Vacations travel

Panama is an adventure wonderland just waiting to be discovered. The country’s expansive rainforests are among the richest and most complex on the planet. It’s the only country where jaguars and pumas prowl just a short drive from the capital. Its vast
roadless jungles are home to over 940 recorded bird species and 105 endangered species
including the spectacled bear
the Central American tapir
the American crocodile
the scarlet macaw
as well as several eagle species.

This small
untapped country offers some of the finest diving
birdwatching
and deep-sea fishing in all of the Americas—yet only the most avid adventurers are aware of it. Panama boasts scores of deserted palm-lined beaches
miles of lush rainforests
great national parks
mysterious mangroves (where you’ll feel like you’ve been transported back to a time when dinosaurs walked the earth)
steamy cloud forests
mountains
waterfalls
raging rivers
abandoned forts
as well as desert.

In Panama you can spend the morning diving in the Caribbean and the afternoon swimming in the Pacific. You can explore historic ruins of the colonial era…dive for Sir Francis Drake’s lead coffin (supposedly buried at sea near Portobello Bay)…see the rainforest in an aerial tram…ride a dug-out canoe to a native Indian village…discover the remote and mysterious forests of the Dari้n region right on the border of Colombia (where the roads end a few miles before the border
leaving you with the feeling you’ve reached the end of civilization)…come nose-to-nose with a red-napped tamarind monkey or a trio of colorful toucans…

Conde Nast Traveler
in an article from its February 2005 issue said "Panama has temperate rain forests
great surf and beaches
and more birdlife than any other country in Central America. Now…it also has a newly elected administration that wants travelers to enjoy every bit of it."

Fortunately
Panama is a small country. In a short one- or two-week trip
you can see much of what this diverse country has to offer.

In this special report
the IL team proposes a plan to get the most out of 24 hours in Panama. From a traditional Panamanian breakfast to a trip to the Miraflores Locks to evening drinks in a little boutique hotel overlooking the Bay of Panama…we have it all thought out.

Breakfast in El Trapiche

Exploring the best Panama has to offer is hungry work. Start your day on a full stomach and head for breakfast in El Trapiche
a busy diner in El Cangrejo (Vํa Argentina
tel. (507)269-4353). Here you can enjoy breakfast Panama style and indulge in a hearty feed of carima๑ol—a yummy roll made of mashed yucca and stuffed with ground beef and boiled eggs—and a side of corn tortillas
that more resemble silverdollar pancakes than taco shells. The bill should be less than $8
even with that second caf้ con leche.

Trip to the Miraflores Locks

No trip to Panama is complete without seeing the "Eighth Wonder of the World
the Panama Canal. According to the Panama Canal Authority
The history of the construction of the Panama Canal is the saga of human ingenuity and courage: years of sacrifice
crushing defeat
and final victory." This statement
while true
doesn’t go far enough to describe the mighty toll taken by the building of the Panama Canal. Construction began in 1904 and took 10 years to complete. It remains one of the greatest engineering achievements of all time
completed despite landslides
disease
setbacks
and the loss of 75
0
lives in total. Engineers directed most of the actual construction
which cost $375 million
and involved the excavation of 240 million cubic yards of earth.

The Canal
51
miles long
opened to shipping in August 1914 and was formally dedicated on July 12
1920
In 1921
the U.S. paid Colombia $25 million as redress for the loss of Panama; in exchange
Colombia formally recognized Panama’s independence.

On average it takes a vessel eight hours to travel from one ocean to the other
passing through three sets of locks. The best place to see the Canal is from the Miraflores Locks (open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
admission free). Make sure to get to the Miraflores Locks for 9 a.m. as this is when you are most likely to see large ships passing through.

Tamales in Casco Viejo

By now you’re probably feeling a tad peckish… Time to hop on a bus or hail a taxi and make your way toward Casco Viejo for tamales. If you’re in luck
you’ll bump into Luis Antonio Visuette on the streets of Casco Viejo
where he has been selling delicious homemade tamales
wrapped in plaintain leaves
for more than 10 years. With his Yankee cap and five-gallon bucket of hot and spicy tameles calientitos
Luis is hard to miss. These lunchtime treats are available in both large (50 cents)
and small (25 cents)
and are a real hit when washed down with an ice-cold drink. International Living’s local office is located in the Casco Viejo area
in the Cathedral Plaza
next to the Panama Canal Museum and just in front of the stunning Metropolitan Cathedral
so if you want to enjoy your tamales in our office (Luis will be making the rounds) call in for a Panamanian style "power lunch."

