Saturday, February 13, 2016 – Fuerte Amador (Panama City), Panama – Sunny 89F

Distance from Panama Canal to Fuerte Amador: 48 Nautical Miles

Fuerte Amador (gateway to Panama City) is our first stop following our transit through the Canal.  In fact, we got here last night and have been anchored since then.  What that meant was a peaceful night – no motion of the ocean.  Panama City consists of several cities: Panama Viejo (old city), Colonial Panama, and the New City.  We plan to wander through the first two cities today.

I had my usual breakfast out on the back deck – I have yet to grow tired of the waffles and cottage cheese routine.

We will need to tender to get to the city.

Fortunately, we are going out early and will most like avoid some of the heat of the day.

Tendering to Shore

From the shore, we could see the New City.  Also, the tide was out, stranding some boats and turning the bay into a field of mud (the tide can vary by 15 plus feet).  At the far end of the skyline below is the Trump Tower – it is shaped like the sail of a ship (similar to buildings in Haifa and Dubai).  The rest of the skyline looks brand new.

New Panama City

One building we did get a close look at was Revolution Tower (also known as the corkscrew building).  An amazing design.

Nearby, we came upon statues of Cristobal Colon and Queen Isabella of Spain.  The best shot of them included them in the same frame.

Cristobal Colon and Queen Isabella

Our next destination was the Old City of Panama – this is actually more of an archeological dig with building dating back to the early 17th Century.  I was only able to identify some of the buildings from the signs posted.

That’s me in the blue shirt

Wild Fig Tree

Contemporary Graffiti on Ancient Buildings

From the Old City, we transitioned to the Colonial City.  This, of course, reflected the Spanish architecture brought in by the Conquistadores.  The structure below is the last remaining chunk of the original city wall guarding the Colonial City.

City Wall Remnant

The Cathedral

I don’t know what it means but there was some Arabic writing on an abandoned building.

We next walked to the Santo Domingo Church.  The church and convent were built in the 17th century and destroyed in a fire in 1756.  They were never rebuilt and only the arches remain. 

Santo Domingo Church

Azamara Journey in the Bay – Low Tide

I don’t know who the General below is but he has a boardwalk/shopping area named after him.  What makes the the walkway interesting are the trellises containing flowers that cover the walk.

The monument below commemorates the French Initiating the Building of the Panama Canal (didn’t turn out well but at least they got a monument).

France Canal Monument

We caught our tender and headed back to the ship.  You may not be able to see it in the picture below but the hill and waters are full of pelicans.  They are everywhere.

Tendering back to the Journey

Spent the afternoon on the shady side of Deck 5 reading.  I finished Layton Green’s “The Summoner”.  An interesting book about Juju, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.  I plan to download another Dominic Grey Novel when I get a chance.  Started “The Drop”, another Harry Bosch novel.

We had dinner out on the back deck, where I was able to get a nice shot of the sunset.

In keeping with the concept that red wine contains documented health benefits, I am having a half glass with dinner. 

Cheers…

Did not go to Showtime tonight – we have seen Don Bryan (Ventriloquist) several times.