This morning you will check out from your hotel and join your Ancon Expeditions of Panama Naturalist guide on a 45 minute drive to a small marina at the town of Gamboa, where the Chagres River meets the Panama Canal. Here you board an expedition boat and depart on an adventure that will include a voyage
across Gatun Lake in the Panama Canal passing by gigantic cargo ships transiting the waterway, making contrast with the natural surroundings. Along the way, you will have the opportunity to spot Green Iguana and Three-toed Sloth resting on tree branches, Crocodile, Osprey in the hunt for Peacock Bass, Snail Kite and Keel-billed Toucan among other wildlife. Gatun Lake was formed to give way to the Panama Canal in 1914. With a surface of 423 square-kilometers, at the time of its creation was the largest man-made lake in the world. The flow of all the rivers within the Panama Canal Watershed is contained in Gatun Lake to provide water for the operation of the lock system. More than 52 million gallons of fresh water are used for every ship that transits through the Panama Canal from one ocean to another. Your expedition boat will allow for close approximations to rainforest covered islands (former hill tops) in Gatun Lake to search for White-faced Capuchin, Mantled Howler Monkey, Central American spider monkey, and Geoffrey’s Tamarin. Enjoy a picnic lunch on the boat with extraordinary views of the Panama Canal and the natural surroundings.
Upon arrival to Chitre, the capital of the Herrera province, you will settle in at the Cubitá Boutique Resort & Spa, which is determined to rescue and preserve the roots, heritage and traditions of the Azuero Peninsula. The name Cubitá is borrowed from the indigenous people who once inhabited the banks of the La Villa River on the Azuero Peninsula. This unique boutique hotel offers you a first class experience with a lot of attention to details in a colonial environment. The hotel’s facilities include a spiral shaped swimming pool, a Panamanian Gourmet Restaurant, two bars, a museum, gift shop with local handcrafts, a state-of-the-art gym and Cubitá Spa, using local organic ingredients to ensure the guests’ wellbeing.
Azuero’s numerous colonial villages are the wellspring of Panama’s favorite folkloric traditions – beautiful traditional clothing, such as the stunning Pollera, and handicrafts, such as ceramics based on pre-Columbian designs, originated and are still made here. The same is true of some important musical and literary traditions. Even Panama’s most popular drink, the sugarcane liquor known as “Seco”, is produced in Azuero.
Read more
Chitre - 1 night