The Panama Canal & Costa Rica - Westbound

<strong>Tour begins: <strong>Panama City.</strong>&nbsp;</strong>A transfer from Tocumen International Airport is included to&nbsp;Hilton Panama or JW Marriott Panama is included. Join us this evening for a welcome reception and dinner at the hotel.

Begin today's exploration of Panama City in its key historic district, Casco Viejo; a walking tour will show you this walled cobblestoned city, built in the 1670s at the foot of Ancon Hill, to provide safety from attack. The area is a gem of Spanish colonial architecture in various stages of redevelopment, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site; you'll also have free time to explore on your own. After lunch at a local restaurant, tour the former Canal Zone, driving through Ancon Hill, a lush residential enclave that was home to US military facilities until a 1977 treaty granted Panamanian sovereignty over the "Zone;" Albrook, a former US Air Force Base; and Clayton, once a US Army base. Then enjoy a fascinating visit to the exhibits and gardens of the Biomuseo, the Panama City biodiversity museum designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. The rest of the day is yours to explore as you wish.

Your journey today brings you to the&nbsp;Gamboa Rainforest Resort, where you'll choose between an aerial tram ride with a naturalist through the rainforest at eye-level with exotic birds and animals (aboard the only gondola of its kind in Panama), or a boat cruise along waterways leading to hidden islands, where you might spot monkeys at play. After lunch at a local restaurant, learn about the Panama Canal on a visit to the Agua Clara locks before boarding your Explorer en route to Hollandes Cay.

Your yacht arrives in the archipelago of San Blas today, where you'll transfer by Zodiac for a wet landing at Holandes Cayes. Here, you'll visit Guna Indians, whose language and customs reflect lives with few outside influences, women sell handmade&nbsp;<em>molas</em>&nbsp;&ndash; reverse-appliqu&eacute;d fabrics with brilliant images of fish, birds and jungle animals &ndash; and fishing is still done by canoe. After your visit to a Guna village, you can spend a leisurely afternoon swimming and snorkeling before returning by Zodiac to your ship. This evening, your Explorer Class vessel begins preparations for tomorrow's entrance into the Panama Canal.

Opened in 1914, and considered an engineering marvel of the 20th century, the Panama Canal opened trade to the Americas by creating a transit path between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Thanks to the canal, today ships traveling from New York to San Francisco save over 7,000 miles by not having to chart a course around South America. Early this morning, your ship will arrive at Gatun and position outside the canal for her full transit from the Atlantic to the Pacific. We'll welcome aboard a canal pilot, the local navigation professional who will guide our ship into the Gatun Locks, Lake Gatun and into the narrow Gaillard cut. Later, we transit the Pedro Miguel locks before finally clearing Miraflores locks and passing beneath the Bridge of the Americas to the Pacific Ocean at Balboa. Your Tauck Director, Tauck Naturalist and an official of the Panama Canal Authority will provide both technical and historical information about this engineering wonder. The process may take approximately eight to ten hours; while passing through the three locks, your yacht will be be raised up a total of 85 feet before reaching the Pacific Ocean!

Today you'll stop in the beautiful but remote Darien region of Panama, calling on Playa del Muerto for a wet landing by Zodiac craft to visit an indigenous community of the Ember&aacute; people, whose lifestyle remains largely unaffected by modern times. You'll meet the locals, watch them perform traditional dances, see how they live, and perhaps purchase some of their "Cocobolo" wood or "Tagua" vegetable ivory carvings. Return to the ship for lunch; enjoy a naturalist lecture this afternoon.

Enjoy a relaxing day at sea today, taking advantage of your Explorer Class ship's many amenities as you make your way across the Pacific Ocean waters off Panama's coast, bound for the remote Darien region of Panama. Throughout the day, your Tauck Directors and naturalist guides will circulate about the ship answering questions &ndash; sharing their experiences and scanning the horizon for marine mammals and pelagic birds &ndash; and will also offer compelling lectures.

