Destiny awaits you in Panama... Escape To Panama Escape To My Panama... The Old Canal Zone is all gone now... The Old Canal Zone is all gone now...It slipped away quietly like a tropical breeze in the night... Memories of the past are many... Images frozen in time staring back at you... In treasured countless yearbooks and photo albums... Happy days in a lost paradise...so far away now... The Old Canal Zone is all gone now... Memories can not be sold or bought... We all have an appointment somewhere in time... It doesn’t take a Rocket Scientist to know what is to follow...So what is all the noise... there is no enigma here...The train has left the station.... all aboard, now! ...The Old Canal Zone is all gone now... Footprints mark our passage... Town sites mark our past...Diablo, Balboa, Curundu, Cocoli... all gone now...Some say they are still there... Coal-on, Margarita, Davis... Not the same, Mon..... nothing stays the same... Solve the puzzle... write the words... Laughter is good medicine...The Old Canal Zone is all gone now... friends... much has changed for time marches on... But hey it will be fun!...So, where do we go from here? That is a good question... Can anybody really go home? ... Yes! Let's escape to my Panama at the crossroads of world commerce in the heart of the universe... Let the magic begin. The USS Nevada BB-36 makes an intermediate stop in Cuban waters before going on to Panama.... where the living was easy. The US Navy has been part of the Canal Zone since the beginning... Here is the battleship Ohio going through the cut in the Panama Canal in 1915. To believe.....to reach.....to strive is to keep a dream alive. If you use each today as a chance to reach out, to learn something more of what life's all about....... If you follow your dreams, strive to make them come true..... Then life's sure to bring all the best things to you. ----Unknown When you have heard it all... Carpe Diem. Yes seize the day! Here are a few thoughts: Battleship Trivia The height and width of the proud modern American Battleships were originally determined by insuring they were able to safely pass beneath the Brooklyn Bridge and through the Panama Canal. Make the best use of what is in your power and take the rest as it happens...---- Epictetus You are beaten to earth... Well, well, what is that? It is nothing against you to fall down flat, But to lie there... now that is a disgrace. --- Mike Ditka "... And the sea will grant each man new hope, as sleep brings dreams of home." --- Admiral of the Seas, Christopher Columbus Coffee O' boiling, bubbling, berry bean! Thou consort of the kitchen queen- Browned and ground of every feature, The only aromatic creature, For which we long, for which we feel, The breath of morn, the perfumed meal. --- Arthur Gray (1902) from "Over the black Coffee" Have you had your cup of Cafe today? Escape to Panama It has been a real pleasure sharing some of my love of Panama and the US Navy as I remember it. Feel free to check out other pages.....you'll be glad you did! So take care and drop by again. We will all be here, God willing. Hasta la Vista.... See you on the flip side. The little town site of Cocoli invites you... enjoy the great times of socializing and reminiscing of those wonderful easy days of long ago… kick back, get comfortable the show is about to start... Go ahead drop by the Cocoli Clubhouse and enjoy some world famous Cocoli Wontons with your favorite beverage. You will love them for sure! We are now open 24/7. Now here is a heads up, meet us all at the Panama Canal Reunion in 2004. Do not miss this great opportunity to get together like we use to do at the Cocoli Clubhouse... Lets reminisce about Cocoli where the living was easy... Bring a sackful of mangoes... Yes, nestle on the west bank of the Panama Canal, just past U.S. Naval Station Rodman off La Bruja Road lies the enchanting town site of Cocoli. Cocoli for many years was my home. In its hey day it boasted everything from a clubhouse to a clinic dispensary for common prescriptions. There were four family houses, duplexes, cottages, single apartments for the bachelors, and also 12 family units. It was a bustling town like those carved out of the jungle of the Panama Canal building days. Yes, living in Cocoli was fun! I can still see it in my mind’s eye as if it were only yesterday. The main part of the town was on a mesa surrounded by a series of low hills to the west that led toward K-9 Road and Miraflores Locks. A portion of the town dropped away rather sharply to the west past the Cocoli Elementary School... that is just for starters... You too have a story to tell... yes indeed.Are you looking for Adventure? Then why not escape to Panama? When you get there go over to the best little town site in all the old Canal Zone... Yes go to Cocoli, where the living is easy... While there pick a few mangoes... you will be glad you did... Ripe mangoes are very tasty!Way beyond la Bruja Road lies Cocoli....Let the magic begin. Too Many Secrets COCOLI... Land of Las Brujas... Enter at your own risk. Escape to Panama It has been a real pleasure sharing something more about my town Cocoli as I remember it. Photo Credits: Author, Bill Fall, Montana, CZ and PCC Archives Some Little Stories to enjoy... Sing and rejoice, tra-la-la, for fortune is smiling upon you!