Facts About Panama

As people search the globe for travel destinations, more people are enjoying Panama tourism than ever before. The country is a very easy trip, especially for people from the United States and Canada and it has an amazing amount to offer even the most seasoned tourist. Panama tourism can take you to the mountains, to the beach, to a rainforest or even to the past. Because of its long-term affiliation with the US, many things about Panama are familiar to Americans, but the beauty of Panama tourism is that no matter from where you come, you can find something exciting and new.

Panama Government

Government: Elected Democracy

Current Head of State: President Ricardo Martinelli

Currency: US dollar (called Balboa) No national paper currency is printed, but there is coinage of the same size and denominations as American coins.

Sales Tax: VAT is 5% (10% for imports)

Panama Geography

Area: 75,990 sq. kilometers

Population: 3,360,000, 2009 est.

Capital: Panamá City

The Infrastructure Panama

Time Zone: GMT-5

Telegram: Available in hotels and main post offices of major cities.

Press: La Prensa, El Siglo and El Panamá América are among the largest daily newspapers.

Mail: Mail to North America takes about a week. Post office hours are Mon-Fri 8:00am - 4:00 pm, Sat 8:00 am - 1:00 pm. For express services, FedEx and DHL are available in most areas. Mail forwarding services are available from locations such as Miami, FL for approx. $25 per month. These services provide an address and regularly forward mail based on a weight charge.

Police: If you are a victim of a crime, report it immediately to the local police, especially if you will be making an insurance claim. The tourist police, or policia de turismo, are better prepared to deal with foreigners and more likely to speak English. Typically they wear white armbands and ride bicycles.

Electricity: 120 volts AC, 60Hz

Emergency Numbers: Police 104, Fire 103, Tourist Police 269 8011), 911 is for medical emergencies only!

Panama Demographics

Language: Spanish (official), English 14%, and is the official second language

Religion: 85% Catholic, 15% Protestant

Panama Communications

Cellular Phone: Roaming agreements exist but most folks buy their minutes on a phone card

Fax: Available at most post offices and hotels

Directory Assistance: Dial 102

National Dialing Code: 507

Telephone: IDD is available. International calling cards are available and widely used. Many Internet cafes also offer VoIP calling as well.

Miscellaneous Facts

Siesta Time: There is no siesta, or midday break in the city. In some areas of the interior in makes sense and is still the custom.

Internet: Internet cafes are common and inexpensive. (usually less $1 per hour) Some restaurants and coffee shops now offer wireless hot spots.

Pets: Have your veterinarian prepare a standard International Health Certificate no more than 10 days prior to travel to Panama. The certificate should include the pet's name, breed, owner's name and current country of residency. It should state that the pet is healthy and free of parasites. It should also contain a list of inoculations including type, manufacturer and batch number.

Tipping: 10 to 15 per cent is customary in hotels and restaurants. Taxi drivers do not expect tips, but it is wise to arrange the rate before the trip.

Smoking: Panama is now a no smoking city. You can smoke out of doors if no one is near and in your home is no one else is present.

Panama Travel

With the continuing growth of Panama's Tocumen International Airport, Panama tourism has become an easy adventure. With direct flights from both Miami, FL and Houston, TX, Panama is little more than two hours away from the US. Other countries, including several in Europe offer direct flights to Panama as well, connecting Panama tourism with the rest of the world. The US government is very favorable about travel to Panama, listing only a small portion of the border area with Columbia as hazardous for travel.

When you arrive in Panama City (virtually all international flights to Panama come to Panama City), the first thing you will do is purchase a tourist card. This $5 document gives you permission to travel within the country for up to 90 days. Once you leave the airport, there is a variety of travel options to use: city buses, intercontinental buses, taxis, rental cars, airplanes and boats.

City buses - The brightly painted buses of Panama City are nearly tourist attractions by themselves. This is the lowest-priced form of transportation and an interesting cultural experience as well. They are called Diablo Rojos, red devils. Expect them to be crowded and loud.

