La Pintada… A Great Place to Invest

Many times people come to a country like Panama and head to the gated communities and the new developments. However some people will look to find a great location, where they can assimilate with the people of Panama. La Pintada in the high hills above Penonome is one of those locations. It is about 2 hours from Panama City and it is farming country. Cattle and citrus crops seem to be the biggest farming enterprises. Here we also find a wonderful bed and breakfast and a great Steak House; enterprises started by expats.

As we toured the area we came across this beautiful, well tended farm. Horses and cattle seem to be what they are raising but the whole thing was attractive and tastefully managed.

I couldn’t help thinking how the farm houses and out building would make a wonderful bed and breakfast or a dude ranch. I don’t know if it is for sale, but it certainly was attractive

So bring your entrepreneurial spirit and find the place to create your dream. It may not be in a development where the prices are high. You may find a tract of land and decide you would like to set up a dude ranch or a spot where you can take people into the foothills and enjoy nature. The new government of Panama is committed to supporting and encouraging green tourism.

Your ideas and your energy will find a welcoming home.

Panama awaits

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Panama Hats

Panama Hats have been famous around the world for a very long time.  Remember the movie, The Tailor of Panama?  Well you may be interested to know that the Panama Hats of that movie were not actually made in Panama, but in Ecuador.  So why in heavens name are hats made in Ecuador called Panama Hats?

These hats made in Ecuador are of exceptional quality.  Today it is not unknown to pay more than $100 for a high end hat with beautiful colors, but the weave is so tight that the hat is waterproof and so soft you can fold it.  The reason it became known as a Panama Hat was that these hats were shipped form Panama to locations all around the world.  Remember Panama has long been a world shipping hub.

But Panama also made hats by weaving straw and adding black into some of the straw allowing them to make intricate patterns in the hat, usually just above the brim.  The highest quality “made in Panama” Panama hats are made in a little village above Penonome in Cocle province, called Pintada and in the surrounding area.  People love to take the trip up to Pontada to see the hats being made, and some people even order one especially for themselves.  Do you have a neat design yo would love to see in a hat?

So now you know why there are two very different “Panama” hats.

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The New Face of Panama

One of the things that is dramatically changing is the height of buildings around Panama. While single family homes are still the most common form of housing, the development of condo projects has grown exponentially in the last 40 years from nothing, to this sort of amazing collection of condos.  On the Pacific beaches and in the interior around Boquete and on the Caribbean in Bocas Del Toro there are amazing residential communities which are all governed by the same law that governs these high rise developments.

There are also numerous new malls springing up all over the place to provide services to these new condo dwellers.

Like many places in the world with condo developments, Panama has had to create and bring into force laws that would allow them to sell condominiums and so the Horizontal Property Act was born. This law not only covers the high rise condominiums like you see in this picture but also covers the many beach front communities that are springing up all over Panama. Just be sure you have your lawyer carefully reviews the Horizontal Property law with you and the By-laws as it relates to the development that you are considering buying into.

There are even developments that are not covered under the Horizontal Property Act and if this is the case then you really need some understanding of how your rights will be protected and how the rights of other home owners may affect your rights and how those rights are being enforced.

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February – It’s Carnival!!

Our 2009 Carnival! issue of Panama Today Magazine is now online for your reading pleasure. Please click on the cover to open your February Panama Today Magazine. Enjoy!

If you would like to have a copy on your computer, you can download a PDF version of the magazine. To download your copy CLICK HERE

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La Casa Vieja Steak House

I promised pictures of this wonderful steak house but no picture can show you how great the steak was.

This building has been remodeled but it was the original first “painted” house in this village. Everyone else had homes made of straw. So people used to say, “voy a la casa pintada” “I’m going to the painted house” and eventually this got shortened to “La Pintada” the name of the town today

Just to give this little steak house some context here is the Central Park in La Pintada.

Keep in mind this little town is miles from the ocean and very much in the interior of the country. Certainly it is an unspoiled jewel. There are expats, Ted Apodaca, the restaurant’s owner hails from New Mexico but this is a town that is still populated by the same people who have lived here for years. Move in here and you will have a Panamanian as your neighbor, not someone from another country.

But even here it is being found by the expats looking for a peaceful retirement or maybe someone looking to enhance their income. The bed and breakfast, Nature’s Inn just down the road is run by Canadians. So you won’t be the first expat here if you decide this looks like your new home.

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Surprising Panama

Imagine my surprise when I went to try and find the source of “made in Panama” Hats and instead found a restaurant serving imported Angus beef, probably the best beef you can get on this planet, and a gold mine.

