Panama City or Ciudad de Panamá is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of almost 1 million, with suburbs and metropolitan area around 1.5 million.
5 of the 10 tallest buildings in Latin America are in Panama City. The city holds the 45th place in the world by high-rise buildings count.
Seafood figures prominently in Panamanian cuisine. Panama City’s seafood market, the Mercado de Mariscos, lies at the foot of the historic Casco Viejo district.
The famous Panamanian ceviche is sold especially at fish and seafood markets. Btw. While the national currency in Panama is called Balboa, the U.S. Dollar is the official currency and is used for bills.
It’s said that a half century ago you could still swim in the Panama Bay outside Panama City.
According to the Ministry of Health, only 60% of Panama City’s residents are served by the current sewage system.
Much of the sewage is gathered in septic tanks that are poorly maintained, and as a result the sewage is discharged into the bay with virtually no treatment.
Casco Viejo, the old part of the city, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
In January of 1671, privateer Henry Morgan, along with a bunch of 1400 men, attacked and looted Panama City. The city was burned and destroyed.
Some years later, Panama City was formally reestablished on a peninsula about 8km from the original settlement. This location is known as the Casco Viejo (Old Quarter) of Panama City.
Before Panama City became a modern city it was just a Spanish settlement that was used for stealing Peruvian gold.
The streets of Panama City are full of graffiti, as are other cities in Central and Latin America. Pictured are women of one of Panama's indigenous ethnic groups, Kuna people.
Graffiti on a truck. Somewhere in Panama City.
The Panama Canal is an artificial 82 km waterway that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. Although it does not seem so at first glance, it is one of the most challenging construction projects in human history.
The story of the Panama Canal can be traced to the 1513 Isthmian crossing of Vasco Nuñez de Balboa. The initial idea was to build a water passage uniting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. After realizing the riches of Peru, Ecuador and Asia, the trips would be made shorter and reduce the risk of loosing the treasure. The first survey was taken and it was deemed impossible for anyone to accomplish such an achievement.
The earlier French attempts had led to the deaths of more than 20,000 workers and America’s efforts fared little better; between 1904 and 1913 some 5,600 workers died due to disease or accidents.
Every vessel that transits the canal must pay a toll based on its size and cargo volume. Tolls for the largest ships can run about $450,000. The smallest toll ever paid was 36 cents, plunked down in 1928 by American adventurer Richard Halliburton, who swam the canal.
On average, it takes a ship 8 to 10 hours to pass through the canal. Ship captains aren’t allowed to transit the canal on their own; instead, a specially trained canal pilot takes navigational control of each vessel to guide it through the waterway.
The Bocas del Toro Archipelago is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea in the northwest of Panama. Pictured is one of the many quiet places on the island of Colón.
The archipelago consists up to 9 main islands, about 200 uninhabited islets and the Parque Nacional Marino Isla Bastimentos, Panama’s oldest marine park.