It has been almost 2 months
since I've written. So many
things have been happening there
never seems to be time to write.
Poor excuse I know. Donna
finally arrived home from all
her tours this year. Her last
tour was Italy - I have to join
her one day on that tour. Food,
wine, scenery. She brought back a
really interesting idea - to
spend a month in Tuscany and
learn to back Italian bread.
Wow. I really need to do that.
First, I want to take a small
group to Greece to rent a sail
boat and tour the islands for at
least 2 weeks. The last time we
did that was one week back in
2004. It was amazing. This time
a larger boat, less people.
Now - to around Panama.
Donna gave me a card with
lots of pictures to share. One
group is from a restaurant I
already shared with you
Thai2112. The reason for
visiting was two of our friends
decided to move to the Caymans -
we'll miss them - we only knew
them for just over a year but
they are nice people. One way to
look at it is it will give us a
reason to visit and dive the
Caymans.
More pictures are of Donde Jose,
Golden Unicorn, Cinta Costera,
new Soho mall, Playa Blanca, JW
Marriott - check out the
pictures
page and the
food page
for all the pictures
Here is just a taste.
I finally took some time and
updated some of the pages on
www.whypanama.net - pages
that were updated and additions
made are -
othersites,
touristsites,
services,
and
articles.
A few weeks ago Donna and I we
spent time in a condo at Playa
Blanca. For almost 9 years we've
limited our beach time to the
Caribbean as we never found a
place we enjoyed. Well that
changed at Playa Blanca. We had
a great time. We walked on the
beach for hours, we enjoyed the
area and the condo. Friends of
ours Jessie and Faudia always
raved about the JW Marriott at
Buenaventura and we decided to
visit to see what it was all
about. What a class act place.
The entrance says it all and
when we walked to the beach you
could see why they really enjoy
the time they spend at the
resort. Surrounding the resort
is a huge golf course, massive
homes and condos - one can only
imagine the cost - I saw
advertised - 229m2 for almost
$900k.
Check out all the pictures of
these on the picture page
Over the past 9 years we've
watched Panama City grow and
become more like any upscale
city. The latest addition is a
mall on calle 50 called Soho -
the stores read like a who's who
- Jimmy Choo shoes, to Cartier
to name just a couple. Donna
spotted one store/restaurant
called Ladurée
- a French store that sells real
Parisian macarons - flown in
from Paris - they are amazing
but pricey.
The other
thing we had fun doing was the
Beer Week offering at the Hilton
Hotel. The ticket price included
all the food and beer you
wanted. I was skeptical but
after almost 2 hours there was
no let up in the food service or
the beer merchants willingness
to pour another beer. Unlike
wine tasting where lots sip and
spit, this is a disaster waiting
to happen - way too much beer -
but fun.
We're
gearing up to do the Gastronomic
next month at the Atlapa
Convention Center. We always
used to go with Alan & Geri but
they are in Boquete. This year
we will be going with Rita &
Jordan.
Speaking of
Boquete, Geri sent me the link
to the local Boquete online news
feed as she was mentioning the
number and ferocity of crimes.
Home invasions, robberies -
pretty scary stuff. All of this
seems to be targeted at expats.
Something like this was going
around on the Pacific Coast near
Coronado a few years ago.
Thieves were barging into
restaurants and robbing patrons
at gun point. No where near the
violence you hear about in some
US cities with mass shootings
but scary none the less for what
should be a very quiet, peaceful
country. We even had a lady
stabbed at a bus stop in CdeE a
few weeks ago.
Are you a pet person? If so,
consider helping some of the
really worthy groups trying to
make a difference to thousands
of homeless cats and dogs in
Panama. I've mentioned them
before but it is worth repeating
- Hogar San Roque, the shelter
Mari Pily runs with the help of
volunteers, see them on Facebook
as
https://www.facebook.com/hogaralbergue.sanroque?fref=ts&ref=br_tf,
or
https://www.facebook.com/hogar.roque?fref=ts
and then there is Spay Panama at
http://pchan5.wix.com/spaypanama
- there are many more but these
two we have supported and know
how dedicated they are to
helping make the lives of
abandoned dogs and cats more
liveable.
If you want,
write us if you have
questions - we love to help.
we've
included in
People,
Services,
Tourist Site and others in
the links on the left side of
the page.
