Its a mix of the crumbling old ruins with foundations laid in the days of the pirates...

And also shows itself to have a suprisingly vertical future...

But what overwhelms is the hustle. A country of 3 million people all hoping to get lucky while living very much in the moment.

Also, if peace and quiet is what you seek, then best seek it elsewhere. Panama City (the capital) is rambunctious and rattles with the sound of people who love life and live it loudly... mostly on the street right outside your hotel room at 3am. But Panamanian style can be cool too with a natural smoothness that wears well at any age.

However there´s so much more here. First impression... It´s sweltering with a capital ¨S¨, in fact capitalize all the other letter too. I haven´t had a shirt stay dry on my back for more than 10 minutes since I arrived.

While the prospect of looking at what is, in essence, an industrial-sized ditch may not seem too exciting. It´s worth the trip -- especially since bus fair from the city runs all of fifty cents. It actually is a fairly impressive ditch by the way.

Chris in Panama #1 August 10, 2008

To All My Friends... Yes I´m traveling again. This time to that sliver of a Central American country sliced in two by the worlds most famous canal... Panama!