the miraflores locks feature a very nice visitors center. but they also feature tons of tourists….which kinda takes away from the experience. but they do have a theater, nicer facilities, buffet lunch ($24!), etc. i then decided to drive to el valle. i went south, when i should have went north.
on my way back north, i stopped by the town of saber….which is actually a retired us army base. it looks very very similar to the presidio….only instead of being next to the pacific, it’s next to the canal. i had a good lunch at a small bakery there….then drove ar

ound a bit. like the presidio, it’s kinda easy to get lost….and i ended up reaching the same dead end twice (i almost drove off the cliff the first time….and the second time, the people sitting on the sidewalk laughed at me). i did end up finding a hostel there, so hopefully i’ll crash there tomorrow night (i need to meet with the shipping agent monday morning in panama city….about 10min away….but maybe 45min with traffic and me getting lost).

here’s a video of a ship going through the panama canal: http://youtu.be/gX3f-D2E7i4