We add to these areas
as our experience with each of
them change .
July 2015
Last Sunday I had the privilege
of visiting the new Panama Canal
expansion before it is flooded.
There were thousands of others
who braved the lines and by mid
day the rains to have the
ability to wander through the
dry canal and to see first hand,
up-close the monstrous size of
each of the locks. Some months
back we saw the Atlantic side
expansion from the new
observation area and from there
they looked huge but to wander
through them was a once in a
lifetime event. I am just sorry
Donna was not here. I spoke with
someone this week who felt it
was likely that the Canal
Authority might do it again
before they flood the locks next
year.
When I decided to go I had my
doubts on how the day would go
but I have to say it was very
well organized from the parking
to the staging area, to the
buses, the guides, and the lock
area itself.
From the time I left our condo
in Costa del Este to actually
wandering in the canal was
almost 3 hours. The traffic was
horrible, the buses busy and the
lines very long. The amazing
part was people were civil and
kept to the lines and did not
try and butt in or cut in line.
The same with the buses, they
were organized and the guides
were enthusiastic about their
descriptions of the canal.
In 2016 Panama will open both
ends of the new expansion and a
new era will begin in Panama.
Over 100 years ago the first two
lanes were finished and the
world had a new method of moving
goods - in another year the new
expansion will double that
capacity. Check out these
pictures.
These two pictures are not mine
- they were posted on Tom
Brymers newsletter.
My pictures are located on my
pictures page.
I find it fun when I talk with
friends in Canada about our move
to Panama to hear their lack of
knowledge about Panama. Like
Donna and me before we visited
we had never given any thought
to what Panama was really like.
When we flew in the first view
was totally unexpected. Here is
a picture Tom Brymer shared on
Panama City.
As Panama does not have an army
I don't know how to describe the
group Senafront - they are
charged with the border patrol
and enforcement but they seem to
be very involved in community
service. They were here in Costa
del Este today to clean up the
ocean front. By the time I biked
by at 2 pm they had gathered
over 4 blocks of garbage bags -
4 blocks - incredible. The sad
part was today it rained around
2:30 and the river ran white
with plastic. What a shame -
until the litter problem gets
solved, no amount of clean up
will make any difference.
Are you a pet person? If so,
consider helping some of the
really worthy groups trying to
make a difference to thousands
of homeless cats and dogs in
Panama. I've mentioned them
before but it is worth repeating
- Hogar San Roque, the shelter
Mari Pily runs with the help of
volunteers, see them on Facebook
as
https://www.facebook.com/hogaralbergue.sanroque?fref=ts&ref=br_tf,
or
https://www.facebook.com/hogar.roque?fref=ts
and then there is Spay Panama at
http://pchan5.wix.com/spaypanama
- there are many more but these
two we have supported and know
how dedicated they are to
helping make the lives of
abandoned dogs and cats more
liveable.
If you want,
write us if you have
questions - we love to help.
we've
included in
People,
Services,
Tourist Site and others in
the links on the left side of
the page.
We add to these areas
as our experience with each of
them change .
May 2015
It's Mothers Day in North
America - Happy Birthday Mom -
and Happy Birthday to Donna's
Mom - both of our mom's passed
away years ago but everytime I
bake I am reminded of my mom and
everytime I go to say I am
having a senior moment I think
of Donna's mom. Like all mom's
both of ours had a profound
impact on our lives. Donna
learned her love of gardening
and all things plants - whereas
I learned the love of baking.
Imagine Donna without a passion
for gardening! What is fun is
since moving to Panama we get to
remember our moms twice a year -
May 10th and December 8th here
in Panama. If your mom is still
alive don't miss the opportunity
to spend time with her - tell
her how much you love her and
how much she influenced your
life.
Donna arrived home from China
and then Mexico - she is off to
England and then Italy. I will
see her in June when her tours
are finished for 2015. I am
hoping when she gets back we can
get back to going to the
Caribbean and the Pacific every
couple of weeks so I can get
back to diving. Seems like
forever since I finished my last
exam with Rey and the hardest
part is Rey keeps posting
pictures how clear the Caribbean
has been these last few weeks -
sign :}
A lot has happened since I
posted last. The Summit of the
Americas finished uneventfully.
