Breaking Ground in Coronado

Wednesday, 18 August 2010 12:01
Written by Matt Landau
The Panama Report

Thousands of years ago at the base of the Yangtze River in China, a man named Ba Jie became the first person to examine then dismantle and consume an ancient ancestor of the modern-day blue claw crab. What had villagers frightened beforehand would ultimately become a household delicacy thanks to Jie and his fearless culinary foray. It would not be unfair to say that as a result of his act, Jie’s village, and perhaps more accurately the modern-day world, is a significantly richer and more delicious place.

In 2006, rodeo hopeful Ezra Cooley had his Ba Jie moment when he left his home in California to encircle the earth on horseback for the first time in history. In January 2010, astronaut Timothy Creamer became the first person ever to Tweet from the outer space. While these may seem like trivial firsts, it is their revolutionary nature that tends to give us meaning about the direction in which society is going. Crabs, horses, Twitter: he who sets a precedent oftentimes ends up writing the future.

Starting new businesses, filling new niches, and setting new standards. Ever since I visited Panama five years ago, creating firsts seemed to be part of the country’s pioneering image. Here was the first yoga studio in Panama City, the first green hotel in the country, the first signs of corruption eradicated. Still today, with so many new industries off the ground, Panama remains a place with infinite firsts to conquer. Maybe that’s what makes it so attractive to foreigners: this perpetual upward spiral of the new and improved.

In a way, “Panama’s first developed beach town,” Coronado, is always a little surprising to visitors in that they never really know why a vacation destination 45 minutes from Panama City isn’t more…developed. Only in the past year or two has progress started to extend beyond a simple shopping center of the bare necessities: grocery, sandwich shop, internet café, real estate office…etc. Considering the large amount of people who live in Coronado year-round, there’s never been a huge array of places to invest, places to stay, or spots to hang out.

Whether its luxury city towers, large scale resorts, educational facilities, or (in this case) magnetic social hubs, there is perhaps no one more iconic in Panama’s entrepreneurial segment than real estate magnate Herman Bern, who’s brand is synonymous with getting in first and capturing market share: a balancing act he appears to be maneuvering now in Coronado with Coronado Bay. Besides the Solarium Beach Club (a 37-room accommodation based out of Coronado Bay’s bottom five floors), Bern’s monumental effort also offers amenities to the project’s condo investors such as a full beach club, three pools, beach bar, gym, and roof top yoga sessions.

From a number of new restaurant openings to several new malls, a new social scene seems to be emerging in Coronado as well. The social area of Coronado Bay resort, for example, throws parties every month for residents of area, potential investors, and those considering a move out to the Pacific Beaches.

“Connecting with people in the local community that have made the move from abroad offers party goers a resource that’s irreplaceable,” says Liz Larroquette, Manager at Coronado Bay. “For many it’s an exciting but daunting task moving to another country. But meeting other people that have done it and making friends in the community is a great first step.”
Larroquette, herself a transplant from Australia, reports that the full-time expat population of Coronado and the surrounding areas has grown over the past few years to roughly 300-400: along with nearby mountain region Altos de Maria, one of the densest foreigner relocation spots within reach of Panama City. The organic growth and increased community building in places like Coronado are basic, albeit tremendous factors in helping people decide where to relocate.

And this may be precisely what makes being first to one of Panama’s markets so special. It’s simplicity. Deciding whether something is the best is subjective and nearly impossible, since everyone has their own measurements to the equation. But placing the number one next to a project lends a place like Coronado Bay instant credibility and praise: accolades someone like Herman Bern is not terribly unaccustomed to.
Every time someone pulls off a first like this in Panama, people – both tourists and locals alike – subconsciously realize that Panama will be a better place. Firsts like these – whether you see yourself indulging in them or not – give hope, quite simply because the country’s entire future is filled with them.

