YEP- Young Expats in Panama

Under 40 expats are a growing demographic in Panama.  Now they have their own expat club: YEP or Young Expats in Panama,

Founded by Skyler Raiston, the group organizes a fun variety of social activities for the growing demographic of younger expats. Activities include beach trips, poker games and parties at local night spots.
Email: YoungExpatsinPanama@gmail.com
Website: www.facebook.com/YoungExpatsinPanama

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Panama has the most fantastic pirate history of any country in Latin America. It’s  a tourism attraction yet to developed but will hopefully be done in the future given how little boys and big boys love pirate history. Panama City, and nearby Taboga Island,the Pearl Islands and the Atlantic side city of Portobello are some of  the pirate history venues.

The ship of England’s most favorite pirate was just found. From 1oo HGF below, more on this discovery:

“The pirate ship of Captain Morgan – yes, the pirate whose name is used for a popular brand of rum – has finally been found, more than 300 years after it sank off the coast of Panama.

In 1671, Henry Morgan lost five ships – including the Satisfaction, his main ship – near the Lajas Reef. But the precise location of the wrecks has long been a mystery. It’s believed that a team of US explorers might be able to locate and remove some unopened chests on the wreck. However, the odds of there being some particularly rare rum onboard might be low.

Henry Morgan made his name in the Caribbean, where he mainly spent his time raiding Spanish settlements, unofficially acting on behalf of the British. The Satisfaction was lost when Morgan attacked Panama City, hoping to strike a crucial blow against Spanish influence in the region. His plan was successful, although the loss of five ships was a severe blow to Morgan’s career.

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Aereoperlas now offers flights to David, the entry point for Chiriqui Province and to the popular island destination Bocas del Toro directly from Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport. Until now anyone going to these destinations had to stay the night in Panama City and fly out the next day.

The flights leave Tocumen International in the afternoon. You can book these flights when booking on all the major airlines- American, Delta, Continental and Copa, airline websites and your travel agent.

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 Check out this excellent article about Panama by Europe’s top English business publication- The Economist.

In a nutshell- Panama has great potential but also possible pitfalls ahead.

“Latin America’s fastest-growing country has set its sights high. First it needs a government as impressive as its economy”‘

http://www.economist.com/node/18959000?story_id=18959000&fsrc=rss

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The Marriot Hotels will build a beach resort hotel in Panama’s Riviera-  an easy distance from Panama City- just 1.5 hours on a 4 lane highway. The resort will be built within a new resort community called Casamar, by the Corzione group developers. There are already 3 major beach resorts nearby which are doing well as Panama continues to grow as the business hub of the Americas.

At the same time, news leaked that Panama’s first and most successful all-inclusive beach resort, Decameron- also in Panama’s Riviera, will build another beach resort on Panama’s Atlantic/Caribbean coast near Nombre de Dios.

President Martinelli promised to fund the 22 mile access road needed. The Colon area has a high rate of unemployment so this investment is good news for the locals.

Panama’s coast near Colon featuring white sand and aqua Caribbean waters, is one of the most beautiful beach areas in Panama.  The Decameron will be the first major beach hotel in the on Panama’s Caribbean.  The Melia chain has a large hotel just outside the city of Colon.

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Donald Trump came to Panama  to open his Trump Ocean Club, a 70 story building , the tallest building in Panama and one of the tallest in Latin America. It is also Trump’s first project in Latin America.

Trump Ocean Club reflects ‘the modern sensibility of the new generation of luxury travel’, according to the promoters. It included condos as well as a hotel with rooms at $300.00 a night.

Hotel guests and condo owners will also have access to an island beach club in the Pearl Islands  opening later this year.

Trump became a believer in Panama’s future when his Miss Universe pageant came to Panama in 1986.

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The Hard Rock Hotel Panama Megapolis is set to open in December 2011 in Panama City.

The 66-story hotel will have 1,449 rooms, including a whopping 796 suites, some of which will be the brand’s signature Rock Star Suites. Located on Panama Bay, rooms will feature spectacular views of Panama Bay and Panama City. One special feature of the rooms is that guests will be able to create a music playlist all their own through the hotel’s “Sound of Your Stay” music collection.

The hotel will host eight restaurants and bars, a club on the 62nd floor, a Rock Spa and a Rock Shop where you can buy Hard Rock-branded gear.

The hotel will be the brand’s first hotel in Latin America with the unique “Hard Rock Experience”. The hotel will be connected by a pedestrian sky bridge to Multicentro Mall and the Megapolis Convention Center. It will feature several acres of lush tropical landscaping, a large infinity pool and a luxury Hard Rock Spa.

