Panama, day 3

I need to start off by eating my words! For years Dave and I have said we are independent travelers, love to follow our nose, have no schedules and live with the people. We have not done an official tour since 1996 and have had incredible experiences. BUT...
This company is something else! Service is beyond anything one could expect and there is a wonderful balance between tour, talk time and time to mellow. So far, we have had everything done for us, in five star hotels, gourmet meals and luggage put in our rooms when we make a move. The nice thing is that we get two nights per hotel so not a big deal moving on.
 From here on, I will be using short notes so that when I print the blog off at home, we do have a running record of all the wonderful activities.
 I knew very little of the history of the construction of the Panama Canal but after three days here, we have seen things I never would have imagined. First off, from the Pacific side, the Miraflores lock, then today from the Caribbean side, the Gatun Lock. After a wonderful lunch, we had the afternoon on Gatun Lake, the man made lake that connects the two lock systems.
On that lake we saw howler monkeys, crocodiles, sloth, huge turtles and many kinds of birds.
Our first two days resort was the Marriott Courtyard in downtown Panama City, a great place to stay to be able to see the Old Panama and tour the new city.
 Our resort these two days is the Raddison Summit Golf Resort and wow! What a view of the jungle and a distant view of the Panama City skyline. The landscape is many shades of green and natures sounds are mesmerizing. After this full day,I jumped in the horizon pool and once again said I couldn't believe we were here.
 There are 5 Canadian couples with us, all seasoned travelers, most of whom has done Costa Rica and say we will love it. The rest of the folks are from the US, from states we have visited so lots to talk about over dinner. The evening shows just keep getting better, last night celebrating the Carnival which consumes the country next week. Also, our little guide , a triathlete from San Blas, has her dad doing the Ironman on Sunday in Pan City.
This population is a healthy group, the economy had tourism at 2.5 billion, the Free Trade Zone at 2.5billion and the Canal generating 1.8 billion so for a small country, they are proud of their accomplishments.
 We get the same safety precaution ideas while being a tourist here... Leave your jewelry at home, don't flaunt your tech equipment, stay out of the bars etc but there is a very good sense of safety here, you know, that good feeling one gets walking down the streets.
 So back to the opening confession, I just may get spoiled by this type of travel where all transportation, lodging, food, tours and entertainment are included in one great deal. This company also does Guatamala , hmm mm! But we would definitely attach some of our other preferred style, stay on and live among the people for a good while. Just saying...