To contact Liz Larroquette direct for more information about expat life in Coronado and making the move or the condos in the project email lizl@empresasbern.com or cel. (507) 6981-1717.

photo credit: Alex Barth

Fishing Lake Gatun

Tuesday, 03 August 2010
Written by Matt Landau
The Panama Report

I don’t know if it was always this way, but for as long as I can remember Lake Gatun has supposedly been chock-full of fish. Now a serious fisherman might say this and you’d take it with a grain of salt, assuming, of course, that they have all the technology and skill to make any fishing outing a smashingly successful one. But when it comes from someone like me, it is akin to hearing a former priest talk about sex for the first time. Which is to say, my expectations for fishing trips are extremely, almost unreasonably high.

9AM: We arrive at the Gatun boat ramp and I immediately fall in love with Edwin’s boat: this pontoon platform around 10 feet by 50 feet, sitting on what appeared to be a bunch of empty barrels. It had carpeting, some freestanding plastic chairs, a wooden bench and a few coolers. Kent said it reminded him of his mom’s basement.

9:30AM: After stocking up the boat with all our drinks, snacks, and typically precautionary gringo gear (sun block, hats, towels), Edwin ushered the boat out into the Panama Canal and deep into the heart of Lake Gatun  where extremely dark storm clouds started forming ahead of us. On this venture towards the storm, I already wanted to get negative about the trip: a sort of Catch-22, as in order to have fun, I needed to catch fish, and in order to make that happen, we needed to drive towards the storm.

9:45AM: This was when Kent handed me my first beer and educated me on his theory of preemptive intoxication: the notion that, in cases like fishing or funerals or long-distance flights, you should expect the absolute worst and just get drunk from the start. I liked his theory and drank three beers before the clock reached.

10:30AM: Having navigated directly into the heart of the storm, we stopped on a small island to wait out the rain (and continue drinking). We stayed there, sitting around the picnic table talking about the value of calcium in orange juice. I caught a frog the size of a croissant, with my bare hands.

11AM: We are borderline drunk.

11:30AM: The rain slows slightly and we decide to take fanciful casts into the mangroves in between shots of tequila.

11:35AM: Edwin catches a peacock bass no smaller than a size 10 men’s sneaker. Several casts later, I catch one too and before thirty minutes is up, we’ve got around six fish in the cooler flopping around. I take another shot of tequila and start to think fishing isn’t that bad.

Noon: The rain stops entirely and the sun comes out in that ethereal, cutting-edge way that sun peeks through the clouds after a storm. It was religious. We get back on the boat and head for one of Edwin’s secret gullies. To be honest, I don’t even know what a gully is, but had an absolute blast referring to our location as such, repeatedly. The secret gully was best harvested by trolling and Edwin was able to pinpoint the location of small schools of fish, merely by the bubbles on the surface. He said that we’d be able to catch two fish in each school and the ensuing twenty minutes went like clockwork. We caught around twenty fish, mostly bass, and some Oscar.

1PM: We are all entirely drunk and having a grand old time eating pastrami sandwiches, listening to Lil Wayne, and catching more and more fish with every cast. Even Duncan caught a fish.

1:30PM: Edwin takes us to Monkey Island and this giddy clan of monkeys comes cascading down the trees to our boat (Kent’s mom’s boat). Anchored next to us are several boats from Gamboa Rainforest with tourists sitting neatly in lines. Having been given a long and complicated safety speech, the tourists were astounded by the show on our boat and took man pictures. We fed the monkeys Cheeto’s hand-to-hand, and what amazed me was not how much they liked Cheeto’s but how gentle and dainty their hands were. All wrinkled and hairy, but so clearly defined: a little like my grandpa. I remember clearly thinking, just at this moment, that fishing was incredible.

2PM: To aggrandize our show for the tourists, who, at this point, were more interested in our debauchery than they were the monkeys, we all decided to dive out of the boat and race a distance of roughly 200 meters to a tree stump in the middle of the lake. The tour guides on the boats tried to drive away but one gentleman in a Panama hat demanded they stay and, when we got back, asked for a beer.

