Day 8 (10/18/24)

For several of us, this morning started out with a walk along the ocean. The walkers departed the hotel at 7AM, eager to explore the immediate area, breathing in that nice humid air, 

and soaking in the spectacular views of the ocean. 

From the dock, apparently it is a popular thing to do to take a boat to Tobago Island and spend the day on the beach.

We also saw some of the buildings that had been part of the fort when the US was in charge of the Panama Canal.  These buildings had been burned  by the Panamanians when the US military left Panama. All buildings on the former base are now protected, so these buildings still stand as a reminder of the history of this place. 

There were many other interesting sites along the way, including birds we would never see in Iowa,

some sort of shrine,

and even a cat who had apparently visited our eyeglass clinic.

There were good views of the Bridge of the Americas

as well as views of the ships lined up to go through the Panama canal. 

Although for the most part, we walked at a decent pace,

there were also opportunities to just hang out.

When we were almost back to the hotel, there was a container ship passing by which was Kara's favorite color!

Back at the hotel, 

we met up with the rest of our team for breakfast at 8AM, followed by devotions /team meeting poolside.

Afterwards, many in our group apparently went to the pool where I understand Micah dunked his grandfather (Ken) once but Ken got his revenge by dunking Micah twice! Meanwhile Anita and I went for a slightly longer and more briskly paced walk around the area, where we visited the tomb of Omar Herrera, the Panamanian leader who is best known for negotiating the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties that eventually gave Panama full sovereignty over the Panama Canal.  

Nearby was this monument to Gabriel Lewis Gelindo, Panama's ambassador to the US at the time the 1977 treaty was signed.

We cut through the grounds of the very colorful BioMuseum 

to walk back along the Amador Causeway

which brought back memories for Anita, who had lived in this area for  months when she was in high school.

This statue of four people around the Panamanian flag simply said "Bladex" at the base. (Bladex is a bank with headquarters in Panama.)

We also passed by the Convention Center. 

When we got back to the walking path we had been on earlier, we noticed that two more coconuts had fallen out the palm tree in the short time since the pre-breakfast walk, and we were thankful that no more fell as we passed beneath the tree!

We did also note that areas of the walking path could use some improvement as they might pose a trip hazard at night!

We ended up our walk back at the hotel, where we went around back to say hi to the swimmers in our group...

At noon the the entire group boarded our bus to do some sightseeing. We passed the Dr. Arnulfo Arias Monument (He was three-time president of Panama, and his wife later became president of Panama...)

We passed by buildings that had once served as housing on the US base  (and were similar in style to the one Anita had stayed in as a teenager)

Our first stop was the administration building for the Panama Canal, named after George Washington Goethals, a US Army general and civil engineer best known for his administration and supervision of the construction and the opening of the Panama Canal. 

After taking some photos, most of us headed back to the bus, 

but then I heard someone say that Pastor was running up the stairs to the administration building. I assumed they were kidding, but when I looked, there he was, jogging on up the stairs (apparently Griselda had dared him to do it!)

I thought it looked like a decent challenge, so I took off after him

but he had too much of a lead, and reached the top first, where he celebrated his accomplishment (and attempted to regain his breath!!)

The next stop was Kotow Boquete, a coffee /sandwich shop where we had a light lunch

complete with extra small, medium and large coffees

The next stop was the Panama Canal...

or "Canal de Panama"!

There are two separate channels in the "original canal", allowing two boats to pass through at a time. This building sits between the two canals. 

The picture above was taken when the water was let out of the lock (water level of the Pacific Side of the canal), whereas the picture below was taken when the water was high in the lock (water level of the Caribbean side of the canal)

We were privileged to see three ships go through the canal (all passing from the Caribbean to the Pacific while we watched. Here is the Whale Shark in the first lock (coming in from the Caribbean side)

and here she is  in the second lock, almost ready to go out on the Pacific side.

Here are some shots of the rail cars that help to pull the ships through the canal

Sometimes you could also see ships passing through on the newer Panama Canal, also called the "Panama Canal Expansion" or the "Third Set of Locks". This new canal doubled the capacity of the Panama Canal by adding a new traffic lane, enabling more ships to transit the waterway, and increasing the width and depth of the lanes allowing larger ships to pass . This new lane began operation on June 26, 2016.

While most of us viewed the canal from the upper viewing area, 

there was also a lower area where you could sit that was considerably less crowded.

After watching the ships go by for 2 hours, we went in and watched the IMAX movie explaining the history of the Panama Canal.

As we left the Panama Canal and made our way back toward our hotel area, we passed through areas like this which capture some of the diversity of Panama City, including the street markets, the older housing, and the more modern housing.

As we headed out along the causeway, we passed street vendors, pushing their carts between lanes of traffic in typical Panamanian style

We also saw several party buses, emitting loud music and exuding a party atmosphere.

We went to the Plaza Causeway for dinner which is close to the end of the Causeway.

The entrance was decorated with beautiful flowers

and Halloween decor

Pastor was able to do some car shopping while we waited to be seated.

We ate at Brazzeiro where the buffet was quite elaborate 

and the workers very friendly

We enjoyed multiple meats, artfully skewered, and sliced directly to your plate. (with rather large knives...)

After dinner we went up to the roof and looked at the moon over the water.

We could also see the lights from the line of ships waiting to go through the Panama Canal.

We took a group photo in the glow of the adjacent dance floor

After we got back to the hotel, Micah helped me fix a technical issue with the blog site which I couldn't figure out, but he had the issue solved in about three seconds! Thank you Micah!

Today we spent time seeing God's handiwork, His creation. He created the oceans, the birds and this place we call Panama. He gave man the ingenuity to design and build the Panama Canal. What an amazing God He is. 

The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of hands.
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.

(Psalm 19:1-4)

Lord,  We thank You for who You are, for You have created everything in this world -  You started by creating light, then you created the atmosphere, the oceans, the land, the water, the plants, the sun, moon and stars and all the animals. Lastly, you created man and woman, and You still are the author of all life. You have not only created mankind but You also have given us humans a diversity of gifts  - the ability to think and to plan and to design and to build amazing structures like the  Panama Canal. We know that we receive all of our abilities from You. Lord, we thank You for all these things, but above all we thank You for sending Your son, Jesus Christ, into this world in order that we might be redeemed from sin, death and the devil. May we always give witness to all You have done for us to all those whom we meet.