„Oh, how nice is Panama“ is the tale of the Little Tiger and the Little Bear who jointly travel from their home along a river to Panama. Little Bear is a passionate fisherman. One day he recovers a wooden box out oft the river, reading“Panama“. Little Bear tells Little Tiger that in Panama everything was better, more beautiful and bigger than at their home. 

On my first trip to Panama in 1995, Panama felt grey, decaying and a little dangerous. I will never forget how my taxi driver who had taken me from the airport to the old town was following me in walking pace, kindly acting as my private bodyguard while I was strolling through the walled Casco Viejo. In 2016 I suddenly felt a entirely different pulse and latino zest for life. The best Chinatown in Latin America offered Dim Sum, rooftop bars offered crazy infinity pools. Breathtaking beaches with coral reef on cute little tropical islands recall the Maldives. How times can change. 

After I started travelling the globe I immediately appreciated the tale of the Little Tiger and the Little Bear since it offers an entirely different perspective on my own original home. Only since seen from a distance my original home appears more beautiful to me than before, when I had regarded it from close-up. Does it mean that we all have lived in paradise, maybe without realising it?