Panama

A month ago, we went on a last-minute trip to the beautiful country of Panama. We had a couple of vacation days that we needed to use up, so we took advantage of them along with Nicaragua's Independence Holiday. We bussed it down to Panama, which meant almost four full days on a bus for the round-trip. It was long, but we were prepared with books and Spanish activities and caught up on our sleep.

Panama City was a bit of "culture shock" for us. It has a beautiful skyline and is very "developed" in comparison to Managua. Each day we were there, we took advantage of the running/walking path which laid along the Pacific Ocean. I felt like I was running in Chicago next to Lake Michigan.  We even got to bike for the first time in a year!

Panama is famous for their seafood, as well as ceviche. We ate our lunches for $1.00.  Fresh ceviche each day!  We also enjoyed many different international cuisines while we were in Panama City - Indian, Thai, Chinese, and even found the only bubble tea shop in the city. Yeah for bubble tea! We also had some delicious gelato, a scoop of lavender and a scoop of basil. Yum!

We spent a day at the Panama Canal which is an incredible work of art. We watched ships pass in and out and learned about the processes for this.

Towards the end of our trip, we headed to the quaint town of Boquette which is in the northern part of Panama. In Boquette we enjoyed hiking, coffee and the hot springs.

We would highly recommend a trip to Panama. If you ever get a chance, you won't be disappointed!