POLLERAS OF AZUERO The complexly designed pollera costumes are widely considered to be one of the world’s most beautiful forms of traditional dress. While the Spanish colonial dress was common in haciendas throughout Latin America, the most famous polleras come from the Azuero peninsula. Worn during special occasions, these polleras consist of a one-piece skirt…
Drink Some mistake rum for Panama’s national drink. It’s not. That honor belongs to seco, a thrice distilled, 80-percent-proof sugarcane liquor. The most famous brand is Seco Herrerano, produced in the town of Pesé, by the Varela Hermanos distillery, which dates to 1936 and coincidentally also makes Abuelo rum. While inexpensive, top bartenders in Panama…
Portobelo to Isla Grande Approximately 43km (27 miles) east of Colón lies the sleepy seaside town of Portobelo 8 [map] , which was one of the wealthiest ports in the Spanish Caribbean from the 16th to early 18th centuries, thanks to much of the silver and gold from South America passing through here before being…
Fact The French attempt at building the Panama Canal, led by Suez Canal architect Ferdinand de Lesseps, was a disaster. Few foresaw the enormous challenges that the thick, mosquito-infested jungle presented, ranging from floods to yellow fever. In the end, more than 20,000 died before they called it quits. There are several ecolodges within or…
THE EXPANDED PANAMA CANAL The Panama Canal is now even bigger than before. A $5 billion-dollar expansion added a new lane and room for the world’s largest ships, allowing for nearly double the amount of traffic. For much of the past century the shipping industry has built ships to fit through the Panama Canal, often…
Casco Viejo Bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the southeast and the Panama Canal to the west, Panama City sprawls out in a maze of congested neighborhoods that rarely follow any sort of order. While few parts of the Panamanian capital are walkable, Casco Viejo A [map] , also called Casco Antiguo, is an exception….
PANAMA The isthmus of Panama is where Central America comes to its wild conclusion, from a modern metropolis to untouched rainforests and endless beaches. Main Attractions Panama City The Panama Canal Portobelo Azuero Peninsula Boquete Bocas del Toro Comarca Kuna Yala The Darién No country in Central America has entered the 21st century quite as…
MYSTERY OF THE SPHERES The Diquis region is the site of one of the great pre-Columbian riddles. Spheres made of granite, andesite, and sedimentary stone have been found in their thousands along riverbeds and arranged in cemetery sites. Some are as small as oranges while others weigh up to 14 metric tons and measure up…
Manuel Antonio National Park Once an important banana-shipping port, Quepos ™ [map] is now something of a dormitory town and business center for Manuel Antonio, 7km (4 miles) away. There are some good accommodations, restaurants, shops, banks, and nightlife, a regular bus service, and the flavor of an old-time fishing and banana town. The sport…
CROSSROADS OF THE AMERICAS Costa Rica, it appears, was a kind of mercantile and cultural crossroads of the Americas. Linguistic and cultural influences, not to mention a wealth of artifacts and materials, were being exchanged both within the country and outisde, from as far north as Mexico and as far south as Ecuador. The native…