PANAMA CITY, PANAMA - Jan. 25

 PANAMA CITY, PANAMA - Jan. 25

The cosmopolitan center of Central America, Panama City, is a mix of unique high rises dedicated to international finance, and the colonial, Old Town, or Casco Viejo, with its churches, palaces and plazas, all of which we enjoyed very much.

Panama City is situated next to the 48 mile Panama Canal, with an average of 14,000 ships passing through each year, generating $2.6 billion per year.

We drove through the huge Howard military base of US Army, where during WW2 55,000 servicemen and families lived. This was given to the Panamanian govt in 1999.
A visit to Panama City is not complete without many stops for views of the Canal, the scenic peninsula, islands, and Gatun lake and locks.

We are not going through the Canal this time. With our change in itinerary, we are heading south to the Equator and South America. 

Next stop, we will be in Chile after 6 days of sailing and fun things to do.
  

Ships lined up to enter Panama Canal

Panama hats and canal

Streets in the Old Town 

Church spires and buildings of Old Town

"New" town of Panama City

Port we used for docking is so new, its still under construction 

View from our ship