Biking and Sloths in Panama

Punta Culebra Nature Centre

Today our first stop is the Amador Causeway. One of the things that really appealed to the Sister about Panama are the sloth encounter possibilities. These cute creatures are a favorite and one of today’s goals is to spot one in the wild. With this in mind, there is a Smithsonian Nature Reserve called the Punta Culebra Nature Centre. After doing some reading, the possibility of seeing sloths here seems high so why not give it a shot.

Upon arriving at the nature reserve and paying the admission, we proceed to make our way to the different exhibits inside. All the while keeping an eye out for the sloths that are hiding in the trees. Although on our way into the reserve we didn’t see any sloths, we did get a chance to check out some of the other animals and displays. This included some turtles as well as a reptile house and a fish house. Out behind the fish house is the edge of the causeway which gives some great views of the water all around as well.

Sloths!

After a few false positive Sloth sightings, we eventually spot one hanging out about 20 feet away from where we were. All of us were overjoyed by the sighting, but no one was more excited than the Sister! I think this is her favorite animal and she was super happy to finally spot one in the wild!

Amador Causeway

After the Nature Reserve, the next thing on the list is to rent bikes and cycle up and down the Amador Causeway. Its a beautiful strip of land that has been built up recently to be a great land bridge with amazing views on both sides. None of us had ridden bikes in a while so the first few minutes were a bit wobbly and uncertain. But it’s true what they say! It’s like learning to ride a bike and soon we were zipping up and down the causeway taking in the beautiful scenery.

Porto Pizza

After about an hour of biking around, the heat, sun and humidity starts to take its toll. So we return the bikes and seek some lunch and some air conditioned comfort! I’m not sure if its because its the off season, or its a weekday but the causeway itself was pretty dead. So our dining choices were limited to what is open. We all settled on a small Italian restaurant called Porto Pizza. While its not the most amazing of Italian food ever, it did offer us sustenance and a cool place to eat after biking. The plan after eating is to head back to our hotel and take advantage of the roof top pool in the afternoon. While waiting for our Uber we still snapped some pics of the area. I think it’s a great place to check out if you’re ever in Panama, with great views and quite a few things to see and do.

Afternoon Poolside

Upon returning to the hotel, we all ended up going our sperate ways for a little bit. I headed to the lobby to organize some photos and make notes for this blog. Gimpy and the Sister headed straight for the pool. FunkyCat I think took a small stroll around the hotel neighborhood in search of Pokemon. Eventually, we all end up at the pool and spend the afternoon either in the water or lounging poolside.

Multi Plaza

Eventually we pull ourselves away from lounging at the pool and head to Multi Plaza. The Multi Plaza is this large mall in Panama City with a number of restaurants. While the mall is large and features high end shopping. We really enjoyed seeing the Christmas displays, and music recital going on in the main hall. We also enjoyed checking some of the interesting shops and fashion that doesn’t necessarily show up in North American much. Beyond that, its like malls and we took the time to do a little shopping before settling on dinner at Tony Roma’s. Yes, I know we have these at home. But for some reason the four of us all felt a similar desire to eat here and so we did!

Soon after dinner, we make our way back to our hotel. We need to get up early tomorrow as we head to the islands of San Blas!