3PM: We stopped at one last little bay and caught another five fish, bringing the total to about 30 or 40. On the way back, the monsoon picked up again and I asked Edwin if I could maneuver the boat through the mangroves and around the Japanese container ships at full speed. He said, “of course,” and I officially declared fishing the most spectacular pastime ever invented.

Edwin had his friend filet all our fish for something like $5 and we made fish tacos with blue corn tortillas, avocados from the trees, and fresh lime. They were outrageously good.

It was a good fishing trip for me because it reconstituted my faith in the pastime. It harkened back to the days my dad and I used to catch bluefish at the beach, and it made light of the days now when no one catches anything. Lake Gatun, as far as I’m concerned, is great whether you’re a fisherman or not. The scenery is gorgeous, the drinks are cold, and Edwin’s up for just about anything you desire. His number is 6602-9861 and he charges $25/head.

photo credit: g[wiz]

AARP RATES BOQUETE PANAMA IN THE TOP 5 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE ABROAD

Tuesday July 26, 2010
Written by Laurie Bella
AARP The Magazine

AARP The Magazine Travels the Globe to Reveal the Top 5 Best Places to Retire Abroad

1.  MEXICO—Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico is the undisputed number one destination for American retirees.  With its rich Indian and Spanish culture, lavish beaches and affordable real-estate, Puerto Vallarta offers the low-cost, laid back lifestyle retirees seek to find in a community.

Some Reasons we love it:

• Climate: Winters—sunny, pleasantly warm; summers—rainy, humid hot
• Expat Community: Estimated at 50,000 American retirees
• Access to the U.S.: Excellent

2.  FRANCE—Languedoc-Roussillon

Once remote, the Languedoc-Roussillon region is now just three hours from the bright lights and bustling energy of Paris via high-speed train.  The area is steeped in history and art.  Languedoc-Roussillon is also a destination for the outdoor crowd with picturesque hills and beach along its Mediterranean seashore.

Some Reasons we love it:

• Climate: Mediterranean—hot and dry summers; cool winters
• Cost of Living: Not cheap, but a comfortably frugal life can be had for $30,000 a year
• Heath Care: Excellent.  French health care has been named the best in the world by the World Health Organization

3.  PANAMA—Boquete

Panama is a smart choice for retirees who want it all.  Not only does it feature attractive retiree destinations, Panama also offers an unbeatable package of retiree benefits and discounts. Boquete has a unique range of back-home amenities, from a golf course to high-end gated communities.

Some Reasons we love it:

• Expat Community: An estimated several thousand
• Housing Costs: A small house goes for $175,000; in a gated community, $250,000 and up.  Rentals: about $600 a month for a two bedroom house
• Culture and Leisure: Rainforest hiking, river rafting, bird watching and coffee plantation tours keep Panama a bustling location for leisure

4.  PORTUGAL—Cascais

Many wonder why Portugal has long been overlooked by American retirees.  A plentitude of golf, beaches, resorts and trendy cafe life makes Portugal one of Europe’s most pleasant surprises for retirees.

Some Reasons we love it:

• Cost of Living: A comfortable life can be had on $25,000 a year
• Health Care: Good.  Nearby hospitals include the well-regarded British Hospital in Lisbon
• Access to the U.S.: Excellent.  Direct flights to-and-from the U.S. fly out of Lisbon

5.  ITALY—Le Marche

Le Marche, bordering the Adriatic, is beautiful region with vineyards, snow-capped mountains and beaches a plenty.  It also prides itself on the best fish dishes in the country and is trendy enough to have snagged Dustin Hoffman as a tourism spokesperson!

Some Reasons we love it:

• Climate: Mostly sunny
• Expat Community: Relatively few; an international mix
• Culture and Leisure: An incomparable mix of open-air opera festivals, Renaissance painting and architecture, wine tasting and nature reserves

Plus:  To avoid red tape, culture shock and language barriers, AARP The Magazine shares seven questions future retirees MUST ASK THEMSELVES before starting the exciting process of retiring abroad.   And visit www.aarp.org/magazine to check out our five “additional” affordable, fun places to live the good life, plus FAQs and a resource guide.