The city got back to a bit of
normality in time for May day
holiday. It never ceases to
amaze me how many holidays this
country celebrates and how it
impacts businesses. It seems
every time I contact a business
if it is anywhere near a holiday
the response is "after" the
holiday or "we need to get to it
now that we are back from the
holiday".
I've talked about our new office
renovations - we started back in
September - 8 months ago. We
still don't have the final
approval from the Municipality
on our drawings - every week we
here - "it's done, we just need
one more signature" or "can you
make one small change and then
we can get the one last
signature". It is the single
biggest test of patience I've
ever encountered. We will move
in some day. We're just not sure
when.
For a tropical rain forest
country we've had almost no rain
yet in the "rainy" season. We
have had some very unusual tides
on the Pacific side as a result
of some storm in the South
Pacific.
We've visited a few new
restaurants since I reported
last. The latest was Thai 2112
downtown on calle 48 between
Frederico Boyd and calle
Uruguay. Excellent food, great
ambiance and exceptional service
at reasonable prices - hard to
beat. Check out our notes on the
food and
restaurant pages.
When my friend John was visiting
from Canada we decided to do a
pub crawl night but with a
twist. We decided to focus on
"roof top bars". We started on
calle Uruguay with the Manrey
Hotel, moved to the Hard Rock,
then to Casco Viejo with Tantalo
and Barlovento. From my original
list of places to visit we did
pretty good but we left a few
for next time. If you want a fun
night try this as there are some
great bars to visit and some
spectacular views of Panama
City.
I've posted the 3 pictures we
take every month from our
balcony to show you how many
changes we've seen in our little
area of Costa del Este alone.
Check them out here. Off in
the distance on the first
picture is the new mall rising
out of the ground. Bern expects
to have it finished in 2 years
and at the pace they are going I
believe them. Across the street
from our condo they've started
on a new building and two lots
over they've begun digging the
new Hyatt Hotel. So much for
quiet for 2-3 more years.
Turns out after 40 years of
being married that here in
Panama we really aren't married
in the eyes of the laws of
Panama so that is something we
hope to fix this coming week
before Donna heads out again.
Who knew :} - just one of those
"quirks" of Panama.
Next weekend - May 17th I am
going to visit the new lane of
the canal - up close - the Canal
Authority is offering a one
time, one day opportunity to
walk in the new 3rd lane on the
Pacific side before they flood
them. I could not miss this. The
size is impressive from a
distance. I can only imagine up
close what it is going to feel
like. I will post pictures and
comments later.
Are you a pet person? If so,
consider helping some of the
really worthy groups trying to
make a difference to thousands
of homeless cats and dogs in
Panama. I've mentioned them
before but it is worth repeating
- Hogar San Roque, the shelter
Mari Pily runs with the help of
volunteers, see them on Facebook
as
https://www.facebook.com/hogaralbergue.sanroque?fref=ts&ref=br_tf,
or
https://www.facebook.com/hogar.roque?fref=ts
and then there is Spay Panama at
http://pchan5.wix.com/spaypanama
- there are many more but these
two we have supported and know
how dedicated they are to
helping make the lives of
abandoned dogs and cats more
liveable.
If you want,
write us if you have
questions - we love to help.
we've
included in
People,
Services,
Tourist Site and others in
the links on the left side of
the page.
We add to these areas
as our experience with each of
them change .
---------------------------------------
Donna is off to China next week
and my friend from Canada is
arriving but that is not why
Panama is about to go crazy -
the Summit of the Americas is
the reason. If holy week last
week wasn't bad enough when
basically the country shuts down
mentally on Wednesday in
anticipation of really closing
at noon on Thursday to celebrate
Good Friday.
The Summit will bring the heads
of 35 countries to Panama for 4
days including Pres Obama and
ex-President Clinton. Imagine
the chaos in a country of only 3
million. It is already nuts but
it is about to get nuttier. I am
glad I can walk to work as so
many people will be
inconvenienced big time by road
closures and traffic snarls
worse than normal. If something
concrete was likely to come out
of the Summit I'd be right in
there supporting it but the
doubting Thomas side of me says
- "same old - same old".
On much brighter notes we had a
great day today wandering around
Casco Viejo with our friends
Rita, Jordan, Todd and Josselyn.
What a great place especially
when it was so quiet compared to
normal. On a typical Sunday it
would be crazy but because most
of the city folk are just now
struggling to return via the
Interamerican highway there were
hardly any people. We loved it.
