Panama.
The canal gets the postcards, yet the country around it runs from cloudforest to reef, with hiking trails, bird life, white-water rafting and quiet islands all within a few hours of each other. The green season suits this landscape. Rain feeds the rivers. From Boquete you can head out to paddle them. I never did get around to the hot springs at Los Pozos de Caldera, though the turnoff is clearly signed on the road out of town.
Panama City:
Panama City packs a modern skyline, Spanish colonial streets and a genuinely cosmopolitan population into a few square miles, with Soberania National Park and Lake Gatun close by. Add the Sunday market at El Valle, a ferry to Taboga Island, or a dugout canoe up the Rio Chagres to the Embera community, and you've got a week of day trips. Calle Uruguay in the evening stays busy well past nine.
The Canal:
At its heart the canal is a water bridge, lifting ships at one set of locks and lowering them at the other so vessels pass between the Pacific and the Caribbean. What surprises people is the green: the watershed around the locks holds a startling range of birds and wildlife. Widening and deepening of the entrances, plus a third lane for larger ships, got under way in 2007.
Colon:
Colon sits 50km north-west of the capital and was founded in 1852 as the Atlantic terminus of the isthmus railway, finished in 1855. A fine day out runs from Panama City to the Miraflores Locks and Lake Gatun, then puts you on the train at Colon for the hour back. The carriages have large windows, and the canal is never far from the line.
San Blas Islands:
Some 378 islands make up this archipelago, spread over about 100 square miles along the Caribbean coast. Most are uninhabited, though Kuna families still come out to gather coconuts. Fine white sand and calm, translucent water are the norm, and a few of the islands take overnight guests in simple thatched cabins.
Bocas del Toro:
The Caribbean archipelago of Bocas del Toro lies 30 minutes by boat from Almirante and takes in 9 islands, 50 cayes and more than 200 islets, many with beautiful beaches. Isla Colon is the principal island, and the town of Bocas sits on it. There's snorkelling, sailing and diving, tropical forest and mangrove, plus nesting sites for 4 types of endangered turtle.
Portobelo:
Portobelo was the end of the Camino Real, where silver, gold and Inca treasure crossed the isthmus and sat in fortified warehouses before shipment to Europe. Gold draws pirates, and ships here were targeted by Francis Drake, William Parker and Captain Henry Morgan. In November 1739, during the War of Jenkins' Ear, Admiral Edward Vernon took the port. The old customs house still stands at the water's edge.
Boquete:
Boquete is a handsome mountain village in the Chiriquí highlands, about an hour and a half from David. Black volcanic soil and an elevation of 1200m make the region ideal for coffee, including the award-winning Panama Geisha, first introduced in 1963. Hiking in the Volcan Baru National Park, riding, bird-watching and white-water rafting all start from here. I'm told the Geisha lots fetch astonishing prices at auction, though I couldn't tell you the figure.
El Valle de Anton:
El Valle, 120km from Panama City in the province of Cocle, is quiet and cool for most of the week and fills up for the colourful Sunday market. Panama's best-known pre-Columbian petroglyphs are close by. Hiking in the Omar Torrijos Herrera National Park might bring you jaguar, puma, ocelot, margay or jaguarondi. Waterfalls and canopy tours into the cloudforest round things out, and that forest is home to the critically endangered Golden Frog, under threat from the spread of fungus.
Brief history:
Panama has long been a crossroads, its canal joining Pacific and Atlantic and its position making it a shipping point for South and Central America. Columbus explored the coast, and the Spanish settled in the 16th century. Independence came in 1821, after which Panama became a region of Gran Colombia, then a US protectorate given American strategic interest in an Atlantic-Pacific link. Construction finished in August 1914, and Panama remained under effective American control until 1939, when the United States gave up the legal right to use troops beyond the Canal Zone. In 1968 Omar Torrijos Herrera took control and negotiated the treaty that returned the Canal Zone to Panama on 1 January 2000.
Geography and weather.
Panama sits in Central America between Colombia and Costa Rica, touching both the Caribbean and the Pacific. The Darien Gap, an almost impenetrable jungle, forms the border with Colombia.
Two seasons shape the year. The dry season runs from mid-December to mid-April and the rainy season from mid-April to December. North of the mountains, on the Caribbean side, rain falls all year, with less in February, March, September and October. Lowland days usually reach around 32°C, and March and April are the hottest months. I'd pack a light rain shell whatever the calendar says.
Visas:
Most nationals don't need a visa to enter Panama, but it's worth checking the rules for your nationality with the nearest embassy or consulate. Some nationalities buy a tourist card at the point of entry. You'll need a passport valid for more than 6 months, and you may be asked for an onward ticket or proof of funds. Tourists are entitled to 30 days, though the immigration officer may grant fewer, and anyone staying past 30 days needs an exit permit stamped before leaving. You'll probably fill out an immigration card, and a copy should stay in your passport until you exit.
Money:
The balboa is pegged to the US dollar, and dollar notes and coins are legal tender, with many prices quoted in dollars. Some stores are reluctant to take $50 and $100 notes because of counterfeiting, so smaller denominations are worth carrying, and useful at border crossings too. There's no restriction on foreign currency brought in, though very large sums should be declared on arrival. ATMs are the easiest route to local cash and are found throughout the country; in Panama City there are machines at Telered branches, and Visa, Plus and Cirrus/Maestro are accepted at most of them. Don't rely on your card as your only source of money.
Economy of Panama:
Panama is the smallest country in Central America and its economy runs largely on location. That position drives growth and gives the country the most advanced transport and logistics infrastructure in the region, making it a hub for international trade. Banking is the other pillar, the largest sector of its kind in Central America.
Services underpin the rest: banking, insurance, logistics and tourism. Visitor numbers climb each year, and the canal remains a major attraction and one of the country's main sources of revenue, carrying goods between the Atlantic and Pacific.
Manufacturing is growing too, with companies turning out electronics, textiles and food products, while agriculture produces bananas, coffee, sugar and cocoa. That mix keeps the ports and the free zone at Colon busy.
Recent years have brought steady improvement. Growth in GDP ranks among the highest in Latin America, and the government is working on infrastructure that should support further expansion.
All of which leaves Panama well placed, with its location, its banks and a tourism industry still finding its feet. The Geisha coffee is sold in small tins at the airport, and the label lists the farm's altitude in metres.
