Believe it or not immigration in Panama did not ask about our flight out of Panama. Go figure.
The airline clerks in Lima were more about Panamanian Immigration than the Panamanians were.
It’s all smoke and mirrors!
The good thing about the whole ordeal was that we didn’t have to spend the night in the Panama Immigration Hotel.
The first day was the hop on hop off bus and Yup…. it was a national holiday – diá de bandera (flag day) and half of the bus stops were closed. One being access to the historic district – Casco Viejo and all the museums. Flag day in Panama is a big deal. We caught a glimpse from the bus and hundreds of thousands of people were out packed in like sardines celebrating. It was great fun to see.
Lucky for us we got to watch a huge ship go through the Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal. I was able to experience locks growing up on Saranac Lake in New York. It’s a tedious and meticulously planned operation. Train-like engines guide the ships through the canal keeping the boat in the middle. It was a bit like watching water boil but thrilling none the less.
We baked ourselves in the sun walking from our hotel to the historic center on the Cinta Costera but enjoyed the seaside breeze in the evening on the way back. Skaters, walkers, joggers, dancers, vendors, kids and their parents, novias and amigos relished in the cooler night temperature.
Casco Viejo is a mixture of crumbling abandoned buildings and new or newly refurbished ones – stately, ornate and adorned with Spanish inspired balconies. Fantastic restaurants, super cool hotels and fun bars.
Oh yeah – the moon righted its self. Explain that to me please!
We happened upon a runner, Jan-Casper Look, who just completed running from Vancouver, Canada to Panama City. Phase one of his journey. It took him a year. He runs pulling a cart behind himself averaging 30 miles per day. You can follow him on Instagram @jclloo21 where there’s also a link to his blog. And we thought walking a few Caminos was a big deal.
In April of this year we learned our son and daughter-in-law were going to have a baby – the due date coincided with our walk.
Oh, to hold a grandbaby. What a miracle.
First stop, Barcelona. We have great memories of our time here. I was particularly looking forward to seeing the progress of the Sagrada Familia. A Gaudí designed church. It’s a fantastical whimsical fortification – part adult hallucination part child’s mind. Within a year of the corner stone being set in 1882 Gaudí became the architect. He abandoned the original Neo-gothic theme for his own modernistic style. Rumor has it that the goal is to finish in 2026. This – Gaudí’s last project.
Today we went the office of the “Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi” in St. Peter’s Square for our Testimoniums (certificate for completing at least the last 100km of the Via). The pilgrims who started Canterbury get the same document.
It’s just like the Camino de Santiago. Walking the last 100km (62 miles) gets you a Compostela.
Chappy, Bill and I weighed ourselves. Bill was the winner at losing the most.
Bill and I hoofed it to our new luxurious hotel where we will veg for the next three nights. Soft sheets, a bathtub and a huge TV with English channels. Not sure if we’ll get out of bed tomorrow. 
Chappy, Darrell and Roxanne stopped by to check out our new digs and we all walked to see the Trevi Fountain (along with 1,000,000 other people) to hug it out and say goodbye.
Chappy is heading home tomorrow and Darrell and Roxanne are off to discover Italy by train.
Luxury is clean cloths!
Well done Pilgrims!
Obstacles to climb over…
95% was on pavement.
We’re staying at the Vatican Garden Inn. Don’t stay here!
Hotel Cassia is where we will rest our heads tonight. Twin beds in a private room. Clean.
Shorter is not always better. To save 3.5 miles we walked along loud busy roads. My umbrella warded off evil cars until we safely made it to a quite path that lead us into town.
We’re staying at 
Hard to believe that a day that starts with a rainbow turns out to be nuts literally and figuratively.
If we weren’t walking through a slippery, muddy rain forest with lots of obstacles we were walking thru miles of nut trees.
Bill twisted a muscle in his back so we hired Bags-Free to transport his pack from hotel to hotel. Chappy quickly decided that was a great idea and signed up too. I have to admit I loaded Bill’s pack with my clothes so that I could carry a lighter load.
There were spills and thrills today – not all for the faint of heart.
Darrell – Don’t drink the water here or you’ll get Giardino.
