It's now just before eleven at night. I'm ill and tired and need to go to bed. But I have no hotel room. No place to be but in an internet cafe. That and walking the streets of Panama's third largest city. My bus for Panama City leaves at 3am. This must be what it feels like to be homeless... only I have money to be able to do something somewhat entertaining with my time.

Panama is my favorite Central American country. I've only seen the western parts of it, but I think I'll still feel that way when I head south and east. Why is that?

"There's no excitement to traveling in Costa Rica."
First, it's not Costa Rica. While Costa Rica was beautiful, clean and welcoming... it wasn't Central America. I may as well have been in Florida somewhere. Not that I didn't enjoy it, but it's just not very engaging. There's no excitement to traveling in Costa Rica. No feeling that at any moment your bus may catch fire or someone may slaughter some kind of large animal before your eyes.

It's relatively clean. Sure, there are those who seem completely unable to put a wrapper in their pocket and must throw it out the bus window... but still the place seems clean somehow. I've yet to smell open sewers.

"...is supposedly deadly dangerous"
It's relatively safe. I say that having been to only one large city, but it seems true. Even Lonely Planet says Panama City is one of the safest capitals in Central America. A city called Colon at the entrance to the Canal is supposedly deadly dangerous, but apart from that I think things are better here than most places to the north. Most internet cafes in other countries close at nine or ten. This one's open till 2am.

It feels significantly more modern than other Central American countries. I can't explain it it much detail. Maybe it's the lack of nasty smells and heartbreakingly poor people. Or the American-engineered infrastructure and progressive attitudes. I dunno.

The people are more attractive. I'd been told this on my way south and it turned out to be true. There's definitely a Panamanian look that differs a lot from the appearances you see to the north.

"Arlington Public Schools"
The buses are air conditioned and not old US school buses. This is almost always the case. You still see a few "chicken buses," but not many. Most are large Toyota vans crammed with seats, but are quiet and air conditioned. Anything that doesn't say "Arlington Public Schools" on the side is a step up.

They use dollars. I'm not sure what this does for their sense of national identity, but it sure makes it easy for tourists. US dollars come right out of the ATM's. Funny, though, that they use coins that look almost exactly like those in the US but feature Panamanian faces.

I'm sure there are more. Maybe I'll come back and add some more later.