Taking care of business in Panama

Greetings from Panama. The name alone conjures up a cocktail of intrigue, commerce and heat. Equal parts tropical postcard and shadowy offshore haven.

The country was featured prominently in the press some time ago as the so called “Panama Papers” were all over the news, containing 11 million leaked documents of juicy details regarding financials of offshore companies.

Along the avenida.

Panama City was once burned to the ground in 1671 by the pirate Henry Morgan, the fellow depicted on the eponymous rum bottle of Captain Morgan. The ruins are still there to visit, in the outskirts of the city. I climb to the top of a derelict tower, trying to envision how this once bustling area must have felt like, before the jungle claimed it back.

In the ruins of Panama Viejo.

The city was also the starting point for the expeditions of the armies that conquered the Inca empire in 1532 and later the epicenter of the USA invasion in 1989, the war that started all of Washington’s wars post the Cold war.

Afternoon stroll in Casco Viejo.

The skyline of Panama City looks like Miami shred its Art Deco neon suit, sobered up to dress in business casual and start a shell company. High-rises claw at the sky while street vendors push fruit just a block away. I walk along the waterfront, my back to the tall buildings and my eyes fixed on the horizon, where the old town looms.

The old town, Casco Viejo, was placed on a peninsula for better protection against pirates. Wandering through the beautiful streets feels like stepping onto a film set where the director was into colonial romantics while sipping on overpriced mojito. It’s easy to momentarily relax and drop the guard, but just a few streets north is the infamous area El Chorrillo, where not even taxi drivers dare to pass through.

Along the narrow streets of Casco Viejo.

Despite being such a focal location, the country is surprisingly absent from mainstream media, but many people have seen Panama without realizing it. Panama city is heavily featured in the ill-fated James Bond movie Quantum of Solace, even though the scenes from Panama City are named “La Paz, Bolivia” in the movie. No shoots were done in Bolivia at all and the scenes from “Port-au-Prince, Haiti” are actually the city of Colon in northern Panama.

A bonus Bond connection is also the 2001 film Tailor of Panama, with Pierce Brosnan roaming the city as a somewhat seedier MI6 agent.

Colorful ride in Casco Viejo.

Panama isn’t just a place, it’s an attitude. A whispered deal over the clink of ice in a glass of rum. It’s a reminder that geography is destiny, and some countries learn how to sell that better than others. The canal may be the star of the show, but the supporting cast all know their lines.