At the crossroads between North and South America, diverse wildlife delighted us on a voyage from Costa Rica to the Panama Canal, a winter escape by car and cruise (February 11 – March 4, 2025). Most charismatic was this “smiling” brown-throated sloth roaming wild in the heart of Panama City, in Metropolitan Natural Park:
Costa Rica’s capital city of San José offers fascinating Jade, Pre-Columbian Gold, and National museums plus the National Theater, a gem of Central America. Departing the gridlocked traffic of San José’s freeways, we drove twisty mountain roads to the traditional cart-crafting town of Sarchi and unique topiary gardens of Zarcero. Visiting the finca (farm) of US-expatriate friends revealed an amazing variety of wildlife in their rainforest backyard being rewilded under a conservation easement. Costa Rica has reversed deforestation by doubling its forest cover, from a quarter of the country in 1983 to half in 2025.
From the bustling tourist town of La Fortuna in Costa Rica’s Northern Highlands, we further submersed in the beautiful rainforest canopy to admire birds, sloths, snakes, butterflies, and other creatures at the Bogarin Trail, Mistico Hanging Bridges Park, and Butterfly Conservatory-Arenal. In a side trip to Tenorio Volcano National Park, we sauntered the lush, humid trail to bright-turquoise Rio Celeste and its delightful Waterfall. In Arenal Volcano National Park, we enjoyed lodging closest to the dramatic cone, Arenal Observatory Lodge & Trails (reserve 10+ months in advance, before it books full) — a great base with comfy view rooms and scrumptious dining, overlooking lively bird feeding stations and Lake Arenal. Staying two luxurious nights added monkey sightings by day and photos of a striking pair of red-eyed tree frogs mating at night, seen by flashlight during heavy rain.
After 10 energetic days of independent travel, we relaxed on a 9-day tour and cruise from Costa Rica to Colón, Panama. We cruised through the marvelous 1914 Panama Canal and ogled the enlarged 2016 Neopanamax locks. Vibrant, cosmopolitan Panama City has sprouted an impressive wall of skyscrapers since Panama took over Canal Zone operation after 1999. Panama City is home of two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Archaeological Site of 1519 Panamá Viejo — the first European settlement on the Pacific coast — and the 1673 Old Quarter, where we stayed for 3 days. In the city’s heart, we met this smiling sloth (above) roaming wild in the metro park — part of the 31% of Panama protected to sustain the water cycle, wildlife, and indigenous natives.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COSTA RICA: Sarchi ■ Zarcero ■ finca friends ■ La Fortuna ( Mistico Hanging Bridges, Butterfly Conservatory-Arenal, Rio Celeste, Bogarin Trail, Arenal Observatory Lodge ) ■ San José ■ Cruise: Puerto Caldera ■ Manuel Antonio NP
PANAMA: Isla Parida, Chiriquí Gulf NP ■ Panama Canal ■ Panama City ■ Creatures of Costa Rica & Panama — Gallery ■ All images
COSTA RICA
Costa Rica is socially progressive with an easy-going, family-oriented culture — with some of the world’s happiest people. This presidential republic has a stable constitutional democracy with highly educated workers. Formerly dependent solely upon agriculture, Costa Rica’s economy is now based 75% on services (tourism, electronics and medical components exports, medical manufacturing and IT services). The population of 5.1 million people is relatively uniform, with an ethnic mix of 84% White or Mestizo; 7% Mulatto; 2% Indigenous.
I first visited Costa Rica for 10 days in February 1987 with my brother Jim — climbing the country’s highest peak, Chirripó Grande (12,530 feet elevation), and body surfing at Manuel Antonio National Park. Meeting a couple from Costa Rica on our Australia-to-Indonesia cruise in 2023 helped motivate my return with Carol 38 years later, in 2025.
Don’t use the expensive ATMs at the San José Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) — I was charged an exorbitant 17% fee at BAC Credomatic (4,009.20 Colones fee to obtain just 20,000 Colones) — wait until you reach a destination city to withdraw cash.