For more information and an extended list of AARP The Magazine’s “Best Places to Retire Abroad,” visit www.aarp.org.

About AARP The Magazine

With more than 35.1 million readers nationwide, AARP The Magazine (http://www.aarp.org/magazine) is the world’s largest circulation magazine and the definitive lifestyle publication for Americans 50+. Reaching over 23.5 million households, AARP The Magazine delivers comprehensive content through in-depth celebrity interviews, health and fitness features, consumer interest information and tips, book and movie reviews and financial guidance. Published bimonthly in print and continually online, AARP The Magazine was founded in 1958 and is the flagship title of AARP Publications.

About AARP

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world’s largest-circulation magazine with over 35.1 million readers; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source for AARP’s millions of members and Americans 50+; AARP VIVA, the only bilingual U.S. publication dedicated exclusively to the 50+ Hispanic community; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Read original article »»

Photo credit: Matt Coats

Top 10 Bars in Panama City, Panama

July 19, 2010

Written by Casey Halloran
Panama Travels

My buddy Charlie is often quoted as saying, “Sorry for partyin’!”  You see, Charles has what I like to call a penchant for fiestas. When it comes to the PTY nightlife scene, Charlie is the 6 foot 4, redheaded equivalent of Elvis.  It’s hard to find a bartender who doesn’t know him by name.  So, when I went looking for a list of Top Bars in Panama City, I knew nobody was more qualified than Sir Charles.  Here’s his list:

Top 10 Bars in Panama, by ChArnold

• Platea – Good bar with live music in Casco Viejo. The prices can be a little high, but the service and atmosphere are top notch. Great mix of locals, ex pats, and tourists.
• Cayuco’s – Located right on a Marina, this bar is set outdoors, and it’s great for watching the yachts come in. The prices are very reasonable, and the food is great as well.
• Relic – Great bar for young people looking to meet other travelers. The fact that it’s located beneath Panama City’s biggest and most popular hostel definitely helps keep the bar packed with people that are passing through. It’s also becoming a hot spot for local Panamanians.
• Superbook – A very comfortable sports bar. It’s also a sportsbook for anyone that feels like putting some money down. Any sporting event you could imagine can be watched here.
• Pavo Real – A traditional American-feeling sports bar. It’s a small sports bar located on Via Argentina, and it definitely feels like something borrowed from the U.S. Two pool tables and big TVs make it a great spot to catch a game.
• Steinbach – This German bar is famous in Panama City for its authentic German beers. It’s also a restaurant and offers some really great dishes as well, but most people just come here for the beer.
• The Londoner – This is a great English pub located right on Calle Uruguay.
• Tequila Bar – A great place in Casco to have a few drinks and a bite to eat before you go out for the evening. The bar is owned by three young Venezuelans that are extremely nice. Make sure to grab a seat outside.
• Veneto Casino – Most people don’t come here for the bar, but it’s a fun atmosphere. It’s the only Las Vegas-style casino in the country, and you are sure to meet many other travelers.
• Zona Viva – This is not a bar, but an area with several different bars and clubs. It’s a great place for people that like the “club” atmosphere. Things don’t really pick up here until around 11 p.m.

So there you have it, Charlie’s A-list.  If you haven’t been to all of these places, well…you just haven’t lived.

Panama’s Chance Neighborhood

Wednesday July 14, 2010

Written by Matt Landau
The Panama Report

It’s 7PM on a Tuesday and the pollera show has just begun at Tinajas Panamanian folklore restaurant in downtown Panama City. After dinner, guests will have the opportunity to take photos with the night’s performers, jot down their favorite local recipes, even purchase native handicrafts to take back home. It would not be unfair to say that experiences like these are, in every sense of the word, entirely “Panamanian.”

