Panama, that lovely country that straddles South and Central America, is one of the first countries in that region that's ready to welcome back Canadian tourists who can produce a negative COVID test upon arrival.

PANAMA CITY - When a country is shaped like the 13th hole at Augusta National, and its most famous landmark is a “water hole,” chances are it has some pretty good golf courses.

EL VALLE DE ANTON, PANAMA - The hammock shops gathered along the Pan American Highway start to become a blur as our van hits top speed heading south toward this resort town hidden deep in a rainforest.

PANAMA CITY - “Gringo, gringo.” At first I can’t tell where the words are coming from but being the only fair-haired, blue-eyed “gringo” in sight, I know they’re being directed at me.

PANAMA CITY - For the dozens of people lined across the full length of the observation deck atop the Miraflores Visitors Centre, the Panama Canal represents one of man’s greatest engineering achievements – right up there with Egypt’s pyramids and China’s Great Wall.

PANAMA CITY, PANAMA – It’s 6:30 a.m. and we’re huddled beneath the overhang on Deck 12 of the Crystal Symphony, zipped into our rain jackets in the face of a driving rain.