Lucy We went through the Panama Canal on a boat. I really liked been on the boat but I still prefer the truck. In El Valle we went to hot springs. Before you went in the pools you put special mud on your face to make you look younger. We also had a party as the Dutchies were going home. I wrapped up a dog biscuit to give Dunya as a present which she ate down in one go. My picture of us on a boat going through the lock, can you see the men holding the strings?

Alisha After leaving Costa Rica we find ourselves in Panama. After a few weeks we find ourselves facing the Panama Canal. It is like a long river that flows from one ocean to another ocean. A man called Maurice asked us if we would help him take his boat through the Panama Canal as line handlers. When we were going through the locks Lucy and I got to watch a movie as we needed to stay out of the way as all the adults were busy taking care of the boat. We watched a movie about Rudolph and Sofia the first when we went through the first lock. We then watched the Sofia movie again, the Pirates and another one on the second day. In Panama City I also got some new glasses. Here is a picture of a Quetzal like the one we saw.

Gilly Apart from the trip though the Canal, one of my highlights was our time in the National Parks. We've been to two in the hills: Vocan Baru north of Boquete and Largo Yeguda. Both San Lorenzo and Soberania adjoining the Canal, were far more tropical. Whilst the rest of Panama is mostly deforested with agriculture, those places gave us an opportunity to see the diversity of environments that Panama has. If we'd known that we were going to be delayed by so long, I would have liked to have visited the Caribbean Islands groups of Boca del Tores and San Blas to see more of what Panama has to offer. Although I've loved North and Central America, I'm ready for the next part of the journey in South America.

Steve We have spent nearly a month in Panama which has been longer than we planned due to the ship that will take the truck to South America been delayed. This has meant we have been hanging around a bit and that has reflected negatively a little on our experience. Also as Panama has been the last of the Central American countries a lot of its sights were similar to things we have seen before. However Panama has one real highlight which is unique and that is the Panama Canal. It was fascinating to see this and the. Even better to travel through it on a catamaran. That was one of the real highlights of the trip so far. When we were going through the locks you could see how big they were and how large the container ships traveling through it are. We have really experienced the Panama Canal, in that we have driven alongside it, driven across it, over a lock and sailed through it. Panama City was also a surprise with its skyscrapers and part of it are very Americanised. This made it a good place to catch up on things. The people of Panama are a mixed lot. We met some really friendly and helpful people, while others were surly and almost rude. Whilst most countries have this, in Panama the difference was more stark as people were one of the two extremes. South America here we come!