I got back from Bocas del Toro on September 9th and had a week to survey and sample Aaron's paleontological collections for Strombus pugilis. Since I didn't need a full week to get this sampling done, I persuaded my Momma to come visit me down in Panama and do all the touristy things with me that there are to do in Panama City :) Momma flew in on a red eye on September 14th, and once we dropped our bags off at the Double Tree Hotel, we headed out to the STRI Naos facilities so I could give a short talk to some college kids that were visiting Aaron's lab. Momma napped a little during my talk (she deserved it), and once she was refreshed we visited STRI's Punta Culebra Nature Center.
Momma was pretty exhausted from flying, so after Punta Culebra we walked the Amador Causeway for a bit then headed back to our hotel to plan out the rest of her visit and get some dinner (all food pictures are in their own slideshow at the end of the post). We visited the Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal, the Biomuseo, and Casco Viejo on the second day of her trip. There was a really neat museum at the Locks that explained the history of the Panama Canal and allowed visitors to witness gigantic ships passing through the locks. Typical Panama City tourist thing to do, but we really enjoyed our visit!
I was especially excited to visit the Biomuseo. Out on the Amador Causeway is an absurdly colorful building that houses a museum dedicated to Panamanian biodiversity and regional history and it is absolutely amazing. The building was designed by Frank Gehry, and opened in October 2014. I might've coerced my Momma into visiting because I am a huge dork about this kind of thing but I think she enjoyed it just as much as I did (maybe, hopefully haha).
Casco Viejo is a neighborhood in Panama City well-known for its nightlife, restaurants, and shopping, so naturally we had to visit. Casco is Panama City's historic district, settled in 1673 after the first Panama City, Panama Viejo, was nearly destroyed in 1671. Casco was a lovely neighborhood, and I also got to buy some really nice Panamanian chocolate for my lab mates here :)
On the third day of her trip, Momma wanted to go see some monkeys, so we arranged a tour with Barefoot Panama to take a boat ride up the Panama Canal towards Gamboa to where some capuchins, tamarins, and howler monkeys live in Soberania National Park. Side note: Geoffrey's tamarins are quite possibly the cutest primates in existence.
Our tour guide, Gonzo, also took us to visit a Wounaan village near Gamboa. We learned about their way of semi-modernized life, the kinds of medicinal plants that they utilize from the rainforest, and their creative techniques for dyes and carving. Everyone was so friendly, and it was lovely to talk with them and learn a bit about their culture.
Momma flew out the evening of September 17th, so we spent the day walking around Panama City, checking out a local shopping mall, and visiting Avenida Balboa. We finally found one of the famous Panama signs :)
And finally, the food (well some of it - we are hungry people and would often forget to take pictures of things before we ate them haha). Our favorite restaurants were La Posta and its sister restaurant, Market, but maybe that's because we decided to treat ourselves to a fancy dinner and brunch the next morning :) All in all, I can't thank my Momma enough for coming to visit me and go on a mini mother-daughter vacation. Repeat next time I'm in the field? Love you!