An interesting little enclave of Latin American flavour and flair that sits clinging to the Caribbean coast on the very tip of the Panamanian peak, Colon has suffered over the years from boom and bust, high crime rates and a subordination to Panama City to the south. There are still very visceral social and political issues alive here, overshadowing a clutch of interesting, off-the-beaten-track things to do and see here.

On the shoreline of the town, the aging remnants of a once grand American occupation, all courtesy of the Panama Railroad, now cluster in a rather charming moss-clad state of dilapidation between the leaning palms and the city parks. Interspersed among them, visitors can spy out a clutch of pretty churches (most notably the Columbus Cathedral), some pious Catholic statues of the Virgin Mary, and the Gatún Locks, marking where the mighty Panama Canal flows into the east. Colon tour guides also highlight this city’s sprawling free-trade zone, the Zona Libre, which is a hubbub of commerce that’s spiked by the rises of big banks and multinationals on the edge of the city. It’s dwarfed only by Hong Kong and hails in as the second largest open market area on the planet!