Panama City - Panama

Rory Carroll on Panama City.

Even if you have not faked your own death, there is reason to consider a visit to Panama City. It has charms to which a week of publicity about the Darwins' escapades has not done justice.

There is the nightlife of bars, restaurants and clubs, which is probably the most vibrant in central America. There is the restored old quarter redolent of Havana. There is the canal, a feat of engineering still gawk-worthy after all these decades. And not too far away, there are the beaches.

Add that up and it still falls short of a must-see destination. Panama City lacks the glamour of Buenos Aires, the exoticness of La Paz and the rediscovered brio of Bogota.

Foreigners may continue to view it principally as a discrete place to park money away from the gaze of tax authorities. But park yourself here for a week and you would not be bored.

The city curves along the Pacific ocean for 20km and sweeps into a brash skyline of new skyscrapers and cranes, a tropical Manhatten in the midst of a building boom.

It is invariably hot, often a clammy, sticky hot. Except when the clouds blacken and empty themselves over you with impressively short notice. Then it's clammy and sticky again.

The traffic is clogged, belchy and horn-happy, as is obligatory for Latin American capitals. When not behind the wheel of a vehicle people light up with dazzling smiles.

This is Latin America-light. A smattering of "dos-cervezas-por-favor" type Spanish goes a long way in a city that speaks more English than most in the region. Billboards and menus are often bilingual and dollars are accepted.

Hundreds of restaurants offer everything from the ubiquitous beans and rice to fancy Latin, European and Asian dishes. This is cocktail heaven. Pina Coladas, Mojitos and Cuba Libres the way God intended.

Stroll past the bars with young, busty Colombian women and you realise it's also a sex tourism destination. The industry operates with a brazenness which belies the fact that much of it is illegal.

The colonial quarter, Casco Antiguo, mixes dilapidated decay with gleaming restorations. Walking tours will evoke the Spanish hedyay but watch out for those parts that are as dodgy now as when pirates rollicked into town.

The canal museum is so-so but the waterway itself is a sight to behold when a monster tanker passes from lock to lock, dwarfing everything.

Spivs and charlatans with things to hide will continue flocking here but that is no reason for Panama City's modest but real charms to remain a secret.