PANAMAAAA!!!!!!

       When we went downstairs in the morning Louis wasn’t there waiting for us like he said he would be. People were asking where we were going, and once we realized he wasn’t there we asked how much it would be and someone said a price, but it was higher than what we were quoted, and we said,  “We were told by someone else yesterday that it will be lower” and she said, “I will take you for that price” and we were very content. Our tour guide was really awesome. She first took us to the Gatun Locks and we arrived just as a boat was passing through the middle locks so we were able to see it. We quickly bought tickets and went up to the observation deck. It was really cool to see the boat there. We then took the scenic route around to Panama City. We went to this place where there are 3 islands that became connected with the construction of the Panama Canal, called the causeway. They needed to put the dirt somewhere so they built a road between these islands. We got lunch at one of these places and it was absolutely delicious. I had some Panamanian empanadas, Jumbo Shrimp in Garlic Sauce, fried yuca and a cantaloupe shake.
        After lunch we saw historic Panama City with all of the architecture, and we were told the story about the church with the golden altar that was trying to hide the gold from the pirates a long time ago so they painted everything black, and apparently it worked because everything is still intact today. While we were there we saw where the President lives, and we saw many other things too. I can’t name all of them.
        We then drove around downtown Panama City so we were able to see all of the really tall buildings. The real reason of that though was because I needed to get my Hard Rock Café T-Shirt. I bought it and I was really excited. We then started heading back to Colon and again it was siesta time. Our tourguide was amazing and showed us all of the important parts of Panama City. We realized towards the end why she was willing to give us such a good deal. Most of the Semester at Sea people were already in Panama City, and she isn’t really a taxi driver so she can’t just pick people up off the streets. She works in Tourism at the Sheraton, so basically she is a hirable car, but not a taxi. This was really what we wanted because it gave us the freedom to do what we wanted, but we were able to see all parts of Panama City.
        We came back and then went to the grocery store, and I bought some juice and chocolate and Yuca Chips that looked really good. We then went into a souvenir shop and I bought some souvenirs, and then we decided that we had all spent enough money for the day so we came back to the ship.