 As we enter Panama City we see the Bridge of the Americas off in the distance. |
 Almost in Panama City |
 Hotel Monaco in a rather "lively" area of Panama City. Our cheap ($18/night) room was awesome, the neighborhood was a tad sketchy. |
 We parked Poppy in a government customs yard that Panamanians called a "bunker" while we flew to New Orleans for 20 days. |
 As we left Panama City we got to fly over the entire canal from west to east. |
 Two ships passing in the day. |
 Locks on the east side of the canal. |
 When we returned from New Orleans Poppy was waiting for us to resume our adventure. No sign of break-in. |
 We drove out of the city to the Miraflores Locks to see how the canal actually works. |
 Here's the bilingual welcome sign. |
 Here's a ship passing through the locks and the spillway lake below. |
 Many ships are designed to fit perfectly into the size of the lock "lanes" although smaller craft such as the sailboat in the far lane can traverse the canal. |
 A large container cargo ship is being stabilized through the lock by 4 electric "mules" that look like small locomotives. |
 "Lock at me now." |
 Notice the initial height of the ship. |
 Tourists come here to watch ships sink. |
 "Aye, Cap'n, the ship she is going down." |
 The ships deck is now almost level with the top of the lock. |
 The purpose of the Miraflores Locks is to lower (or raise) ships so they can traverse the lakes within Panama that are higher than sea level. |
 Here the doors of one of the locks are closed and the chamber is filled up with water for the next vessel to be lowered. The locks act as giant staircases to raise and lower the ships. |
 Here comes the next ship. 40+ ships a day pass through the 24 hour Panama Canal. The average "toll" is $40,000, the ship owners save time/fuel by using the canal to make the toll worthwhile. |
 Casco Viejo, Panama City's "old town" is slowly being restored. |
 The zocalo in old town. |
 This is the Panama Canal museum building just off the zocalo. They've done a wonderful job of restoring this former hotel building into a great museum. |
 A stunning view of a refurbished section of old town. |
 In the alleyway you can see modern high-rises from the old town neighborhood. Out with the old? In with the new? |
 Here's a scale model 3D map of the Panama City and the Pacific side of the Canal. This model is located at the Miraflores locks. |
 Here we are camping at the petit hotel "Mozart" located in the mountain village of Boquete about 80 minutes from the city of David in Panama. |
 Paul shows off his braille skills at the Mozart terrace cafe. |
 Ma, Pa, and Poppy. |
 The Mozart cafe made us feel happy in the mountains of Panama. |
 Mountain flowers nestled amongst the coffee plants. |
 Dot feels the power of the coffee beans. And likes it. |
 Close-up of new coffee beans prior to ripening and Starbucking. |
 Pineapples and roses in mountain coffee fields. It's a totally different world in the mountains of Panama compared with the intensity of Panama City. |