Panama has been touted as a tropical yet familiar place for retirement or investment, especially for those from the United States where the real estate market is roughly as stable as the local psychiatric ward. And while sanitary gated communities and sleek high rises in Panama are no doubt luring comfort-seekers south, other, more alternative [...]

Filed under: Country Guide, Real Estate on April 30th, 2008 | No Comments »

“Now remember” Mr. Sundquist lectured before we de-boarded the tour bus. “The moment you step on that sidewalk, you are all ambassadors of Princeton High School, every single one of you. Everything you say and everything you do will represent Princeton High so…so don’t go around making fools of yourselves.” It was the heart of [...]

Filed under: Culture on April 30th, 2008 | No Comments »

Panama Flag- Panama Political Parties
Politics in Panama can be highly confusing to outisders.  I’m still just learning my way through the variety of parties, their nicknames, their former names and what the heck is Left vs. Right.  Here’s a primer on the backgrounds of the major parties in Panama today.
The Democratic Revolutionary Party “PRD” (Spanish: [...]

Filed under: Politics on April 28th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

James Bond on Set in Panama City, Panama
Filming in Italy has been currently suspended after three accidents resulted in a police investiagation at the Lake Garda set of “James Bond 007: Quantum Solace.” Because three accidents in five days the film is now rumored to be “cursed.”
The telegraph reports that the slew of incidents began [...]

Filed under: Culture, News on April 28th, 2008 | No Comments »

Kuna Indian in Casco Viejo
After being in Costa Rica for a few weeks, I have come to be homesick for a few things about Panama…some of them predictable, some of them, unexpected.

Filed under: Country Guide, Culture on April 28th, 2008 | 3 Comments »

Avenida Balboa-New Coastal Beltway
Panama City’s Avenida Balboa, the main road spanning the length of downtown Panama City from east to west, is under major reconstruction known as the “Cinta Costera” or a Coastal Beltway. This massive project is taking place in order to re-route traffic by providing a bypass around the city. What is more, [...]

Filed under: News on April 26th, 2008 | No Comments »

This is a call to any US Soccer fan living in Panama, Central America. Man, woman, man-woman. Woman-child. As difficult as it can be at home in the USA to find fans who root for the red, white and blue National team, it can be an even more arduous task here in Panama. Accordingly, [...]

Filed under: Sports on April 23rd, 2008 | 4 Comments »

In Panama, we’ve always found its better to be overly-cautious about real estate. So many projects and developments have changed (for better or worse) during construction, that it has proven, maybe more so than ever, to be better safe than sorry. Many are not upholding standards originally set and some have failed completely as we’ve [...]

Filed under: Real Estate on April 23rd, 2008 | No Comments »

Panama City’s Old Quarer or ‘Casco Viejo’
Ruben Blades, singer/actor-turned Tourism Minister, declared several months back that Panama will not only compete heat to head with Costa Rica for tourism supremacy in the region, but will surpass Costa Rica as leader by 2010.  A bold statement for a country still wearing tourism’s equivalent short pants, but is [...]

Filed under: Business, Politics on April 22nd, 2008 | 2 Comments »

Without the means to pay $300 dollars to fly to Costa Rica, Cailey and I bravely (I thought) purchased Tica Bus tickets from the Albrook Mall to leave for Costa Rica at 11pm on Friday.
We bought the Panamanian equivalent of Dramamine, figuring it might bump off a few hours of misery. It always did with [...]

Filed under: Country Guide, Culture, Reviews on April 15th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

The first time I heard the song Panama, it was not by Van Halen as many people would have experienced, but rather by a gospel singer named Pat Boone who did a remix of the original somewhere late in his old age. I liked the sound of the song but more perhaps the symbolism of [...]

Filed under: Culture on April 14th, 2008 | No Comments »

Author and “la Novia” on Isla Iguana, near Pedasi
I’ve received some flak lately for what may seem like a rash of negative articles about Panama. I also complain about my family, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love them. Here’s a shameless outpouring from the very pit of my soul as to the [...]

Filed under: Culture on April 12th, 2008 | 7 Comments »

Panama’s Consumer Confidence Down?
According to an online article published by local news outlet La Prensa, the Panama Consumer Confidence Index sunk by 6.4 points from February to March, to the figure 95.8, which is below the critical 100 benchmark that signifies good levels of Consumer Confidence.  Some experts say this is one of several signs of growing [...]

Filed under: Business on April 11th, 2008 | No Comments »

Panama’s a great country, until you go to Immigration
After spending what seemed like an eternity at Immigration this morning here in Panama City, Panama, I feel a bit dirty, a bit tired, and a bit more informed on how the immigration laws work for tourist visas here. So, in the spirit of sharing is [...]

Filed under: Country Guide on April 11th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

Panama City, Panama- Students Protest Inadequate School
During the past three months, Panama has seen a surprising amount of protests in relation to construction workers rights, public transportation and now, the school system.

Filed under: News on April 9th, 2008 | No Comments »