After a decade of trying for a trip together, my daughter Anne had 15 days free to join me on a father/daughter adventure trip to Panama. It turned out to be a wonderful time for us both. We flew into Panama City, where we were met by my good friend Luis Calvo from my two week trip to Panama two years ago. The 1st night we stayed in "the old quarter" Casco Viejo. We walked the area that lst night and had dinner at a delightful Peruvian restaurant near our hotel. The old Magnolia Inn was one of the 1st buildings in the old quarter to be renovated and put in use when the entire area started being redeveloped. Now it appears that maybe 3/4ths of the buildings are back in use and renewed. The 1st full day or day 2 was spent touring Panama City and visiting the ruins of the very first Panama City, "Panama La Vieja" Then we hiked in the wonderful wild urban Metropolitan Park. We then toured the famous Frank Gehry Bio Museum and visited the Amador Parkway before having a wonderful dinner in Casco Viejo at the Fish Market restaurant. It was in a partially restored, unroofed old building, a unique dinner setting!
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| Lights at night in Casco Viejo park. Panama City parks were all lighted thus |
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| Stunning gold alter saved from the Spaniards and pirates, now positioned in Casco Viejo |
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| showing the relocation after it was safe to be publicly be seen and used again |
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| The remains of a monastery that has not been renovated in Casco Viejo |
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| The stunning skyline of Panama City from out in Casco Viejo |
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| Anne in front of some of the main ruins of Panama La Vieja, the lst Panama city |
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| Yours truly relaxing below a magnificent tropical tree in La Vieja |
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| The striking skyline of Panama City as seen from the Amador Causeway |
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| Again Panama City skyline, this time from the top of the huge Metropolitan Park after a hike |
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| The beautiful night view of the main cathedral in Casco Viejo near our little old hotel |
On day 3 and 4 we visited Ft San Lorenzo and the Caribbean locks of the Panama Canal, before going east along the Caribbean to Portobelo where we spent 2 nights and day 4. It was another world of a remote, backward, Afro-Caribbean settlement that was badly run down. It did have a UNESCO World Heritage designation because of the historical times when the Spanish used the port to ship most of the gold that went back to Spain. We had a lovely boat ride out east along the Caribbean to a little private beach, where we spent much of the day swimming, snorkeling, and enjoying a picnic.
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| A new super sized liquified gas ship entering the new wider locks at Gatun |
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| a view of the new widened canal locks and the big ship that had just entered |
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| A classic sign where we had lunch at a small boat harbor near the Caribbean |
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| A map of the entire area (Caribbean locks, Colon and Fort San Lorenzo |
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| Ruins of Fort San Lorenzo |
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| Ruins of the historic Fort San Lorenzo that guarded the Caribbean mouth of the River Chagres |
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| one of the many old cannons at the fort |
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| Luis and I relaxing on the lst evening at our seaside little guest house in Portobelo where we spent 2 nights |
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| Anne and I, after a late afternoon climb to a vantage point above Portobelo late our first afternoon in Portobelo |
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| A colorful reminder on our hotel office of the Afro/Caribbean history of Portobelo |
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| a few of the many colorful fish that I saw while snorkeling off our private little Caribbean beach |
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| Anne doing a handstand off the end of a log out over the warm Caribbean beach waters |
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| Anne relaxing, while on our day outing to the deserted Caribbean beach |
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| Another lovely scene from our Caribbean beach, picnic, swimming and snorkeling day |
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| The lovely Caribbean twilight while touring the ruins of one of the 3 old forts at Portobelo |
Day 5 We drove back into the center of the country to the Panama Canal at Gamboa, where we boarded a small boat with a guide to explore the wonderful back waters of the arms of Gatun Lake, where the Chagres River joins the lake. The wildlife included a wonderful viewing of monkeys, birds and small mammals. The start of the trip is where you are right in the Panama Canal and see the giant boats transiting the canal. Then as you enter the side arms and wilderness, you see wildlife everywhere. The area is next to the Soberania National Park where we then took a hike into the rainforest. We saw many exotic , beautifully colored tropical birds, and had a chorus of howler monkeys accompanying us along the couple miles of trails we hiked. We saw the howler monkeys, a coati, agouti, and sloths. Then it was off to a meeting point , a ride back into Panama City's small airport near the west end of the canal, and a the flight west to David, near the Costa Rica border. Luis picked us up and we then drove up the volcan Baru to Boquette for two nights and a full days visit on day 6. I had spent time there 2 years earlier.
