Panama Trip Report

Old Mar 30th, 2004, 01:42 PM
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Panama Trip Report

We have traveled in most of the Central American counties and found our trip to Panama to be the best of any of them. Panama is a very interesting, clean country, with lots of nature activities. The weather was perfect, with temperatures in the low 80's and a slight breeze most of the time. And you can drink the water!

We started off with two days in Panama City. We took a city tour the first day and also went to Los Pueblitos, a reconstruction of three old Panama cities. That night we went to Tinajas for authenic Panamaian food and a folkloric dance performance. The next day, we took a boat tour of Lake Gatun.

We then spent three days at Canopy Tower, a former air force radar station that has been turned into a seven-room hotel. Bird watching is the main interest here, and we went on three birdwalks with Canopy Tower's excellent guides. Our room was in the canopy, and the observation deck was above the canopy, allowing us to look down on birds in the trees. We also took a tour of the Miraflores locks on the Panama Canal and saw the harpy eagles at the Summir Botanical Gardens. The accommodations, food, and service were superb at Canopy Tower.

We then flew to David and met our driver for the trip to Boquete. We were now in the mountains and went horseback riding above the city. The next day, our guide took us to the Volcan Baru National Park, where we saw a number of quetzels, including two nesting pairs. That afternoon we went to "My Garden is Your Garden", a very quirky combination of garden and miniature golf decor. We stayed at Villa Marita outside of town, where we had our own cabana with living room and bedroom. We had three meals a day of good, plentiful Panamanian food.

We then drove across the continental divide to Almirante, where we got the water taxi to Bocas del Toro. We spent the next three days at Punta Caracol Acqua Lodge (see earlier post)where we spent our time snorkeling, relaxing, and touring the area.

If I can give you more information on our trip to Panama, please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
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Old Mar 30th, 2004, 03:42 PM
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Thanks for the trip report. We're thinking that we'll go to Panama next year. I'm already looking forward to it!
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Old Mar 30th, 2004, 06:29 PM
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Thank you so much lilla. It sounds like a lovely place.
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Old Apr 6th, 2004, 07:00 AM
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To LA FadeAway, here's the trip report
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Old Apr 6th, 2004, 04:50 PM
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Lilla: Thanks for sharing your experience at Canopy Tower. I first learned of Canopy Tower through Jack Hanna and it's been on my list of places to visit ever since. I'll be making my 3rd trip to Costa Rica this July and plan to do Panama in 2005. Was 3 days at Canopy Tower enough? Too much?
Thanks
Terri
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Old Apr 6th, 2004, 10:11 PM
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Thanks for the report. I can't wait for my trip in July!!!
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Old Apr 7th, 2004, 12:40 PM
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Terri, We are not "keen" birders like most of the folks who were staying at Canopy Tower, so we thought three days was just right. There were people who were there when we were who were staying a week. We did take two side trips while we were there, unlike most of the others who were just birding. We loved it at Canopy Tower, and the food and service were excellent.
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Old Apr 7th, 2004, 07:33 PM
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Lilla, thank you again for the great report. Canopy Towers sounds like a place we would just love. Having spent most of his youth capturing birds down in South America for the Smithsonian my husband is now just a watcher and we spend a lot of time doing it. I have been investigating places and had been looking at Canopy as well as Bocas del Toro.
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Old May 19th, 2004, 08:44 AM
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To the top for jeanh
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