Panama Canal, the world’s engineering marvel, has improved the sailing time going from the East to the West of the Americas. The once 2-month journey through the rock strewn and wind-battered seas has now become 8 to 24 hours. What a great ease of passage! And, if you’re planning your next getaway and wondering what else the world famous Canal has to offer, then I tell you there’s a lot more. Besides the short cut, you’ll certainly appreciate the Panama Canal as a unique tourist destination.

Panama Canal Has An Interesting History

The idea of building the Panama Canal started as early as the 16th century with the French being the first to do the construction. They started digging in 1881, but the workers were forced to stop because of major problems like serious illnesses and mud slides. In 1904, the American engineers took over the Panama Canal project. The US engineers did a great job technologically and medically. They did the excavation work while improving the sanitation in the surrounding towns, thereby reducing the risks of deadly diseases. In 1914, the Panama Canal was completed. Its cost was $387 million and 25,000 human lives.

Great Scenery To Enjoy In Your Panama Canal Cruise

Besides its mechanical wonders, Panama Canal has a number of stunning and great natural scenery to offer. There are the untouched, tangled jungles in the waterfront that has a variety of flora and fauna. You’ll also see more than 120 species of wild life in the Barro Colorado Nature Monument. If you want to enjoy Panama’s landscape, the best time to visit is during the dry season which is from December to April, when there is not too many rains.

The ports of call depend on the Panama Canal cruise line and the length of your itinerary. Regular trips range from 10 to 14 nights, but if you want, you can spend more days, say 30 days or more, at sea on some tourist towns. Tourists normally stop at Colon, Panama because it is where the world’s 2nd biggest duty free zone is located. Native crafts, along with brand-name items, are sold here. The San Blas Island is another destination worth visiting. And the Panama City offers a mixture of colonial and cosmopolitan sites, besides the ease of access to the surrounding rainforest.

The Panama Canal cruises allow you to explore the Latin America – from the shores of Costa Rica to the coffee country of Colombia. To lure you further are the pristine beaches, snorkeling activities, the panoramic view of Mexico’s Pacific Coast, partying in Miami, or having a stroll through San Diego

The Future of Panama Canal

The Panama Canal will celebrate its 100 years of construction in the year 2014 with a $5.25 billion engineering innovation and expansion. A third lane of shipping traffic and other amenities is under construction. And it is expected to accommodate “post-Panamax” vessels. These are the commercial carriers and mega ships that exceed the original limitations of 1,000-ft. long and 100-ft. wide. The official estimate is that after the renovation, shipping and tourism in Panama Canal will double, to give both Panama and Latin America a much needed boost in their economies.You should visit Panama Canal

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Panama City Xmas Celebrations

Panama City is the center of Christmas celebrations in Panama, with 25% of its 3 million population living in Panama city. The observance of this Panama holiday is done according to the mixture of Spanish and American traditions. Many Americans stayed long in Panama during the building of the Panama Canal. The Christmas celebration begins on the 2nd week of December, whereby houses and businesses are decorated for the upcoming Panama holiday. Traditional Christmas lights and Christmas trees are put up on houses and businesses to symbolize that Christmas is coming soon.

In Panama City, Christmas is observed by holding Christmas parades. These parades make Christmas an exciting Panama holiday. The children from around the Panama city, particularly those from poor families, are gathered, and together they are brought to the center of festivities to receive some gifts and to enjoy the parades. The floats used in the parade are decorated colorfully in national styles. The women and girls dress in their native party dresses called polleras, while the men and boys in their menunos. Everybody in Panama City is looking up for this Panama holiday, Christmas, so they can wear their native costumes.

Panama City Expats Celebrate

Expats and tourists enjoy going to the Panama City Beach to enjoy one more tradition of this Panama holiday where a giant Christmas tree is ceremoniously lighted while singing Christmas carols. Even members of the local churches come together and they serve hot cocoa and cookies to everybody. Firework displays can be seen and enjoyed at the end of the festivities on this Panama holiday. Later at night, a Christmas boat parade, with colorful and glittering lights, is held in Panama City Beach.

Many tourists come to Panama city in time for Christmas to witness and enjoy this Panama holiday and at the same time to escape the snowy and cold winter of their home countries. Other nations up north normally experience snow banks and ice storms during December so they come to Panama city to feel its hot and humid weather. Many people from the northern countries make sure that they choose Panama city as their Panama holiday destination during the Christmas season.

Family Time in Panama City

The Panamanians in general have their big Christmas, Panama holiday celebration on the 24th of December. There are no bells to announce the coming of Jesus Christ, only firework displays. Families enjoy the huge meals together as they light the fireworks that shoot out from every Panamanian town. After the meals, at around past 1:00 am of December 25, Christmas day, people put some Christmas cheers into their cars and drive around for a visit to other family members and friends. Some tourists who are experiencing this Panama holiday tradition for the first time find this practice unique.

In Panama city, visiting relatives and friends in the middle of the night during Christmas is not odd. It is their tradition, and the relatives and friends will feel insulted if you do not go to their houses for a plate of food and some drinks.

The Panama non-working days during Christmas are half-day of the 24th, the whole days of December 25 and 26. The 26 was just recently declared a public holiday in Panama City.

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Panama offshore banking – Laws

The laws of Panama has superior banking secrecy laws, along with a very solid economic environment and strong political government. Panama offshore banking is one proof that you can still find a place that will allow business and people to do their banking in private. The present high speed communication and the internet makes it possible for anyone to set up and manage a Panama offshore banking and do your transactions from anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in setting up a Panama offshore banking account, you must first find a law firm to provide you with banking introduction services and guide you through the process of opening and managing an offshore bank account with the more reputable banks in Panama. You cannot just travel to Panama from where you reside, walk in to a bank and open an account. Panama offshore banking is done via introductions. If you skip this process, most likely your bank application will have to wait until you realize that introductions mean a big difference between bank approval within 5 days and approval in 5 months or maybe never.

Panama offshore banking – Account Opening

Many people tried to open a Panama offshore banking account without being introduced by a law firm, and they waited weeks, even months hoping their account would be approved. Of course the bank will be very polite and will accept your application, but without any introduction, your bank account may not be opened. This may never be understood by people from the North American or European culture, but in Panama offshore banking, introductions to the bank are very important.

Be smart. This is the best way to open a Panama offshore banking account. Hire a law firm whose lawyers are experts in offshore legal matters. You can contact them online, so you save dollars on travel tickets and hotel bills. The important thing about hiring a lawyer to assist in your Panama offshore banking account is you have attorney-client relationship. It means that all your important information cannot be passed on by your lawyer to another person, otherwise they will lose their license to practice.

Panama offshore banking – Asset Protection

You have worked so hard to protect your assets. Don’t get yourself fooled by “re-seller companies” or “offshore company mills”. They work by spamming the search engines and once they found you, take your “order” to open a Panama offshore banking account, then re-sell your order to a real law firm by passing on your information to them. It is obvious that they do not know anything about Panama offshore banking, so they re-sell. Doing this, however, these re-seller companies violate the attorney-client privilege. Your name, address, phone number, company name and other information will be passed on to other firm.

The websites of offshore company mills may look professional, but you will find later that they are not a law firm. They may lie to you and say that they have lawyers on their staff. Don’t get tricked by this. Ask for their license and look for the words “Law Firm”, “Lawyers” or “Abogados” displayed on the About Us Section of their home page about Panama offshore banking.

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