I had noticed on google earth a small track leading upward from some 800 meters of altitude up and through some marginal cattle land, then it looked like I could ascend up onto a ridge which looked like it might have some good views.                                                                                                                                      The high country of Panama on the border of cattle farms and the virgin mountain jungle at about 1200 meters altitude, is for the most part fairly close to the spine of the country,  that is to the watershed divide between the Atlantic and Pacific slopes, here the bigger animals of the temperate Forest Sometimes cross over into our world.

Geologically the Isthmus of Panama was, some six million years ago, an island chain that linked the continents of the Northern Americas with the South. Tectonic plate movements forced the land upwards creating the solid bridge that now links the continents together. This allowed the free movement of animals and people to populate both regions. The forces that thrust the continents upward also created many volcanoes, which are mostly today extinct but there geological remains are everywhere to be seen.

Climbing upwards from the end of the track I was soon breathing heavily, the walking path led up through scrub cattle pasture that has been recently cleared and then  joined the track which I had seen on google earth. This soon petered out to nothing, but I was able then to follow a steep ridge upwards.  The the cliffs swept down vertically to the North, and the view became more spectacular each moment.

I surprised myself and a small snake scrambling up a steep section of rock, it was not venomous but it gave me a start anyway. Once I reached the summit of the peak I was able to contemplate the view all the way to the Pacific ocean to the South, To the North above me was the final high mountains of the spine itself and between myself and these jagged saw teeth was temperate rain forrest, home to the animals of the Americas.

I  finished the day by  dropping down into the valley to the South where a small creek ran through the jungle, from there it was some hard going through brush and over boulders of the creek bed. At one point I had to cross a large rock slide of  rounded rocks, clean and dry with the creek running underneath. The rocks were at times loose which led to  an exiting moment as a boulder of over a ton rolled and I had to hop rapidly over to the next one, or get crushed. I was Finally able to make make the end of the track in the late afternoon, I wearily trudged back to where I had parked the motorcycle. It had been a fun, though hard day out.