Greetings from Panama. I am here - where North and South America connect - for four full days of meetings and tours, and a brief drop-in at the Meso American Protected Area Congress. My first trip to Latin America was in 1992 for the IVth World Parks Congress, so I was hoping to see a familiar face.

Panama City is just 3.5 hours by air from Atlanta, Georgia, and they use dollars as their currency, so it is an easy trip - no worse than any other domestic flight with one stop-over. The view from the window was wonderful, flying down the length of Florida, then over Cuba and the Caribbean. From 35,000 feet, you look down and see the development along the coasts, the mangroves, the beaches and underwater shoals. I had looked at the satellite photos of the region on Google Earth before the flight, so I knew what to expect.

Upon arrival, Panama City was a blaze of light - it was a night landing. Over one million inhabitants and dozens of sky-scrapers. Panama City is the only country in the region where the capital city is on the coast, so waterfront property sells at a premium. The big news this week is that Donald Trump will is investing $220 million on the construction of a 65 story hotel/condominium complex on the water. (The city is on the Pacific Ocean side of the country, at the outlet of the Panama Canal). Away from the water, an apartment in a new building sells for $120-$180,000.

While northern tourists might go to the region for eco-tourism, the locals (people from neighboring countries) go to Panama to shop. The prices are stable (in dollars) and low (because of low taxes). Colon, the city on the Atlantic side of the Canal, has the second largest free trade zone in the world (after Hong Kong).

The view of the ocean is very crowded with ships. About 14,000 ships representing 5 percent of the world's trade pass through the canal each year. The post hurricane reconstruction efforts in the Caribbean region (including the US Gulf Coast) means a greater than usual demand for goods - which means a greater than usual demand for ships to pass though the canal. The Canal is considering a $5-6 billion expansion, including new locks that would be 40 percent longer and 50 percent wider than the current ones on the 50-mile canal. This would double the canal's capacity to 660 tons of cargo each year.