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| A super container ship transiting the Panama Canal where we boarded our little boat |
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| Boarding our small boat for our wilderness wildlife tour in arms off Gatun Lake |
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| one of the many water birds in the wild, lovely tropical watery scene |
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| one of a group of Geoffroy spider monkeys that we saw up close |
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| One of many white faced Capuchin monkeys that we saw along the waterways |
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| Another Geoffroy monkey that had actually boarded our boat |
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| A curious raccoon along the shore |
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| A Common Agouti, a small mammal, as seen up close during our long hike along a deserted trail into the Soberania National Park |
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| A brilliantly colored Slaty tailed trogon seen on our park hike. Anne spotted this one. |
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| A black throated trogon, also near our hiking trail |
With the wind and rain storm that swept Boquete our 2nd night, we lost power and so we left early on day 7 to drive to the central Pacific coast at Las Lajas. We spent the afternoon and the next day 8 enjoying the incredible, vast Pacific beach. After 2 nights there we enjoyed the morning of day 9 also, before our drive back east to Panama City. Anne and I had a wonderful time in Las Lajas, with many long walks along the beach , into the ocean, swimming, and watching the big flocks of pelicans gliding along the shore. The water must have been near 90 degrees. That night we stayed in a downtown high rise hotel, the TRYP Panama Centro. Anne and I explored the heart of the city and enjoyed a wonderful Peruvian restaurant and wonderful ceviche.
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| Luis's lovely, mountainside part time home above Boquete, where we spent 2 nights |
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| relaxing on Luis deck |
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| enjoying our lst evening dinner at the Boquete Brewing company pub |
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| The stunning color of the main gardens, before next weeks big flower festival in Boquete |
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| another view from across the river that cuts thru the town. |
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| We enjoyed a lovely mountainside Italian restaurant and gardens above Boquete our dinner on our 2nd night there. |
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| Anne's group of anxious little latin visitors our lst morning at Luis's home |
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| Anne quickly had them entranced, and happily occupied with dance and yoga activities |
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| A lovely rainbow above Luis's home the 2nd morning, as we prepared to leave because of no electricity |
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| Anne, in wonder after seeing the biggest , most deserted beach either of us had ever seen |
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| Our little beachfront hotel and restaurant, the only one on the vast beach |
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| me and looking behind me towards the east along the vast Las Lajas Beach |
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| Anne and looking behind here towards the west along the huge, deserted beach |
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| Anne after "Happy Hour" and before dinner doing yoga stretches on the beach before sunset |
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| Anne enjoying some rest at mid day of Day 8, enjoying the ocean and beach |
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| Enjoying our beach and oceanside "Happy Hour" |
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| Anne and I enjoying a beach walk near sunset |
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| one of the many stunning sunsets |
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| A Superb ceramic seen at our lunch stop on day 9, while driving back east to Panama City |
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| The roof top view of downtown Panama City from our TRYP Panama Centro Hotel |
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| Enjoying "Happy Hour" from the hotel roof top deck |
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| Enjoying Ceviche and seafood at the wonderful Peruvian restaurant that we found of the night of day 9 |
Day 10 started early, with a drive east to Alajuela Lake. There our Embera guide met us in a hand hewn canoe like boat for the ride across the lake and up the upper reaches of the Chagres River to the Embera Drua village far into the Chagres National Park rain forest. We were amazed to see the indigenous village, be greeted with dances and have a lunch of fruit and fish from the river. There were 113 who lived in this remote village, much as the peoples have for maybe hundreds of years. We both bought some of the beautiful handicrafts that were available from some of the families. Then we stopped on the way back to visit a lovely waterfall, before going back across the lake and back into Panama City for a 2nd night at the TRYP Panama Centro hotel. We enjoyed a superb Spanish restaurant on our last night there.
