Last day in Panama

Spent the morning walking along the Cinta Costera that runs along the Bahia de Panamá that has been renovated and landscaped with palm trees, basketball courts and fountains with spectacular views of Panama City. It’s a very popular place for locals to come to run, bike, roller blade and walk with their dogs and we also watched the pelicans diving into the water to catch fish.

The Cinta Costera also runs alongside one of the main road arteries, Avenida Balbao, named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, a Spanish explorer who crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to lead an expedition to have seen or reached the Pacific from the New World. He was a busy fellow: in 1509 he set sail as a stowaway, hiding inside a barrel together with his dog Leoncico to escape from his creditors in Santo Domingo. That must have been fun!

We walked about 9 kms from the Fish Market and back again which is where we had agreed to meet Evelio. We were bloody hot by the end of it and scoffed down a plate of papas frites (chips!) with lots of salt and beers. Never did a beer taste so good!

Then back home to do house cleaning duties like washing floors. We'll pack this afternoon in preparation for our morning flight tomorrow.

In two week's time, Panama will host the Summits of the Americas; and the wet season will probably start.

The summit will force the city into lock-down as the security will be immense. Obama will be here along with all the head honchos from the Caribbean countries. On the agenda is the return of Cuba to the Organization of American States (OAS) and the re-establishment of Cuba's relations with the United States. Venezuela will be raising the issue of Obama's recent declaration against it as being a threat to US security.

All down the street past Kathryn and Regis' house will be armed guards as the American Embassy is just around the corner. Kathryn and Regis went there the other day to organise Sophie's US passport. She is a Panamian by birth but will have dual citizenship - triple actually as she will have an Australian passport also.