during one of our afternoons in Panama City we had had enough of diesel exhaust and buses so we headed for the beautiful Parque Metropolitano, a 265-hectare park in the middle of town. It is pretty typical dry Pacific tropical forest, with a rich mix of big old trees, vines, and some cactuses.

If the sailing portion of our trip so far was about savoring the many subtle flavors of waves and wind, the land portion is a smorgasbord of forests. Now that we've spent a few months in Panama we're starting to focus on the different shades of tropical forest - and Panama certainly offers a whole rainbow of them. I thought I had seen most kinds, but Panama had some tricks up her sleeve waiting for me! What a joy it has been to tune in to the nuances of trees, vines, bromeliads, birds, critters, canopies.

we showed up too late that afternoon to catch any mammals, but we did see some neat birds and some really nifty bugs.