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Panama City, Panama

Panama City, Panama is one of those places that is perhaps best explained by using the various nicknames it has earned over the centuries. Some historians call it "the movable city" because it has relocated several times duringthe past 300 years. When the first Spanish governor arrived on the isthmus, he wisely moved the capital from Acla on the Caribbean and established Panama City on the healthier and drier Pacific coast. Today, only photogenic ruins remain of Old Panama City; the English pirate Henry Morgan looted, sacked, and burned the place to the ground. The Spaniards moved the capital and their treasured "Golden Altar" to the more defensible peninsula, now called the Casco Viejo (old compound). Travelers should plan to see the Altar along with the architectural treasures to be found on the Plaza Bolivar and Plaza Herrara, including the President's Palace of the Herons and the recently restored National Theater. For 90 years, Panama City's growth was restricted to a narrow strip of land between the sea and the border of the U.S.-controlled Canal Zone. Modern Panama City, with buildings similar to those found around Miami Beach, is actually a series of suburbs about five miles west of the Casco Viejo. Within hours of the transfer of the canal to Panama, growth began again near the city center as buildings quickly sprouted and spread across the previously sealed off border.

Panama City, Panama: The Crossroads of the World

Because of its proximity to the Canal, Panama City earned the title "The Crossroads of the World," and the 450,000 residents are a mixture of all the travelers who stopped here to rest awhile and decided to stay on (or at least leave evidence of their visit behind them). The city has a cosmopolitan vitality similar to San Francisco, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Hong Kong, set off with competing rhythms from tropic tamboritos and the hard-cash tinkling of slot machines. There is a saying that "nights are too short" in Panama City, where drinking has become a full-time occupation for many. Residents claim that the consumption of alcohol has medical benefits, since it keeps away any mosquitoes that bring malaria. Bartenders are sworn to keep secret the fact that malaria hasn't been a threat in Panama for the past quarter-century.

The word "Panama" is said to mean "an abundance of fish" in the native Indian language, and almost every restaurant serves items from the Atlantic or the Pacific or the rivers in between them. With hundreds of restaurants to choose from, you can find great Central American food as well as meals rivaling the best dishes served in Miami, Tokyo, Hong Kong, or Bombay.

Panama City, Panama: A Tourist Paradise

Tourist guides frequently refer to Panama City as "a bargainer's paradise" or "a shopping Mecca." Because of numerous free trade zones, shopping is the second most popular occupation in the city. Driving in from the airport on the Tumbo Muerto road, one passes the Centro Comercial Los Pueblos, which advertises itself as the biggest shopping mall in Central America. For a more "authentic" experience, one might try to visit the early morning, wharfside market at Salsipuedes, where produce and fishing boats jostle for space to sell their bounty.

The Panama Canal was called "One of the seven wonders of the modern world" when it was constructed, and it is still a mighty impressive endeavor. Many visitors are surprised how much of the canal looks like a wide, slowly flowing jungle river instead of a highly mechanical system of pumping stations and locks. One of the best places to view the canal is only an hour's drive from Panama City, in the Soberania National Park. While you are there, you will probably get to see huge turkey vultures soaring and circling overhead. These huge birds are so numerous that locals refer to them as the "Panamanian Air Force."