Intercity buses - The country has a well developed bus system, similar to the Greyhound system in the US. For $30 you can travel from Panama City to San Jose, Costa Rica. If you show them that you are over 55 (with an (ID) you will go for $24. This is a great way to see the geographic beauty of Panama. In addition, buses are typical forms of transportation to remote areas such as Boquete.

Taxis - These distant relatives of the US taxi system are now all yellow and will beep their horns to alert possible passengers that they available. Taxis are very reasonably priced and can even be rented hourly or for trips to specific destinations.

Rental cars - Many of the same companies that service the US are in Panama as well. Prices for rentals cars can be reasonable via the Internet but very high in office. The style of driving in the country suggests that Panama tourists be careful when renting cars and strongly consider purchasing the insurance.

Airplanes - The country has a good regional service for Panama tourism. Fees are reasonable and service connects the major destinations within the country such as David, Bocas del Toro, the Pearl Islands and Colon.

Boats - Along the coasts, there is some use of boats for Panama tourism but this is not a widespread. Boats are also not recommended for tourists traveling from Panama to Columbia due to safety concerns at the border; only airplane travel is viable between these two countries.

Panama Attractions

Panama is a country filled with activities. Starting in Panama City with the ruins of the ancient city, the rainforest, the Panama Canal are all an interesting visit. Throughout the country, the Carnival (held near the end of February), numerous fairs, concerts and traditional events dot the country. The country is fanatical about their national baseball league and the Panamanians such as Mariano Rivera who play in the major leagues. Soccer and basketball games are always available to be enjoyed and activities such as swimming, surfing, and fishing add to Panama tourism's appeal to the sportsman. If you are a truly avid fisherman take a charter out to the "Tuna Coast," the Panama Pacific where a large number of world records have been set in sport fishing.

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The definitive history of the T-Shirt

Today the modern T-shirt has a large textile and fashion industry produced, it is worth the retail world for more than two billion dollars. The unlikely birth of the t-shirt was a rather unspectacular event, but this modest piece of clothing was created to change the styles and fashions of cultures for generations to come. Finally, the T-shirt would be used as a political tool for protest and in certain times and places in history, a symbol of revolution and change.

At the beginningThe T-shirt was little more than a piece of underwear, a very utilitarian it. In the late 19th adapt century of the Union, (colloquially known as Long Johns), was in its Hey Day, supported by America and across the northern parts of Europe. Popular entire class and generation, this modest knit in one piece covered the entire body from neck to wrists and ankles. The designs highlight featured drop flap on the back for easy operation in the old outdoor toilet. AsCotton has been more and more widely available, underwear manufacturers seized the moment to create an alternative to this pillar and cumbersome design. Active material is difficult to cut and sew seams made with cotton and begin a radical shift towards mass-market fashion could.

In Europe, times were changing, as the Americans continue to sweat and itch, a simple "T-shaped" template has been cut twice confronted from a cotton cloth and the two pieces and sewn together in a miserableEuropean workhouse. It was half a pair of long pants, but soon took on a life of its own. As the industrial revolution reached its inevitable conclusion, Henry T. Ford, the world's first production line, the ideas of functionalism, efficiency and utilitarian style in the minds of the majority of societies around the world created, and Europe in particular. Many began to the puritanism of the past, buttoned-down Victorian ideas of modesty began to give way to sparse Questionand scanty swimsuits, skirts, wear short-sleeved shirts and ankle. became apparent as the First World War on the horizon, the T-shirt was about to be drafted into the army.

Historical researchers define the first recorded incident of the introduction of the T-Shirt in the United States came during the First World War, when U.S. soldiers on the light cotton tank top European soldiers issued a standard uniform, were observed. American soldiers were smoking, were their government nor the exhibitionwoolen uniforms, this is not fashion, it was practically a tactical military disadvantage. How could a sniper hold still and aim his gun with beads of sweat pouring into his eyes and an itch that would not just go away? The U.S. army can not have reacted as quickly as their troops would have liked, but the very practical and lightweight T-shirt would soon be on his way back into the mainstream U.S. consumer.

