Between North and South America

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Our Viking Star managed to handle very rough seas on our way from Costa Rica to Colon, Panama.  Thankfully, Shari slept through the constant creaking of the ship and the ship's hull slamming against rough water.  Wouldn't you know it, we woke to calm seas.  Some passengers who didn't sleep through it, or sleep at all, swore they were on the Titanic instead of the Viking Star.

We took the land tour via bus to the western end of the canal, which took us to Panama City, commonly known here as little Miami.  Our cruise takes us only partially through the Panama Canal thus our interest in the bus tour.

The picture above does not begin to due justice to how many tall buildings are seen with the naked eye.  This picture is taken from historic Panama City, which is much smaller and much less populated.

On our land tour we walked easily on cobblestone streets from parks through streets with historic buildings readying for Christmas.  Traffic and crowds were not part of the ambiance.

I guess seeing a boat load of old Viking passengers prompted this vulture to keep an eye on us (picture below).  I'd swear the average age of the Viking passengers is 80 years old.  He might have guessed 90!

Our guide did take us to this remnant of Panama City that remains the same since 1691 (320 years ago) when Captain Henry Morgan, the pirate, and his 'merry men' crossed over from Colon to Panama City and pirated the city.  There was a fire during the siege blamed upon the pirates that burned most of the old city.

At the time, Panama City was the second most populated city in the Americas.  Sometimes pirates had bigger ambitions than attacking another seafaring ship.

There are many ways to view the changes and complexities of this world.  As we left the historic part of the city, we saw this cat which may have been saying 'Don't Worry'.  Shari and I had shared a beer by the time we saw our cat friend and agreed with his attitude.

Lastly, we have to show you a picture of a 'fan palm'.  Palms are grasses, not trees, but regardless, these are simple and yet unique.

They are better than any billboard.