Panama Living Newsletter

Panama Canal Cartoon

Here is a great cartoon about crossing the Panama Canal. It must have been done 50 years ago. Take a look at youtube.

luxury prison run by inmates

I love articles like this. It shows the real flavor of what goes on in a  lot of small Latin countries. This is one about Guatemala. The Ex-president of the country resides here in Panama and I have had the pleasure of spending a few dinners with him and his family. A beautiful country now run by gangs.

FRAIJANES, Guatemala (Reuters) -- Security forces took over a Guatemalan prison controlled for more than 10 years by inmates who produced drugs, lived in spacious homes with luxury goods and even rented space for stores and restaurants.

I love this part. People want to live inside the prison.

Zepeda earned around $25,000 a month from extortion and drug trafficking run from inside the prison, police said. His son Samuel lived illegally inside the prison to help run the crime empire, even though he was never sent there by a court.

Real Estate development inside.

Inmates also built their own homes in the prison grounds. One belonging to a Colombian drug trafficker had a Jacuzzi, national prison director Alejandro Giammattei said.

The two-story wooden house boasted a king-sized bed and was protected by pedigree guard dogs, a witness said.

Read the whole story.

Fishing with the “Master and Commander”

I really enjoy fishing, but have very little time to devote to it. I keep a small boat in Boca Chica on the Pacific side near David, but have used it only a few times in the last year. So, when my friend Jose Manuel Bern invited me to go out on the Yamaha fishing tournament, I readily agreed. Jose told me I only needed to bring some steaks and be at the boat at 2 pm sharp Thursday. They had to leave the dock at high tide and we had a small window in order to get the yacht out to sea, so be on time. I flew into the city midday, had my assistant pick up some steaks, and drop me off at the Dock at 2pm sharp!

View photo album here

Panama: International Religious Freedom Report 2006

Here is an interesting report from the US State department that give me some comfort. The rest of the world seems to be heading toward a religious war between Islam and Christendom. Panama is almost about 85% Catholic an the rest are Evangelical Christians according to this report. I don't believe radical Muslims will get much of a foothold in Latin America no mater what Chavez believes.

Released by the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

This report is submitted to the Congress by the Department of State in compliance with Section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. The law provides that the secretary of state, with the assistance of the ambassador at large for international religious freedom, shall transmit to Congress "an Annual Report on International Religious Freedom supplementing the most recent Human Rights Reports by providing additional detailed information with respect to matters involving international religious freedom."

Panama ranks #1 in time it takes to import and export.

If you want to import or export items to and from Panama, you will be glad to learn that the country ranks number one in Latin America in the least time it takes to get it done. Here is an excerpt from Latin Business Chronicle.

It takes 16 days to export an item from Argentina and Panama (the best in Latin America), while traders in Haiti have to wait 58 days (the worst in the region). When it comes to imports, Panama can boast the least time (13 days), followed by the Dominican Republic (17 days).

Read the full story here...

Step back in time

A friend sent me this power point file of what Panama used to look like about 50 years ago. It is incredible how much it has changed. This is a large file of 3.7 megabytes but it is well worth the download.

Download panama_city_the_60s.pps

Panama Tourism Forum

This annual forum is a great place to network and learn about the tourism industry in Panama. If your in the country you should try to attend.

The 6th Annual Tourism Forum of the American Chamber of Commerce will take place Thursday Sept. 21st at the Miramar Intercontinental from 2pm to 6pm.
I think this will be our most exciting and relevant forum yet. Here are the speakers:
1. Minister Ruben Blades, Accomplishments of the Last Year and What Still Needs to be Done
2. Hitesh Meteh: Why an Ecofriendly Tourism Infrastructure can make Panama a World-class Tourism Destination. Mr. Meteh has been called the "rock star" of ecotourism and is an entertaining and knowledgeable presenter from the United States.
3.Kristina Shreck-How to Successfully market Panama in the United States Author of the new Frommers Guide to Panama and a marketing consultant.
4.David Wroughton- The Most Important Things Small Hotels Need to do to Satisfy the American Market.The owner of the Panama's new world-class ecolodge-Coral Lodge and an experienced small hotelier.
5. Fidel Reyes:Report to the Industry- Where we Are and Where We Need to Go. The head of the the Panama Convention Bureau.
6. Paul McBride:The Residential Tourism Boom: An Overview of the Sector and How Your  Company can Profit The CEO of Prima Panama and partner of Panama Travel Experts.
Plus a Panel Discussion with All Speakers.
Save this date and see you at the Amcham Forum!

Preliminary survey report

Our survey of the motivations, attitudes and perceptions that foreign buyers have regarding Panama is still under compilation, but with almost 400 respondents here is a brief from Prima CEO Paul McBride.
More details of the report will be available later this month.

When asked, “Why are you considering Panama?”, the vast majority of our survey participants indicated that they were looking for a lower cost of living and real estate value.  Although these are the primary motivating factors, the survey also indicated that the climate was important (warmer weather), that the use of the US dollar as the official currency of Panama was a factor and Panama’s proximity to the United States played a big role in their decision making process.  Also, a very important factor to a majority of the people responding to our survey was having friends or other foreigners in Panama. Clearly, people make the decision to leave the US and move to or buy in Panama based on a perception of value and lower cost of living, but weather, and a sense of community with other friends and foreigners is almost as important.  Also, it should be noted that a majority of people moving to Panama still want to maintain close ties to their home country and plan to return at least once a year to visit.   Another factor that should be mentioned is how easy it is for foreigners to get a residency visa in Panama.  This helps stimulate the market as well.

Panama, winner for 6th straight year

International Living once again rates Panama as the best place to retire or have a second home.

International Living Announces The 2006 Annual Global Retirement Index - Winner is a First-Ever Six Time Selection!
Tuesday September 5, 12:10 pm ET
WATERFORD CITY, Ireland, September 5 /PRNewswire/ -- For the sixth consecutive year, the same country has come out on top of International Living's Global Retirement Index. After closely reviewing eight key factors: Real Estate Prices, Special Benefits for Retirees, Cost of Living, Safety and Stability, Health Care, Climate, Culture & Entertainment, and Infrastructure, Panama came out the top destination - followed by Malta, New Zealand, Uruguay, and Mexico. It should be noted that Uruguay moved up five places this year, from ninth in 2005 to fourth in 2006. This tiny country, the size of Missouri, has the lowest poverty level in Latin America, the longest life expectancy, and the second lowest level of corruption. Plus, the literacy rate in Uruguay is an astounding 98%.

Many Panamanians Say No to Canal Upgrade

Most balanced report I have yet seen on the xpansion of the canal. Good read.

PANAMA — Once the equivalent of a modern, multilane highway, the Panama Canal may be on the verge, say those who run it, of becoming something closer to an old, congested country road.

Skip to next paragraph        

Enlarge this Image

Luis J. Jimenez for The New York Times

The canal’s revenues have done little to improve the lives of Panama’s poor.

 

The increasing number of ships hovering off shore awaiting a chance to cross the isthmus is just one sign of the 92-year-old canal’s status as a bottleneck. On top of that, hundreds of modern superships are too wide to squeeze into the canal’s aging locks at all.

All this would seem to be evidence of the need to modernize the canal. But a government plan to do that, which Panamanians will vote on in a referendum in October, may be in danger of failing because of a host of considerations that say much about this country’s difficult past and challenging present.

Read it here on the New York Times...