Chasing Summer –

December 17-19

After leaving the canal in darkness, the Odyssey could not secure an early pilot to go to port, so we needed to wait till morning in the open sea. I could see Panama City’s lights sparkling in the distance like a lure for the night-loving seekers. The golden moon was low and large, hanging above the glitzy city. I couldn’t wait till morning and a new adventure.

Securing the gangway took longer than usual as we used the 5th-floor port side rather than the 2 – or 4-floor starboard. Angela, Steve, and I headed out to catch an Uber to Casco Antiguo or Casco Viejo, the old part of Panama City.

The cruise terminal is less than a year old and is out on an isthmus far from the center of town. There is a hop-on hop-off bus, but the reviews mention that it takes a long time to get around the circuit and that passengers shouldn’t get off because it takes so long. So, instead, we decided to Uber in.

Puerto American and the colorful Biomuseo

There was the usual group of taxis that offered to bring us to Independence Square for $40, the next said $15. I politely declined and contacted my Uber app for a ride for $4. There was an issue with the gate allowing him in. We could have walked to the gate to reach him or pay an additional $4 to enter.

Soon, we were on our way down the causeway and into town. 16 minutes later, we arrived at the bustling Plaza de la Independencia. Steve commented that he felt like we were in Europe, and it was definitely different from the rest of the Caribbean countries that we had just visited; larger and more developed.

There are a few interesting buildings around the Plaza. The first one that captures the eye is the Metropolitan Cathedral of Panama. It was built from 1688 to 1796, and the 12 apostles adorn the exterior facade.

To the right of the cathedral facing the Plaza are two museums. The Panama Canal Museum ($15) and the Panama History Museum (free).

Going right is the Presidential Palace, which doesn’t look like much from the outside, but I knew it was the right building because there are many guards and road blocks there.

There were several kitties hanging around, and evidence that they are regularly fed is shown by empty plates. Several were friendly and came over for a pet.

After popping into a couple of souvenir shops, we arrived at Parish of San Felipe. It is a Catholic church, with which I can imagine a permanent large miniature nativity room.

Across the road is Plaza Simon Bolivar, surrounded by cafes and shops. Architecturally, I thought it looked interesting and imagine lit up at night it is stunning.

Across the road and extending onto the Pacific Ocean is the San Francisco de Asis Church. The Church is massive and goes out over the flats with columns.

One thing I noticed was that there were a lot of churches or ruins of churches.

Another thing I noticed was that there was a road built out around the old city but over the water. It made for an interesting look.

Across from the Church was the theatre.

From there, we walked along the waterway and ventured to the tip and France Square. There, vendors set up selling wares, and pigeons enjoyed the views out to sea. There was also a large pillar with a statue of a rooster?

We headed back into the center of the old city and stopped by an indigenous store that had amazing woven masks and pots. I am lucky that I am traveling by boat and have limited space because it helps me not buy everything in site.

The only building left from colonial times, Gongora House is under restoration and was originally constructed in 1756 by Captain Paul Gongora.

We also saw the ruins of former churches and Parque Ruinas de la Antigua Muralla.

After a full morning walking about we decided to go to the mall. Not just any mall, but the largest mall in Panama City. The Albrook Mall has over 700 stores and attracts 50,000 visitors daily, but don’t forget it is a week before Christmas, so I am sure we far exceeded that number even on a Tuesday.

After attempting to shop in only 2 or 3 stores, I was sick of people, but I did find an Xmas pajama top for Christmas morning. Yay.

Day two in Panama was all about the animals.

A half-hour walk from the ship is Punta Culebra Nature Center, which has frogs, butterflies, sloths, iguanas, and other flora and fauna to explore. It costs $10 for foreigners to enter and is worth every penny.

Along the entry is a beach area that is closed off and home to a crab reserve. We couldn’t see any crabs from the road.

I took way too many pictures of tiny little frogs in their terrariums and missed their names. Bad Patti-Jo. Some were the size of a baby’s fist, while others were as small as my thumbnail.

There was an informational and interactive building for kids with replica bones, a microscope, and sloth claws in liquid. They had toilets and a water fountain in this building too.

Outside, there was a saltwater fish tank that was pretty dark and hard to see the fish clearly, but it could have been darker for the fish’s benefit. There were some nurse sharks in there, too.

After that, there were two areas with starfish, a sting ray, and other fish. These were much clearer.

Next to these tanks was a building housing several tanks of fish. They were beautiful fish.

Behind this building was a viewing area to the sea and vultures, and other birds were hanging out on the rocks.

But the best part was a sloth. There was a sloth hanging out on the back of the building in touching distance. He was amazing.

This wasn’t the only sloth I’d see, but it was definitely the closest. For the rest, I needed to look up and search the trees for a furry friend.

As I tried to carefully walk and scan the trees at the same time I came to the freshwater lake tanks. Here there were more fish and turtles.

After the freshwater tanks, there was a small hill and a butterfly enclosure. Inside the enclosure, many colorful butterflies were fluttering, zipping, and feeding. It was magical.

Across from the butterflies, I spotted my favorite sloth resting in a tree.

We took a quick walk around the center and saw a couple of iguanas and a leaf cutter ant, who was all alone.

The walk back was sweltering. The forecast had predicted thundershowers, and we had plenty of clouds in the morning, but only a few drops fell. Instead, we got the humidity and hot sun with no shade on the thirty-minute walk back.

That afternoon, I chose to stay on the boat and drink water to recover.

We did have one more morning here since the all-aboard wasn’t until 11:30, so Angie, Steve, and I walked to the duty-free mall and marina close by. When the ship sailed off towards our next port in Ecuador, an additional 50 residents were on board. More names for me to learn.