But just across the bay, no more than a mile or so from shimmering downtown Panama City, another kind of authenticity is brewing and its not the kind you need a reservation for. In Casco Viejo, there are no staged shows or reenactments. Visitors won’t find any defined hours of entry or tryhard attempts at charm. To some, the neighborhood isn’t even really equipped for visitors just yet, even though it’s the most authentic show in town.

To consider Panama from an investment or tourism or cultural perspective is to consider the subject of authenticity. All things being equal, when it comes to true staying power in any kind of market, people are most likely to tell their friends about the authentic. Think about it. When was the last time you told someone about a place because it was cheesy or generic or fake?

In a way, there’s no need for Casco Viejo to dramatize its life for outsiders. Beyond its most obvious – century old architecture – what makes Casco Viejo unique is the neighborhood’s strong sense of community. In other words, there persists a clear sense of what matters amongst its residents both old and new: an understanding of what Casco Viejo is, and, perhaps more importantly, what it is not.

It’s unusual, this moral fiber, in the world today. It’s unusual both because it transcends people and because it’s not contrived: two things that Panama, much less any society, has a hard time nailing down. On its crusade to remain unique, Casco Viejo tends to go, like many authentic things, quite vividly against the grain.

“If a buyer wants a component that is not to my taste or does not fit with Casco Viejo, we politely refuse,” says Joel Jelderks, Principal at Salzburg Development, a local restoration firm with several residential projects under its belt.

He reiterated that the district’s historical integrity is paramount. “No modern facades. No irregular lighting. Nothing flashy. Nothing impractical. Casco Viejo has a very simple responsibility and that is to satisfy its own tastes first.”

It may have been the government’s oft-criticized supervision over Casco Viejo that spawned this breed of Casco Viejo mercenaries: residents and business owners who’ve decided to take the responsibility of conservation into their own hands.

According to Evan Forbes of EyeOnPanama.com, a social commentary site on life in Panama City, tourists in Casco Viejo love the contemporary hybrid of history and art. “Casco stays special because its people are concerned about preserving the heritage. Travelers search for destinations that are timeless and genuine. They like staying in Casco because, beyond just the 400 year-old walls, the neighborhood has spirit. That’s what Casco works to protect and promote – the character. Not just the buildings.”

Visitors to cosmopolitan Panama City in the coming years will be impressed by its tremendous recent growth. They may embrace the onset of international hotel chains, of increased spoken English, of modernity and tourism and new brand-name stores.

But for those travelers who are less interested in clinging to the comforts of home in a foreign place, there applies Casco Viejo: a historic neighborhood that’s about as unconventional as it is cult-like in following. It breathes an authenticity that’s refreshing in an era of standardization, making the experience of Panama, to those who choose it, daringly more firsthand.

Photo credit: Roaming-the-planet from Flickr.com

Standard & Poor Rates Panama Investment Grade – Triple B minus

May 26, 2010
By Charles Forelle
Wall Street Journal

This whole Greece thing has been such a bummer for sun bugs — investors whose eyes twinkle at the government debt of countries with uncommonly warm weather.

But in this spring of discontent comes some good news, courtesy of Standard & Poor’s.

What sweltering locale is a better place to put your money than Greece?

Panama!

That’s right, sun bugs, the country that gave us Gen. Manuel Noriega, Mariano Rivera and tons of high-quality cocaine was raised yesterday to investment grade. S&P assigned the country a triple-B-minus. Much has changed in the 20 years since Noriega was extracted from the Vatican embassy in Panama City by rock-music-blaring U.S. soldiers in 1990.

The global boom was a boon to Panama’s key transportation sector (remember, they have an important canal), and tight fiscal policy — including tax reform that has swelled the public coffers — has kept government finance in good shape. Panama’s debt is under 40% of GDP (a level achieved last year by just three of the 16 euro-zone countries, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Slovenia) and its deficit is expected to be 1.4% of GDP this year. (No, Athens, Madrid and Dublin, the decimal point is not in the wrong place.)

Alas, poor Greece, at double-B-plus from S&P, is still a junk credit.