Because of their highly recognizable form, and for want of a better name, the word "T-shirt"was coined, and as the word took its place in the cultural lexicon, people started all over the world to the new and comfortable alternative to the shirt Union to adopt. Entitled to a handful of American experts that the name was coined in 1932 when Howard Jones Order "Jockey" to design a new sweat absorbing shirt for the USC Trojans football team. But the U.S. military disputes the origin of the word come from the military training shirts, with the military it was not long before to ensure suitabilitythe abbreviation. There is an alternative theory, little known and rather graphic in its interpretation. Basically, the idea that shorter length of arms, as if one were describing the form of an amputees torso, a common sight in the bloody battles of the past, although this speculation can not be verified, the idea to find a bloody ring of truth . During the Second World War, the T-shirt was finally issued as standard underwear for all ranks in both the U.S. Army and the Navy. Although T-Shirtwas intended as underwear, soldiers performing strenuous work or fighting games, especially those in warmer climes would often carry an uncovered T-shirt. On 13 July 1942, provides the cover story for Life magazine a photo of a soldier wearing a T-shirt with the words "Air Corps Gunnery School".

inspired in the first years after the Second World War, to take the European fashion T-shirts as a dress, especially with new U.S. army uniforms, spread to the civilianPopulation of America. In 1948, the Times reported, a new and unique marketing tool for this year's campaign for New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey. It was the first documented "Slogan T-shirt," read the message "Dew It for Dewey", followed closely by the repeated more famous "I Like Ike" T-shirts in Dwight D. Eisenhower 's presidential campaign.

In the early 1950s, an entrepreneurial company based in Miami, Florida, began even decorate T-shirts with names and Floridian ResortCartoon characters. The first recorded Graphic T-shirt catalog was created by Tropix Togs, of his creator and founder, entrepreneur Sam Miami Kantor. They were compared with the original licensee for Walt Disney characters that included Mickey Mouse and Davy Crockett. Later other companies expanded into the Miami T-Shirt Printing Manufacturing Company include Sherry, that is also based.

Sherry began business in 1948, was the owner and founder Quinton Sandler, fastCatch the new T-shirt trend, and soon expanded the company into the largest screen printing screen print scarf licensed apparel manufacturers in the United States. Soon more and more celebrities have been seen on national TV sporting this new spicy garments, including John Wayne and Marlon Brando. In 1955, James Dean T-Shirt "street credibility" in the classic film "Rebel Without A Cause". The T-shirt was quickly evolving into a contemporary symbol of rebellious youth. The initial furoreand public outcry soon died down and in time the American Bible Belt could see its practicality of design.

In the '60s, people began to tie dye and screenprint the basic cotton T-shirt making it an even bigger commercial success. Advances in printing and dying allowed more variety and the Tank Top, Muscle Shirt, Scoop Neck, V-Neck, and many other variations of the T-shirt came into fashion. During this period of cultural upheaval, many independent experiments and T-ShirtPrint copies of "guerrilla Heroico or Heroic Guerilla", the famous portrait of Ernesto "Che" Guevara taken by Alberto "Korda" Diaz. Since there is supposedly the most reproduced image in the history of photography, thanks mainly to the rise of the T-shirt.

The 1960s also saw the creation of the "Ringer T-Shirt," which became a staple fashion for youth and rock-n-roll. This decade was also the emergence of tie-dyeing and screen printing on the Basic T-shirt. In 1959,"Plastisol", a more durable and stretchable ink, was invented, so that many more in T-shirt designs. As new technologies to improve textile T-shirt styles were soon introduced, including the tank-top, the A-shirt (notorious as the "Wife Beater"), the muscle shirt, scoop necks known, and of course V-neck.

More and more iconic T-shirts were designed and created in the psychedelic era, including more and more home-made experiments. A tidal wave of tie-died T-shirtsbegan to appear on the burgeoning music festival scenes in Western Europe and America. In the late 60's it was practically a required dress code at the West Coast hippie culture. Band T-shirts, another extremely popular form of T-shirts, inexpensive printed and sold at live performances and concerts of the day, the tradition continues to the present, band T-shirts are as popular as ever, has However, the price for them has increased.

