Fuerte Amador (Panama City)

Docking outside Panama City for the day before we head into the canal (soooo excited!) and booked a private guide for a look at the canal plus old and new city. (BTW, Fuerte Amador - "Fuerte" means "strong" because the army used to be stationed here; Amador is the name of the first president of Amazon when it gained independence .) Gilberto was a sweet guy and let us pop in and out of museums (and supermercado for snacks).

Actually really liked this city. (And in case you haven't read up on Panama lately, it became its own country in 1903 just before the US took over the canal digging after France failed. (Used to be part of Colombia.) Finished in 1914...the same day WW1 started and the US had a 10 mile swathe with the canal they totally controlled. Eventually Panama got tired of the US being so entrenched in their country and President Carter signed it back over to the Panamanians, which finally happened in 1999. In 2016 the new, wider canal opened to accommodate the bigger ships of today. Canal revenues are 1/3 of their economy. ($1.2M was the most fees ever on a cargo ship a few years ago.) Plus Manuel Noriega and other controversial stuff we're still trying to catch up on. Fascinating if you like history!)Read more