Photo credit: European Pressphoto Agency

Original Article

Boquete Panama Geisha coffee sells for a whopping $170.20 per pound

May 25, 2010
Boquete, Panama
Reuters

Panama’s coveted geisha coffee, often described as the champagne of coffee for its subtle jasmine-like flavors, broke an auction record on Tuesday, selling for $170.20 a pound.

The winning lot, sold at an online auction, was from the Hacienda La Esmeralda farm known as the prime grower of the coveted beans. It was bought by Japanese bidder Saza Coffee for more than 100 times the average coffee price, now hovering around $1.30 a pound on New York futures markets.

Enthusiastic Japanese buyers have fueled most of the new demand for Central America’s highest-end coffee as U.S. buyers, more frugal after the financial crisis, have shied away from expensive coffee-shop drinks in favor of brewing at home.

But the record price for 400 pounds of geisha coffee — a total of $68,080 — still surprised the farm owners.

“We were not expecting this at all this year,” said Daniel Peterson of the family-owned La Esmeralda finca, high in the western mountains of Panama. In 2007 the farm sold its prized coffee for $130 a pound, setting an earlier record.

Geisha coffee trees are a rare variety with Ethiopian heritage brought to Panama in 1963 from Costa Rica.

The coffee was sold on the Stoneworks coffee auction platform as part of an offering of some of Panama’s highest-rated beans from this season’s harvest.

Last week, a La Esmeralda-exclusive auction netted between $20 to $36.50 a pound but Peterson said the farm’s best was reserved for Tuesday’s auction.

“It was our best coffee of the year,” Peterson said.

(Reporting by Sean Mattson; Editing by David Gregorio

Preserving Panama

May 20, 2010
Written by Matt Landau
The Panama Report

In the mid-nineties, a terrible mistake was made and my high school organized a trip to Colonial Williamsburg for somewhere around fifty students including myself. While most of my fellow students spent the majority of their afternoons stealing anything that wasn’t bolted down to the floor, I remember being mystified by the Williamsburg concept as a whole.

The re-created village itself had an interesting history. Back in the 1700’s, Williamsburg was the thriving capital of Virginia, which was the largest, most populated, and most influential of the American colonies. It was in Williamsburg that the fundamental concepts of our culture – leadership, public service, self-governance, liberty – were born. Precisely the kind of place that an American would want to have come from.

The difficulty however was that while Williamsburg seemed to be a functioning community – there were farms and gardens and religion and trade. People knew each other’s names and worked together on a regular basis – it was also just so…fake. How great, I thought, would it be to see Colonial Williamsburg after the gates close for the evening? Antique shoe cobbling would be put on hold, candles would be put out, and the life of this bustling little village would be frozen inexplicably until the next day’s dawn.

There are a lot of similar places in the world. Towns that are real in nature (which is to say, they exist on a map, they have stoplights, their citizens vote), but that are also, when it boils down to it, synthetic at the core. The OK Corral and Ye Ole’ Gift Shop. Who really wants to dress up in costumes and take pictures “like it used to be?”

To its credit, the folks at Colonial Williamsburg had enlisted the best researchers on the planet. They invested a great deal of money and believed wholeheartedly in a vision to preserve or at least recreate the past in real-life proportions. I felt happy Colonial Williamsburg existed. Both for the entertainment value (there’s nothing quite like seeing a man in full Revolutionary War garb drinking from a Starbucks cup) and for the things many people could learn there.

Simultaneously, it was just so…sad. The candlestick maker smoking a joint, the court jester on his Blackberry, my friend Jack Richter getting to third base with the milk maiden in the shadows behind the town steeple. Colonial Williamsburg was precisely the kind of place I never wanted to visit again.

To understand this, consider an art company called Brushstrokes Originals. They’ve devised a patented technology that meticulously recreates all the textured brushwork and color of famous original paintings like, say, Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Brushstroke’s “academy-trained” artists then take the machine-reproduced painting and further enhance it using oil paints and the finest wood frames. For a few hundred dollars, who wouldn’t want an exact replica so precise, so identical, that even experts may have a tough time telling it apart from the original?

