Panama

Central America, but different!

Panama is unlike the other Central American cities: If you ever traveled to Nicaragua or in Costa Rica, you might have seen their capital. But nothing is like the capital here. The city is modern, with high rises, a subway system, two airports, and several American-inspired malls. The apartment buildings on the Avenida Balboa are home to the wealthier Panamanians.
Uber works well in Panama City, but once you are in more rural areas, you will have to use the bus system or rent a car.
You’ll find Panama to be three countries. The first is the capital. Then you have the country north of the capital towards the Costa Rican border. And last, you’ll find hundreds of miles of jungle in the north towards the border with Colombia.

Surfing

Surfers will tell you they like places such as Santa Catalina for their year-round fantastic surf conditions. Further south, you’ll find even more surf beaches.

Diving in Panama

Coiba, a group of islands on the Pacific side of the country, is considered the “Galapagos of Central America.” Whitetip Reef sharks, turtles, dolphins, whale sharks, to name only a few, are part of the underwater fauna. You can visit some of the islands. They make for fantastic picnic spots.
On the Caribean side, there’s Bocas del Toro. It feels like Thailand when it comes to the dive scene: lots of very young people who party as hard as they dive.

Banking and enterprises

The country has a reputation for hosting companies from around the world that choose to be located here for the fiscal friendly regime. Companies can both shield their ownership and find a tax haven to bring their foreign profits.

But at the same time, the Panama ships register has about a quarter of the world fleet under their flag, attracting investors, ship owners, and skippers.

Is Panama the 51st state?

Some people believe that because of the USA’s tight control over the Central American country, it has become the 51st state of the United States. That is not the case, of course. But keep in mind that the USA invaded Panama in 1989. Noriega, who at that time was both the president of Panama AND an agent of the CIA, was gone rogue.

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A ship enters the Panama canal locks at Agua Clara

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