We started the morning the group
for breakfast at the Roadsters -
a diner styled restaurant in San
Francisco across from the Atlapa.
Check out the comments in our
food section.
Here are just a few pictures
from today - check out the rest
in our
Pictures area.
One of the more interesting
sites in Panama is the new
Museum of Biodiversity by Frank
Gehry - he also has page for his
art -
Artsy's Frank Gehry
There are so many things to do
in Panama it is always difficult
to answer people when they ask
what should we do when we visit
for a week or 2 or a month or
two.
With two oceans - the Pacific
and the Caribbean there are no
shortages of beaches - albeit
sometimes the access to the
beach can be tricky to find.
If you are into birding -
welcome to one of the best
places to see over 900 species
of birds.
Do you like hiking in volcanic
(extinct) jungle - or diving in
pristine areas like Coiba or
warm water Caribbean sites, then
you found your place.
Are you looking to explore
indigenous people or pristine
jungles - you found it ...
Surfing, orchids, virtually
untouched islands, and great
small towns with really quaint
traditions.
For such a tiny country it has
so many different areas,
climates and things to do and
see. Panama is not something you
can do in 1 week or 2 weeks -
we've been here almost 9 years
and there are still so many
things to see.
It's
been over 6 months since our
little Cricket passed away. It's
taken me that long to say how
impressed we were with the
professionalism of the funeral
service. Prior to "the" day we
had communicated often by email
and was assured everything would
go as we wanted - you have to
know after being in Panama for
over 8 years we took this
assurance with a grain of sand.
But when the day came, our vet
from down the street arrived
when he promised, he allowed all
the time we needed to say
goodbye and to make sure Cricket
was calm and not stressed. When
she took her final breath the
funeral company let us hold her
and say goodbye for as long as
we wanted. He was very patient
with us as we didn't want to let
her go. Within a few days he
delivered her ashes as we wanted
with a small wooden container in
the shape of a heart. Cricket
has her own virtual plot on line
at
http://mascotas-panama.com/mascota-fallecida/obituario-cricket
- I would never wish that anyone
has to go through this with a
lost friend but if you do and
you want a company that cares
contact MascotasPanama.com -
they do care. I was sure I
could make it through this part
without choking as it has been 6
months but not so.
Last week there were two more
people on Facebook asking about
moving to Panama and the things
they needed to consider. One was
Canadian and I sent my note
saying they needed to take their
time, visit, check out the
areas, decide what they want
from their new country and make
sure they seek advice in Canada
from a good tax lawyer long
before they make the final
decision.
I've posted the 3 pictures we
take every month from our
balcony to show you how many
changes we've seen in our little
area of Costa del Este alone.
Check them out here.
If you want,
write us if you have
questions - we love to help.
we've
included in
People,
Services,
Tourist Site and others in
the links on the left side of
the page.
We add to these areas
as our experience with each of
them change .
April 2015
Donna has started her tour year
with a tour to Singapore and
Bali. She will be home on and
off now until June - sigh :}
It was great to have her home
full time for several months -
we enjoyed visiting our friends
in Boquete and a number of
restaurants around town - more
of that later and our cruise out
of Tampa.
Now its back to work for me too
- our software business works
with professional accountants so
we take the time while they are
busy to get lots of work done on
our software and business we
don't have time to do during the
selling season of May to
January.
We are also working on finishing
the work on our new office in
Santa Maria Business Park - we
hope to be in by the end of
April. Getting permits is
another story that I don't have
the room for on this forum.
It was 9 years ago April that
Donna and I arrived in Panama to
consider it as place we might
choose for our new home. The
whole reason for this site "why
panama" was to answer everyone's
question - "why did we choose
Panama over other countries or
places in the world?" After
vacationing in Mexico for over
22 years our friends were
convinced that would be where we
would move to when we decided to
get out of the cold of Alberta,
Canada. My business partner, Ted
had been to Panama with a friend
and he knew we were serious
about moving so he suggested we
"check it out" before we decided
on Mexico.
We arrived at Tocumen airport
like so many other expats -
starry eyed and a little
apprehensive. We took a cab to
our hotel the Decapolis in the
center of the city. Over the
next 4 days we saw some local
real estate, visited Mira Flores
and walked around downtown. It
rained and rained but it was so
warm. It was so cheap. It was a
city and had all the amenities.
