Lions in Sight is a subgroup formed by Lions and optometrists in the late 1990’s.  Originally (and still well represented), most of the volunteers and doctors for the group came from the San Francisco area.  The group expanded activities in the 21^st century with a vision clinic a year to Mexico’s 8 Lion regions.  One to two other trips went afield to more distant clinics – Palestine, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Lithuania, Armenia, Albania, etc.  Lion volunteers and doctors soon came from all over the US helping spread the motto of Lionism “We Serve”.

Lions in Sight

LIS clinics would not exist without the help of locals – mostly local Lion members. They are responsible for setting up locations for the clinic; handing out tickets to locals in need before the clinic; obtain lodging, local transport and food arrangements for the LIS team.  In return, a hardworking clinic results with thousands of patients served. They receive recycled or new glasses and are screened for ocular disease problems to be referred to local ophthalmologists.  The clinic mission locations are determined by requests from the local Lion clubs outside of the United States.  Such a Lions request for a clinic had been sent out originally from Panama.

LIS to Panama

The clinic originally scheduled for Chiriquí Province in the far west of Panama.  Remember, Panama lies on a west-east basis instead of the normal North American thought of north-south.  Chiriquí is about six hours by bus from Panama City.  For reasons beyond me, Panama Chiriquí Lions decided they could not host a clinic. The clinic became hosted by the clubs of Penonomé and El Valle del Anton.  That meant less time on the bus for our team. 

Team Panama

From the United States, LIS brought together four optometrists, one almost graduating optometry student, two opticians, one nurse and four hardworking Lions club members and wives to form the core of the clinics. The LIS team also featured a refracting technician from northern Mexico – Chihuahua State. A team of five optometry students led by their professor further augmented our team making the venture a truly North American experience.

The UDELAS – Universidad Especializada de las Américas or Specialized University of the Americas – professor had served on an earlier LIS trip I went with to Las Tablas several years prior as a student, herself. That was before graduation and a journey to Madrid where she earned a doctorate degree.

With all of the construction of a larger highway going west from Panama and a light rail system as well, this meant less time in the bus.  My last visit to western Panama was in 2015 to Las Tablas.  That was a four-five-hour never-ending ride that I did not want to replicate.  So, a two-three-hour ride seemed fine.

Quick visit to the Canal

On the way out of Panama City, our LIS team stopped at the Miraflores Panama Canal Visitor Center. Here we watched a large Korean Panamax car carrier passing through the second lock on the Pacific side. There are two locks at Miraflores and another one soon reached to the east at Pedro Miguel. 

There are two visitor centers for the canal.  One is on the Pacific side at Miraflores.  Here, you observe boats transiting the older canal. This canal remains the busiest by far with ship costs half of what they are in the newer canal.  You can see ships from the Miraflores Visitor Center transit the newer canal in the far distance.

However, you get no idea of how that canal operates.  Here, it is all water loss and electric mule trains to guide vessels through the locks.   To get an idea of the new lock operations, you must go to the Caribbean side near Colon. At Agua Clara Visitor Center, you see how vessels go through the newer canal.   While gaining a good idea of the newer canal you lose out on the old canal of Gatun locks. The three locks – back-to-back-to-back – are in the far distance.

Onward to the old city of Panama

From Miraflores, we did a quick visit to the UNESCO heritage site of Casco Viejo Panama.  Here, life began again following the 1671 Henry Morgan attack upon the original site of Panama City located between the present city and the international airport at Tocuman.  Casco Viejo represents the central spot for tourism in Panama today, gentrified into a place of history for tourists.

Then it was on to another short stop at Flamenco Island, one of three islands connected to the mainland off the Pacific entrance to the Canal.  Previously during the American administration of the Canal, these islands housed large defensive guns to protect the Pacific entry.  The guns now long gone, replaced by restaurants and marinas. 

Here is another great view of all the towers rising along the Pacific in the city proper over the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries.  Next, back to cross over the Canal on the Bridge of the Americas and venture westward through traffic on the Pan-American Highway and the construction of a large freeway and a new monorail project.  Eventually, our Panama Lions team reached Penonomé, the site of our first two days of clinic.

Penonomé

The clinic ran from a Health Center on the back side of the Penonomé Mall.  The clinic saw almost 1,000 patients over two days in very warm conditions.  Penonomé is an interesting city in that there is a large Chinese minority living here which has successfully become an important part of the Panamanian culture.  Penonomé is the capital of the Coclé Province. 

The team enjoyed a meal at the nearby condominium of the Panamanian Regional Lions director, enthusiastically shared with his two pugs, Musho and Bao. 

At the end of two long hard days, we briefly met with the mayor-alcalde of the city, Paula Gonzalez, who lent a bus for our next voyage into the mountains of Coclé for our last two clinic days at El Valle de Anton.

El Valle de Anton

El Valle is about an hour north and east high into the hills above the Pacific smack in the clouds you see from the hot Pacific lowlands around Penonomé.  The town sits high in the valley created by the collapse of an ancient volcano.  El Valle presents itself as an ecotourism center quite successfully.  Foreign tourists and locals alike flock here for the cooler weather and the variety of tourist activities available in and around the valley.

But we were again, here to work.  Work we did, seeing another almost 1,000 patients over another two-day clinic period held in a local school – school holidays giving us the opportunity.  Tropical downpours burst from the skies in the later afternoons raining on the metal roofs so hard, it was hard to talk.  As quickly as the outbursts damped down from the skies, they would turn off until the next reminder that El Valle is smack dab in the middle of a jungle.  Dinner on the last night was celebrated at a local Lion home with a big barbeque.

Birding in one of the Bird Centrals of the World

Before leaving the mountains to return to the capital, most of the group took advantage of local ornithological expert Mario Bernal.  Mario trained originally in the United States in Animal Studies.  His active career in Panama included long stints with the Smithsonian Institute’s Tropical Center in Panama and with Ancon Expeditions. The over 350 different species of birds found in El Valle described in Mario’s local book covering birding in the crater valley.

We spent a couple hours wandering along some of the roads noting several dozen different species in a relatively short time frame. Migrating birds from the United States were just beginning to show up among the jungle trees of El Valle. One could easily spend days walking about along the roads and paths around El Valle adding to their birding book.

Clinic over, friendships made and people served

As our team became accustomed to the slower pace of life in first Penonomé and El Valle, the bus came to return us to the big city.  Surviving the traffic closer to the Canal, we breezed to our hotel in the touristy El Congrego district with our clinic days at an end.  A final celebratory drink in a nearby restaurant followed with the dispersal of LIS team members back across the breadth of the United States.  Memories of hard work, satisfaction of giving back and the up close and personal chance to witness the spirit of Lions and Lionism on an international stage in Panama.