You wanna know who? Me.

While I would happily purchase a poster of the Mona Lisa at a gift shop or maybe an embroidered towel or something, I would not be caught dead with one of Brushstroke’s identical impostors on my wall. They do not read, “I am a sophisticated appreciator of Da Vinci,” or even, “I collect artistic things,” but rather, “I aspire to fool you into thinking I own expensive works of art.” Fake attempts at authenticity stick out like sore thumbs. They are embarrassing and they are expendable in every sort of way.

Forgive me for sounding snooty, but when it comes to destinations, similar is true. The process of preservation is too often subsituted by museumification and in Panama, you can see evidence of this first hand.

The entrance to Mi Pueblito is just off Avenida de los Martires: a steep driveway, which leads to a neatly-quaffed town square surrounded with view of Panama City and the sea. Mi Pueblito consists mainly of several replica villages, gift shops, a pollera museum and a cute little church. When cruise ships are in town, Mi Pueblito is buzzing like a pen full of cattle. When no cruise ships are in town, Mi Pueblito sits dauntingly bare. Mi Pueblito, just like Colonial Williamsburg, is an extreme example of its phenomenon in maybe the worst way: the full scale, destination-as-museum. Unabashed replicated authenticity.

Just a mile away sits the historic district of Casco Viejo, a neighborhood that seems to honor the past more than most regions of Panama. This is not to say, however, that the movement for preservation in Casco Viejo is by any means unanimous, particularly when it spills outside the realm of restoration and starts implicating the way people live.

Today in Casco Viejo, the debate over preservation tends to organize itself around class and caste. Summarily speaking, there exist natives who have lived in Casco Viejo for fifty years and who are, for the most part, poor and there are newcomers who have arrived in the past generation (or past two generations), many of whom are foreigners, and many of whom are rich. This is not to ignore a greater facet of influence in Casco Viejo that is governance (or lack thereof). Governance tugs at both the native and the newcomer strings. Governance is what both divides and unites, in a very counter-intuitive sort of way, the people here.

The hunt for authenticity in Casco Viejo is a tangled, beautiful mess.

The natives sell buildings (or in many cases receive money in exchange for eviction notices). They make up the largest population of Casco Viejo. They “add to the character of the community,” and they work for the newcomers in various ways. These are the same newcomers who spend their time and money visibly – or, to the natives, ridiculously – on expensive food and picking up shit after their dog. Casco Viejo’s newcomers will grapple with the government over potholes in the streets or alleyways that are too dark or insufficient parking; the natives will grapple with the newcomers over gentrification; both the natives and the newcomers will claim that preservation of human patrimony downright sucks, and other topics will fly over everyone’s heads.

But all this is a confusing way to put things: to say that preservation of Casco Viejo – and perhaps the direction of Panama future as a whole – is a battle between rich and poor, between the government and the people, between dollar signs and culture. There is an easier way to define this debate, an easier way to explain this movement: it is a fight between those who value authenticity and those who don’t.

It was a byproduct of my trip to Colonial Williamsburg that I began identifying with the truly authentic, began not to seek subjective things like tastes or preferences, but truthful references to originality and the way identities are preserved. Authenticity describes the perception of a piece of art or a destination or a personality as faithful to oneself, rather than conforming to external values like commercial worth. Besides Casco Viejo, I am not aware of any other neighborhood in Panama where this crusade is quite so vibrant or so evident or fulfilling.

Photo credit  -stëve-

Panama Retirement: Not for me

Monday, 10 May 2010
Written by Matt Landau
The Panama Report

Someone recently asked me if I would ever retire to Panama and I said, conclusively, that I would not. To serve as preeminent defense, I am aware that “if I don’t want to retire here, I can just go somewhere else.” This is important. But below are also my feelings on what Panama inherently lacks to truly make it an international retirement destination and not just some fly-by-night trend.

