Fuerte Amador, Panama. Thurs, Feb 19, 2026
Fuerte Amador is a man-made peninsula situated at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal.
Via Today we left the ship in search of a private tour of the Casco Viejo, Old Quarter of Panama City.
We found a fantastic guide, Gigi,who took us across the man-made one mile causeway that connected four islands with rocks excavated from the Panama Canal.
The Panama City panoramic skyline can be enjoyed while driving the impressive causeway.
Gigi took us to the Bridge of the Americas.
Driving over the Bridge of the Americas....
and looking to the east where the land was cut out of the hillside...
going eastward on the Panama Canal. We crossed the bridge getting a grand view of the Panama Canal.
Next we went into the new part of Panama City with the hundreds of skyscrapers.
What spectacular architecture! The F & F Tower was built in 2011. Named Revolution Tower and nicknamed the Corkscrew, it is a 52 floor office building constructed of glass and reinforced concrete.
We spent the rest of our tour walking the narrow streets of the Old Quarter of Panama City.
Gigi told us about so much history of the country of Panama and the building of the Panama Canal.
Many of the buildings were stately And
well maintained ....
while others were in need of much renovation.
Gigi took us to the Central Hotel (1874) where American presidents and other dignitaries have stayed.
We enjoyed a roof top scenic view of old and new Panama.
We passed through several delightful courtyards along the way.
We walked through a unique restaurant, Restautrante Museo, with antique cars.
1916 Ford
The restaurant was filled with fabulous antiques.
This sweet couple, Judy and Joe, from San Francisco joined us on our tour.
Panama Indigenous Natives sold all kinds of handcrafts
Here are squares of hand sewn embroidery, a Panamanian souvenir.
All kinds of unusual art ...button covered mannequin...
and a hodgepodge of items on the ceiling.
The Street of hats was very patriotic: red, white, and blue.
Gigi told of a great many leaders who had statues commemorating them.
This particular obelisk had four metal commemorative plaques....
one plaque opened with a hollow interior ....escaped prisoners would hide inside till it was safe to leave the area.
The above prison had an inhumane way of decreasing it's prison population.....by placing the prisoners on the basement floor, the tide came in so they would drown.
The French Embassy
We enjoyed spotting an iguana and
a blue heron with a blue bill while in the city.
What a gorgeous arbor!
Enjoying the old with the modern new Panama behind us.
Another exquisite hotel, Casco Viejo (1917)
a tile display of the Panama Canal
Gigi led us to a wonderful Panamanian restaurant called Dia where we order a sampler of local cuisine with a couple of cool cervezas.
What a fancy sampler of Panamanian delectables!
The restaurant was decorated with many Carnival
Masks. Carnival had taken place a couple of days before we arrived, February 14-16, usually four days before Lent.
We passed by the National Theatre and the Panama President's home.
After passing a few more historic spots we made our way back to the ship.
Gigi was an excellent guide. We could never have asked for a better day exploring Panama City.
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