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Day
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Date
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Activity
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Hotel
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Meals
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1
|
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Fly to San Jose Costa Rica
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Hotel in San Jose
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No meals provided (maybe not even by the airlines)
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2
|
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Pick up at our hotel to go back to the airport for our flight to Palmar Sur. Spend the afternoon birding to the hotel and the local trails. Set in the relative cool of the forest this lovely local cooperative lodge will allow us to enjoy the heat of the Pacific tropics and its birds.
|
Esquinas
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Breakfast - Esquinas
Lunch - Esquinas Dinner - Esquinas
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3
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Today will probably be the warmest part of the trip. Exploring the lowland tropical forests of this unique area is the order of the day and should provide some interesting, varied habitat. Maybe drive to Hacienda Baru
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Wilson Garden
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Breakfast - Esquinas
Lunch - Wilson
Dinner - Wilson
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4
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Heading south and east, we turn up to the town of San Vito and the mid-elevation OTS biological research centre - Wilson Gardens. This fabulous facility will be our home for a couple of nights, giving us time to explore their extensive grounds and nearby areas.
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Wilson Garden
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Breakfast - Wilson
Lunch - Wilson
Dinner - Wilson
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5
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We should be able to spend the whole day in and around the grounds of this research station. The elevation means a new habitat and moderate temperatures. We will not hike far today and may even have trouble getting some of you away from the great birding on the balcony of your own room. We might visit a local farm.
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Bambito
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Breakfast - Wilson
Lunch - en route
Dinner - Bambito
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6
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Crossing the border into Panama today via the back road into the mountains of Chiriqui Province brings us to Bambito Lodge, our home for the next two nights. We should arrive in plenty of time to explore the area in the afternoon. The cool high mountains are the feature of this beautiful area with its unique birds.
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Bambito
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Breakfast - Bambito
Lunch - Vulcan
Dinner - Bambito
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7
|
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Today’s explorations include La Amistad International Park, Dracula Orchid Garden and the gardens of the hotel
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Bambito
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Breakfast - Bambito
Lunch - Los Quetzales
Dinner - Bambito
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|
8
|
|
Lake Trail in Morning then lunch at Vulcan. This day is mostly a travel day as we cross a large stretch of unproductive (for birds) farm land.
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La Hacienda
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Breakfast - Bambito
Lunch - Vulcan
Dinner - La Hacienda
|
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9
|
|
After breakfast at our overnight stop in the town of Santiago we head for El Valle with a short detour to check out the Macanas Park wetlands.
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Park Eden B&B
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Breakfast -Santiago
Lunch - en route
Dinner - Park Eden
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|
10
|
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The guidebook says “El Valle de Anton is the largest continually inhabited volcanic crater in the world. This unique habitat provides some good birds and everything is close by, enclosed in the caldera.
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Park Eden B&B
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Breakfast - Park Eden
Lunch - Park Eden
Dinner - Casa Lourdes
|
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11
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Today we cross the famous bridge that spans the Panama Canal and joins two continents. After lunch we will drive the length of the canal and hope to arrive for an afternoon walk. at Melia Colon on the Caribbean side of Panama. This is a completely different world as far as the birds are concerned.
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Melia Colon
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Breakfast - Park Eden
Lunch - El Ranchito
Dinner - Melia Colon
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|
12
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We are now in one of the world’s richest areas for birds. The watershed around the canal needed to be preserved in a natural state to protect the water supply which means great habitat. The famous Achiote Road
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Melia Colon
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Breakfast - Melia Colon
Lunch - restaurant
Dinner - Melia Colon
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13
|
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The last leg of our trip takes us back toward Panama City to the fabulous Gamboa Hotel situated near the junction of the Panama Canal and the Chagres River. Since this is such a rich area for birds and history, we will spend the last three nights here.
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Gamboa Resort
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Breakfast - Melia Colon
Lunch - Gamboa
Dinner - Gamboa
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14
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Pipeline Rd, Old Gamboa Road, Plantation Road, Summit Ponds and gardens, Madden and Harpy Eagles Centre
Summit Gardens etc Hotel trails
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Gamboa Resort
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Breakfast - Gamboa
Lunch - restaurant
Dinner - Gamboa
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15
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There are so many possibilities that we will try to cover what we missed the day before. We will make sure we have time for lunch at the Miraflores Locks to watch the ships.
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Gamboa Resort
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Breakfast - Gamboa
Lunch - Miraflores
Dinner - Gamboa
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16
|
|
Drive to Panama City to catch the flight home
|
Home
|
Breakfast - Gamboa
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