Day 1:

We arrived at Omar Torrijos airport via American

Airlines early in the afternoon. We purchased our required
tourist cards (3 balboas, as US dollars are called in
Panama) at the airport, then caught a taxi for the 18 mile
ride to our downtown hotel. The ride in the battered, un-
airconditioned car was rather expensive (30 balboas), but
the driver spoke English and was very friendly. We arrived
at the hotel and checked in. While my dad was checking in
I bought a guidebook in the hotel lobby and read up on the
history of Panama City. The original city was founded in
1519 by Pedro Arias Davila, known as Pedrarias the Cruel,
because of his eradication of all but three of the local
Indian tribes during his tenure in Panama. Davila used the
city as a place to store Incan gold before it was shipped
to Spain. The original city was sacked and burned in 1671
by a group of buccaneers led by Henry Morgan. The city was
rebuilt within a year, this time on a peninsula 18 miles
away and surrounded by a strong wall. This old Spanish
city is now the in the middle downtown Panama City.
Panama City is an international melting pot and its
eating choices range from American fast food to excellent
internationall cuisine. Eager to begin our sightseeing, we
grabbed lunch at a nearby McDonald's after checking in then
caught a bus. The buses in Panama are a tourist attraction
in themselves. They are brightly painted, hung with
fringe, and have constantly blaring Salsa and Caracas
music playing. They are cheap (50 cents a ride). but are
very crowded. After asking several drivers "Donde va este
autobus?" we finally found one going to the Plaza
Independencia. This plaza is the main square of the
colonial town and is bordered on one side by a cathedral
with twin mother of pearl towers that took 108 years to
complete. On two other sides it is bordered by the
Archbishop's Palace, now a university and the Central Post
Office. While in the old part of Panama City we also
visited the Iglesia de San Jose and saw the Golden Aaltar.
This altar was in the original Panama City and was saved
from Henry Morgan's pirates by a monk who painted it black
to disguise it. When we finished touring we returned to
our hotel and then ate dinner at El Pez de Ora, one of the
city' famous seafood restaurants.
Day 2:
We woke early and headed out for a morning of shopping
at the Mercado Publico. I bought some jewelry and some
small wooden figurines as souvenirs, but when I asked
"Donde esta los sombreros de Panama?", the vendor told me
Panama hats were made in Ecuador. The hat most commonly
worn in Panama is the "pita", a narrow brimmed straw hat
with black and white stripes. The most important phrases
to remember when shopping in Panama are " Cuanto cuesta
esta?" and " Acceptas tarjetas de credita?" After shopping
we had Chinese food in one of the local restaurants.
After eating we went to visit Panama's most famous
attraction, the Panama Canal. The Canal was completed in
1914, and is considered one of the greatest engineering
feats in the world. We took a shuttle from our hotel to
the canal and then went on a 90 minute train ride all the
way across the isthmus along the canal. The railroad we
were traveling on was built in 1855 to transport '49ers who
were on their way to the California gold rush and was the
first "trans-continental" rail link. At one of the train
stations we got off and walked to the Miraflores Locks, sat
on bleachers, and watched the ships go through the canal.
After our tour of the Panama Canal we returned to our hotel
to get ready for a night of dinner and theater. We ate
dinner at an Italian restaurant then went to the Teatro
National for a performance of the Folkloric Ballet. The
Folkloric Ballet features native folk dances and costumes
and was very entertaining.

Day 3:
We rented a car and left Panama City headed southwest
along the Pan American Highway. First we visited the
Parque Natural Metropolitana, a zoo on the outskirts of
Panama with monkeys, deer, sloths, and iguanas. We then
drove toward El Valle, about 75 miles away. El Valle is
located in the center of a dormant volcano. There we saw
hot springs, botanical gardens (with square trees which
scientists have been unable to explain!), and golden frogs
found nowhere else on earth. We continued down the highway
passing through the towns of Penonome, the geographic
center of Panama, and Nata, on of the oldest towns in Latin
America. The Interior of Panama is mostly farmland and
grazing land for cattle. We even saw some cowboys! At
night we arrived at Baquette, a village on the side of the
dormant Baru Volcano, where we spent the night.

Day 4:
 We began our day by visiting Volcan Baru National Park
and taking a short hike to see the beautiful plants and
birds. The volcano is the highest point in Panama at 3475
meters. After our hike we ate lunch and then drove to
Chiriqui Grande where we dropped off our car. We then
caught a ferry to Bocas del Toro where we visited
Bastimentos National Park. The park has pristine white sand
beaches where sea turtles nest. The coral reefs off the
coast are home to more than 200 species of tropical fish.
While there we also got to visit caves containing the
largest population of fruit eating bats in the world!
Later we went snorkeling of the coast of Almirante Island
where we spent the night.