek ek ek!! It was a male D. pumilio. We scanned the ground and surrounding vegetation, but could see nothing until one moved about five feet up a tree along a branch. It was what this trip was all about. It was a male, an inch in size and lime green with large, black blotches all over its body. There was an orange tint to all its legs and he was calling for all he was worth. We spotted another and another and on we went. Once you have spotted one, you know the colour form you are looking for and it then becomes much easier. There were males courting females everywhere, dozens of them.

lan's recently developed interest in frogs was due to me. His main interest is in Theraphosids (large spiders). He has an amazing collection of tarantulas at his home in Cambridge, and he wanted to find some in Panama. As luck would have it, while I was filming a male lizard displaying his pouch to a female he shouted to me, startling every animal for a square mile, I should think. He had found a hole in a tree, and upon poking a stick in it there came rushing out a large, dark brown tarantula. It was a female and she was about eight inches (20cm) in diameter. It took me about twenty minutes to catch her as lan again was a little dubious, and anyway I had done this before in other countries. Also, another smaller tarantula came out of the same hole, so we caught that one as well.

There was an abundance of Rocket Frogs here and it was mostly primary rainforest. After we had satisfied ourselves with all the lovely fauna we headed back, and sure enough the taxi came along on time.

That evening we met Emma's guide (now also ours) named Tapio Smith or, as he preferred to be called, Musa. We sat and came to an agreement of $25 per day for him and his small boat, the Zapatilla which was named after one of the islands. We also wanted to visit the island of Bastimentos but you needed a permit because it was a marine park and protected. 'No problem', he said. It turned out that ANGON, the department to which we had to apply for a permit to visit Bastimentos, was next door to our hotel - and his cousin was one of the wardens!

That evening we were all well pleased with ourselves and had arranged for Musa to take us to Bastimentos the next morning. We rounded off the evening at Todos Tropical Bar, another place Emma had told us about, and it was Heaven. Cold beers. King Red Lobster.  And a view you only find on postcards.....

We got ourselves ready very early the next morning, as we were excited about our trip by boat to Isla Bastimentos.

Musa brought the Zapatilla round to the mooring at the back of our hotel. We greeted him rather enthusiastically and climbed aboard. It was a pleasant 12-minute ride and we were soon at the jetty of Isla Bastimentos. One snag arose and that was Musa had forgotten to get our permits to allow us to venture onto Bastimentos. You see, it is a wildlife refuge, and unless you are Panamanian, you need a permit to enter. So, he suggested that we give him our passports and he would go off and get them while we spent the day there. I was very dubious about parting with them, but I saw no other choice.

We told him to collect us in five hours and as Musa disappeared round the key, we set off up the hill. Bastimentos consists of a close-knit village on the shore, and that's about it. The odd shack here and there and the rest is forest. We ambled around on the outskirts of the town, and we were then aware of this beautiful sound. Yes, it was D. pumilio, the red and black variety. They were everywhere, dozens of them, and all different shades of red. We were in our element!

We filmed as much as we could and wandered further afield.  As I climbed a steep bank, a frog hopped to my left, and I was left speechless. It was brown/black, and had golden yellow stripes over its snout and down its sides. I dropped everything (which was damned stupid, as on reflection it was all my camera equipment) and got out a container. After much slipping and sliding I caught the little beauty, and boy! was I pleased. At the time I had no idea what it was, but upon returning to England I have found it in the T.F.H. book Poison Frogs: Jewels of the Rainforest. It is a rare colour form of Phyllobates lugubris, which the book says is believed to be on Bastimentos.  Well, I can definitely confirm that.

We came across six more of them and they were by far the fastest moving frog that we found. There were once again plenty of Rocket Frogs about.

We came across several scorpions in the process of lifting leaf litter, and it was a bit unnerving. We decided to move on again and along the way we met a local who knocked down a couple of coconuts, and with one swipe of his cutlass he took the top off each one, and we drank about a pint of cool, sweet liquid.

We found more colour forms of D. pumilio, and these were beige and black and orange and black. I never thought I would ever say this, but after a while the males calling began to get on my pip, and as we approached the shore I was glad to be rid of their incessant chattering. After we decided that we had got all we wanted, we went to the only store on the island which, by coincidence, was above the jetty. The heat was unbearable, and we were glad that the store had two seats and plenty of 'COLD BEER'. We chatted to the owner whose name was Joe, and he told us all about the history of Bastimentos.

Musa returned on time and we were glad to have our passports back. That evening we dined again at Todos with a cool cerveza and a plate of fresh crab.

The next day was planned for Cayo Nancy, which is a remote island except for one inhabitant. As arranged, Musa picked us up early and the journey was only ten minutes. For those who do not know about this island, it is totally wild and forested. We were dropped five metre from shore, and had to wade in water up to our hips. Once on land we had to climb one-hundred metre bank, and let me tell you it was very steep and Ian nearly fell over the top. It was all rainforest and more beautiful than you could imagine. If I was to die, then I could think of no better place than the remote rainforest of Cayo Nancy. Another name for this place immediately sprang to mind: HEAVEN....

