Our day started off bright and early, at 6 am. We got ready and had about 5 minutes to eat before meeting our tour guide. The hotel breakfast is pretty good. It was more than the classic English breakfast because it included an omelette station and waffles. We didn’t have much time to enjoy, but maybe tomorrow. We made it into the tour van right on time. Our van made another hotel stop before heading to a gas station where we picked up some more tourists, who were chauffeured in by other vehicles. Then we headed to the twin of Gamboa. Along the way our guide, Paula, was a wealth of knowledge. We learned all about the canal on the ride out to Gamboa. Once there we boarded the boat that was going to take us to Monkey Island.
The kids opted to sit in the front row. This was probably a genius idea on the kids’ part, as we got to get pretty close to some monkeys. That being said, we were barely sitting under the canopy and we’re in the sun a lot of the hour+ we were on the boat. We started off with a 30 minute boat ride through the Panamá Canal, to Guyanese Lake, the highest point on the canal. On the way we passed by some big cargo ships.
During our ride we saw 3 types of monkeys, toucans, herrings, bats, and a crocodile. At the first stop, a lady in the boat next to us handed Caroline part of a banana, and since we were sitting in the front of the boat, it felt upon us to get the monkeys to interact. It was such a great experience.
The second monkey we encounter was named Carlos. He was very familiar with our tour guide and jumped onto the boat. We quickly dispersed the leftover banana amongst the other passengers so everyone got a chance to try to feed him. We were all thrilled!
After the boat tour we stopped at a baseball field to have a traditional Panamanian breakfast. Lots of fried food but it was all pretty good.
Then we headed to the rainforest for a little 2km hike. Despite being in the forest where we had some shade it was a HOT walk, especially because we took our time, looking for animals and vegetation along the way. Caroline was quickly fading away in the heat but luckily was walking with the guide, who was very patient and encouraging. At one point our van passed us, to meet us at the end point, and she said folks were welcomed to get on and skip the rest of the hike. Caroline was strongly considering it and jokingly made the motion to get on, but she stuck it out. The highlight was a sloth, which are more unusual to see. It was high up in a tree and there is some debate amongst our family as to whether it was a 2 or 3 toed one. Bennett and I are fairly certain it is 2 toed, and after a debate at dinner where we scrutinized the photo of the sloth, we may have the other two convinced. We also saw cutter ants, howler monkeys, a blue butterfly (which Paula said Panamanians believe being good luck and fortune if you encounter them), and learned about plenty of plants. Paula was really knowledgeable and entertaining, so the tour passed quickly.
After the hike, we headed back to Panamá City after a quick stop at a fruit market. Both kids fell asleep on the ride back. Then we went to lunch at Chingada Madre, a great taco place. Everything was great, specially the birria tacos and homemade hot sauce. While we were waiting, Caroline and I went shopping, with a mission: to find her a hat and fan, both fashionable and functional. The prices were cheaper than I thought, only $12 for the hat and $4 for the fan but the sweet grandma running the place gave it all to us for $13. I’m sure we were still getting ripped off anyway but it was by far less than I thought we’d have to pay.
Then we headed to the Biomuseo, which is a brightly colored building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. But while waiting for our Uber to take us there, we stopped at the Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Santa Maria, church across the square from us, since we had yet to see the interior. At the museum, we learned all about Panamá which everyone enjoyed, but it was a quick trip, taking only about an hour.
Once finished, we considered going to the nature center but it was 3:00, and it closed at 4, so that didn’t give us much time. We ended up going back to the hotel to enjoy the pool and bake in the heat. It’s really the kind of heat that makes all your clothes stick to you, and you instantly sweat through your shirt. The kids went back to the room for some screen time around 4:45 and Joel and I enjoyed the pool until 5:30.
Then we showered and headed out to dinner at Casa Casco, a bar highly recommended for their rooftop seating. On the way we stopped at the Church of Saint Joseph, which is known for its gold alter. Casa Casco is a 4 story restaurant where the music blasted is ideal for their target demographic: 40-60 year olds. At one point Caroline said, “Oh, we’re just having dinner at a rooftop bar playing old timey music,” joking that it was no big deal, as the sun was setting around us. There was great people watching and fine but overpriced food. Caroline is super tired by the end… also crabby because the sliders she was so looking forward to had some sauce on them, rendering them inedible in her mind. She was very uncooperative for photos by the end.
Both kids were tired on the walk home but wanted to have some screen time before going to bed. Caroline was asleep by 8:45 and Bennett shortly after around 9:15. I’m not surprised they’re so tired. We’ve been getting up super early this trip and the heat is no joke. Neither is eating very much either. Bennett definitely tries more than Caroline but both mostly pick at food, with the exception of pizza last night.
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