Day One - May 13th
Panama had been on our list of desired locations for a birding trip for some time. We made serious inquiries in the fall of 2009 but for many different reasons, we ended up spending Christmas in Costa Rica for the third time. No regrets there, I'll have to say.
In late May, the stars were in alignment for the Panama trip to finally happen. Not being superstitious fliers, we arrived in the evening of May 13th from Charlotte, North Carolina, via Delta Airlines. After a very reasonable period in the Customs and Immigration lines, (no visa required), we were met by Fernando, a driver for Casa Las Americas (http://www.casalasamericas.com). Though we didn't realize it at the time, he proved to be the safest Panamanian driver we were to experience. His English was very good, relieving us of our continuing struggles with the Spanish language. Thirty minutes later at 10pm, we were in a very nice bedroom, preparing to spend our first night south of the Panama Canal.