Panama City

On our way home from Rio de Janeiro we stopped off in Panama City for a day. We had a tour from a taxi driver who took us around the city. We were told originally that it would cost $80 for the day at the kiosk in the airport, but when we went outside to get a taxi to take us around, the drivers out there wanted to charge us double. We did NOT want to pay $160 for a city tour, so we went back to the information kiosk and tried to find alternatives. The woman who was helping us fixed the situation after a heated discussion with the taxi manager... but we got our tour. :) The reason we wanted to do a tour is because we only had 12 hours and we wanted to see as much as possible without having to rent a car and getting lost. We drove around a lot and saw all the major sights in Panama City, including Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal!

What was truly amazing was how modern the city is. I had no idea. But not only was it modern, but filled with history and beautiful scenery. We toured the casco viejo (historic city) filled with Caribbean, Republican, Art Deco, French and Colonial architecture- as diverse as the population living there. It was really a great time. My first stop ever in central america. We really loved it!