For transportation within San José and the Central Valley, we found Uber to be cheap, convenient, and safe (assured by a PIN code exchanged between the apps of the rider and driver). Rental cars are also cheap; but lodging is surprisingly expensive for what you get. Driving a rental car for 10 days was tiring and sometimes scary but could reach remote areas on our own schedule. Expect heavy traffic in the Central Valley around San José and SJO Airport. Most other driving in the Central Highlands wound slowly through mountainous terrain, often stuck behind a truck belching diesel fumes, luckily filtered by our car’s indispensable air conditioning. If you can afford it, hiring a driver or taking a tour will be more restful. I immediately relaxed during Gohagan’s luxurious 9-day all-inclusive land and cruise package.
Sarchi: Eloy Alfaro Cart Factory
Sarchi is a key artisan town in Costa Rica, best known for handcrafted, colorfully-painted oxcarts. UNESCO honors Costa Rican oxcarts on its world list of intangible cultural heritage. These traditional wagons were once a cornerstone of Costa Rica’s economic development, transporting goods, particularly coffee beans, from the Central Highlands to boats on the Pacific coast. The best place to see the oxcarts is where they are still made — at Eloy Alfaro Cart Factory (Fabrica de Carretas Eloy Alfaro) in Sarchi, in Alajuela Province, 30 minutes northwest of the San José / Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO):
In Sarchi Park, admire the world’s largest oxcart (built in 2006) displayed under a pavilion.
Zarcero: topiary garden & Church of San Rafael
Just 35 minutes drive north of Sarchi, Zarcero’s striking topiary garden has been designed and maintained by Don Evangelista Blanco since 1964. In the town’s Parque Francisco Alvarado, curator Blanco has sculpted cypress trees into marvelous arches, animals, and other whimsical creations. Above the garden rises Zarcero’s impressive church, Iglesia de San Rafael, built in 1895 with exterior metal siding painted to appear like brick and interior columns painted to look like marble:
Central Costa Rica: finca (farm) visit
Visiting the finca (farm) of US-expatriate friends for two nights revealed an amazing variety of wildlife in their rainforest backyard being rewilded under a conservation easement, near Santiago de Puriscal, in San José Province of Costa Rica
Lesson’s motmot / blue-diademed motmot (Momotus lessonii)
A female green-breasted mango, also known as Prevost’s mango (Anthracothorax prevostii) hummingbird.
A male green iguana (Iguana iguana). This large, arboreal, mostly herbivorous lizard is native from Mexico through southern Brazil and Paraguay. It can grow up to 1.7 to 2 meters (5.6 to 6.6 feet) in length.
Variegated squirrels (Sciurus variegatoides) have a wide range of colors and patterns, including all black.
The banded peacock butterfly (Anartia fatima, in the family Nymphalidae) is commonly found in south Texas, Mexico, and Central America — most-studied in Costa Rica. This butterfly prefers subtropical climates and moist areas, such as near rivers. It spends much of its time in second-growth woodlands.
The postman butterfly (Heliconius melpomene) is found throughout Central and South America.
La Fortuna town
Belted and capped with clouds, Arenal Volcano (5436 ft) rises dramatically above La Fortuna, which lies in the Caribbean side of Costa Rica at 800 feet elevation in Alajuela Province.
At North Fields Coffee and Chocolate Tour in La Fortuna (use their shuttle service pickup from your hotel or drive yourself), taste and learn fun facts:
- Keep coffee only at room temperature — never frozen or refrigerated, which can adversely affect flavor and quality.
- The fruit of the coffee plant (Coffea genus) is a coffee cherry. Coffee production is labor-intensive. The three main processing methods take 5 to 30 days, during which the coffee bean (which is a seed or pit) is removed from the pulp, mucilage, and parchment and is dried and roasted. The beans must outgas carbon dioxide for 4-5 days at room temperature before roasting. Mass-produced commercial coffee blends beans from all three methods and is often over-burnt compared to pricier specialty coffees.
