January 4, 2016

The Metropolitan Nature Park is a 232 hectare forest in the middle of Panama City with hiking trails for everyone. The map on the side will show you the trails we walked on. The temperature was upwards of 80 degrees, so with that in mind as well as the inclines and declines of the trails, we walked for about 2.5 hours before we decided it was time to quit.














The park is home to many species of birds and animals, but in the heat I guess they were all hiding out in the trees. 




We did however see a few turtles




and butterflies ....














and ants - lots of ants....












We saw a sloth - if you look hard in the Y of this tree you will spot the brown faced sloth...

That's it for animals in the forest, we didn't even see birds.   But we got some good excercise, and sweat up a storm (lol). 







So once we were done with our nature walk we had a cab driver drop us off in Casco Viejo, the Colonial quarters of Panama. 












Walking the streets in this quarter is a different experience. Burned out shells of old, dilapidated buildings inhabited by squatters stand side-by-side with chic new coffee houses, gourmet restaurants, boutique hotels and some of Panama's hottest clubs and bars. 








We spent the afternoon and into the evening exploring the churches, plazas, restaurants, cafes, markets and streets and alleys.











In our travels we met up with another couple from Canada. Walter and Kelly are from Niagara Falls. We enjoyed sipping on a few cervesas (beers) together and exchanging stories.