The Cruise (cont. again) - Panama

After two and a half days at sea, we finally docked at Colon, Panama. Colon is a relatively new port and as such, there was really no touristy things to do in the immediate area.



Because of this, we had to take a charter bus about an hour out for our excursion.



We chose to explore the city of Portobelo or Beautiful port as dubbed by Christopher Columbus way back when. There was also options for seeing the canal and the lockes and while I'm disappointed we didn't get to see the canal, we were trying to pick activities that the boys would enjoy as well.



Panama is an extremely poor country, and it's also very dirty. One of the campaign promises of the man running for President was to add more garbage trucks. The week before we arrived, there was a strike and trash littered the streets. The average wage is $300-$500 a month. On our way to Portobelo, we saw many, many small houses that they call matchbook houses and appropriately so. These houses sell for $20-$30k and the owners are given 30 years with no interest to pay them off.

We are so very blessed.



This is the fort on Portobelo. Real live Pirates fought in this fort. We thought it would be exciting for the boys, but not so much.

While learning about Panama was interesting, it was not our favorite stop and I don't think I would think about going there again.













This is inside the church where the Black Christ is kept. The Black Christ was meant to be somewhere else, but every time they went to move it, strange things happened. On October 21, thousands travel from all over Panama to worship the Black Christ or El Cristo Negro.

Tomorrow Costa Rica and the Sloth Sanctuary.