Your ship arrives at Playa Herradura for a choice of shore excursions offering a range of eco-activities. One includes a walking tour in Carara National Park with a local naturalist guide, after which you'll learn about various coastal bird and wildlife species on a mangrove boat tour just outside the national park; another choice offers a more active, faster-paced walk in the park, followed by the mangrove cruise. A third choice features a visit to Tropical Forest Sky Walk near the boundary of Carara Biological Reserve, where you'll hike across suspended cable bridges skimming the top of the rainforest, up to 126 feet above the ground; from your lofty perch, you'll see the marshlands of the Tarcoles River and views of the ocean in the distance. Your guide will point out species of birds, monkeys, butterflies and other mammals that you may encounter. Still another possibility is a visit to the spectacular Pura Vida Gardens, whose beautifully manicured gardens are bordered by one of the tallest waterfalls in the country. Pura Vida is home to over 60,000 flowering plants, including 60 varieties of heliconia, ten varieties of ginger, and orchids; look for butterflies, macaws, parrots, parakeets, toucans, kingfishers, birds of prey, and waterfowl.

Call on the city of Quepos this morning, a perfect jumping off point for a day of activities in Costa Rica's eco-wonderland. Your day today is rich with excursions, as you'll have a choice of activities in both the morning and the afternoon! Excursions you may choose from today include: a scenic drive through Quepos and a stop at Espadilla Beach; a horseback ride through a mountain forest; a cruise through the Central American mangroves (keep your eyes peeled for wildlife!); an active hike through the rainforest; a nature walk through Rainmaker Conservation Park; a walking tour of Manuel Antonio National Park and&nbsp;an exciting river float trip* on the Savegre River (which will include lunch). Back aboard the ship, enjoy dinner at your leisure tonight, as your ship sets out from Quepos, bound for the Pacific Ocean.

As your cruise ends in Puerto Caldera, bid farewell to your Explorer Class ship and her crew, and set off to discover Costa Rica's fascinating interior en route to the capital city of San Jos&eacute;. Visit the artisan village of Sarchi, known for the production and painting of the traditional ox carts (<em>carretas</em>) and other handmade products seen all over the country, bearing the colorful starburst designs that have become a symbol of Costa Rica. Continue on to Costa Rica's capital city, San Jos&eacute;.&nbsp;San Jos&eacute; city sightseeing today includes visits to the Baroque-style, 19th-century National Theatre, a grand symbol of civic pride dating back to 1897 &ndash; its interior glistens with Baroque gold overlays and Carrara marble &ndash; and the Gold Museum, which houses pre-Columbian works of gold crafted by indigenous islanders. After returning to the hotel, the rest of the afternoon and evening is free to spend as you wish in San Jos&eacute;.

Near-perfect growing conditions have made coffee one of Costa Rica's most important exports. Today you'll visit the Doka Coffee Plantation, located on the fertile slopes of Alajuela's Po&aacute;s Volcano, where the soil and altitude make for ideal growing conditions. Your guide explains how the beans are produced and roasted and how different microclimates affect the taste. Also explore and have lunch at La Paz Waterfall Gardens, a private rainforest eco-park and wildlife refuge known for spectacular waterfalls and flowing white rivers; this protected reserve buzzes with the sounds and sights of wildlife including toucans, butterflies, spider monkeys, two-toed sloths and red-eyed leaf frogs &ndash; to name a few of the 100+ species. Join us tonight at your hotel for a farewell reception and dinner, marking the end your Panama Canal cruise.

<strong><strong>Tour ends: San Jos&eacute;, Costa Rica.</strong>&nbsp;</strong>Transfers from the Costa Rica Marriott Hotel San Jos&eacute; or InterContinental Costa Rica at Multiplaza Mall to Juan Santamar&iacute;a International Airport are included. Allow 3 hours for check-in formalities.