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Panama Tourist Destination |
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Panama is a Shoppers Paradise
Centuries before the Canal was built, Panama was already the "Crossroads
of the world". Products from the most distant and exotic countries found
their way here, and still do. Nowadays the latest in electronic and
audio-video equipment, clothing, perfumes and cosmetics are available in
abundance. Prices are very reasonable. Most items carry only a 5% sales
tax and bargaining often gets you a lower price.
Panama is an unrivaled country for shopping. It's considered a paradise
for buying electronics, clothes, perfumes and handicraft. |
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Lets Go to the
Beach
Fronting two oceans, Panama offers a connaisseur's choice of beaches,
both on the mainland and on islands just offshore. In Panama City
there is the causeway with a small beach, a jogging and biking area
and a plethora of restaurants, bars and discos.
Cross the Canal from Panama City, over the Bridge of the Americas,
onto the Pan-American Highway and you are beach ward bound. From Punta
Chame to Farrallon you can enjoy 40 miles of sun-blessed beaches for
surfing, sunning, swimming and snorkeling. Recommended: Nueva Gorgona,
Coronado, San Carlos, Rio Mar, Santa Clara and Farallon all with
facilities for stopping over.
Contadora, Taboga, Isla Grande or San Blas are the most visited
islands with beautiful beaches. |
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Eco Tourism
Panama has abundant natural assets
with a variety of ecosystems. Worldwide flora includes more than 30,000
species and in Panama we find more than 50% of them. The most abundant
are the orchids, with more than 120 kinds and 1,200 species. Birds also
represent a rich eco-tourism potential with 933 reported species. Gamboa
near the Canal, a 40 minute drive from Panama City has set world records
in bird observation with counts of 525 species. It also includes 184
varieties of trees per hectare, also a record. A wide range of tours are
available from cloudforest expedition to Darien rainforest adventure,
sky - diving or river rafting, diving in San Blas or deep sea fishing in
Pinas Bay, even rock climbing or crocodile photosafari and much
more........ |
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The Panama
Canal
The opening of the
waterway to world commerce on August 15, 1914, represented the
realization of a heroic dream of over 400 years. The 50 miles across
the isthmus were among the hardest ever won by human ingenuity. A ship
traveling from New York to San Francisco can save 7,872 miles using
the Panama Canal instead of going around South America. In the fiscal
year 1994 there where 14,029 transits, which carried 170.8 million
long tons of cargo and paid US $419.2 million in tolls. The highest
Canal toll was US $141,344.91 paid by the Crown Princess. The average
time spent in transit from port to port is approx. 8 - 10 hours. Until
Lake Mead was formed by the building of the Hoover Dam, Gatun Lake was
the largest artificial body of water in the world. |
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