As I neared the top, there in front of me was the most gorgeous frog so far encountered. It was 100% golden and I just had to catch it. I fumbled for one of two tubs that I had put in my trouser pockets, and leapt like a madman at this little jewel. Eventually Ian got to the top and I produced the little gem. He could not believe its beauty.

As we got over the ridge it was a choice of going left or right. We chose the right, and as we wandered the beautiful golden D. pumilio were everywhere. Males were calling for all they were worth and to my mind no amount of money in the world could compare to this. There were so many Golden Pumilio that we had to watch where we were walking.

The rainforest quickly became too dense and so we had to turn back and go the other way. We decided to go down this ravine and that was a big mistake! We were lost!

As we crossed a stream by means of a fallen tree, Ian looked up and through the sunlight he saw a shadow of a large spider on the upper side of a banana leaf. He shouted to me and I hurried to him. As before, Muggins here had to collect it. As I pulled the stem toward me, the spider dropped to the ground and scuttled under a leaf. I grabbed a tub and jumped down after it. Carefully lifting the leaf I discovered it was a VERY poisonous wandering spider, about three and on half inches long. I momentarily shuddered.

I took the lid off the container and lunged at the beast.  No problem; I caught it and as I expected Ian jumped up and down with total glee. We filmed the frogs and managed to find our way back to the pick-up point. However: we were ninety minutes early and so after putting our gear against a tree, we looked around. Then, something unexpected happened. One minute it was sunny, the next WHOOOSH. Down came the rain. In three minutes we were totally soaked to the skin and what was more, the rain brought out the Bullet Ants, which have defensive armour you would not believe. Ian was running about like a headless chicken fighting off the mini marauding beasts, while I just stood there in stitches of laughter.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. The sun came through with a vengeance. As we dried ourselves in the sun, we were aware of something dive-bombing us, and looking up we saw it was a humming bird. Upon closer observation we realised we were under her nest and so we moved away, but not before getting the video out to film her.

Musa soon arrived and again we ended up at Todos for the evening and this time dined on Sea Conch. As we looked out toward the Caribbean, little did we know that the next day was to be our best.

Next morning the weather was lousy. We got our heads together and decided to go to Isla Split Hill. Off we went and as Isla Colon faded from view, the heavens opened. In minutes we were soaked, and the journey was to take us 75 minutes. We weaved in and out of lots of mangrove islands and eventually moored up to a jetty. Musa got out and was greeted by three locals standing at a make-shift bar.

To cut this part of the story short, Ian and I spent two hours looking for frogs, but came back to the bar empty handed and somewhat disgruntled. We asked Musa whereabouts on this small island frogs had been sighted. To our amazement he replied, "No one has found frogs on this small island". Ian and I were gobsmacked! All Musa was doing was getting his $25.00 at the end of the day!! We bought a couple of cervezas which by now we badly needed, and looked across to the mainland which was about 900 metres away.

I casually asked Musa what was over there, and you could have knocked me over with a feather when he replied, Blue Poison Arrow frogs. With that, Ian and I were in seconds sitting in the boat ready and waiting. In three or four minutes we pulled up to this old water-side stilted shack and Musa introduced us to Cerrado Ricardo, our guide. Musa shot off back across to the bar. He was more than useless sometimes.

Anyway, we watched our guide don his wellies and an almighty huge cutlass, and off we went, disappearing into the dense interior within minutes.

We followed a small and winding track and as we neared a clearing we heard that wonderful sound: EK, EK, EK. I scanned the immediate vicinity and on a fallen branch was a blue male D. pumilio courting a female. I was in Heaven. I got the camera out as Ian slowly came over. He was taken aback, as I was, by their brilliant blue sheen.

We saw about fifteen in all, so there were not many blue individuals compared with other species on their own islands. On our way back to Cerrado's hut, we found D. auratus as well.

Again, to cut this last episode shorter, we paid Cerrado and he took us in his motorized dug-out canoe (which to our horror was flooding very quickly due to the fact it had more holes than a golf course) back to Musa.

Our next day was to Isla Popa, Island of Snakes. Two nine year old boys with bare feet the size of HobbitsÆ from Lord of the Rings were to be our guides. We were led uphill for about a mile over grassy tracks, which then led to the forest. We were suddenly surrounded by dozens of green, blue and yellow D. pumilio - such lovely colours on just one frog species. Again, we filmed them and also collected many colour forms of wandering spider.

On the way back we came across Musa at one of the locals huts trying to buy a baby Amazon parrot for $3.00, but he, as usual, had no cash. So Muggins here bought it for him for $5.00, as I had nothing smaller in change.

While on our meanderings we also found an isolated island with one very special frog which I intend to revisit next year. This, however, will have to remain a secret for now as its colour is unknown as far as I am aware. The whole trip was wonderful, and for those who are interested I am planning a further visit for June 1997, again to Panama.