Explore Casco Viejo

Located at the mouth of the Panama Canal
Casco Viejo is the oldest city on the Pacific Coast of the Americas…although it was there long before the Canal was built.

In fairness to history
the original Panama City (now known as Old Panama or Panama La Vieja) was founded in 1519
about two miles from the center of Panama City as we know it today. From here
expeditions were mounted to conquer the Inca Empire of South America and all of the wealth pillaged from Peru
Chile
and California flowed to Spain through Old Panama. It is no surprise that this booty attracted pirates like Henry Morgan
who looted the city in 1671.

During Morgan’s attack
this original Panama City was burned to the ground. Two years later
in 1673
the capital was moved two miles to the west
and present-day Panama City was founded. This is the area now known as Casco Viejo.

As the city was being rebuilt by the Spanish settlers
they decided to build a massive surrounding wall and a stronger fortress for its protection and to ensure that the enormous wealth in gold and silver that passed through it would never again be susceptible to the likes of Henry Morgan.

The new city boasted a cross-sectioned design of 38 blocks
with three main streets running from east to west and seven streets running from north to south. Unfortunately
this urban development was interrupted by various fires that devastated its streets. In 1737
the "big fire" destroyed two thirds of the city
and the "small fire" of 1756 destroyed more than 90 houses. These and other catastrophic fires help explain why so few true examples of Spanish colonial architecture exist today.

The fortress still survives
though
and today houses several important
cultural
and historic buildings and monuments. But it is the architecture of Casco Viejo that makes it so special. The old Spanish colonial style is overlaid with French balconies and architecture
remnants of the French inhabitants who made the initial attempt to build the Panama Canal in 1881. Over the years
a Caribbean influence also took hold and
today
Casco Viejo is a melting pot of architectural inspiration and style
with some buildings dating as far back as 300 years.

Museums
shopping
and fortune telling

Up until the early parts of this century
Casco Viejo remained a thriving cultural center. But as Panama City modernized
and as the automotive age made transportation easier
it spread outward
leaving Casco Viejo behind. The old city’s narrow labyrinth streets were difficult for cars to maneuver and its buildings were obsolete in comparison to modern skyscrapers being built. By the mid 1900s
Casco Viejo had gone the way of most city centers of that century. No longer the center of Panama City
it was too oppressed for the upper class and quickly became a poor area of tenement-style housing.

The area is currently undergoing a complete transformation
however. Restaurants and bars are opening with gusto
tourists are coming in growing numbers
and people from all over now want to make their homes in Casco Viejo.

In 1997
UNESCO declared Casco Viejo a Patrimony of Humanity. Today
it is revered as the historic center of Panama City. Two- and three-story houses with flower-adorned balconies overlook narrow streets. At its tip is French Park
where you will find the French Embassy and a monument to the hardy French builders who began the Panama Canal. On one side is an historical Spanish building called Las Bovedas
now housing an art gallery and French restaurant. Panama’s Supreme Court was once housed here. A walkway around the monument offers a nice view of the Amador Causeway
Bridge of the Americas
and Panama City’s skyscraper skyline to the east. A plaque commemorates the firing of canon shots to ward off a Colombian warship and solidify Panama’s independence from Colombia in 1903.

There are excellent museums in the Casco Viejo area
including the Museo de Canal. Here
you can learn about Panama’s history as the connector between the Atlantic and the Pacific from pre-Hispanic to modern times. Next door is the Museum of National History and across the way is the National Cathedral. Nearby is a small museum dedicated to religious art
found in the old Santo Domingo monastery. This is where you will find the famous Flat Arch
which reportedly helped convince engineers that Panama was earthquake-proof and a geologically stable area for building the Canal. A few blocks away is the old San Jose Cathedral
with gleaming spires inlaid with mother-of-pearl and its beautiful gold altar
intricately carved of wood and gilded with gold. This is a must-see when you visit Casco Viejo.

Casco Viejo is home to the Presidential House. If you want to see this
be sure to come on a Sunday as it is closed to the public for the rest of the week. Famous sons and daughters of Panama also make their homes here
including actor/singer (and now Panama’s minister of tourism) Ruben Blades
and boxer Roberto Duran.

Bargain hunters can take a break from the historical sights at Salsipuedes
which roughly translates to "get out if you can." Located just before the entrance to Casco Viejo
it is Panama’s bizarre bazaar
a street so narrow and filled with vendors that it is dark at noon. A few steps away is Santa Ana’s Plaza
where you can have your fortune told for just $5.

