May 18 - Panama Canal and Casco Viejo

This day began with a drive to the Miraflores Visitor Center, located at the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal. There were a few ships coming into the canal as we watched from the observation deck.

 Each lock in the canal serves to raise the boats up to the level of the canal lake, or back down again to sea level of the Pacific or Caribbean.

 Then we saw exhibits of the museum, including the history of the canal, and an exhibit detailing the magnitude/importance/global significance of the canal. There was another nature exhibit that of course everyone loved, thank god were all biology nerds. Here are a couple of the interesting species exhibited there:

This is the Harlequin Beetle, one of the largest beetles in the tropical forests of the Americas.

This is the Cerambycid Beetle, one of the largest beetles in the world. 

This gorgeous bug is the Buprestid Beetle. It is known for its metallic colors and are most commonly found in tree trunks of the neotropical forests.

These butterflies are called Morphos and are very impressive in size. They are easy to spot due to their shiny blue color contrasting against the green background of the jungle. We have seen several of these gorgeous creatures flitting about in the rainforest, glinting in the dappled sunlight.

After this we went to a seafood market that had ceviche as a specialty, and a fresh lobster dinner for pennies on the dollar. 

We then went to Casco Viejo, an old and bustling region of Panama City, and learned about the old cathedrals and various architectural influences. We walked around the market and then had French ice cream.

We drove around the city looking at ruins from when the French were in Panama first trying to build a canal.

That night, several of the students including our lovely tour guide went back to Casco Viejo to have drinks. We started at a bar and microbrewery, La Rana Dorada, got kicked off of presidential property, got kicked out of a bar, and ended up an the Red Lion after trying to go to an overpriced strip club.