La ciudad de Panamá Tocumen Airporto Internacional. By night, the lights are probably the heart of the city on the bay, near the entrance to the Panama Canal. The picture above shows the banking and residential area of Paitilla.

Panama's currency is know as the Balboa dólares, which is printed only in coins and not in paper bills. The value of the Balboa coins are equal to that of the US dollar, and are used and regarded as such. Furthermore, the size and weight of the Balboa is equal to that of US coins. Most of the prices in local stores are listed in Balboa terms, however, it is no different that reading the price in US dollars.

Isla Grande, Province of Colon Contadora Island Resort San Blas Archipelago,San Blas Taboga Island

Area: 78,000 sq km (30,420 sq mi) Population: 2.8 million (growth rate 1.3%) Capital city: Panama City (pop 700,000)

La Lenguahes: Spanish, English and Indian languages La religión: 85% Roman Catholic, 10% Protestant, 5% Islamic El gobierno: Constitutional republic El presidente: Mireya Moscoso

Panamanians eat rice a lot.They either eat the rice plain or with chicken and peppers. They also eat roasted la iguana in rum sauce. They also eat a large variety of sea food and fruit. The Panamanians usually wear our kind of clothes. At celebrations such as weddings and stuff the ladies wear a special dress called a pollera. A head piece goes with the pollera and it is called a apeneta. Pollera means hen cage. Panamas primary religion is Roman Catholic. 85% 0f the people are Catholic. There are also a few other religions, Protestants, Jewish, Buddists, Hindu, & Islam.

La gente: 65% mestizo, 14% African descent, 10% Spanish descent, 10% Indian Language: Spanish, English and Indian languages Annual growth: 4.1% Las industrias mayores: Banking, construction, petroleum refining, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling, shipping and agriculture Major trading partners: USA, EU, Central America & Caribbean, Japan