Centennial Bridge, Panama, Photograph by Adrian Turner
Though it feels like summer is still here, the Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts that the Midwest and Northeast will experience an unusually cold and snowy winter this year. This February, escape the chill during one of our cruises aboard Sea Cloud II and discover fascinating Panama. Here are six great reasons to visit this Central American nation.
- Casco Viejo: Founded in 1519 by conquistador Pedro Arias Dávila, Panama was the first European settlement on the Pacific coast of the Americas. Panama City’s historic center, known as the Casco Viejo (“Old Town”), became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. During a walking tour, discover the quarter’s architecture, a blend of French, Spanish, and Early American styles.
- Guna Yala: On these more than 350 picture-perfect islands, formerly known as San Blas, the indigenous Guna people maintain their distinctive culture. They are famous for their bright molas, a textile art form that many Guna women wear.
- The Panama Canal: Completed in 1914, the American-built Panama Canal stretches 48 miles between the Atlantic and the Pacific. In June 2016, after nearly a decade of construction and more than $5 billion, Panama opened the expansion of this engineering marvel, which more than doubled the canal’s capacity.
- The Museum of Biodiversity: The brightly colored structure, which is noted architect Frank Gehry’s first design in Latin America, opened in 2014 after 10 years of construction. The building’s eight exhibition halls delve into the origin of the Panamanian isthmus as well as its impact on the planet’s biodiversity.
- Coiba National Park: The isolated islands of this park were once an offshore penal colony, but today they’re home to fish, sea turtles, and sharks, as well as terrestrial animals such as the agouti and howler monkey. Experience Panama’s biodiversity up close at this marine reserve, the country’s largest and accessible only by boat.
- All that Jazz: Although you might not associate Central America with jazz, Panama-born composer and pianist Danilo Pérez is aiming to make the country a center for this lively music genre. Travelers on our Panama Canal cruise will enjoy an onboard Latin jazz concert by talented musicians and students from the Danilo Pérez Foundation. You can read more about Pérez in the New York Times.
2017 Cruises Calling in Panama:
| With the Trade Winds: Curacao to Colón Aboard Sea Cloud II February 13 to 21, 2017 With William B. Crow Managing Museum Educator The Metropolitan Museum of Art Click to download brochure |
Sailing the Panama Canal: Colón to Puntarenas Aboard Sea Cloud II February 20 to March 3, 2017 With Ronda Kasl Curator of Latin American Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art Click to download brochure |
Other 2017 Cruises:
| Cuba by Sea: Cienfuegos to Santiago Aboard Variety Voyager February 11 to 18, 2017 With Inés Powell, Educator The Metropolitan Museum of Art Click to download brochure |
Dutch & Flemish Landscapes Aboard AmaPrima April 19 to 27, 2017 With Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, Curator The Metropolitan Museum of Art Click to download brochure |
| Waterways of the Tsars: Moscow to St. Petersburg Aboard Volga Dream June 8 to 17, 2017 With Adam Eaker, Assistant Curator The Metropolitan Museum of Art Click for more information |
The Majestic Rhine & Art Basel: Amsterdam to Basel Aboard AmaKristina June 9 to 17, 2017 With Olivier Bernier, art historian, author, and lecturer The Metropolitan Museum of Art Click to download brochure |
| Art, Empire & Nature: Exploring Ecuador & the Galápagos Aboard Isabela II July 7 to 15, 2017 With James Doyle, Assistant Curator The Metropolitan Museum of Art Click for more information |
Sailing the Baltic’s Amber Coast Aboard Sea Cloud II July 19 to 30, 2017 With Ted Hunter, Conservator The Metropolitan Museum of Art Click for more information |
Academic Arrangements Abroad offers privileged access to extraordinary places in more than 50 countries. For additional information about upcoming trips, please contact us by email at trips@arrangementsabroad.com or by phone at 1-800-221-1944 or 212-514-8921.
