We left Ft. Lauderdale and headed toward Aruba. The waters of the Caribbean Sea are rough this time of year and even our cruise ship is affected. The order of the day was barf bags and a LOT fewer people at dinner!
We arrived in Aruba to rain, so we stay on board the ship and spent a quiet day at dock. Next stop, Cartagena Columbia. Former drug cartel head quarters and more recently a Secret Service mis-step location. For us tourists, a beautiful old city filled with color and charm.
Next stop, the Panama Canal and Panama City!! The entrance to the canal that we used was at Colon. I have only heard that as a tourist, we shouldn’t go there. It appeared as we sailed by, to be mostly a shipping port.
We entered the first set of locks and to someone who has never been through a lock, it’s a fascinating process.
Once past the locks, we sail through a large lake and into the next set of locks.
We arrived in the port of Panama City and took a tender to shore. We met up with Jainella Torrez from New World Real Estate and piled into her van for our 4 hour tour of Panama City.
Panama City has some 2 million people. More people live in the city than the rest of Panama. We were told the traffic is alway bad in the city, and in 2013 they were working on the new Metro System. When we go back, we will see if it has made a difference in traffic.
We were taken all around the city and even shown an apartment in Trump Tower. Yes, he has a tower in Panama!! That guy really gets around!!! During the 4 hours, Jainella answered hundreds of questions that we had about moving and living in Panama. All in all, it was a great tour and we feel, money well spent doing “research”. After our tour, it’s back to the ship and on to our next stop, Costa Rica. Took a tour and saw many different species of wildlife, including these two guys.
A few days at sea, heading north, and we arrived back in the states, armed with information and ready to make the most important decision either one of us has made since we got married….
