Imagine ancient stones and boulders wrapped in ribbons of thundering wild water – that’s the Chiriqu\u00ed Viejo River in Panama. And workers this week have been busy destroying a section of it.<\/p>\n
They have instructions to remove 50,000 cubic meters of rock and gravel for use in road repairs, and it’s the river – the people who live along it – who must pay the price. (Haga clic aqu\u00ed<\/a> para acceder a la versi\u00f3n en espa\u00f1ol de este art\u00edculo).<\/p>\n In its natural state, the Chiriqu\u00ed Viejo River is a beautiful thing, starting on the slopes of the Bar\u00fa Volcano and cascading 100 miles through Chiriqu\u00ed Province.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, a heavy equipment operator ripped up an 80- to 90-meter section of the river, pushing aside huge boulders, digging holes and scooping out hundreds of tons of rocks and gravel.<\/p>\n