As I mentioned previously, we were all a little anxious to leave the trailer behind and head to our first international stop. Hello Panama! After a very long day of travel (surprisingly everything went fairly smoothly,the kids were actually pretty good even though we did not arrive into Panama city until 11pm). Like a dumb dumb I didn't do any research on transfers to our hotel, so when we arrived we were accosted by many taxi drivers wanting our money to take us there. We were getting quotes of $50 US, I thought this was a little high so started to quickly try and do research but having no Wi-Fi access it was pretty difficult. In the end, we bit the bullet and ended up paying...only to find out later that Panama has Uber and it would've cost us only $10, ugg! We got the kids to bed, quickly fell asleep ourselves and woke up the next morning to the sound of a beautiful jungle. We stayed at the Raddison Summit, a hotel that our friends recommended to us. It was a little further away from town, however it was right in the middle of the jungle and from our balcony you could hear the sounds all evening. The kids loved it! It had a great pool and nice room overall. Johnny and I both felt like it was a little further away from everything as we couldn't go walking around...once we were at the hotel we were there to stay.
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| Our Hotel |
The next day we had to do some errands and sort out our travel plans (whether we were going to take a plane or a bus ride to the small islands of Boca del Tor). After we were sorted (we decided to take a night bus 10 hrs but wayyy cheaper then flying) off to the Panama Canal and museum we went. I have to admit this stuff kind of bores me but I knew the mechanical side of it would fascinate Johnny so we all went with smiles on our faces...it was actually pretty interesting (even though I think the kids were bored). The canal that we went to was in Miraflores. There is a museum and for $40 you and your family can watch a film and learn about the whole history of the Canal and how was built, (we even got lucky and saw a ship go through which was pretty cool to see.
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| The Museum and entrance |
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| The locks were opening as the ship was approaching |
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After doing some research and talking to our friends who have been here before, we booked two separate tours for the rest of our stay in Panama city. The first was was a day visit to the Embera tribe. Our Tour guide pick us up the next morning where we had to drive for 40 minutes to a river and were picked up by a member from the tribe. We took a 1/2 hour canoe ride, and the hiked a little ways a beautiful waterfall. We all went in for a quick swim to cool off.
We then went to the village where we learned about the culture of the Embera and their way of life. The tribe performed some traditional dances for us (Johnny and I both felt a little weird at this point, it's hard to explain but we both felt almost embarrassed for them) our tour guide assured us that tourism is essential for their village and it is how they earn most of their income but it still didn't sit right with me. That said the kids had a blast... they brought toys to give to the little children and ended up playing with them for a while.... they really enjoyed the time we spent there and I am glad they saw how different cultures still live. It's pretty amazing that no language is necessary to have fun...
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Livy taught them how to play Ring Around the Rosie, they were all fighting to hold her hand
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| This was under the main lodge |
On our last night in Panama city we booked a trip with a company called Jungle Land. This was highly recommended from my friends Nic and Kathy who insisted that we go, saying it was the best time. I was a little torn because it was quite expensive and we have been finding the prices in Panama to be equivalent to the prices in Canada however it's all in US dollars so we are burning through our budget much quicker than we did in the US. In the end Johnny convinced me we should do it, am I ever glad he did. This was the kids favourite day so far (of the whole trip- that says a lot, although they did say Universal Studios was right up there too). Basically you get picked up at the dock in Gamboa, and are taken on a little tour of the canal, from there our guide Juan took us through the jungle in this little boat, he promised the girls he would show us at least 3 species of monkeys, I thought he would just point up at the tress, but when he handed the girls some peanuts, I knew something was up.... He pulled up next to these tress and started whistling...all of the sudden 5 or 6 white faced monkeys, jumped down and climbed all over the bat taking the peanut right from the girls hands...they were so excited! Further into the jungle we went, passing a group howler monkeys, (man they are loud). Then we came up to a tree where Juan gave the girls a banana and started whistling....before you know these little faces all started peering at us cautiously coming close...before you knew it they were all around, taking the pieces of banana right from the girl's hands. We haven't even arrived and this has already been their best day ever!
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white faced monkey
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Tamarin Monkeys
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The girls wanted this guy for a pet
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We pull up to this incredible looking floating hotel..get shown our room, (the kids loved it, king bed with two bunks hanging from the ceiling) private balcony with a hammock overlooking the jungle.
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Jungle land
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| Our room for the night |
Before lunch the girls were quick to jump off the diving platform into the water ( I have to admit I was a little scared as Kathy told me the last time they were there there were small crocodiles close by- YIKES!)
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Jumping platform
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We were then fed a delicious traditional meal and off we went for a kayak through the jungle to a short hike and a waterfall. In the afternoon, Johnny and I went fishing while the girls lounged around the hammocks to relax. (guess who caught the biggest peacock bass??? and of course we did not have a camera!). After another amazing traditional meal , we got ready for a night safari, Juan was determined to catch a baby Croc for Anneka as she told him she wanted to see one. You can tell he loves what he does, he was so genuinely enthusiastic about all the wild life, able to answer any question we fired at him...every time he handled any animal (there were so many!) he was so gentle and put them back exactly where he found them....off we went , pretty crazy riding a small boat on a river in the middle of the jungle, when it was pitch black...the sound was exactly as you would picture a jungle to sound like. Juan showed us where a green Iguana was sleeping and was able to take him off his perch and let us see him. We kept spotting the crocodiles, but they were very fast, he was eventually able to fulfill his promise and got one for Anneka.
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Green Iguana
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Juan got Anneka her croc!
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After a very long day we finally came back to our beautiful floating room and fell asleep listening to the noises of the jungle...pretty cool day, if you ever find your self visiting Panama, I would highly recommend this place.
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| Our wonderful host for 24 hrs! |
