Puerto Armuelles, Panama

Capital City

Forget the banana-peel charm - Puerto Armuelles is a faded company town now home to just 19,763 people, a steep drop from its 1990 peak of over 46,000. The United Fruit Company's departure in 2003 amid labor disputes left the local cooperative struggling, and the government has had to repeatedly bail them out. While the climate is tropical and the beach is nearby, the constant threat of earthquakes is a genuine headache.

Puerto Armuelles' best days appear behind it, and the city's future remains uncertain as the government tries to lure a new banana company to take over the plantations. This is not the picture-perfect tropical paradise many imagine - it's a hard-scrabble place that may only appeal to the most resilient of adventurers.