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| with our Embera guide, walking toward Alajuela Lake to the hand hewn canoe to go to the village |
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| The closest of the 3 Embera villages, where the Chagres River enters Alajuela Lake |
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| Anne and our hand made boats, after arriving far up river to Embera Drua Village deep into the mountains |
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| Walking up from river to Village |
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| Entering village to a drum beat welcome |
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| The village entry path |
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| Welcoming party in the thatched common area |
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| View into center of the village and the school, the only building that was not native or indigenous |
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| another view into the village center, where 113 Embera live |
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| view into the jungle and a Banana and food growing area |
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| one of the several colorful dances that we were shown. Anne danced in one. |
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| Anne getting an Embera vegetable dye native tatoo |
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| Village children at play |
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| more children and their dog playing on the sand bar and in the river below village entrance |
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| A beautiful water fall we stopped to view on the way back down river |
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| The area near our TRYP Centro hotel, seen while walking to view ocean front park |
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| Some of the unique architecture along the Panama City waterfront park |
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| A Panamanian dance school practice in the ocean front park |
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| Anne and I enjoying an elegant dinner in the fine Spanish restaurant we found near the hotel |
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| The nighttime view of downtown Panama City and the rising moon from the hotel deck at the top of our hotel |
Day 11 again started very early, with a long drive east towards Columbia and then continuing up and over the steep mountains to a remote strip of the Caribbean coast. At a little boat dock in a side arm of a small river that ran into the ocean there, we were met by a Guna Yala boatman with an open skiff for the ride out into the indigenous islands in the Caribbean. There was a stiff wind blowing , and our boatman lost power from the outboard just as we were crossing the bar into the ocean. Happily he was able to pole the boat back inside the breakers and to the shore. We waited there until another boat came to rescue us and take us out to the 2nd of a string of small islands that are barely above sea level, and are inhabited by the Guna Yala. We toured the village and did buy a couple small things that the native peoples had made. Again, it was another world, with peoples living as their ancestors had in earlier centuries. Rather than try to go further out to a larger island, with the wind and seas being rough, we then returned to shore. We then drove back over the steep mountain road and returned to Panama City. We stayed our last two nights near the international airport at a lovely hotel with a beautiful garden and pool area in the hotel center.
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| Heading out the river to the Caribbean and open ocean |
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| nearing the shallow bar where the river enters the ocean |
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| The 2nd boat that rescued us arriving after our outboard failed and we had to be beached |
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| nearing the 2nd small island and village of the Guna Yala, some whom were on our boat |
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| nearing the low lying native village that we visited. |
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| Another village on a nearby island |
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| a small child peering at us from his thatched hut home |
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| walking down the village "main street" |
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| Luis and his aunt about to get a "hi 5" from some village children |
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| Anne and I enjoying a swim and a "swim up" bar after our long day visiting the Guna Yala |
Our final day 12 was the most exciting of the entire trip. We drove far to the east towards Columbia to the shores of Lake Bayano, where we were met by an Embera guide with another open skiff. He then took us on a 30 minute high speed ride across the lower end of the big lake to the Bayano Caves on the far side. Wow, that was an experience ! We waded into the very slow moving river and started into the cave and river. One had to do a combination of swimming the deeper pools, wading shallower areas and walking on the river gravel and boulders in other stretches. All this and with total blackness in the cave, except for a few short stretches where there was a hole up into the forest and thus some light. After about a km of hiking and worrying about falling and getting hurt with the slippery river stones, I happily agreed that we would skip the last half of the cave hike. As we were returning, thousands of big fruit bats started flying past us . We took many photos of the amazing sight of the endless stream of bats, and some of the lovely cave formations and colors. After drying outin the sun after leaving the cave, we had a very nice picnic on the shore. Then we had the ride back, and it was a wet one, with the afternoon wind coming up. All in all , it was an incredible day of true adventure to wind up our great trip. One last night in our airport hotel and we we returned to the US after our long awaited, wonderful father/daughter trip to Panama.
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| The boat landing where our Embera guide picked us up on Lake Bayano |
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| Native children playing in the lake |
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| heading out for the 30 minute fast run across the lower end of the huge lake |
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| The jungle river entry on the lake far side and a giant heron |
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| nearing the entry of the cave with the river inside it |
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| swimming and making our way into the entrance of the cave |
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| nearing the low ceiling of the cave while still swimming and wading |
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| Anne and I pausing in a short skylight opening portion, while climbing over slippery rocks and boulders |
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| carefully making my way over the slippery rocks, we traveled a full kilometer like this with flash lights for light |
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| a stunning formation ! There were many formations of great beauty |
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| slipping sliding in a shallow river portion with our Embera guide |
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| Another low ceiling portion of the cave and slow moving river |
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| Anne and the lst of the thousands of fruit bats |
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| now the bats really started to pour out. It was an unforgettable sight and sound |
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| The bats came out by the thousands, and endless stream |
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| An unforgettable adventure experience |
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| Luis, Anne and I as we neared the entrance to return to our start |
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| wading thru thick water plants near the entrance. |
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| a solitary greeter at the entrance |
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| Back at our boat and shedding the life jackets, etc before our picnic lunch in the sun |
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| The little thatched pavillion where Luis fixed us lunch and served nice cold Balboa beer |
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| Orchids growing right in the trees at our hotel near the airport |
