The Royal Palace is a huge jumble of buildings, wats (temples), stupas, and tourist infrastructure. 8 million people visit each year, and it seemed like they all came the day we did. It hasn’t been the residence of the royal family since the 1900’s, but is still used for some ceremonial events, like welcoming foreign […]
We had planned our snorkeling adventure with Caveman Tours (Caveman pictured above) on Tuesday. Tuesday and Wednesday had winds of 21 and 24 knots respectively. We opted for waiting until a calmer day. Our first stop was to feed the Tarpons. Next we were lucky enough to see a manatee. They can stay underwater for […]
The Iguana Reef Inn is probably the most luxurious resort on the island. It’s very nice, but not sure I’d call it luxury. There were a lot of Brits there. Every day at 4:00, they feed the stingrays. They also through fish into the air, and pelicans swoop down.
Carmen told us that if there is only one tour, this is the one. We took off in the morning with four of her other guests, a Brazilian couple and two young Romanian women. First Stop: Fuel. We were picked up at Carmen’s dock, then stopped at one of the docks. There was a lot […]
If I was to say the “Boquete Gap” in Boquete, it would be redundant, in Brazil it would be unmentionable, and to us, very descriptive. In Spanish, Boquete means “gap.” This gap, is in fact between the Caribbean to the north, and the Pacific to the south. The rainy season ended in December, and now […]
Boquete is the coffee growing area of Panama. Panamanian coffee has been having a huge surge in popularity over the last several years, particularly with the “Geisha” coffee, which has won the world coffee championship for the last several years. Naturally, touring a coffee finca, our plantation, needed to be on our itinerary. Finca Lerida, […]
Sharna had old us that this beach was really something. Kevin, the Panama City tour guide, told us the tides go up 7 – 17 feet between high and low. in, the Panama City tour guide, told us the tides go up 7 – 17 feet between high and low. Given this beach is not […]
Lonely Planet says it best: “Panama City’s hippest neighborhood is also its smallest. Just four avenues wide, Casco Viejo (literally meaning ‘old quarter’) is a UNESCO protected district and a barrio on the up. It wasn’t long ago that gangs patrolled these narrow brick streets and visitors kept far away, but these days the grand old colonial […]
We went to the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal today. Quick reminder: France tried to build the canal in late 1800’s, and it almost bankrupted them. U.S. took over in 1903, but not before they basically sent gunships down and told Colombia that either they would grant Panama independence and get a bunch of […]
Today we went on a tour of Panama City. We’ll talk about most of it in other posts. There was one place we visited, however, that would have been a huge hit with my dad. The Church of San Jose in Casco Viejo, or La Inglesia de San Jose, is one of the most prominent […]
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