By Rose Ryan: Tropical Properties SA
www.panamaandcostarica.com

Panama! Warm, tropical, palm trees silhouetted against the golden sky of a setting sun. Yes, it is all those romantic things and so much more! Panama, that thin strip of land joining the northern and southern halves of the Americas, running east to west provides a 50-mile wide divide between the world’s two largest oceans. Its narrow shape has provided much of its history as the Spanish used it as a land bridge to transport Inca treasure en route to Spain which attracted the pirates whose exploits made them household names and the rest is history, as they say. The French tried to build a canal and went broke. The Americans, who proved the value of the isthmus during the Gold Rush, succeeded from where the French had left off. Today, the Panama Canal, now run by the Panamanians, produces much of the country’s wealth and more shipping is registered in Panama than anywhere else in the world.

Panama once had a reputation as part of the pipeline for Columbian drugs. It suffered under the savage dictatorship of Manuel Noriega, until he was captured and imprisoned by American troops in December, 1989. The country has had a peaceful democracy ever since. Like Costa Rica, it has no military. Money is spent on education instead, so the people have a high level of literacy. If you need medical attention here, your doctor is likely to have been trained in the U.S. or Europe.

Panama is silver sand on the Caribbean side and dramatic black volcanic sand in places on the Pacific side. It has the second largest volcanic crater in the world inside which nestles a popular tourist and retirement town. (The largest is the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania). It is desert and mountaintops. It can be humid all year or like spring for all 12 months, depending on where you are in this small country.

Panama has world-class hotels and resorts, the best roads in Central America, by far (many were built by Americans) and Brinks give the country a top rating for personal safety.

Panama is tales of pirates, of Spanish treasure and the forts that tried to protect. It is jungle and monkeys and parrots. It has more birds than all of North America with some 960 different species. There is a jungle preserve right inside the Panama City limits. Darien National Park on the Columbian border is a jungle of monstrous size and one of the world’s richest wildlife habitats.

Panama City has world-class restaurants, five-star hotels, international banks, hundreds of multinational businesses, a Manhattan-type skyline, every imaginable luxury … all at about half the price you would pay in North America. It is only a few minutes to a few hours to the beaches, mountains, country side of Panama itself. It has all the infrastructure one might want right at hand, combined with a romantic’s idea of paradise a short distance away.

On the esthetic side, few places in the world offer spring-like weather year-round, a low cost of living, safety, security, peace of mind and beautiful landscapes. It has mountainsides covered with flowers and planted with coffee and beautiful waterfalls … not to mention the best pensionado program (retirement program for foreigners) in the world. It’s a real benefit for the retired expat, making your buck stretch a long way. And we do mean bucks since the US dollar is the official currency of Panama.

In Panama you will never feel far from home. When you stay for extended periods in another country, it is important to have the familiar services and the comforts of home. Because of the long association between Panama and the Americans, no other country can offer you a distinctive and delightful Latin culture that abounds with convenient American influences.

The convenience of having a US dollar currency cannot be underestimated as it makes daily life so much easier for a foreigner. It is also the factor in stabilizing the economy and reducing inflation.