Dine at The Bristol

To finish off your day in style
make your way to The Bristol Hotel
just a short taxi journey from Casco Viejo. Dining at the Barandas Restaurant at The Bristol Hotel is an event to savor. The Panamanian-inspired gourmet cuisine
restful ambiance
stunning presentation
elegant settings
and attentive service combine to create an unforgettable dining experience.

A Trip To Panama Caught Your Fancy?

Hopefully
this special report has given you a few ideas on how to spend your time in Panama
but don’t forget that this amazing country has much more to offer. Pacific Coast beaches near the city; Coiba Island National Marine Park; and the Dari้n Province to name just a few.

Dreaming of taking a Big Trip in 2007? Finances a bit tight? Well
take a look at the following destinations.

Magic
thrills and adventure
yes. But for the budget-conscious globe-trotter
what’s equally important is that these are places where your dollars will stretch a long
long way. As a travel writer
I’m lucky enough to have experienced all 10--but I’d love to revisit every single one as a vacationer.

Vietnam

Vietnam packs a lot into its borders. Highlights include misty Halong Bay with its fairytale seascapes of limestone outcrops and islands; the Mekong delta with its floating markets; the old Vietcong tunnels at Cu-Chi near Saigon--now officially known as Ho Chi Minh City. (Don’t worry about getting stuck: one tunnel has been specially widened for westerners.) Backpacker beds are exceptionally cheap
but decent hotels often cost less than $40. A filling bowl of pho bo beef noodle soup or six seafood spring rolls is less than a dollar. In local hangouts
Saigon Export beer costs 40 cents a bottle.

For the ultimate traffic tale to tell the folks back home
head for Hanoi’s old quarter. Any attempt to cross the road turns into a heart-racing adventure. Not only are you contending with psycho-cyclos (rickshaw bicycles)
there are thousands of motorbikes and scooters whose riders regard a red traffic signal as a suggestion rather than an instruction. Best place to experience the utter chaos is from within a cyclo rickshaw.

Lithuania
Eastern Europe

The southernmost of the Baltic States
visitors usually couple Lithuania together with Latvia and Estonia. However
you can easily spend a week in Lithuania alone. Quirky cities like Vilnius and Kaunas are steeped in art
music and historical curiosities...mushroom-scented woods and farmers riding on haycarts...mysterious sites steeped in pagan traditions…the windswept sands of the Curonian Spit where you can beach-comb for amber.

Mid-June would be a great time to go. A national holiday in Lithuania
the old pagan festival of Rasos marks the summer solstice. It’s an all-night affair with singing
dancing
bonfire-leaping
hunting for "magic" ferns
and floating garlands down rivers. Despite some serious alcoholic partying
most people manage to stay awake to greet the sunrise. As for prices
how about $2.54 for three potato pancakes with smoked salmon and sour cream and $1 for a glass of Svyturnys beer?

Granada
Nicaragua

From the laid-back colonial city of Granada
you can do a lot in a week in Nicaragua: tackle volcanoes...take Spanish lessons...visit Masaya craft market and also the villages where rocking chairs
hammocks
and pottery are made...explore the Selva Negra’s cloud forests and coffee plantations...chat with expats in the beach surfing town of San Juan del Sur...go to colonial Leon
where you might get to meet indigenous Indians.
Settling into a rocking chair with a cold Victoria beer is a pleasure that generally costs under $1 and spending more than $7 on a meal is difficult. The Alhambra Hotel on Granada’s main square costs a mere $30 a night.

Goa
Southern India

India is beyond fascinating
beyond anything you’ll ever experience elsewhere. The easiest introduction to this teeming country is the seaside state of Goa. Baking below a tropical canopy of banana
coconut and mango trees
this drowsy world of Arabian Sea beaches
backwaters
and spice-laden breezes is stamped with more than a few reminders of Old Portugal. You’ll find sunrise yoga on the beach
full massages for $8
dolphin trips for about $6
and colorful hippie markets.

Including four beers
two people can eat in a beach shack for under $10. And if you want to cut your expenses to the bone
there’s accommodation in simple beach chalets for as little as $8 a night.

Porto and Northern Portugal

Famed for its port wine lodges (yes
they do offer free samples)
Porto is Portugal’s second city. An historic Atlantic trading port
its warren of laundry-hung alleys plunges down to a waterfront of boats
nets and fish restaurants. Sheets of cod (bacalhau) hang outside grocery stores with original art nouveau tiled facades; the church of Sao Francisco has a gold leaf interior that would make King Midas salivate. Don’t miss the Bolhau food market or the Torre dos Clerigos
Portugal’s highest belfry tower. From the top
you’ll get great views over the jumbled cityscape of churches
bridges and red-roofed houses.

