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Panama City has been a whirlwind! We were only here for a couple of days on the Copa Airlines "Stop Over" program so we had to run all around the city seeing as much as we could in the short time we had! In just two days we saw huge ships go through the Panama Canal, took a boat ride to see the wildlife and ships on Gatun Lake, hiked up to the top of the Metropolitan Natural Park, walked to the end of the causeway, toured Casco Viejo, visited Panama Viejo (old Panama), and walked the downtown and malecon areas. All in 30+ degree heat and humidity!
We rented an AirBnB in the Casco Viejo area of Panama City and walked around the area and ate some delicious food on our first night, including the Patacones Rellenos de Mariscos (Patacones Filled with Seafood) and the Guacho de Mariscos.
We started our first full day in Panama City with a trip to the Miraflores Locks section of the Panama Canal.
Then we took a boat trip on Gatun Lake, the man-made lake the ships pass through between the various locks.
You can see the ship we saw earlier in the canal is now alongside our little boat in Gatun Lake:
In the late afternoon, we took a very HOT walk along the causeway to checkout the views of the city.
Our second full day in Panama City started with a hike around the Metropolitan Natural Park.
From there, we went to Panama Viejo, where the original city of Panama was built.
Afterwards, it was time for lunch. We tried the Arroz Chaufa con Mariscos (Rice with Seafood) and it was DELICIOUS!
Then we explored the city and walked back to Casco Viejo via the malacon (seawall walkway).