Guatamala Costa Rica and Panama 2024

We were collected at 7.30 for a trip to Monkey Island.  We went back to Gamboa but to a small boat terminal further north up the River Chagres to Gatun Lake which is the artificial lake created when the canal was built. We saw more ships waiting to enter the Panama Canal.   Cosco container ship   The train line which runs the length of Lake Gatun We went on a speedboat up to the islands but couldnt get off the boat.  There are a lot of islands here with Howler Monkeys, White Faced Capuchin Monkeys and Geoffroy’s Tamarins.  We saw all 3 and they came very close to us but only because the guides were feeding them.  It is very like Tortuguero in Costa Rica but without the huge number of tourists. We also saw a cayman and some iguanas as well as Ospreys, Herons, Pelicans and Vultures.   White Faced Cappuchino Monkey   Geoffroys Tamarin   Geoffroys Tamarin    Howler Monkey   White Faced Capuchin Monkey   Geoffroys Tamarin ...

This morning we had a walking tour of the Old Town or Casco Vieja which is the original site of Panama City which was founded in 1519 by the Spanish.  Gold, stolen from other Spanish conquered South American countries (in particular Peru), was transported through Panama from the Pacific to the Caribbean Sea.  This area was almost completely destroyed when invaded by the pirate Sir Henry Morgan and his 1200 man army in 1671.  Some of the ruins can be seen today but much of the town has been redeveloped.  It is a UNESCO Heritage site so any redevelopment must be in the colonial style. The Old Town is situated on a small peninsular.  We visited The Church of San Jose.  The exterior of this church is nothing spectacular but inside the altar is made with the original gold which wasnt plundered by the invaders as it had been covered with mud and black paint to cover up the gold. There was an enormous nativity scene in a side room which covers about 16 events fr...

Between the hotel and the sea front there is a very large car park.  Yesterday there were just a handful of cars in it and it was the same when we returned from dinner.  This morning when we got up at 6am it was completely full of cars.  We couldnt work out why but later we realised that there was a 10km road race going on as we saw a lot of people in mauve race t-shirts walking around We were picked up at 8am for our Panama Canal Tour and were taken to a ferry terminal at the end of a long causeway, which we can actually see from our hotel room, where we checked in.  The water here was very clear and there were many different varieties of fish visible together with laughing gulls trying to cath them.   Fish in the water at the Ferry terminal   A small island near the Ferry Terminal   Panama skyline from the Causeway     Us in front of a very large Panama sign We were taken by bus to Gamboa which is a small town in the north of the country wh...