Boquete, David, Panama City, Cartagena

We've had a long 2 days of travel! Driven from Boquete by the nice lady from Manchester, UK and dropped off at the new David International Airport took about an hour. Still under construction, it was not immediately apparent where the front doors were. Nevertheless, we walked thru the construction tape, past the saw horses and thru one of the glass doors and found ourselves inside.Almost completed is as good as completed. Our flight was almost 2 hours late. We were anxious, as this was our day to explore the locks at Miraflores.

We were picked up at Albrook Airport by our driver Jose, from Golden Frog Transportation.
(www.goldenfrog.net)   Our visit to the Canal Zone was much shorter than we wanted. Harvey and I were both amazed at the area. The old base housing has been transformed into a lush neighborhood. After a short visit to Miraflores, Jose took us to the Amador Causeway - a man made 3 mile, causeway into the Pacific, filled with "stuff to do". To our right were the ships waiting for the canal to open manana
and to our left were the marina's filled with yachts and sailboats of homeboys and international travelers.

This evening we opted to stay at a different hotel, The Toscana. (www.toscanainnhotel.com) We needed a soft bed and I needed at least 4 pillows. We slept as if on a cloud after our large meat meal. Morning brought us machiattos for breakfast and Jose's wife Lucy, to transport us to the Tocuman International Airport, the hub of Copa Airlines. Another airport being expanded and the international concourse was not yet finished, but why waste a gate? We follow the boarded up moving walkways, dodging electrical cords and worker dudes. Onward to Cartagena.

Colombia is the place where our Spanish will be everything. It will be rare to find folks who know a smidgen of English. Our taxi driver finds the apartment on Calle Moneda and we are met by Henry, the manager and tour guide extraordinaire. After ensconcing us in the nicely furnished apartment, he takes us on a guided tour of El Centro. For those of you who have been to Sevilla or perhaps New Orleans, you might have an idea of what this area looks like. Except bigger - much bigger and alive with locals. Teaming with locals. This morning we will explore further and have lunch at the same Cevicheria which was spotlighted on No Reservations!