To day is a public holiday "Primer Gritto de Independencia de la Villa de los Santos (The first cry of independence) celebrating The Gesture of Rufina Alfaro and the uprising in the Villa do los Santos against Spain. This is not to be confused with Independence day which happens later in the month.
 
This morning we have taken a taxi to Miraflores Locks for a look at the canal. Up close the huge  ships gliding effortlessly through the canal system is quite a sight.
This is one of the largest and most difficult projects ever undertaken reducing the time ships travel between the Atlantic and the Pacific so Cape Horn is avoided.
The visitors centre has viewing platforms right above the 2 locks and on a number of floors there is an exhibition explaining the history. Starting with the French who were beaten by disease, the climate then the money ran out, to the US who there larger machinery and manpower at it to get the job done. US were responsible for running the canal until 1999 when they handed it back to Panama.  

 Panama is not a huge city I think I read some where it has just over a million people. it is multi cultural and appears quite diverse. New finance district which we are based in, sits next to the shantytowns which in turn slink up alongside shiny high-rise condos it is quite a mix when you walk round which we did a bit even at night.

The Old City is an atmospheric labyrinth of churches, plazas and palaces. There is a lot of restoration going on and they are going to great lengths to preserve some of the building encasing them in a iron frames until the work starts. It is incredible that there is huge amounts of money being spent on some and then right next door is a slum for want of a better word. This all adds to the atmosphere of the place. Along the water front Panamanians in traditional dress sell their wares, some of this being created, mainly stitched as you watch. These articles are not cheap unlike in Guatemala Panama is savvy of what it can get from the tourists and of course it is a cruise ship city.