It had beaches within an hour
and so many things to do. We
were hooked. That was April - by
August I had moved to Panama. By
September we owned a condo, had
business and two employees. By
October Donna would be here with
Cricket and we began our new
life.
Panama is not perfect. But after
9 years we still don't regret
our decision. Donna says she
still loves coming home to the
warmth. I still pinch myself
periodically to make sure it is
real.
The other reason for us creating
this site was to let others know
if they were thinking about
Panama we would be happy to
answer any questions we could to
help. Feel free to email us and
ask anything.
If you are considering Panama -
do your homework - I've
mentioned it before but it is
worth repeating - there is a lot
of information available from a
number of sites - check them out
- ask questions - we love Panama
but I understand it is not for
everyone and it is a very
diverse country. I want them to
have seen the beaches, the two
oceans, mountains and the city.
Before you chose any new home
make sure you've visited, spent
time and tried to get a feel for
what the area is really like. To
often people visit on a
vacation, fall in love with an
area and then decide to move.
Visiting and living are two very
different things in any country.
We vacationed in Mexico for over
20 years and we loved it. We
enjoyed the food, the people,
the weather but when it came
time to make a final decision on
a move we did not choose Mexico
we chose Panama. Why - well it
turned out several things. First
at our core we are city people
and Mexico has few real cities.
Second, we wanted some place
where the weather was
predictable and Mexico has too
many hurricanes and bad weather
- Panama might be hot and humid
but very predictable. Third, it
turns out for Canadians, the tax
laws are so much better. Finally
when we looked closely at the
retirement visa options we found
that Panama had the best options
available and they have even
improved with the friendly
nation visa.
Still the advice is the same -
do your homework or ask more
questions. There are sites
dedicated to helping you look at
lots of other places around the
world like
BestPlacesInTheWorldToRetire
- don't forget to look for other
sites using Yahoo Groups, or
Facebook for Expat focused
pages.
If you want,
write us if you have
questions - we love to help.
I talked about the restaurants
and some of our weekends around
Panama while Donna was home. We
had a great time going back to
Donde Jose with our friends
Jordan, Rita, Bob and Reuben.
We also went to Tsugoi, an asian
restaurant in El Cangrejo as
well as the Fish Market (not the
fish market but the mobile fish
market truck near Donde Jose)
and Milano. We also went to the
Golden Unicorn for Chinese New
Year with our friends.
You can
read about these restaurants and
more in both our
Restaurant and
Food section.
Don't miss all the other
comments and resources we've
included in
People,
Services,
Tourist Site and others in
the links on the left side of
the page.
We add to these areas
as our experience with each of
them change .
March2015
It's summer, Carnival, the dry
season, school holidays, and
Valentines Day all rolled into
one.
Everywhere in the world where
they celebrate Carnival the city
is transformed and the people go
crazy. Think of Rio, Venice and
New Orleans. Here in Panama City
it is almost a ghost town -
everyone seems to take off
Friday at noon and head to the
interior of Panama - Las Tables,
Las Santos, Penonomé, and even
Pedasi, The restaurants in our
area, Costa del Este are all
closed. Lots of shops closed
until Wednesday. Government and
the banks closed until
Wednesday. Last year the
government tried to make the
city a "happening place". They
spent a reported 3 million to
throw Carnival in the city on
the Cinta Costera. We went to
see the action and there were
lots of people but it was not
packed. This year I understand
they've scaled the budget back
to under 500k.
The dry season always meant lots
of fires. People wanting to burn
the dry weeds instead of
chopping them down. The worst
part was it was always very
windy in the dry season which
meant the fire department was
constantly running to put out
fires before they caused serious
damage. We have pictures of one
of those fires just across the
freeway from us burning a
freeway advertising sign 30 feet
in the air. This year it seems a
lot more civilized. Still lots
of wind and still very dry, but
no fires so far.
Donna & I just returned from a
short cruise out of Tampa and
while in Tampa we did some
shopping at the outlet malls. We
rented a car to get around for
the 2 days. Unbeknownst to me,
my Panama drivers license
expired January 31st, 2015.
Donna caught it not the rental
car company. I was worried but
there was nothing we could do as
she doesn't have a license in
Panama.
