Panama Canal

Most people who have traveled through the Panama Canal will tell you that they wished they had been able to live in the country. It is a haven in most aspects of the word. The question that has been on the mind of us all is what's going to happen to the canal once the Americans leave by the end of this year. How will it run? Who is going to influence the administration of one of the most important waterway crossings on earth?

Get a sense of the importance of the canal by taking a look at the number of vessels it provides passage to annually: 12000. You can see the mammoth ships go through this canal bordered with rainforest-like jungles on both sides. You would be inspired to write a poem if you were a writer. Maybe you will be able to compose a song. How about that!

For a long time, the US has been administering the canal with the American congress spending millions of dollars to keep it running the way it should. Appropriate maintenance is a must! Believe it or not, the Panama Canal is a money-making machine too. It has been doing well. The questions that are on every body's mind are whether it will still be in the state-of-the art shape. The Panamanians are faced with a challenge they are very willing to take on. They know the rest of the world is watching them. Personally, I have no doubt they will succeed. I went to college with a lot of proud and intelligent Panamanians who studied hard trying to get ready for this day. They will make it.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when you plan to visit this country:
1. Panamanians, in general, are the most intelligent and proudest people I have read and encountered. They are what we want to call a potpouri. They are from all kinds of countries and from various ethnic backgrounds. It is a cultural stew that has managed to live in good harmony.
2. English, Spanish and other languages are spoken there. In fact, because of the canal, most languages of the world are, at one time or the other, spoken there.
3. Panama City, the capital, is a bubbling, prosperous city with all kinds of amenities that you would encounter in developed countries. Many visitors who have spent a few months or weeks there will speak highly of the country.
4. The US dollar called Balboa is used there without any problem. The country has maintained great trade relationship with all Central American
and Caribbean countries. You will run into merchants from these countries.
5. Visit Darien. The Nature Conservancy named it a National Park. It is one of the world's natural treasures. It is a densely forested domain of about 6000 kilometers north of Colombia of which Panama was part and at the heart of North America.
6. Visit the historical sites that abound in Panama city and all around.
7. Just like the rest of the Caribbean, Panama has the rainy season and the dry season too. Good time to travel: December through mid-April.