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| | Panama City could be a city anywhere. There are enough skyscrapers (mostly banks and condos) to compete with any Western capital city; the noisy traffic and crowded commercial areas are typical of any city. It's a good place to find a relatively inexpensive luxury experience, but if you're traveling on a tight budget, you'll want to get out of the city to the smaller towns and wilderness to... |  |
| Las Tablas is the capital of Los Santos province on the Azuera Peninsula, on the Pacific side of the country. When people talk about "Panamanian culture", they really mean Azuera culture. This is cowboy country, where the people have the lightest skin color and identify most with Panama's Spanish ancestry. You'll see most men walking around wearing dark, pressed pants, lightweight cotton... |
| El Valle is a resort town where wealthy Panamanians go to escape the city, and more and more foreigners (Americans included) are buying land there for vacation homes. The town is built in the crater of an extinct volcano. It's way up in the mountains in the interior of the country, so it's foggy and much cooler than usual. Take a sweater for after dark.To get there, take a bus from Panama... |  |
| A small, thin, balmy green island running parallel to the southernmost coast in Panama (the Azuero peninsula), Isla Canas is a gorgeous, islolated paradise: A headache to get to, but very worth it. Its primary claim to tourist fame is its vast stretch of golden beach that doubles as sea-turtle nesting grounds in September and October. During the peak of the season, there are hundreds of enormous... |
| Of all the desintations in Pamama, Bocas has the highest concentration of European and American tourists. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. In many places in Panama, there are no hotels or restaurants, so you literally cannot stay there. If a place is "touristy," you know it's at least set up to meet your needs. And it's one of the best places to make friends among other travelers. ... |  |
| I cannot help but write this section in the first person. The San Blas Islands are hands down the most unique and remote place I've been in my life. Your experience there depends entirely on where you stay, so do some research and talk to travel agents in Panama for advice on what's best for you. Also: PLAN AHEAD. My friend and I thought we could just buy a ticket and cruise on out there, but... |  |
| Portobelo and Isla Grande are both on the Caribbean side of Panama, in Colon Province. Portobelo is a small, sleepy little town with some amazing ruins. There are several resorts along the road heading into town which feature scuba diving and snorkeling. Once in town, check out the ruins of Spanish forts built to protect the city when it was the main port of departure for gold leaving Central... |  |
| Boquete is probably the second-most visited tourist destination in all of Panama, and is rapidly becoming a hot investment commodity for enterprising Britsh and American expatriots looking to retire in a cheap and comfortable tropical paradise. You can tell why, since the town, nestled as it is in the green hills of western Panama and boasting some of the highest elevation in the country (Volcan... |
| Volcan Baru, the highest point in Panama at an altitude of ten thousand feet, is often represented throughout the country as a triangle-shape with a round sun poking out behind it. In fact, this is in some ways what it does look like: With a risng sun behind you and glorious, billowing clouds below you, the shadow of the mountain stretches out before you like a great, blue triangle. This is the... |
| David is the second largest city in Panama. Compared to Panama City, though, it's only a blip. There are no skyscrapers here, and not even very many paved roads. If you travel through Panama by bus, you're likely to end up here for a night mid-trip. There's not much for tourists to do. Grab some delicious ice cream for 40 cents and hit the movie theater (playing American blockbusters with... |
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