By EU standards
the price of dining
accommodation
and public transport throughout the region is astounding. Trains and buses are an affordable way to make exploratory day-trips along the coast and into the interior of terraced vineyards and green river valleys. Don’t miss Braga and the thousand-stepped stairway of Bom Jesus church. On holy days
some pilgrims tackle these steps on their knees.

Montenegro

After its split from Serbia
Montenegro is Europe’s latest holiday hot spot--and also the world’s newest independent nation. Along with three-course meals for $7 and rooms in private houses for $10
you’ll find a land of craggy mountains with a switch-backed Adriatic coastline of bays
beaches and villages of pale gray stone. The sea sparkles like blue topaz and medieval walled towns with crumbling fortresses and palaces are often emblazoned with the winged lion emblem of the Venetian Republic.

Now paint in monasteries slotted into mountain crevices and fishing villages of red-tiled roofs and deep-green shutters. Roman mosaics...olive groves...water-lilied lakes...deep canyons and the mighty Boka Kotorska
Europe’s southernmost fjord...the border town of Ulcinj with its minarets and tales of pirate slave-trading.

Austria

The Alps? There’s no denying that Switzerland is one of the most scenically gorgeous countries on earth. But unless you’re armed with an expense account
I can promise you that exploring its mountains
lakes and medieval towns will wreak havoc on your finances.

Winter or summer
neighboring Austria has just as much of the alpine wow factor...plus the city splendors of Vienna and Salzburg. And it’s a lot less expensive than you may think. For example
in the Tyrolean village of Fendels
you could rent a furnished apartment for two in a chalet next spring for as little as 175 euro ($230) per week. Surrounded by hiking trails
Fendels village makes an excellent base--the Tyrolean Oberland is close to the borders of Switzerland and Italy. (Go to the Austrian Tourist Board’s web site at http://www.tiscover.at and you’ll find plenty more self-catering accommodation at similar prices.)

Penang
Malaysia

A melting-pot of Malay
Chinese and Indian culture
Malaysia offers up powder white beaches and virgin rainforest teeming with wildlife; the bustling capital of Kuala Lumpur and the historic port city of Malacca; inexpensive seafood and inexpensive spa pampering; sailing
snorkeling
diving
fishing
golf and island-hopping.

With a distinct Chinese flavor
one of Malaysia’s star turns is Georgetown
capital of Penang island. You come across snake temples
arcaded shophouses and tiny workshops specializing in mahjong tiles and dice; kong-teik craftsmen who make funerary paper artifacts; fish getting dried like laundry in the open air. On the Weld Quay waterfront
around 2
0
fishing families live in rickety wooden dwellings on the Clan Quay jetties.

Chania
Crete

On the Greek island of Crete
Chania is one town that it would be criminal to miss. Crete’s former capital
its history goes back 5
0
years. In the Old Town’s skinny alleyways you’ll find icon workshops...lyres hanging in dusty musical instrument repair-shops...bursts of white jasmine cascading from archways...cats snoozing on balconies...the unlikely sights of a pencil-thin minaret above church towers and a mosque squatting on the waterfront.

Strung with garlands of colored light-bulbs
Chania’s old Venetian harbor at dusk truly is the stuff of romance. The water shimmers in waves of crimson
sapphire and emerald
the Venetian lighthouse sends out its beady wink
and stalls do a steady trade in pistachio nuts. Alleys that were afternoon-silent become thronged with locals taking the volta--the evening stroll. Even in July and August
you’ll find studio apartments here for under $40 a night...plus you can eat well for $10.

Bohemia
the Czech Republic

Prague teems with tourists but few people realize what the rest of the Czech Republic offers. One of its regions is Bohemia
blessed with a spellbinding mosaic of castles
frescoed houses and Rapunzel-style turrets straight from a sword-and-sorcery tale. At Cesky Krumlov you can peer into a medieval bear pit complete with bears. Sedlec
a suburb of Kutna Hora has a chapel entirely decorated with human bones
right down to its chandelier.

Many towns have stoupas...lofty "plague pillars" adorned with chained devils. They commemorate deliverance from the plagues
which swept Europe during the Middle Ages. Then there’s Karlovy Vary
the oldest of Bohemia’s grand spa towns. With spa water bubbling up all over town which visitors can collect for free
it’s a gorgeous place of baroque buildings in sugar-plum colors
flowery parks
and shops glittering with Bohemian crystal.