(Houston Chronicle) COLON, PANAMA - It's like a supersized wholesale club. Shoppers from across Latin America and the Caribbean flock to the Colon Free Trade Zone to buy everything from toys to tools. Instead of leaving with a few shopping bags full of goodies, these buyers typically order 20- and 40-foot-long containers stuffed with items they will resell. Bras, blenders … [Read more...]
Cruise through the Panama Canal
(Democrat Herald) Roughly two feet. That’s how much clearance our ship had on each side when crossing through the Gatun Locks on the northern entrance of the Panama Canal. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience — crossing the canal on a cruise ship — and I was lucky to do it in May. On a 15-day westward itinerary on Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas, we spent nearly an … [Read more...]
Scared to visit Mexico? How about Panama?
(Gadling) News reports of ongoing crime and attacks on travelers in Mexico have land vacationers looking for alternative destinations and cruise ships headed in the opposite direction. Sure, those beheadings, murders and shootings are happening in remote areas of Mexico for the most part, but stories of such activity combined with travel warnings by trusted sources are enough … [Read more...]
Panama is the best natural-kept secret in the world
(San Diego Reader) Today, wedged between the old and the new, the natural and the modern, Panama is a country of both paradox and transition. With a biodiversity exceeding its more famous neighbor to the northwest – Costa Rica – and a natural landscape that varies from emerald rainforest to clouded mountains to marsh and bio-coastal oceans, the Panama experience is unique. … [Read more...]
The Best Places to Vacation in Panama
(International Living) After five years of writing about Panama for International Living, you’d think writing about the best places to vacation in Panama would be a cinch. The more you know, the easier it should be…but the opposite is often the case. I know so many great places to vacation in Panama that it’s hard to narrow it down to just a few. There are places like … [Read more...]