Panama

INTRO: I live with my family in Panama and we love it. I began the Destination Panama Blog because I want to share knowledge and up-to-date experiences from on-location in Panama which may be helpful to travelers, investors, and expats. We have opened a small business here in the country and through our life here have experienced many adventures. I hope you enjoy and find useful the information I will compile, and write. Thanks for reading!

PANAMA
Friendly people, bustling city, birds singing, the rainforest, fragrant night blooming orchids, quiet sunny beaches and cool hillsides, these are among the memories you will take home with you along with many more…

Panama has much to offer for visitors and residents of many age groups, backgrounds, and all with diverse interests. Experience first-hand the most modern city in Central America and the country which still values its history and nature.

The first European to discover Panama was
Christopher Columbus in 1494.
Panama is at the center of the Americas and is made up of various cultures and traditions that have created a unique and exotic environment. Indigenous, American, Asian and European cultures combine to create an interesting and wonderful country.

Panama City is the only cosmopolitan city in the world where you can find skyscrapers as well as protected tropical rainforest within the city limits. The city offers historical sites, museums, quaint streets, shopping, and beautiful parks. Within an hour you can visit Taboga Island, breathtaking beaches, the Pacific Coastline, and the Panama Canal.

Panama is a natural land bridge that links North and Central America with South America and its nature is spectacular. Thousands of varieties of flora and fauna flourish in the country’s rainforests and it is host to the largest number of animal species in the world.

Panama Facts
-The $US is the primary currency used in Panama; over 100 banks choose Panama to host their
local and offshore branches.
-Over 30 percent of Panama’s land is protected by 15 national parks, 5 forest preserves and 10
wildlife refuges.
-More than 1,518 islands are located within Panama’s territorial waters which include Pacific
and Caribbean coastline.
-There are over 500 rivers running through Panama.
-In the Canal Zone, Panama is only 52 miles wide.
More species of birds live in Panama than in all of North America combined.
-Taste a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, as well as enjoy over 10,000 species of plants,
including 1,200 types of orchids, 678 species of ferns and 1,500 varieties of trees.
-Five areas in Panama have been declared World Heritage sites by UNESCO.
-Panama has seven of the 12 zones necessary to
sustain the land´s principal ecosystems.
-Panama includes world record-holding fishing
grounds.
-The famous red frog is found in the Bastimentos
Island National Marine Park in the Bocas del Toro
Province.
-Panama’s coasts and islands offer coral reefs, which
are home to a diversity of marine species.
-The world’s first transoceanic railway was built between 1850 and 1855, and the trip is less
than two hours.
-Gatún Lake was the largest man-made lake in the world until 40 years ago, covering nearly
262 square kilometers.
-The Panama Canal is one of the wonders of the world. It was completed by the United States
in 1920.
-It took 10 yrs. to build the Panama Canal with 75,000 people at a cost of approx. $400 million,
it opened Aug. 15, 1914.
-On numerous occasions Panama was pillaged by pirates such as Henry Morgan and Francis
Drake.
-Spain founded the first city of the New World in Panama – Santa María la Antigua de Darién.
-Excavations carried out by the Smithsonian Institute found the remains of pottery dating back
to 300 years B.C.
-Panama is the home of Central America’s largest convention center, ATLAPA.
-Treasures from the Americas were sent to Nombre de Dios on the Caribbean by the Camino
Real trail and on to Europe.
-Panama has a democratic government.

Compiled by Cynthia Cudmore-Mulder
http://www.cerritotropicalpanama.com, info@cerritotropicalpanama.com