- Sugar cane was originally native to India. A centrifuge separates the yellow molasses from white sugar, then white sugar is bleached to remove the remaining yellow. Cane toads (Rhinella horribilis) are native to mainland Central America and South America, but their introduction as insect eaters in sugar cane fields of Northern Australia and various islands throughout Oceania and the Caribbean has unintentionally spread an invasive, poisonous pest.
- Cacao trees (Theobroma cacao) are grafted onto multiple species of root tree to increase yield, disease-resistance, and fruit quality.
Bogarin Trail — regenerated rainforest preserve
is a wonderful place to reliably view sloths in their habitat — best spotted with an experienced guide, arranged at the office. Stroll the Sloth Park Trail on a level, paved loop 0.8 miles — GaiaGPS.com.
Below: The brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus) is the most common of the four species of three-toed sloth (all found in the forests of South and Central America). Sloths enter life with a bungee-jumping birth, dangled from their umbilical cord!
At your leisure, observe an astounding variety of birds along the Bogarin Trail, especially from lounge chairs facing the fruit feeder next to the Bogarin Coffee Shop:
Below: the name of the Montezuma oropendola bird (Psarocolius montezuma) commemorates Aztec emperor Moctezuma II.
A broad-billed motmot (Electron platyrhynchum).
The green honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza) is a small bird in the tanager family.
The grey-headed chachalaca (Ortalis cinereiceps) is found from Honduras to Colombia.
A female scarlet-rumped tanager (Ramphocelus passerinii) dines on fruit set out by the Bogarin Trail office.
A golden-hooded tanager (Stilpnia larvata).
A crimson-collared tanager (Ramphocelus sanguinolentus).
A blue-gray tanager (Thraupis episcopus).
An orange-chinned parakeet (Brotogeris jugularis).
Mistico Hanging Bridges Park
The exciting Mistico Hanging Bridges Park (Puentes Colgantes Arenal) submerses visitors in the beautiful rainforest canopy near the outlet of Lake Arenal, 30 minutes drive from La Fortuna. Get tickets online in advance, and arrive a few minutes before it opens to avoid crowds. Hiring an experienced guide or tour will locate furtive wildlife much easier — although by being self-guided, we could still pause where multiple guided groups spotted various creatures. Be patient as others cross the 6 one-way swing bridges, which limit the person-count for safety (10 other pedestrian bridges are solidly fixed). The temperature for walking is pleasant here at 2000 feet elevation, on an easy paved loop 2.3 miles with 310 feet of gain and loss — GaiaGPS.COM.
A rufous motmot (Baryphthengus martii) at Mistico Hanging Bridges Park.
Butterfly Conservatory-Arenal
is the largest exhibition of butterflies in Costa Rica — highly recommended. This Rainforest Regeneration Project contains several domed habitats attended by enthusiastic docents, a ranarium (frog habitat), an insect museum, a medicinal herb garden, and an hour of trails through a botanic garden and along the river. Find this well-loved, uncrowded exhibit in El Castillo, by Lake Arenal, 30 minutes drive from La Fortuna, in Costa Rica.
The owl butterflies are species of the genus Caligo — known for their huge eyespots, which resemble owls’ eyes.
A glasswing butterfly (Greta oto).
A zebra longwing butterfly (Heliconius charithonia).
A masked tree frog / New Granada cross-banded tree frog (Smilisca phaeota).
Warszewitsch’s frog / brilliant forest frog (Lithobates warszewitschii).
A strawberry poison-dart frog / blue jeans poison frog (Oophaga pumilio).
A Central American giant cave cockroach / Brazilian cockroach (Blaberus giganteus).
Costa Rica trip planning links
■ Detailed website by Moon Publications authors, 18 years of advice.
■ www.thesmoothescape.com/10-day-costa-rica-itinerary/
■ www.thoroughlytravel.com/central-america/where-to-see-sloths-in-la-fortuna-costa-rica/
■ www.costarica.com/travel-guides/arenal
■ Volcán Poás offers scenic viewpoints of steaming ponds — restricted by booking system, 1+ day in advance — pick the earliest time slot to avoid later clouds. Bring a jacket for 55 degree temperatures at the high viewpoints. You can visit Volcán Poás most efficiently en route on a drive 2.4 hours one way between La Fortuna and San Jose; or drive 2 hours round trip from San Jose Airport; or 3 hours round trip from downtown San Jose.
