Country Article / Postcards

Three Cities

Date: 06/27/2006

Dear International Living Reader,

You don't have to be in Panama City, Panama long to see that it wasn't built overnight. The city is an enticing blend of colonial and modern architecture. A place where old meets new, and where it is an everyday experience to see a Kuna Indian dressed in traditional colorful, beaded costumes walking side by side with a businessman (or woman) carrying a briefcase and conducting business via their cell phone.

Officially "discovered" on August 15, 1519, by Pedro Arias de Avilla (although indigenous people had lived here for years), the city has experienced many transformations on its way to becoming what is it today: thriving, booming, and, truly, the most significant Central American capital city.

The one recurring theme in the evolution of Panama City is the ebb and flow of world commerce through the Isthmus of Panama. Without this tiny bit of land, which touches two oceans and only takes an hour to travel by car, the attractiveness and importance of Panama would have never came to be.

Because the city presents such a variety of contrast between old and new, when we talk about Panama City, we must really talk about three cities in one:

Panama Viejo is where the city was original founded, a place where you can still find the photographic ruins of the initial city that was destroyed in 1671 by pirate Henry Morgan when he looted, sacked, and burned the place to the ground.

Casco Antiguo (also known as Casco Viejo and/or San Felipe) was founded in 1673. Here, you'll find streets of stone, magnificent churches that are more than 300 years old, and French and neoclassic style colonial constructed buildings. It's home to the International Living offices...our office staff couldn't be happier here because everyday as we venture into the streets for lunch, we feel as if we are strolling through time--it is like being in the 17th century with 21st-century amenities.

And then there's the modern, cosmopolitan area of Panama City--home to hundreds of skyscrapers and the modern amenities North Americans are accustomed to. This is the heart of Panama City...and the efficiencies you will find here will make you forget you're in Central America. There is nothing Third World about doing business in Panama City.

In Panama City, you can go to jazz clubs, art openings, and English-language theater performances. And in just a short drive, you can leave the city behind and be basking in the sun on some of the world's most beautiful beaches. For an airfare of less than $60 you can fly across the country...to the Caribbean Coast or the cool highland mountains. The choice is yours...

Suzan Haskins
Latin America Insider, International Living

P.S. When you visit Panama City, don't order a taxi from your hotel. You'll pay double, triple, or more than if you just hailed one yourself on the street. And getting a taxi here is no problem at all. They're everywhere, and they're safe. Just walk out onto a main road and hail one.

Editor's note: If you can't tell, we're excited about Panama. We've been writing about Panama for years now. But International Living is no longer alone in touting the glories of this country. Instead, a chorus of praises for life in Panama has recently been voiced by others. An article in Harper's Bazaar claimed that: "Panama is the most beautiful retreat in the world and almost undiscovered." The Boston Globe called it "...an undiscovered tourist paradise." The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and National Geographic have also published extensive travel articles praising the undiscovered delights Panama has to offer. Everywhere you turn, the covers of magazines are promoting Panama as a travel destination. The time is right for Panama, and the time to stake your claim there is now. Here's how.