Upon our return to Panama my
first trip (by cab) was to the
place that renews licenses. Very
simple I was told. I get to the
building to find what seems like
all of Panama waiting outside in
a line. I went up to teh
security guard to make sure this
was the correct line. He
confirmed it was and asked me if
I was "jubilado" (old
person) - I said yes, and he
promptly opened the door and
told me to go in and go to the
jubilado line. No waiting. That
part was nice. But the simple ..
well not quite so simple. You
see we have two vehicles. The
first one we purchased in 2007.
When you register a vehicle in
Panama they link your cedula or
passport to the vehicle. As the
numbers on a normal cedula do
not change there is no problem.
But passport numbers do change
when they are renewed. When we
purchased the second vehicle it
was in 2013. My passport number
in 2007 was not the same as in
2013 nor today - 3 different
numbers. Turns out when I went
to renew my license they check
on vehicles and sure enough it
showed two with different
passport numbers and I now have
a cedula. So they could not
renew my license until I went to
the municipal office to "fix"
the vehicles registrations
first.
The next day by cab again, I
headed downtown, this time with
a lawyer to help navigate what I
was sure was going to be tricky
waters. Turns out I was right.
As soon as we got to the counter
to make the simple change they
discover another problem. There
are two Thomas Dawson's in the
system with two different
numbers.
This apparently is a huge "no
no". The reason was the two
vehicle registrations with the
two different passports -
they never asked or linked the
first one when the second was
registered. It took almost
everyone in the office and
almost 3 hours to get the change
done. The other hilarious item
was my name - they kept wanting
to call me Mr Sterling - you see
everything shows up as Thomas
Sterling Dawson and it is almost
the norm here in Panama to list
your name, your family name and
your mothers (or fathers name)
so they assumed Sterling was the
family name. It took my lawyer
almost 10 minutes to convince
the girl it should be Dawson.
The next day by cab again, back
to the first office to get my
licensed renewed. After waiting
to get to the first counter, it
turned out I had four more
counters to go through. Details
and picture. Visual test. Audio
test and finally cashier to pay
before I finally got my new
license.
Check out the
monthly photos of the changes
around our area Costa del Este.
For almost 9 years, Donna has
been taking the same 3 pictures
from our balcony. It will give
you some sense of how much has
changed. The same crazy growth
can be seen all over Panama
City. We had a new valuation
done on our condo and it
confirmed the prices continue to
rise which is both a good and
bad thing. I went to the super
market today and was reminded
that this same "rise" includes
things like food. I have no real
comparison to our old home in
Canada to know if they are
feeling the same thing, I
suspect they are but to use
Panama is not the cheap little
country it was 9 years ago.
If you are considering Panama -
do your homework - I've
mentioned it before but it is
worth repeating - there is a lot
of information available from a
number of sites - check them out
- ask questions - we love Panama
but I understand it is not for
everyone and it is a very
diverse country. I want them to
have seen the beaches, the two
oceans, mountains and the city.
Before you chose any new home
make sure you've visited, spent
time and tried to get a feel for
what the area is really like. To
often people visit on a
vacation, fall in love with an
area and then decide to move.
Visiting and living are two very
different things in any country.
We vacationed in Mexico for over
20 years and we loved it. We
enjoyed the food, the people,
the weather but when it came
time to make a final decision on
a move we did not choose Mexico
we chose Panama. Why - well it
turned out several things. First
at our core we are city people
and Mexico has few real cities.
Second, we wanted some place
where the weather was
predictable and Mexico has too
many hurricanes and bad weather
- Panama might be hot and humid
but very predictable. Third, it
turns out for Canadians, the tax
laws are so much better. Finally
when we looked closely at the
retirement visa options we found
that Panama had the best options
available and they have even
improved with the friendly
nation visa.
Still the advice is the same -
do your homework or ask more
questions.
If you want,
write us if you have
questions - we love to help.
Check out our site - we listed
People and
Services we have
found we trust - we also have
contacts for even a great
handyman - Juan
February 2015
We
hope you had a great Christmas
and New Years Eve and we wish a
2015 for you that fills all your
hopes and aspirations.
We had a quiet Christmas home -
it was our first Christmas
without Cricket - it was a bit
odd. New Years was fun. We drove
to Boquete to visit friends who
moved there a year ago. We
wanted to see their place and
revisit Boquete. It is easy to
see why so many expats decided
to move there versus other
locations in Panama as it offers
many attractive things. It is so
much cooler than anywhere else.
