Our last day in Gamboa was a Saturday. After breakfast we headed to the Chagres River Paddle Club where we would borrow two kayaks and a canoe and paddle the crocodile infested Chagres River. The River dumps into the Panama Canal. We saw lily pads and beautiful flowers…but sadly, no crocs.

I like the center of this image and how it takes your eyes out to the leaves. Nature is so full of wonderful patterns.

This is in the boat house of the paddle club. In the foreground are cayucos, or, canoes modeled after the local dugouts of the indigenous people. They run races with these much like they do the outrigger canoes in Hawaii. We ran into a couple of teams on the beach when we were putting on.

SO beautiful. At the far end of the lake we came  upon these lily pads.

This was growing in an island of green.

More plant growth along the shore.

This is the one lane bridge that we took to get into and out of Gamboa. To the left is the Chagres River and to the right, past the railroad tracks, is the canal.

Panama is famous for re-purposing old school buses for public transportation. This is the “Gamboa Bus”. It’s the one we took to the Mira Flores Locks. It makes several trips a day to the city.

Following our canoe paddle we loaded into the car and headed for the Causeway. The Causeway is a road, built in the ocean, with dirt from the canal. At the end of it is S.T.R.I., the Smithsonian Tropical Rain Forest Institute. It’s a great place where one can learn about the flora and fauna of Panama.

This sloth greeted us at the entrance to STRI.

This is a beach below the path we walked on to get to the exhibits at S. T. R.I.  We were not allowed to go down to the beach due to a crab study they were conducting.

This guy had free reign of the grounds.

In the parking lot of STRI was this “secret” entrance largely covered by vines. When we entered we had to navigate through the trash pile above. When our eyes adjusted to the low light we saw a cement stairway that just went up and disappeared into the darkness. We needed headlamps to ascend safely.

At the top was a tunnel that went in both directions, to our left and to our right. Ahead of us was an opening.

It came out to this large cement hole in the ground that we learned was a gun turret built to protect the canal during WW II.

Stopping for a pizza snack along the Causeway we were able to take in the city just across the bay.

On our way back to Casco Viejo and the fish market I was struck by the number of dilapidated buildings that had satellite dishes attached.

Walking toward the fish market we passed a street vendor selling these delicious morsels. It took me a minute to figure out what it was…hot dogs. Cleverly sliced hot dogs.

Here’s another decorated passenger bus. I’m curious as to whether these are privately owned and decorated or if the bus company handles the design.

Alas, we reached the fish market. The market was closed by the time we arrived but all of the outdoor seating restaurants were open. They were lined up next to each other with speakers blaring loud music and workers standing in the walkway trying to sway customers to come eat at their place. It was hard to choose but ultimately we ended up at the one on the end.

We packed a lot in to our final day before heading to the San Blas Islands. Stay tuned for next week and as I relive our tropical island adventure!