More than just a Canal

Typical Panama Bus
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On to Panama, sadly only for a few days.

Obviously we did a trip to see the Canal. We got a taxi to Miraflores Lock. Luckily there were two ships coming through the lock as we arrived. We went to the visitor centre and museum and watched a short film about the construction of the canal. What an amazing feat! Learnt loads. Very interesting.

Visited Panama old town, a quaint place with lots of colonial buildings and cobbled streets. There is a real mixture of old run down buildings and those which have been beautifully restored. Spent a pleasant few hours wandering around.

P3260482
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Due to buses being booked up we had an unexpected extra day in Panama. We decided to spend it on Tobaga island which is about a 40 minute boat ride from the city. Loads of ships around, I guess they were all waiting to head to the canal. We did the walk up to the top of the island through the forest. Spotted a tarantula on the way and lots of beautiful tropical butterflies. Really hot and humid. It was over 36 degrees by 10 in the morning!

Views form the top of the island down over the beach and the cute little town were really nice, well worth the climb. Even saw whales in the sea below.

Island Tobaga
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Spent the afternoon on the sandy beach having the occasional dip in the sea to cool off. Really enjoyed the day so glad the bus was full!