In 1975 Vivienne Westwood makes its mark at 430 King'sRoad, London on the "Sex" boutique with her new punk-style T-shirts, including the infamous "God Save The Queen" design. Punk introduced an explosion of independent fashion designers and in particular T-shirt designer. To this day, many modern designs pay homage to the "grunge look" of this rebellious and anarchic period of Western culture.

The influx of corporate finance in the 1980s changed the whole face of the T-shirt market. Slogan T-shirts were once again gaining popularity, "ChooseLife "was produced to the debut album from George Michael to promote it's band" Wham, "while" Frankie Says "helped push a number of highly controversial singles to the top of the charts for Liverpool-born band" Frankie Goes to Hollywood " . Bands, clubs, political parties, advertising agencies, corporate conference organizers, in fact, no one, after a piece of cheap promotional Commission and began selling a large number of T-shirts. A noble exception of the time was now iconic "Feed theWorld "T-shirt created to raise funds and awareness for the original and groundbreaking Band Aid to raise charity event.

During the 80's and 90's T-shirt manufacturing and printing techniques improved significantly, and early forms of DTG (Direct to Garment Transfer) pressure increased, the volume and availability. While in financial circles, the world's stock markets took notice as the American T-shirt was classified as a commodity item in the clothing industry.

Branded Corporate labels soonmade their mark on the massive industry. A whole new generation of T-shirt designs flooded the market, the promotion of conformity and loyalty to a brand, like Nike, as an expression of individuality. This rather tedious tradition continues until today, the now iconic "Vintage 82" T-shirt from the "Next" for example. Within a few years, his first printing of this design was allowed to flood the market saturated by cheap copies and black market knock-offs of the world.There are many similar designs that have a similar cultural limited shelf life.

More recently, inspiring a movement towards the re-politicization of the T-shirt has enable pressure groups and charities to ensure that their message to a wider audience to push open. Over a million people marched in London carrying a variety of anti-war to win, to anti-Bush and Blair against T-shirts to the anti-Iraq. Another example is reminiscent of the earlier Band Aid event, saw the "Make Poverty History campaign of 2005 willglobal media coverage. Soon after Vivienne Westwood turns up in the T-shirt world with their new slogan T-shirt "I am not a terrorist, please do not arrest me." Catherine Hamnett, another famous British fashion designer known for her protest T-shirts, including their work on Third World debt and the AIDS epidemic in Africa to highlight. Then again, Catherine has participated recently in the words allow political slogan shirts to the consumer, "they feel in democratic action," was citedwhen in fact all they have done is buy a few clothes. This may be true, but they still bring tremendous media attention, just to every cause.

have issued over the years the styles, images, and helping to free society, that T-shirts provided are taken as the T-shirt is now an essential accompaniment to any fashionable wardrobe, no matter what part of the world. Still allows even more technical advances in the industry for more choices in style and cut. Oversize T-shirtsthat extend up to the knees, are popular with hip-hop and skater fashions. Seasons change, but from time to time, including the female market with more tight "cut cut" T-shirt styles, short enough to reveal to the diaphragm. The rise of the "hoodie" or hooded T-shirt long sleeves can not be ignored, it's also quickly become a significant addition to any fashionista Street Wise Library.

Recently there was a massive backlash against the conformity of the consumer branded products sinceCompany and licensed T-shirt market. The consumer is finally a sense of individuality, people today are not with the concept of "brand loyalty" satisfied. People want to reflect their own personality, political beliefs, sense of style and humor. Some are creating their own printing using a wide range of online DIY T-shirts to call, including "Cafe Press" and "Threadless, but two. But many people have neither the time nor the inclination to design theirown work of art, and thus marks the emergence of the independent T-shirt designer. Remember noticed in the 1960s, but with a worldwide appeal for artists, graphic designers to get start defectors from the fashion world. can have the greatest asset of a modern T-shirt, his originality, a quality that will always be in demand, now and hopefully far into the future.

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