Rio Celeste Waterfall in Tenorio Volcano National Park
is 3 hours round trip from La Fortuna — a must-see by rental car or tour. This National Park lacks cell reception and must be reserved online in advance, such as from La Fortuna. Hike 2.2 miles round trip through a lush rainforest to the waterfall (catarata) of Rio Celeste, whose waters flow bright blue-green. Add 1.2 miles round trip to view a few more pools and the source of the turquoise color (3.4 miles round trip total, 590 feet gain and loss — GaiaGPS.com). A guided walk — arrangeable at the entrance — can be helpful for spotting the wildlife such as birds, snakes and turtles. We walked self-guided and found many creatures by looking where other hikers paused staring. On rainy days, carrying an umbrella is cooler than wearing a raincoat in the steamy tropics of Central America.
An eyelash pit viper (Bothriechis schlegelii), along Rio Celeste Waterfall Trail.
Arenal Observatory Lodge & Trails
is a former Smithsonian research facility and the closest lodging to Arenal Volcano — great for watching birds, frogs, monkeys and other rainforest wildlife in a quiet escape at the cooler elevation of 2400 feet, just 35 minutes drive from bustling, more-sweltering La Fortuna (800 feet elevation). I recommend staying 3+ nights, booked 10+ months in advance. At 9 months in advance, I just missed an earlier chance at booking 5 contiguous nights — so we settled for a 2-night stay, which sufficed. Staying in the lively tourist town of La Fortuna substituted okay for the missed 3 nights by costing less on lodging, allowing dining at a great sushi restaurant and cooking other meals on our own schedule in a comfortable $80 per night apartment found on Booking.com.
Arenal Observatory Lodge & Trails lit at dusk.
The white-nosed coati (Nasua narica), also called the coatimundi (of the family Procyonidae, raccoons and their relatives) — is commonly seen galivanting around the lodge and access roads.
Spider monkeys (genus Ateles) thrive in the trees along the lodge’s several miles of beautiful trails.
Don’t be deterred by rain on the wonderful night tour — the frogs love it! My waterproof smartphone handily captured these red-eyed tree frogs mating (Agalychnis callidryas) during a pelting rainstorm — a shot that would have ruined my Sony RX10 IV.
We regularly crossed the hanging Spider Bridge to connect our annex lodging with the dining room at Arenal Observatory Lodge & Trails.
A crested guan (Penelope purpurascens).
A female (red morph) great curassow (Crax rubra).
A rufous-tailed hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) flicks its tongue.
Central American whiptail lizard, aka tiger ameiva (Holcosus festivus).
A yellow-throated toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus).
San José, Costa Rica’s capital
The National Theater of Costa Rica — opened in 1897 in San José — is an architectural gem of Central America.
Ceiling paintings in the National Theater of Costa Rica in San José. The top painting is known as “Allegory of Coffee and Bananas.”
Third floor meeting room at the National Theater of Costa Rica.
Olmec jade dating from 500-900 in San José’s Jade Museum (Museo del Jade) — the world’s largest collection of American jade.
Ceramic figure dating from 800-1200 AD from the Guanacaste region (North Pacific coast) of Costa Rica, in the Jade Museum, in downtown San José.
The 18-foot-high marble statue “Our Lady of the Skies” shows the Virgin Mary standing between the blades of a World War II airplane propeller, at Our Lady of Solitude Catholic Church (Iglesia Nuestra Señora de la Soledad) in San José. This sculpture was originally made for the 1955 Chapel at Idlewild Airport, now known as JFK International Airport, whose expansion displaced the Chapel and its statue in 1988. The statue was eventually relocated to Costa Rica and blessed in 2016.