Designed with meetings and conventions in mind, the hotel has 7200 square feet of flexible space for both small and large meetings.

The hotel decor will feature authentic memorabilia from the age of rock and more contemporary music. A special service “The Sounds of Your Stay” will enable guests to download a wide choice of music free.

At a May press conference announcing the December opening  Michael Shinder, Hard Rock VP said:

“We are proud to launch the first Hard Rock Hotel in a region with a prodigious music culture”.

Hard Rock is partnering with  Megapolis and Decameron Hotels & Resorts, a major hotelier in the region which owns Panama’s most popular beach resort- the Royal Decameron on the Pacific Coast just outside Panama City. Jacop Torres representing Megapolis said “The mixture of luxury and Hard Rock life style will give clients one of Latin America’s most unique hotel experiences.”

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Feeling cool again in Bocas del Toro:

Day trips are cheap and fabulous from this funky island town

 I don’t know how they do it but y0ung backpackers are the first to find about these places. Before the luxury hotels spring up and cruise ships sail in, they are there.

The little funky town of Bocas del Toro in Panama was full of them. I don’t think they are called hippies these days, but they do remind me of the ’60s. I like to think of myself as having been a hippie.

My husband Dan and I were taking a three-week vacation in Panama. Before my research on the Internet, the only things I had known about Panama was that it was famous for its canal, it was in the same time zone as Ottawa, and it was warm.

I read that Bocas del Toro, on the island of Colón, had retained its original charm in spite of becoming a popular destination. Our kind of place: a small town with a laidback Caribbean vibe set in an archipelago of idyllic beauty, a place where we could just be easy, soak up some sun and eat catchof-the-day with perhaps a piña colada or margarita. We booked eight days at a hotel on the main street.

Bocas lived up to its reputation and made me smile as I felt transported back in time.

This colourful town seems to have as many hostels as hotels. Hostels such as the Gran Kahuna and Calypso stand on the main street alongside little shops with multicoloured woven hammocks, amateurish paintings and an assortment of earrings and bracelets. Brightly painted wooden buildings house restaurants with eating areas on stilts over the ocean. Water taxis outnumber land taxis by 10 to one.

Read the rest of the story here:

http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/Feeling+cool+again+Bocas+Toro/4602791/story.html

TIPS:Go in the dry season, between January and April.

Pack light. There are weight restrictions on internal flights.

U.S. dollars are the legal currency.

More: www.panamainfo.com

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“President Martinelli wants Panama to be known as the next Miami as a shopping and airline hub; the next Chile for copper exports; the next Dubai as a business and real estate capital; the next Rotterdam as a shipping hub; and the next Singapore as a global logistics center.

“We are seeking our own path in the world, but we have to copy the good things that other countries have done, for example what Singapore has done and what the Dominican Republic has done in tourism,” Martinelli told the Monitor following the recent investors conference, “Panama: Where the World Meets.”

 Though it sounds like a tall order, Panama, which enjoyed 7.5 percent economic growth last year – more than double the Central American average – seems up to the challenge. According to projections from the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund, Panama will lead the region in economic growth over the next five years, thanks in large part to a five-year, $20 billion public-investment plan highlighted by a $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal, to finish in 2014.

But there are signs that this pro-business government can’t have everything it wants all at once.

On March 3, Martinelli reluctantly announced his government was repealing its controversial Reforms to the Mining Code (Law – an initiative that his administration had hoped would bring in billions of dollars in revenue and convert Panama into one of the largest mining nations in Latin America within 20 to 30 years.

Backpedaling on it and the mining law are indications, he insists, that his government is listening to the people. Analysts, however, claim the reversals are more a symptom of his government’s failure to consult civil society on projects that don’t necessarily jibe with Panama’s culture or traditional development model. And it’s giving some the impression of an erratic government that is shooting out in all directions. “

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2011/0323/What-Obama-missed-by-skipping-Panama-in-Latin-America-tour

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In just 45 days the new National terminal at Tocumen International airport will open. This means that you will be able to book one ticket -Your country-David (near Boquete) via Tocumen International  or Your country- Bocas del Toro  via Tocumen .  You will fly into  Tocumen  in the morning and fly to David or Bocas in the afternoon. You can buy your ticket with both flights included.

The big savings is in time and money- it will no longer be necessary to stay overnight in Panama City and then fly the next morning to David or Bocas.

Thank you to our tourism minister Salomon Shamah and Copa Airlines for making this all possible.

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