Panama Canal & Central America

Belize City is both the geographic and commercial center of the Country of Belize. All major highways lead into and out of this colonial city and provide access to the Rainforests, Mayan archaeological sites, and the other natural inland and offshore attractions. Belize City is an excellent starting point for excursions to the Barrier Islands, for scuba diving and for a wide variety of tours.

The second largest city in Panama, it is a major port in the Caribbean, located near the Gatun Locks and the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal.

Do you like fish? Not necessarily to eat. Just to look at. Because if you do, you’re going to love Cozumel, Mexico,where sheltered coral reefs make this one of the best snorkeling areas in the world. Abundant and colorful marine life turn the sea into a visual fantasy.

Of course, you might even love it if all you like are beautiful secluded beaches, great shopping, and authentic Mexican cuisine. That’s the deal with Cozumel; there’s a lot to like.

Fort Lauderdale, (lô´der-dâl´) city (1990 pop. 148,377), seat of Broward Co., SE Fla., on the Atlantic coast; settled around a fort built (c.1837) in the Seminole War, inc. 1911. The city has more than 270 mi (435 km) of natural and artificial waterways and one of the largest marinas in the world. A major beach resort, it has a performing arts center and art and science museums. Products include electronic devices, boats and yachts, and various light manufactures.

Key West, (wèst) city (1990 pop. 24,832), seat of Monroe co., S Fla., on an island at the SW end of the Florida Keys, c.150 mi (240 km) from Miami, 90 mi (145 km) from Cuba. It is the southernmost city of the continental U.S., a resort and artists’ colony and fishing center. Winslow Homer painted there; Ernest Hemingway, whose home is a museum,
wrote there.

Montego Bay, (mòn-tê´go) city (1991 pop. 83,446), NW Jamaica. A port, railroad terminus, and commercial center, it is one of the most popular resorts in the Caribbean. There is an active trade in sugar, bananas, coffee, and rum and some light industries.

Jamaica’s north-western node is the thriving port city of MoBay. This is resort Jamaica at its purest and most puerile, where a crowded touristy mishmash of one-way streets full of honking cars and pedestrians almost obscures the scintillating beaches, the golf courses, the historic houses and the mountain-village life going on behind the narrow coastal strip. Despite MoBay’s reputation as a hustlers’ city, there are attractions which make it worth being asked ‘Hey, Jake! Smoke? Coke?’ every few steps. Many admirable Georgian stone buildings and timber houses still stand downtown, and there is an excellent variety of arts and crafts. Every kind of water sport is offered, although most of the good beaches are the private domains of resort hotels. Those seeking a budget holiday with a lively nightlife and shops and markets packed with bargains will be right at home, as will those seeking to spend a week idly sunning at an all-inclusive upmarket resort. However, if you’re interested in Jamaica beyond the tourist ideal of ‘Caribbean-ness,’ you’ll find little in Montego Bay.