A shaman figure sculpted in gold, at the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum (Museo de Oro Precolombino) in San José, Costa Rica.
Petroglyph carved in a Mesoamerican stone sphere in National Museum of Costa Rica in San José. The Diquís stone spheres in Costa Rica are estimated to have been created between 300 AD and 1500 AD, with most dating to after 1000 AD. Built in 1917, the National Museum of Costa Rica was originally used for quarters for soldiers and held barracks, and was used in the Costa Rica Civil War in 1948. Many bullet holes are still visible on the museum’s outside walls.
A blue morpho / common morpho butterfly (most authorities label it as a subspecies, Morpho helenor peleides, instead of species “Morpho peleides“). This iridescent tropical butterfly is found in Mexico, Central America, northern South America, Paraguay and Trinidad. Photographed in the “mariposario” butterfly garden at the National Museum of Costa Rica, in San José.
Cruise from Costa Rica to Panama
With GohaganTravel.com, we joined a 9-day tour and cruise from Costa Rica to the Panama Canal. 144 alumni of diverse universities and their partners gathered to enjoy this “affinity group cruise.” Just one other person in addition to myself was from UC Davis Cal Aggie Alumni, whose unsolicited cruise flyer spontaneously attracted us to the voyage. My wife Carol and I shared a comfortable cabin.
Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica
Guests of the Wind Star motor sailing yacht enjoy a sunset at Puerto Caldera, in Costa Rica. The Wind Star sails as a cruise ship for Windstar Cruises. Caldera Port (Puerto Caldera) is the main freight port in the Pacific side of Costa Rica, located in Puntarenas province.
The Wind Star motor sailing yacht (launched 1985, up to 148 guests) features an elaborate system of computer-controlled sails on four 204-foot-tall masts, unfurled ceremoniously to the tune of inspirational music by Vangelis – “1492 Conquest of Paradise.”
Quepos: Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica
Manuel Antonio Beach, in Manuel Antonio National Park, in the Central Pacific Conservation Area on the Pacific coast, next to the city of Quepos, in Puntarenas province. Arrive early, as this popular park quickly becomes hot and crowded as the day progresses. Our ship arranged a local tour guide who was amazingly skilled at finding creatures in the dense rainforest:
Central American squirrel monkey (Saimiri oerstedii).
The black spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura similis) is native to Mexico and Central America.
Panamanian white-faced (or white-headed) capuchin monkey (Cebus imitator) cools off on a water fountain in Manuel Antonio National Park.
The fiery-billed aracari (Pteroglossus frantzii) is found in Costa Rica and Panama.
A wandering spider (Ctenidae family).
A golden silk orb-weaver spider (Nephila genus).
The common pauraque (Nyctidromus albicollis) is a nightjar species of bird — nearly invisible on the dark rainforest floor. Surprisingly, it lays its eggs on the ground without a nest.
PANAMA
offers a cornucopia of delights for visitors. Panama’s culture is a vibrant mix of Afro-Caribbean, Indigenous, Spanish, and North American influences. Ethnic groups include: 65% Mestizo (mixed White & Indigenous); 12% Indigenous; 9% Black; 7% Mulatto (mixed White and Black); 7% White. Panama tends to be slightly warmer and more humid than Costa Rica.
Isla Parida, Chiriquí Gulf National Marine Park
For our introduction to Panama, sun chairs with umbrellas invited relaxation on the beautiful palm beach of Isla Parida, in Chiriquí Gulf National Marine Park. The ship’s barbeque party arranged at this idyllic escape was one of the highlights of the trip, which culminated at the Panama Canal. Surrounding the Paridas Islands archipelago, the Gulf of Chiriqui provides birthing waters for humpback whales.
Ghost crab (subfamily Ocypodinae) on Isla Parida, in Chiriquí Gulf National Marine Park.
Cruising the Panama Canal
is fascinating and exciting — this engineering wonder is equally important today as when completed back in 1914.
Panama City skyline sprouts a wall of skyscrapers, seen from Balboa Anchorage in Panama Bay, Central America. As of 2025, Panama City has 67 skyscrapers over 492 feet high (150+ meters), mostly built since 2000, during Panama’s control of the Panama Canal.