You can feel the change in
temperature driving up the hill
from David. The number of expats
make it attractive too as there
is very little need to
assimilate into the culture or
language. If you are a gardener
like Donna you have to fall in
love with the area. To me the
downside is the climate. It is
so cool and so much moisture. I
am a warm climate person - I
just found it difficult. My
early morning runs were almost
cold.
We did enjoy the market and all
of its crafts and foods as well
as a really nice meal out at the
Panamonte Hotel. I think I would
find the numerous power outages,
the lack of diversity offered by
the city and the inconvenience
of the airport to be a challenge
over the long haul. Much like
living in Bocas. I know I would
enjoy it for some time but it
too would be a challenge over
time. This is why I always tell
people looking to move to Panama
to really consider what kind of
person they are - do they crave
entertainment or seclusion, do
they love heat or cool - do they
want beaches or mountains, do
they want to assimilate into the
culture or spend time with other
expats with similar beliefs.
The trip to Boquete was also a
bit of a challenge. From Panama
City to Santiago was without
incident. From Santiago to David
was painful. There was so much
construction. They are twining
the road and when it is done I
am sure it will be a real boon
but now, it is horrible. When we
drove back in January 1st it was
not quite so bad as there was no
traffic. I am sure we will
return to visit Boquete but I am
amazed how many people we know
that drive this route often.
It is nice to be finally into
the dry season - I know Donna
prefers the moisture as it keeps
everything so green but I prefer
the dry and the breezes. The
mornings and the nights are so
nice - it reminds me why we
moved here in the first place.
I am not positive 2015 will
bring many more changes in
Panama and in our area Costa del
Este. We walked by the
construction site of the new
mall and within a couple of
years it will be finished.
Around the country there are
many new things that will be
brought to fruition in 2015 and
2016. The new airport at Tocumen,
the new 2nd stage of the metro
line, the new 4th bridge over
the canal, the new 3rd lane of
the canal, as well as numerous
new projects like the wind farm
near Penome. All of these
changes will change the
complexion of Panama. I hope
some of these help change the
attitude of Panama toward
tourism. On the flip side all of
these changes mean Panama will
also be more costly.
Panama keeps cropping up on
lists of the best places to
retire around the world. The
latest list showed Panama as #2
behind Ecuador. The worrisome
part for me is that there are so
many factors that need to be
considered when choosing a new
place to live and retire. These
articles tend to focus on only a
few of such items like cost of
living or ease of residency
papers.
If you are considering Panama -
do your homework - I've
mentioned it before but it is
worth repeating - there is a lot
of information available from a
number of sites - check them out
- ask questions - we love Panama
but I understand it is not for
everyone and it is a very
diverse country. I want them to
have seen the beaches, the two
oceans, mountains and the city.
Before you chose any new home
make sure you've visited, spent
time and tried to get a feel for
what the area is really like. To
often people visit on a
vacation, fall in love with an
area and then decide to move.
Visiting and living are two very
different things in any country.
We vacationed in Mexico for over
20 years and we loved it. We
enjoyed the food, the people,
the weather but when it came
time to make a final decision on
a move we did not choose Mexico
we chose Panama. Why - well it
turned out several things. First
at our core we are city people
and Mexico has few real cities.
Second, we wanted some place
where the weather was
predictable and Mexico has too
many hurricanes and bad weather
- Panama might be hot and humid
but very predictable. Third, it
turns out for Canadians, the tax
laws are so much better. Finally
when we looked closely at the
retirement visa options we found
that Panama had the best options
available and they have even
improved with the friendly
nation visa.
Still the advice is the same -
do your homework or ask more
questions.
If you want,
write us if you have
questions - we love to help.
Check out our site - we listed
People and
Services we have
found we trust - we also have
contacts for even a great
handyman - Juan
December 2014
Here
it is almost 3 months since Cricket passed away and
yet it is just like yesterday.
When we walk in the afternoon or
I run in the morning we get to "visit"
our little bear as we sprinkled
some of her ashes on her
favorite part of the walk. It is
so hard to imagine how huge she
was in our lives as I still get
choked thinking of her. To non
dog people this must seem really
weird getting this choked over
the loss of a pup but it is real
to us.