Check with any Panama guode book and they’ll tell you that La Pintada is famous for the “made in Panama” Panama hats.  Well we didn’t fnd the hats but we certainly found La Casa Vieja Steak House and one of the prettiest little towns I have ever seen.  I have to get the pictures off my camera to do this justice but it was such good steak and so unexpected I just had to let the world know.

Head north out of Penonome on the west side of town.  Before reaching La Pintada you will find the headquarters for Petaquilla Gold Mines.  Continue up the road another 5 minutes and you will be in the heart of La Pintada.  The city center is gorgeous and the Government  buiidngs are gorgeous.  But if you like real good steak than La Casa Vieja will be your destination.  We had such a good time that we ran out of time but we will go back to find those hats.

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Proposed New Airport

New airport in the central region of the country

10 November, 2008 12:00:00 Sherly Díaz / The Panama Post
sherly.diaz@ rimolamedios. com

It would be an airport to transfer passengers from Europe and the Americas. There are several European airlines interested in financing  this project.

The evaluations that the Autoridad Aeronáutica Civil (Authority of Civil Aeronautics (AAC) of Panamá has made to the runway at Río Hato, in the province of Coclé, have been favorable and for this reason the authorities have decided that the best alternative is the construction of a new terminal area to the south of Antón and Penonomé

Currently the only part of this airport that has the suitable conditions to operate general light aviation is at the south end of the Pan-American Highway towards the beach.

“The crossing of the Pan-American route is an obstacle, we cannot exceed the current vehicle traffic there, it cannot vary nor be obstructed and the only runway availability is the south bound and its sporadically used by some aircraft for the beach area destination”, said Gregorio Montecer, adviser to the AAC.

These operations are not commercial nor are they charter flights, but of individuals that use this runway.

The technical evaluations of the runway of Hato River have been completed, but the conditions of its pavement do not allow regular operations of heavy aircraft, nor flights of internal airlines that could have constant operations in that infrastructure, because the life expectancy of the pavement has been surpassed.

Another aspect that has presented complications for this airport is that the urban area is growing with new tourist projects and forces the restrictions to the airport to begin to be affected.

Looking for a location

The AAC, the Ministry of Economy and Finances (MEF) and the Tourism Authority of Panamá (ATP) have worked in analyzing some alternatives for the construction of a new airport inside the country.

The most viable solution would be the construction of a new airport in the central region of the country, which doesn’t necessarily have to be located in Río Hato. At the moment some areas are evaluated that could be considered of interest between the south of Antón and Penonomé.

Montecer, explained that the exact place to construct the new airport not yet has been selected, since they contracted the Inter-American Development Bank (I.A.D.B.) to conduct a study that defines a national airport strategy with the purpose of identifying the place of the new terminal area soon, so as to promote it in the private sector.

There are several European airlines interested in investing and developing the airport because it would be an aerial terminal that could serve to transfer passengers from Europe and America towards their destinations.

This new airport needs to become an interconnection point with the Americas, even, when the documents are elaborated, we must contemplate the opportunity to construct hotels, casinos, shopping centers for the greater comfort of the passengers.

Fidel Reyes, vice-president of the Panamanian Chamber of Tourism (Camtur), said that at the moment there are already companies with interest inside the country where the only thing that restrains them is the aerial connectivity.

The executive thinks that the initiative to construct a new airport inside the country is an urgent character necessity and must be accompanied by a hotel infrastructure adapted to the size and demand that these flights can generate, at the moment only the Decameron, Playa Blanca and Melia in Colón have the size to receive a large amount of tourists.

“An alternate airport would allow the small hotels of the interior to increase their occupancy during the week and become more attractive to the tourists who fill the capital city which is promoted through tour operators who continuously have to deal with obstacles and long trips to the interior including wearing down of equipment and fuel consumption”, he said.

The characteristics

The new aerial terminal has to become “the country’s airport of the future”, with an area greater than that of Tocumen, projected for 50 years so that it can be an airport of more than 4,000 meters of runway for heavy aviation. Its location not only must benefit Panamá to take passengers to the projects of development in Azuero and Chiriquí, but also serve at a regional level.

Panamá has a good geographic location and it allows regional aviation to work for Panamá with points of interconnection of passengers, cargo or mail with much ease.

In the area that has been identified for the new airport are no beaches, it has good meteorological conditions, rains do not affect aviation and in addition the topography is good since they are very flat areas and the lands are assigned to agricultural aspects that do not have an elevated city planning alternative.

There are foreign investors interested in the airport and that have been analyzing the potential of the area, but the study of the I.A.D.B. is going to be given to the national government and to the AAC for the endorsement to be able to look for the way to construct it.

