Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country located at the southern end of Central America on the Isthmus of Panama. It borders Costa Rica and Colombia, which was once part of. Mostly known for its canal that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit for maritime trade. This marvel of engineering is one of the largest and most difficult projects ever undertaken and is considered one of the "Seven Wonders of the Modern World" by The American Society of Civil Engineers. Along with tourisim and banking, the Panama Canal, is a major source of funding for the Panamanian state.
In addition to the isthmus, Panama is composed of 1,500 islands, mostly uninhabited and hidden in thick vegetation. These islands are grouped into four regions. In the Caribbean, there are the archipelagos of Bocas del Toro and San Blas; Las Perlas Archipelago in the Gulf of Panama and Coiba Island and its cortege of small islands in the Gulf of Chiriqui.
For centuries, Panama is a place of passage, we go there to somewhere else, a bridge between continents and the link between oceans. Lately, Panama is attracting more and more travelers of a different kind, tourist transfixed by its beauty and seduced by its quaint but not jaded charm.
