Gamboa Rainforest

BEFORE YOU GO:

1. Pack insect repellent
• It’s a rainforest so plenty of insects and bugs
2. Pre-arrange a taxi or some sort of transportation
• Its in the middle of nowhere so getting an Uber is non-existent unless you happen to catch one as they are dropping someone off
3. Check up on the road work
• Apparently on Tuesday/Thursdays from 9:30-12, they close the bridge to go to Gamboa so you either have to wait or come back
4. Book the activities in advance
•  We just showed up at the place and they only had two available activities in which we had to wait 3 hours at the hotel before 

TELEFICO

I’ve done the cable car experience a few times, most of them being in Colombia, both Cartagena and Bogota, but each time is totally different. This experience was in the rainforest so we were going through the jungle essentially. We could smell the trees, feel the breeze, and hear the birds chirping… no exaggeration. Along the way we even saw a white faced monkey, which was really cool. No pictures because those suckers are so fast. The cable car had six towers and two stops; at the last stop we hiked up a tower to get the view of the Panama Canal and entire rainforest. It was spectacular!!!! It was honestly so peaceful, besides the cranes here and there (they are doing construction work to expand the Canal).

When in Panama City, Panama

Panama Canal / Miraflores

So one of the most obvious tourist attractions you think of when it comes to Panama is the Panama canal. It’s popular for a reason. It’s a $15 cover charge that allows you to visit the canal, museum, watch the videos, and visit the aquarium. It was pretty cool, not going to lie. I had seen pictures before and it wasn’t too impressive for me, but actually going there and visiting it first hand was unbelievable. As you look onto the canal and see the ships passing, there’s a woman that’s explaining the history behind the canal. It was very interesting to learn the history because it just added more sentimental value to the attraction. We got really lucky with timing, as we were able to see the last ship pass through for the day. Security was high, there were officials everywhere signaling other workers, and commotion in general. It wasn’t hectic in the sense that it was overwhelming, but just a lot going on to prepare for the ships passing.

Being the tourist that I am, we went to all viewing levels to take pictures. I would say the lowest level was the best for photos, but the top was the best in terms of view.
In the museum portion of the attraction, they had this monitor that determined the percentage of water in your body. Not exactly sure how they managed to calculate this, but the person stood in this machine and typed in information about themselves and a number would pop up. I got 64% of body water, which I was impressed with as I barely drink water :D

Casco Viejo

DEFINITELY A MUST SEE. If you are in panama for one day, this is something you should do!!! I think the best time to go is around 30-45 minutes before sunset so you can see everything in the day and night time. The area is filled with churches, antique buildings, fish markets, narrow cobblestone streets, and some of the best restaurants ever. Everything at night was lit up, they had horse carriage rides, and it was just packed. There was a soccer game on that night so most of the bars were completely full and rowdy, but it added to the overall environment.

We ate at this restaurant called Tantalo, it was rated one of the best restaurants in the area. AMAZING. It was fairly busy so we had to sit at the bar; we didn’t mind because usually the service is better and quicker. The food was soooo good, I kind of wished we went at the start of our trip just so we could go back again :P

**NOTE!!^^ I did not take these pictures in Casco Viejo, I got them from online!! These ones were way better than the ones I attempted to take!!!