We arrived in Panama City Albrook bus station at around 6.30am, a bustling place even at that time in the morning. A taxi ride to the old town which is full of Spanish colonial buildings and an hour wait in a park for the first cafés to open.

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We stopped by Bajareque coffee house for our morning cup and a delicious almond croissant. We walked around the pretty streets as people busied themselves with their morning routines and found our way to our hotel, it was a gorgeous room with a hot shower and a Smeg fridge, it felt very luxurious after weeks of rustic living. We checked our bags in, freshened up and then walked through the old town and on to the new city centre, the sun was scorching hot and our route took us past the fish market and a series of restaurants. In the evening we had a great meal at a popup, small plates, eatery called Lo Que Hey 'What there is'.

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https://www.instagram.com/fondaloquehay/

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The following day we took a taxi to one of Panama Canal locks Miraflores where you could see a series of ships stacked with containers, we didn’t have time or the inclination to enter the museum, perhaps another time. We then took the bus to Sanbanitas where we waited for close to three hours for a direct “hourly” bus to Puerto Lindo however we gave in and took a bus to Portobelo and from there a taxi. Later, at a museum in Cartagena we found out that this small town was once the main Spanish colonial capital of the Caribbean even more important than Santa Marta or Cartagena, you wouldn’t know today however we were dropped off outside a colonial church that gave some hint of its historical relevance. After a meal at Casa X with our captain, cook and four shipmates we took a dinghy out to the catamaran Santana our home for the next four nights and the start of our San Blas adventure.