Panama

My Panama travel summary:

Visited: April 1997, 2005, 2009-10, 2013-16, 2017-20

Duration of travelling: 60 days

Duration of living: 2,040 days

Capital city: Ciudad de Panama

Population: 4.2 million (2020)

Panama travel blog reading time: 3 minutes

• Exploring Bocas del Toro before it became a prime tourist destination.
• Crossing the Panama Canal on a sailing boat.
• Manhattan of Central America – Ciudad de Panamá.
• Finding the love of my life – a Panamanian architect.
• Visiting paradisiac San Blas Islands and experiencing Kuna culture.
• Encountering enormous leatherback turtles in Armila.
• Panama became my second home in 2013.
• Political expedition along the Rio Calovebora.
• Trip to Darien Gap to reach remote Emberá communities.

In general, the first association with Panama is its connection between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Panama Canal.

I visited Panama for leisure, business, and long-term living on many occasions.

• The first time, in 1996, Panama was part of my American Big Tour, which started in New York and finished in Buenos Aires 15 months later. I was already an experienced backpacker and could communicate in Spanish when I crossed the border from Costa Rica. During my two-week trip, I explored the whole country from Bocas del Toro to San Blas Islands.
• As I entered a relationship with a Panamanian girl, I began visiting Panama more frequently. Rather than only exploring tourist sites, I engaged more deeply with the culture, family life, local venues, and the local mindset.
• In 2013, our family decided to establish a permanent residence in Panama. Setting up a home abroad is demanding, including financial and cultural limitations. I managed to explore, experience, and understood the country far beyond the capital’s luxury districts.

Panama is a Central American country whose modern history was strongly influenced by the United States. It became independent in 1903 after separating from Colombia, which was followed by immediate US recognition in exchange for rights to build the canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The entire Canal Zone remained under US control until 1977. A treaty between the two countries gradually transferred control of the canal to Panama, with full handover completed on December 31, 1999.

The United States’ last intervention took place in 1989, when Panama City was attacked from the air during Operation Just Cause. The main goal was to remove then-president Manuel Noriega, accused of involvement in drug trafficking, from power.

After two weeks of pressure, including loud rock music played around the surrounded Apostolic Nunciature (Vatican Embassy), where Noriega took refuge, he surrendered. He was deported to the United States and later convicted of drug trafficking.

Panama is the richest country in Central America, and some areas of the capital are as luxurious as those in Western Europe.

Its prosperity largely comes from the canal, along with side effects such as stability, a strong financial sector, the Colón Free Zone, and offshore services.

Due to its transit position, the population is highly diverse, making it impossible to define a typical Panamanian.