At Balboa Anchorage in Panama Bay, ships await their time slot to enter the Port of Balboa, Panama City.
At Balboa Anchorage in Panama Bay, the Wind Star arranges outdoor dining at sunset, while awaiting tides low enough to enter the port of Balboa under the Bridge of the Americas — offshore from Panama City
Cranes unload a container ship at Port of Balboa in Panama City at dawn.
The tidal range is from 18 to 20 vertical feet where the Bridge of the Americas crosses the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, at the port of Balboa. At low tide, the Wind Star sailing yacht’s 204-foot-tall masts passed underneath this bridge with just 6 feet of leeway. The name “Bridge of the Americas” symbolizes Panama’s importance as a crossroads between the world’s continents. From its inception in 1962, the original name of “Thatcher Ferry Bridge” was unpopular with the Panamanian Government. When it gained more control over the Canal, Panama officially changed the bridge’s name to “Bridge of the Americas” in 1979. (Maurice H. Thatcher, 5th Military Governor of Panama Canal Zone from 1910 to 1913, was the Isthmian Canal Commissioner who introduced the legislation which created the original ferry which was replaced by the bridge.) — Photographed using a telephoto lens from a roof in Casco Viejo, the colonial old town of Panama City.
Miraflores Locks are on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal, near the port of Balboa in Panama City. All of the Canal’s original locks use double-leaf miter gates that close in the middle and open by swinging back into the lock chamber, fitting into recesses along the chamber walls.
Panama Canal overview: Completed in 1914, the Panama Canal waterway is aligned 51 miles across the country’s isthmus from southeast to northwest. On the Pacific side, ships cross below the Bridge of the Americas to reach the Port of Balboa. From the Pacific Ocean up to artificial Gatun Lake, two-step locks at Miraflores plus single step locks at Pedro Miguel lift ships for a total of 85 feet. The triple-step Gatun Locks lower ships 85 feet down to the Caribbean Sea (Atlantic side). Maximizing the capacity of the 1914 locks, Panamax size ships pass through with just 18 inches to spare on each side. Since large ships cannot cross safely at speed in the narrow Culebra Cut through the continental divide, ship traffic is generally from Pacific to Atlantic during daylight hours, and from Atlantic to Pacific during evenings and nights. The original 1914 Panama Canal has twelve locks (six pairs) in total — arranged so that two parallel chambers run throughout — useful for capacity, efficiency, and maintenance. Very few military ships cross the canal — just 0.3% of all traffic. Water in the locks is entirely filled by gravity from the dammed Gatun Lake. Drought causing low water levels (external link) has threatened large ship traffic in 2023-25.
Completed in 2016, the Panama Canal Expansion Project — aka the Third Set of Locks Project (below) — doubled overall shipping capacity by adding 6 Neopanamax lock chambers and new approach corridors, running parallel to the twelve original Panama Canal locks. Like the earlier locks, the new locks and their basins are filled and emptied by gravity using water from Gatun Lake, without pumps. Water is significantly conserved by 6 new water-saving basins. The new locks support New Panamax (Neopanamax) ships that are about 1.5 times larger than the previous Panamax size and can carry over twice as much cargo.
Panama Canal’s new Cocolí Locks, completed for Neopanamax ships in 2016, near the Port of Balboa in Panama City. The new locks have single-leaf gates which roll into a recess instead of swinging. In the background, Panama’s Centennial Bridge crosses the Canal northwest of Pedro Miguel Locks.
A “mule” locomotive stabilizes our ship at Miraflores Locks.
