A peek at Panama City

Before leaving Panama, we stopped in Panama City for a few days to check things out. It was the first time we'd been to a big big city in a long time -- and our first in Central America. We were not disappointed in the international, historic, latin vibe of this interesting area.

Downtown Panama City taken from the ruins of the old church from the 1500's

Our hotel was located in old town, Casco Viejo. It was a $3-$5 uber ride to just about anywhere in the city. Charming Casco Viejo has colonial styled buildings and is a UNESCO world heritage site. We found lots of great food, photo opportunities and beautiful renovated boutique hotels.

Ominious clouds linger above as we explore Panama City.

Wandering Casco Viejo (Old Town) ruins and old churches.

We took short day excursions to several other areas within the city including the never-ending Albrook mall (380,000 sq meter). We were interested in the diversity of brand name stores representing goods from all over the world. We found the prices very reasonable. We visited multiple museums, the Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal (which were sooooo crowded) and had some pretty decent Thai food! We packed in a lot for 2 1/2 days.

A marching band competition underway at a large city park, with hundreds of kids lining up to perform

Scoping out the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal as next time we will be going through on Okisollo.

Sombrero street, Casco Viejo Panama City

From Panama City we flew to Seattle. We've got lots of activities planned for our few weeks in the Pacific Northwest to enjoy the end of summer. Those cooler nights and mild days are just what we need! We'll update you all on those adventures when we get back to Panama in mid-September. Until then, onward!