You know what is in this year?.. Hats!

Flying in over Panama, you get a great view of the single most famous thing about this country. The Canal is the only waterway between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Container ships queue up in the harbour to wait their turn, thus cutting out a nasty trip all the way south to the tip of Argentina. Think of the Manchester ship canal writ large. The dangers though in building it were Dengue Fever and bandits instead of Scallies and Boddingtons.

Because of the canal, there is a lot of money floating around Panama. Sleek tower blocks rise into the sky. German 4x4s cruise down Avenue Central, the main drag through the city. The Yanks used to have a big army base on the edge of town.

Now the base has been converted into one of the biggest shopping centres in Central America. GIs have been replaced with Sports stores. Kit centres are now shops selling the ubiquitous Panama hats. Military imperialism seems to have been replaced by a cultural one. There is a big multiplex in the mall, where you can see the latest Ben Stiller effort for 4 dollars. And it is an effort by the way...

I head out of the city tomorrow, heading north and camping on a beach. Time to get the feet dirty.....