Panama
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The Route of the Conquistadors
8 Days / 7 Nights
Day One Arrival in Panama
Meet and greet at the Tocumen International Airport by a representative of Experience Panama. Transfer to your hotel.
Overnight at the Hotel Caesar Park Panama
Day Two Panama City and Canal Tour
The first stop of this very historical tour is at the ruins of "Panama Viejo," the first city founded in the isthmus by the Spanish and subsequently attacked and looted by Pirate Henry Morgan in 1671. We'll walk among the stone walls and remnants of what was once considered the richest city in the Americas. Passing through Altos Del Golf, an up market residential neighborhood, we continue on to visit Casco Antiguo, the colonial city of Panama, built in 1673.
The architecture of this area is of exquisite taste including French, Italian and Spanish styles. Here we will see the Golden Altar, hidden from the pirate attacks to remain as one of the few testaments to all the wealth that made its way through this city. This area is also home to the "Flat Arch", famous for showing the US engineers that Panama wasn't subject to earthquakes thereby influencing the decision to build the canal in Panama.
We'll walk around the French Plaza - a monument to the French canal effort and take a panoramic look of the modern city from this vantage point where you can also see the ships that are anchored in the bay awaiting their turn to transit the canal. Next, visit the Independence Plaza and the Inter-Oceanic Canal Museum where you will learn the history of the Panama Canal construction.
We take a break from touring for a lunch at either Mi Pueblito, a picturesque, re-creation of a rural village that also demonstrates the varied architecture and the history of Panama, or at Flamenco Island in Amador. After lunch you will have time to explore the artisan stores and other sights on the Amador Causeway that unites 3 islands to the mainland and protects the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal.
Our final stop but by far the most amazing will be at the Miraflores Locks where you will experience the operation of the Panama Canal first hand and enjoy an audiovisual presentation that describes how ships pass through this engineering wonder. We will also have a chance to see the Canal Zone Administration Building now the headquarters of the Panama Canal Authority. Returning to your hotel in the late afternoon.
Overnight at the Hotel Caesar Park Panama
B / L
Day Three Partial Transit of the Panama Canal
A fascinating and unique tour that shows you first hand the operation of this vital marine link. Early in the morning you will be picked up from your hotel and transferred to Pier 18 in the Port of Balboa. The boat leaves at 7:30 am and heads out towards the Pacific entrance of the Canal, adjacent to Flamenco Island.
Once the Panama Canal Authority Pilot, who will guide us through our transit, has boarded the boat we will follow our companion vessel for the transit of the Miraflores Locks (by Canal standards, we are a small vessel, and for reasons of economy, rarely transit the locks alone). These locks raise the boat to the level of the Miraflores Lake which we will cross until reaching the Pedro Miguel Locks, the second set of locks at the Pacific end of the canal, where we turn around and are lowered once again to sea level at the Miraflores Locks to return to the Pacific Ocean.
There will be numerous opportunities to see exotic birds, monkeys and crocodiles along with the verdant jungle that surrounds the canal. All that and the chance to see up close one of mankind's greatest engineering feats - surely an experience to remember. Returning to your hotel in the early afternoon.
Overnight at the Hotel Caesar Park Panama
B / L
Day Four Tour to the Embera Drua Indigenous Community
This captivating, authentic cultural excursion leaves from your hotel at 8:00 a.m. A short bus ride takes us to our starting point for our trip by motorized dugout canoes up the Chagres River where we will meet the passionate and friendly people of the Embera-Drua community and learn about their indigenous culture and traditions. We will lunch in their typical thatched huts; definitely an unforgettable experience.
You will also have the chance to take a tour with the "Medicine Man" who will explain the use of plants as natural medicines. The village lies above a beautiful tranquil natural pool and waterfall in the river, perfect for a refreshing swim before we return to the city. You will also be able to purchase some of their incredible handicrafts. Returning to your hotel in the early evening.
Overnight at the Hotel Caesar Park Panama
B / L
Day Five Transcontinental Train and Shopping Tour
With an early start you will be taken to the Panama Canal Railway Train Station at Corozal, the starting point of our "transcontinental" rail journey in newly restored, air-conditioned passenger cars along the historic route that was the first rail link from the Atlantic to the Pacific anywhere in the Americas.
The railroad follows the east bank of the canal and affords an intimate view of the waterway and the rainforests that blanket its shores. You will be picked up at the Atlantic side for a visit to the Colon Free Trade Zone. Located at the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal, the Colon Free Zone is considered the 2nd largest free zone in the world and certainly the largest in the western hemisphere. Due to its unique geographical position at the heart of the world's trade routes and making use of the modern port facilities on both coasts, businesses in the Colon Free Zone trade goods from all over the world.
Overnight at the Melia Panama Canal
B / L
Note: Shopping in the Colon Free Zone is free of import duties and taxes, however, 90% of the establishments only sell wholesale. This doesn't mean you won't find super bargains on jewelry, electronic items, cameras, watches, linens and clothing. Your purchases will be taken to the International Airport where you will pick it up before your departure.
Day Six Portobelo and Tesoro del Caribe
Portobelo was the name given to perhaps one of the most ideal and well-protected inlets along the Caribbean coast of Panama. A haven for the Spanish conquistadors and a juicy target for pirates trying to get their hands on the treasures of the New World. Sir Francis Drake died while off the coasts of this area in 1596 and was supposedly buried in a lead coffin close to what is now known as Drake Island.
Portobelo was the final Caribbean terminus of two trails that crossed the jungles of the isthmus, Camino Real and Camino de Cruces. Here, once enough merchandise had been accumulated, car
avans of sailing ships would begin the trip back to Spain, escorted by enough firepower to repel most, but not all, pirate attacks as they attempted to sail on past the West Indies. In its heyday, Portobelo was a complex of batteries and forts that guarded the entrance to this beautiful inlet, perhaps the most heavily fortified of the Spanish control points along the coasts of the Americas. Nevertheless, this strategic and heavily fortified harbor was not enough to keep out the fleet of ships commandeered by Englishman Edward Vernon, who captured and destroyed the forts in 1739.
Joined by one of our guides we'll take an intimate look at the outstanding features of this important historical site as well as the Church of the Black Christ and learn its interesting legend. Around mid-day we will be taken by small boat to Tesoro del Caribe, where we will have lunch and relax for the afternoon taking in the sun or exploring this beautiful, forested, Caribbean coastline. We will return to the hotel in the late afternoon.
Overnight at the Melia Panama Canal
B / L
Day Seven Day of Relaxation
Enjoy a free day at the Melia Panama Canal. Relax by the pool or take one of the optional excursions available from the hotel. In the evening you will enjoy a barbecue dinner poolside.
Overnight at the Melia Panama Canal
B / L
Day Eight Departure
Transfer to the Tocumen International Airport for your return flight.
B
PRICE: Standard Double $ ; Standard Single
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