As hard as losing Cricky has
been I just can't imagine the
loss of a child. I spoke with
one of our oldest clients this
week and they lost their son of
25 years. There is
nothing I could do to even begin
to imagine her grief. My sister
lost her daughter to leukemia
and I know how it still causes
her to get choked = and that's
been almost 20 years. Grief is
really ugly but it also
demonstrates how deep our love
was.
We visited our foster dogs
today. It was a tough week for
them. Pastor, the large white
alsatian was attacked by one
more of the dogs in the are next
door. This is not the first time
- a few years ago the same dogs
killed pastorcita. We are
worried enough we spoke with
Chito and he is going to take
them to his house in the
interior where they can run free
and be safe. It is going to be
sad that we won't be able to
visit them but we hope that this
new home will give them an
better life and a lot more
exercise than they get currently
as they are only out at night. I
am really angry at the people
who own those other dogs but
Nino told me that going after
them would only mean a tough
time for Chito so I will bite my
tongue. Thank goodness Pastor is
looking so good after his
surgery
We made reservations to go with
Jordan, Rita, Bob and Reuben
last week to Donde Jose - well
we had a great pre-dinner drink
and nibbles at the American
Trade Hotel only to find out
there was a major power outage
in Casco Viejo - hence no
dinner. So we just stayed and
ate nibbles. Really good. And
the service was excellent -
attentive, helpful and very
nice. We've made new
reservations for January at
Donde Jose as we know the others
will really enjoy eating there.
We also spotted another
restaurant, Villa Palma, we want
to try next to where S'cena used
to be. More on that when we go.
Over the coming months when
Donna is in town we plan on
arranging dinners our with some
of our friends and we will be
trying a whole new group of
restaurants so stay tuned for
more reviews. I can't believe
how many great restaurants there
are in Panama City.
We did go to a new restaurant
for us as a result of
OfertaSimple again. Mar de Grau
is located just off Calle 50
near the St. Georges Bank. It is
a Peruvian.
Check out our food and
restaurant to ready our
review. "spoiler" - we will go
back :}
It's Christmas party season and
we had our annual BBQ and band -
there were almost 130 people -
what a great time. We also went
to Todd's party last night and
met a whole new group of people
- we had to be the oldest there
by decades :} but still met some
nice people
I had to go to Vegas for a trade
show and near froze to death -
wow, I am really no good with
the cold. It rained, was windy
and cold. But, I still enjoyed
visiting after almost 20 years -
what a change. There are so many
things to do and see. I got a
chance to see the Belagio
dancing waters and the new
hotels that have sprung up in 20
years. Incredible. Donna and I
are planning to go for 3-4 days
just to see it again.
Speaking of freezing, :} during
the holidays we are going to
visit our friends Alan & Geri in
Boquete - the last time we did
that trip in 2007 we near froze
trying to sit outside of a
restaurant at night. Should be
fun as we are prepared and we
are going to have a fondue.
We're still struggling a bit
with our new office. We have all
the plans done, approved by the
building architect and the
engineers but we are told the
municipal approval could take
weeks to months and we can't
really begin work without them.
We've hear horror stories of
years and never getting the
occupancy permits. We found
someone who assured us she could
expedite this process and
shepherd all the documents "for
a fee". The building owner said
she was way our of line so we
took his advice and began
looking for another shepherd. It
will likely be 10 months from
purchase to occupancy of a small
office. Welcome to Panama :}
If you are considering Panama -
do your homework - I've
mentioned it before but it is
worth repeating - there is a lot
of information available from a
number of sites - check them out
- ask questions - we love Panama
but I understand it is not for
everyone and it is a very
diverse country. I want them to
have seen the beaches, the two
oceans, mountains and the city.
All of this where muslims, jews,
christians, hindus, and who
knows how many other religions
get alone with no wars, riots or
killings. In fact during the
Noriega days the owners banded
together to forcibly protect the
free zone - it was never looted.
Check out the article at "The
Arab Traders of Colon"
If you want,
write us if you have
questions - we love to help.
Check out our site - we listed
People and
Services we have
found we trust - we also have
contacts for even a great
handyman - Juan
--------------------------------------------
Read the comments from the other
years
More
News - 2014
More
News - 2013
More
News - 2012
More
News - 2011
More
News - 2010
More
News - 2009
More
News - 2008 & earlier