When competing with the already-established retirement destinations of the world, there are of course major differences to take into account. Below, I’ve attempted to set apart the ones that would, for me, eliminate Panama from my list of choices.

Rising costs: The original draw to Panama for retirees was that it was inexpensive: that you could hire help and buy food and travel for considerably less than at home, thus improving the overall quality of living. Everything in Panama, with the exception of a few creature comforts, has gone up in price diluting this once-legit selling feature. It would not be uncommon for a retiree here in Panama to spend the same, if not more, on a basket of goods, than would someone in Florida.

Work ethic: You are the company you keep and when I retire, I want to surround myself in some part of the world with prompt and hard working individuals, traits which simply are not engrained in Panamanian culture. Not only is it difficult to get things done relying on a lazy person, but the laziness has a tendency of seeping into you via Panamanian osmosis. I want to get sharper over my retirement years, not more dull.

Food: Good food is an integral part of my life and I could not see myself retiring to anywhere the dining scene or the accessibility to high-end products is anything below spectacular. Innovative chefs, gourmet delivery services, access to new ethnic foods are all lacking in Panama. While it is, comparatively speaking, significantly better than any of the surrounding countries, the food in Panama’s capital (the best the country offers) still leaves a lot to be desired to a true foodie like myself.

Amenities: If I were to retire tomorrow, I would want to live roughly 1-2 hours outside a cosmopolitan city but I would still ostentatiously demand all the amenities one would expect with comfortable living: gourmet supermarkets, golf courses, airports, hospitals…etc: none of which are really up to speed in Panama’s interior. Granted, development takes time. But for those considering retiring today, the infrastructure isn’t there yet.

Convenience: Panama is inherently an inconvenient country in many ways. When I retire, I don’t want to have to worry about overly-suspicious bank tellers, traffic debacles, non-electronic immigration departments, bad customer service, juega vivo: which is to say, things that cause discomfort and waste my time. The majority of things I do in Panama today are inconvenient and I consider myself a pretty patient and sensible person. In short, when I retire, I don’t want to spend my last days waiting, like we did last night, twenty-five minutes for a BigMac with no ketchup.

Authenticity: For some time, I have been haunted by the contemporariness and the drive for modernity that has emerged in Panama over my experimental time here. I have found myself under the suspicion that the things I’d want in retirement – the comforts, the challenges, the company, and the values – aren’t necessarily a perfect fit for Panama, no matter where in the country I’d choose to live. If I was to overlook all the superficialities, I would search for, above anything else, a sense of authenticity, which is simultaneously something I feel Panama, in its rush for development, is losing on a daily basis.

A common counter-argument, in fact one that I’ve made before, would be to say that the aforementioned challenges are what makes retirement in Panama so…fulfilling. As a young person, I don’t find them harsh enough to turn me away, but that is not to say, however, that when I am older and ready to retire, that I’ll be nearly as forgiving.

This article is a cultural criticism with a difference. You know full well that I invest, form lifelong relationships, and cherish Panama with a special part of my heart. You also know that I am a member in good standing of the very culture I criticize. I have attempted to explain a trend – retirement to Panama – by digesting what such a move would mean to me.

I would say that I’m not alone in wanting many of these things when I retire. It is a universal longing to desire the genuine and the comfortable, perfection and pleasure. Panama is a tremendous country in so many ways (business, vacation, investment). It’s just that, for me, retirement wouldn’t happen to be one of them.
photo credit: Zach Klein

Panama Economy to Grow More Than 6% in 2010, Martinelli Says

April 30, 2010
By Andres R. Martinez and Jens Erik Gould
Bloomberg Business Week

Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli said his nation’s economy may grow more than 6 percent this year as the government boosts spending on infrastructure projects.

“We are very confident and happy with the aggressive investment plan,” Martinelli said in an interview today in Mexico City. “Security, low inflation and stability are helping Panama along.”

Panama aims to spend $20 billion during the next four years to build ports, expand its main airports and lure international companies to the Central American nation, Martinelli said.

Read the original article here.

photo credit: nDevilTV