I just traveled to my 69th different country – Panama! Panama is a quick 2.5-hour flight from South Florida. Panama connects Central America by land to the South American country of Colombia, although there are no roads between Colombia and Panama as the border is separated by the Darien Gap which is home to dense rainforests, swamps and mountains.
Flying into Panama City, one is taken by all the many skyscrapers that dot the skyline. That is why Panama City is affectionately known as “The Dubai of Latin America”. There are numerous financial institutions headquartered in Panama City. One of the coolest skyscrapers is the F & F Tower, which looks like it was built out of Legos! Most of the skyscrapers are located towards the east of the original city.
Panama City has an amazing old city known as “Casco Viejo”. The original city was founded in 1519, but it was destroyed in 1671 when the pirate, Captain Henry Morgan ransacked and looted the original city. The restored city was constructed beginning in 1673 within a system of fortified walls. Some of those walls still remain to this day. I highly recommend doing a walking tour of the Casco Viejo, as there are many cannot miss sites in this area. Some of my favorite spots include La Cathedral Metropolitana, which is the main Catholic Church in Panama City, the Panama Canal Museum, and the National Theater.
Panama has an indigenous people known as the Guna. The Guna women have a tradition of painting their bodies with elaborate geometric designs. After the arrival of the Spanish explorers, these designs were woven into cloths known as Molas. The Mola Museum is an amazing collection of these molas and other historic artifacts of the Guna people. This Museum is well curated and with friendly guide hosts available to answer questions.
Any trip to Panama City must include a visit to the Panama Canal. The Miraflores locks is about 20 minutes away from the city center. The Miraflores locks visitor center includes the opportunity to watch up close these massive ships go through the lock and dam system of the Panama Canal. Also, as part of the tour includes a 45-minute IMAX 3D film about the history of the Panama Canal narrated by Morgan Freeman. Both parts of the visitor center are excellent.
Traveling to Panama is easy for Americans as the Panamanians use the US Dollar as its currency due to historical treaties entered into in the early 1900s around the time of the construction of the Panama Canal which the US was significantly involved with its construction. Also, I found most people speak some level of English which is helpful for navigating around the country.