travel

Also in this section:
If you are on foot around Panama City
Seen from space, Ireland is indeed green in May

You'll smell it before you see it

Did the people who are trying to sell you real estate tell you about how modern Panama City is? Bet they didn't tell you that in many respects it's maintained to Third World standards, and that developers seeking to cash in on somewhat overblown expectations of an influx of rich foreigners have in many cases been doing things to drive such people away.

Here in El Cangrejo, for example, what you see flowing across and down the sidewalk is raw sewage. It has been bubbling up in the streets and across the sidewalks in much of the capital, because too often the storm drains are not kept separate from the sanitary sewers and a big rainfall overflows the latter; because our drains and sewers are just not well maintained by a national government that runs on a political patronage system and treats the IDAAN water and sewer utility more like a tasty political plum than a vital public service; because the drains get clogged up by people who think it's OK to throw litter in them; and because the sewers are overburdened by massive new highrise developments that hook into utility infrastructures that are already working at or over capacity. Give us unseasonably large rainfalls for this time of the year to aggravate all of these problems at once and walking down the street or relaxing in the park become hazardous to your health.

Photo by Eric Jackson

Also in this section:
If you are on foot around Panama City
Seen from space, Ireland is indeed green in May