Usually I’m not a fan of tours. I like heading off in my own direction and having the freedom to wander down a side street because something catches my eye.

But Rina provided a fascinating local view of her city that made the most of only a day on our way home from Ecuador. An activist and nature guide, she took us to Panama Viejo, into town to see the colonial part of the city and then out over a causeway to an island which used to be owned by the US Army and is now full of nature trails, small marinas and lots of places to eat.

As we returned from the Panama Canal, we took a shortcut through a beautiful wooded neighbourhood, another former army base. Development was encroaching fast and last year they’d fought and lost a campaign to prevent many new houses being built on part of the land.