Describing Panama is not easy. We're located on an isthmus that is the continuation of Central America, yet we're farther south than Caracas, Venezuela. On the regional meetings of states, the group is always refered to as "Central America & Panama". So we're kind of in a limbo, not exactly central american, not exactly south american. It is the narrowest point on the whole central american isthmus, so it was choosen by the Spaniards to cross over to the South Sea (Pacific Ocean). It has always been a point of crossing, of trading and of race mixtures (being a port nation). It was founded in 1519 with the official name of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Panamá. The name Panamá itself was the name of a fishermen village and thus adopted. There are several versions as to what the word means. Some say abundance of fish, other say abundance of butterflies. One way or another, there is abundance in Panama, whose modern skyline has been called by foreigners "Little Manhattan". The official currency is the Balboa, but a printed, paper money version doesn't exist, since we've used the US Dollar since 1903. I have portrayed here the fishermen boats, a ruin from the second city era (the area known as the Old Quarter) and the modern skyline, full of banks whose money came from offshore deals. The ruins are from the old "Club Unión", a high class meeting place. After the Torrijos coup de etat(sp?), it was converted into "Club de Clases y Tropas" a club for the military sargeants and lower echelon. It will soon be demolished to build an hotel (it will have to follow the architectural style of the area).