Depart San Francisco and fly to Panama City, Panama.

Having driven about 250 miles from Los Osos, CA, to San Francisco International Airport… In the pouring rain, Peggy and I took off on COPA Airlines at 8:15 PM. Six hours and 45 minutes later, we landed at Panama City International Airport.. with minimal sleep. After clearing customs, we picked up our checked baggage and headed outside the terminal… where Aidan, our arranged ride, was waiting for us with a sign with Peggy's name in capital letters.

Aidan is originally from Venezuela, spent some early years in the United States before moving to Panama City and starting a family. He spoke good English with an informative discourse about Panama City and pointing out sights, as he expertly wove in and out of traffic on generally narrow roads, and he drove us to the Magnolia Inn an hour away.

After dropping off our bags and getting some food, Aidan drove us to the Miraflores Locks Visitor Center of the Panama Canal. We got to see a large cargo ship advancing slowly through one of the four locks, beginning its 10-hour, 50-mile journey through the Isthmus of Panama from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. Then we explored the 4-floor museum and watched a 20-minute movie about the canal's construction.

After being dropped off back at the Magnolia, Peggy and I managed to last until the middle of the afternoon walking through the colonial district before calling it a [humid] day to try and get some sleep before our 9:15 flight to Lima, Peru, the following morning…