27th March 2015 – Panama City – 2015-04-01 20:04

This morning we have a tour of Panama City and we start by going to the old Panama museum and then to the ruins of the first city founded by Europeans – Panama Viejo.There is mostly just remains of walls here however the Cathedral Tower is still intact and there are stairs up to the top. Michael climbs up but I am feeling a bit lazy today. There’s a good view of the city and across the water at the top. It’s just nice walking around this area as it has lovely old trees and nice green grass. This first city was destroyed by the pirate Henry Morgan in 1671, he was probably an ancestor of Michael as his mothers maiden name was Morgan!Panama City has a population of 1.5 million people with some beautiful architecture that rivals Dubai. Our favorite is the corkscrew building.We drive to the old city and wander around the streets and plazas in particular the French Plaza that has the monument to the French canal effort. We walk along the top of the wall that overlooks the ocean, there is an indigenous handcraft market here and there is a nice breeze to cool us down. It’s quite hot and humid, the clouds are building up as the rainy season starts in April and lasts for 9 months. When the bus goes back to the hotel Michael & I stay in the old city and do more exploring and buy a a local handcraft embroidery of a macaw which is lovely & bright. We have a seafood lunch in a local cafe before catching a taxi back to the hotel.