Panama Canal history: This engineering marvel completed in 1914 revolutionized world trade by saving 8,000 miles of sailing between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Between New York and San Francisco, a voyage of 27 days by modern container ship around South America is reduced to just 11 days via the historic Central American waterway. The United States’ presence here has been felt since 1850–55, when it built the Panama Canal Railway (PCR) across the Isthmus of Panama, following the 1849 California Gold Rush. In the 1870s, groundbreaking work by Cuban epidemiologist Carlos Finlay proved that mosquitos carried disease — but his conclusions weren’t fully accepted until the 1900 Walter Reed Commission. In the interim, France began work on the canal in 1881 but ceased in 1889 with one third done and 22,000 lives lost, plagued by engineering problems and a tragically high worker death rate from malaria, yellow fever, and other tropical diseases. Benefiting from mosquito mitigation and advances in technology, the United States resumed building the canal in 1904, opened the canal in 1914, and handed it over to Panama during the period 1977–1999 in accordance with the Torrijos–Carter Treaties.
The MOL CELEBRATION Container Ship on Chagres River arm of artificial Gatun Lake near Gamboa in Panama.
This RORO is called the Splended Ace. Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo (cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars) that are driven on and off the ship by 40–50+ drivers (stevedores). Here at Gamboa, our ship left the Culebra Cut and entered the Chagres River arm of artificial Gatun Lake.
While descending in the Gatun Locks, notice the Atlantic Bridge (Puente Atlántico) over the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal. The triple-step Gatun Locks were completed in 1914.
In the lock paralleling our ship but going in the opposite direction was the world’s largest and longest floating structure — the Prelude FLNG — a Floating Liquefied Natural Gas platform. Launched in December 2013, this monohull barge is 488 metres (1,601 ft) long, 74 metres (243 ft) wide, 105 m (344 ft) tall — beating Seawise Giant, the previous record holder, as the world’s longest vessel. The vessel displaces 600,000 tonnes when fully loaded, more than five Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.
The Atlantic Bridge (Puente Atlántico) spans Limon Bay, the Caribbean Sea entrance to the Panama Canal, near Colón. Completed in 2019, it is the third tall bridge built over the canal (after two on the Pacific side of the canal).
The OOCL TOKYO container ship (built in 2007, Neopanamax size) enters Agua Clara Locks, near Colón. The new 2016 locks use tugboats to align ships instead of locomotive “mules.”
Agua Clara Locks Visitor Center overlooks new rolling gates in the Panama Canal Expansion Project.
Panama City
For getting around, Uber is widely used, a good value, and safe (confirmed with a PIN code in person between the apps of the rider and driver) — niftily used on our rides to and from Panama City’s Tocumen Airport (PTY), Casco Viejo, and Metropolitan Natural Park. Official taxis may cost slightly more or the same, depending on traffic, demand, and time of day.
In France Square of Casco Viejo district of Panama City, the Panama Canal Monument honors the 22,000 workers who died (mostly from yellow fever and malaria) in the French attempt to build the Panama Canal in the 1880s.
A colorful Panama sign greets visitors arriving at the marina at the Causeway Amador Shopping Mall, in Panama City. Several of these colorful signs decorate the city.
Downtown Panama City and ships seen from Cinta Costera 3 / Coastal Beltway section 3, in Panama, Central America.
Juvenile and adult black vultures (Coragyps atratus) look for food along the Coastal Beltway (Cinta Costera) in Panama City.
A Mardi Gras bus decorated for a private party drives the Amador Causeway in Panama City, Panama.
Above and below: Renowned architect Frank Gehry designed the BioMuseo — his first design for Latin America. In Panama City, the BioMuseo (Biodiversity Museum) covers the natural history of Panama, whose isthmus was formed very recently in geologic time, with major impact on the ecology of the Western Hemisphere.
From rooftops of the Old Quarter, view contrasting modern skyscrapers of Panama City at dusk. Casco Antiguo (Spanish for Old Quarter), also known as Casco Viejo, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site — the colonial Historic District of Panama City founded in 1673. (The town was moved here after its original 1519 location was burnt down by Welsh privateer Henry Morgan, leaving the ruins at what is now called Panamá Viejo, 10 miles to the northeast.)