“The state would not construct the new airport, but the private sector would. Also we would look for mechanism so that the airport is handled by the private sector, which still has not occured in Panamá”, commented Montecer.

With this study a profile of the airport has been defined and the contracting of a specialist who analyzes the details of the project. The AAC hopes that between February and March of 2009 the document is prepared and that it will be the departure point to go ahead with this project.

Benefits

By not affecting the zone of Rio Hato we will continue with the success of tourism development in the area, that is to say, that we will be able to develop many projects in Rio Hato, Farallón, Santa Clara all the way to Juan Hombrón.

This is going to allow the construction of buildings higher than the present which has not occurred due to the existence of the airport of Rio Hato.

The place that is chosen to construct the new central airport is going to be injected with new economic activities. Once it begins air terminal operations it could generate a new point of economic development.

For Reyes, the connectivity and the distances are definitive points to choose a tourist destination. To the majority of the tourists do not like to travel great distances.

Having an option for a short distance via air travel will allow tour operators to offer more ampler ranges of products to the visitor and at the same time Panamá would be more competitive with the destinations of the region.

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New Bed and Breakfast

In the hills above Penonome, capital city of Cocle province, in a little town called Pintada, famous for the “made in Panama” Panama hats, a brand new Bed and Breakfast has sprung into being.  They have a great web site, check it out below.

I love receiving emails like this one.

HI Mary

We have an 8 room B&B with at least one queen sized bed in every private
room, and of course a private bath. We also have a hostel type shared accommodation room with bunk beds.

The private rooms, with private bath, are $50 a night and include breakfast. The shared room
is $15 per person with access to the kitchen. Our website is www.NaturesInnPanama.com If you, or your friends want to come up and spend some time please feel free to give us a call and come. Phone from North America: 1- 647-476-5253; in Panama call 6539-6118 English or 983-0005 Spanish

We currently have weekly horseback trail rides coordinated with the Royal Decameron Hotel
and everyone has just loved our location and the lunch we arranged at our local Steak House Restaurant.

We are starting a wildlife and rehabilitation sanctuary which people will likely find really interesting!

Kindest Regards,
Jenny and Allen Madore (your hosts)

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Boquete is hopping

I just sent some friends up to Boquete to take a look at another part of this beautiful country.  That is one of the amazing things about Panama, you can travel short distances and be in a completely different environment.  We are on the beach, in a dry area of the country and Boquete is a mountainous, garden paradise.  It is so high they can grow fantastic coffee that wins awards for best coffee in the world, around them much of the local produce is grown and it is much cooler.  When you choose to live in Panama you can choose to live in one of two seasons, Spring or Summer.  Boquete is spring as the temperatures never get much above 75 F

Turns out a lot of people like spring as the area was so full they had an extremely tough time finding accommodation.  The town is quickly recovering from the damage caused by the unusually heavy rains at the end of November, 2008.  The coffee crop is ripening nicely. There is lots and lots of construction happening and from the overflowing tourist traffic it appears there are still lots of  people looking to move here.

In some ways the down turn in the economies of the older more established countries like those of Europe and North America has been good for Panama.  People are taking their smaller nest eggs and running to somewhere  that is still affordable, where you can live a high quality life on a reasonable income.

Real estate still costs far, far less than it does in most established countries, and for the amenities of the location there is just no comparison.  Dream homes on golf courses can still be had for $400,000.00.  where else is that possible?  Beach homes, are 1/5th the cost of Costa Del Sol in Spain or Santa Barbera in the US.

So while condos in the city are definitely decreasing in price, and deals may be found, for those looking for a more tranquil setting, the beaches and the mountainous retreats are still very popular and lots of people are looking for their piece of paradise.

I just spoke to a realtor in Coronado, a beach area, one hour from Panama City.  She has sold 3 hones in the past week and has two sales pending.  This is just one realtor.

You be the judge.  Come and see for yourself what all the excitement is about in Panama.

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Clown Plant

I suspect you have never ever seen a plant like this before. These funny little gourds feel like rubber and when you pull them off the tree they will last on your table for a very long time. No water required.
What great flowers!

They are definitely conversation starters, as no one knows what they are or where you can find them. Even in Panama they are pretty unique.

El Valle de Anton is an incredible garden area and almost anything will grow here. How about this one. These strange plants, beautiful orchids all sorts of bonzais and many more weird and wonderful plants can be found at the Golden Frog nn. This is one of the premier B and B’s in Panama and run by my friends Becky and Larry Thormahalen. Be sure to stop in and say Hi and ask to see these strange plants.

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