Panama City, Panama

What is a skyscraper? A building with over 40 floors, also known as a "heaven scratchier" – rascacielos – in Spanish. Both the architectural form and the term were born in Chicago in the 1880s. Since then, both have spread around the world. Panama City has 52 skyscrapers, more than any other city in Latin America and more than any city in Europe. [2017]

Lake Gatun, Panama

Gatun Lake is a reservoir that was formed by damming the Gatun River. Today, the lake is part of the Panama Canal. This container ship is passing from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean as pleasure boats take advantage of the lake as well. [2017]

Panama City, Panama

The old fishing harbor remains, but the ridge behind has been transformed into a world city, completely out of proportion to the size of the country which it serves as capital and economic hub. [2017]

Lake Gatun, Panama

Lake Gatun accounts for 21 miles of the Panama Canal, which is 51 miles long in total. So, that's 40 percent. In the early 20th century, it was formed by damming the Chagres River. The lake plays an important role in the passage of ships from ocean to ocean, and in the passage of younglings from boys to men. [2017]

Panama City, Panama

Panama City has a population of under one million, and the entire country has a population of only 4 million. How does an independent state so small generate a skyline that looks like Miami's? If you don't know the answer, you better study geography. [2017]

Panama City, Panama

The Chinese have a long history in Panama, and they still keep coming.  In fact, 5 percent of the country's population is of Chinese origin. By comparison, indigenous peoples comprise 12 percent of the population. Panamanians: both. Hispanics: neither. [2017]

Panama City, Panama

A new generation keeps the memory of Martyrs Day alive by coating a wall with 21 national flags, one for each Panamanian killed during the 'flag riots' of 1964. Today, they are revered as martyrs because they dared to challenge the very existence of the US-held Canal Zone. It all happened on January 9, exactly 53 years before this picture was taken. [2017]

Colon, Panama

In 2017, I got shod in Colon, Pensacola, and Havana; in Oranjestad, Aruba, and Enterprise, Alabama; in Warsaw (the one in Virginia), Bernalillo (outskirts of Albuquerque), and La Laguna (on the island of Tenerife); in Virginia Beach (by the youngest barber ever) and Spencer, Indiana. There's no better souvenir than a haircut! [2017]

Panama City, Panama

The present encroaches upon the past. On the other hand, just think of how many more people can see the remains of Panama La Vieja through all those sky-scraping windows. Do you think they ever think of Henry Morgan sacking the city in 1671? He used this bridge which led to the western gate of the original city.  [2017]

Panama City, Panama

In the 16th century what as the most important European city on the Pacific coast of the New World? Panama. The ruins are now known as Panama Viejo. The Spanish needed a city here so they could haul Inca wealth across the isthmus and back to the Old World. A pirate attack in 1671 finally did it in, but the new Panama City was built only a few miles away. [2017]

Panama City, Panama

Define contiguous: "being in contact, touching." Contiguous they are: sharing a boundary and a backpack. Define lovebirds: "an openly affectionate couple." Lovebirds they are, but maybe not at this moment. He looks adoringly into her eyes; she looks unknowingly into her cell phone. [2017]

Panama City, Panama

"Slavery is the offspring of darkness." So said Simon Bolivar, the liberator of South America. As a result, he now has his own plaza in Panama City; it commemorates his role in emancipating those held in slavery. Yes, in Bolivar's time Panama was part of South America. [2017]

Panama City, Panama

Only 'Lavanderia' suggests Latin America. The store's name is in English, and the currency is the U.S. dollar. Add to that the extra-tropical snowmen and a Chinese version of the Gregorian calendar. Welcome to the El Dorado neighborhood's Chinese laundry. The original Chinese immigrants came to build the sea-to-sea rail lines that predated the canal. [2017]

Panama City, Panama

Feeling like you need a drink or something to eat on Plaza Bolivar. The waiters here are ready to cater to your every need, but you must dine outside. They'll serve you at one of the umbrella tables across the street where you can contemplate the deeds of Simon Bolivar, the "liberator of Latin America." Note the mixture of Spanish and English in the signage. [2017]

Colón, Panama

When you see a barber cutting hair outside under an awning, it is almost impossible to resist the temptation to have your locks shod (especially when you are only a mile away from the locks on the Panama Canal). This Panamanian stylist has been cutting hair for twenty years. [2017]

Colón, Panama

How do you while away a Saturday afternoon? With a game of rummy on the sidewalk with your friends. The city of Colon, with its vibrant street life, stands at the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal, and it has a definite Caribbean feel to it. [2017]

Balboa, Panama

These younglings have a cayuco and a sponsor. This morning they were practicing in the waters of Panama Bay off Balboa. Perhaps they will be paddling from ocean to ocean in the near future. Just imagine: Here in Panama, the Atlantic Ocean is just 50 miles away from the Pacific Ocean, and there's an all-water route to get you there. [2017]

Panama City, Panama

Caterpillars abound in the tropics: There's so much to eat! These two will one day become sphinx moths and fly away. That is, if they don't get eaten themselves. Their bright colors, though, tell birds they are among the deplorables of the insect world. Their kind abounds on Panama City's Amador Causeway near the Biomuseo. [2017]

Panama City, Panama

After Panama Viejo was abandoned, the city moved to Casco Viejo, which is now the historic core of Panama City. It is crammed with lots of churches, the cathedral, fashionable restaurants, buildings undergoing renovation, numerous plazas, the President's palace, too many cars, and abundant views of sea and skyline. [2017]

Panama City, Panama

The original site of Panama City was chosen by the Native Americans who had a fishing village here until 1519 when the Spanish arrived to plant the first European settlement on the Pacific Coast of the Americas. That settlement, abandoned after 150 years of service, is now known as Panama Viejo. In the background is the skyline of the modern city. [2017]