Our nice AirBNB.com apartment rental was built here on the gentrification line of Casco Viejo — guarded by 24-hour police who monitored traffic into the Historic District during Mardi Gras. Rapid enrichment of Panama City’s middle classes and tourist development of the UNESCO-honored Old Quarter is displacing local poor residents, who posted protest signs in the park next to Plaza Herrera.
Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Santa Maria the Ancient on Independence Square, in Casco Viejo. Construction began in 1688 and the church was consecrated 108 years later, in 1796.
Built in 1678, these ruins are what remain of Santo Domingo Church after two major fires brought down the tower and interior, in Casco Viejo.
Mola Museum (Museo de la Mola / MUMO), in Casco Viejo.
For centuries, the Guna (previously known as Kuna), an Indigenous group residing in Panama and parts of neighboring Colombia, have been creating colorfully embroidered clothing. A mola, or “shirt” in the Guna language, is a piece of traditional dress typically worn by women and known for its bright colors and intricate designs depicting flowers, birds, reptiles, animals and other emblems indicative of Mother Nature. The textile art began in the San Blas Islands, an archipelago off the northern coast of Panama that’s part of the Guna Yala Region, where many Guna people continue to live. Guna women have been sewing mola blouses since the turn of the 1900s, which have become powerful symbols of their culture and identity. During the Guna Revolution of 1925, Guna people rallied around their right to make and wear molas as a statement of independence.
From Plaza Simón Bolívar in Casco Viejo, view the San Francisco de Asis Church — built by Franciscans in the later 1600s and burned by fires in 1737 and 1756, remodeled in 1918, and restored 2013-16. Simón Bolívar led the liberation of Panama from Spanish rule in 1821.
See Panama City skyscrapers beyond the Coastal Beltway (Cinta Costera 3), across Panama Bay from Casco Viejo.
The F&F Tower (previously known as the Revolution Tower and locally nicknamed the Corkscrew or the Screw) is a 242.9 meter (796 foot) 52-story office skyscraper completed in 2011 in Panama City, designed by Pinzon Lozano & Asociados Arquitectos. Photographed from Casco Viejo.
In the heart of Panama City, escape urban bustle to scenic Mirador Cerro Cedro lookout, along the humid rainforest trails of Metropolitan Natural Park (3 miles round trip, 500 feet gain — GaiaGPS.com). This verdant park is part of an impressive wilderness belt protecting the critical water cycle that feeds the Panama Canal system. An admirable 31% of Panama is protected for sustainable use by wildlife and indigenous natives. Here we met this delightful brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus), first shown at the top of this article:
Links to more adventures in Panama
■ Embera Village and Jungle Tour was founded when US-native and naturalist Anne Gordon married an Embera man and fell in love with their Darien way of life — this popular day trip package (available from various guides) is cheaper to book separately rather than through a cruise extension.
■ “From Panama City: Gamboa Rainforest Guided Tour with Lunch” — book Gamboa rainforest tours like this or drive there by rental car to explore at your leisure: Gamboa Rainforest Reserve (Tramway, lodging); Panama Rainforest Discovery Center; Monkey Island Tour #1, tour #2; PanamaBoatTour.com, and more.
■ “Hiking La India Dormida, one of the most amazing hikes in Panama”
■ “Sendero Los Quetzales Hike in Boquete: Search for the Quetzal“
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COSTA RICA: Sarchi ■ Zarcero ■ finca friends ■ La Fortuna ( Mistico Hanging Bridges, Butterfly Conservatory-Arenal, Rio Celeste, Bogarin Trail, Arenal Observatory Lodge ) ■ San José ■ Cruise: Puerto Caldera ■ Manuel Antonio NP
PANAMA: Isla Parida, Chiriquí Gulf NP ■ Panama Canal ■ Creatures of Costa Rica & Panama — Gallery
Images on this page are favorites gleaned from Tom’s more extensive PhotoShelter gallery “2025 Feb: COSTA RICA + PANAMA, cruise” (where you can Add to Cart). All photos were shot on my 37-ounce Sony RX10 IV (Amazon) with versatile 25x zoom lens — read Tom’s “RX10M4 review” — plus a few images from his Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra smartphone.