Panama

And it has no reason to be ashamed of its famous Costa Rican neighbor. Here, too, the beaches are dreamlike, nature lush and the flora and fauna breathtakingly diverse. In total contrast to Panama City, divided in two between its magnificently preserved and restored old town and its ultra-modern districts that have sprung up like mushrooms in just a few years. The miracle of the canal, recently doubled by a new, even wider waterway, is the real cash cow of a country that is, in the final analysis, terribly endearing.