December 2008
A sad day today, Donna happened
to look out our kitchen window
toward the river and she was
seeing a few people looking at a
man down on the river but wasn't
sure what he was doing. The man
was trying to help a dog that
was caught in the water up
against a log. By the time I go
down to the rivers edge the man
had the dog out of the water and
it was just laying their
shivering or twitching. I went
back to the condo, got some
towels and the car and took him
to the vet at Animals & Pets.
Dr. Ovidio was on call and he
was amazing - he tried
everything to help - after
almost 4 hours he had come to
the conclusion the poor pouch
was suffering from the last
stages of distemper and it was
not treatable. He made the dog
comfortable, warm and calm
during this time but he never
stopped shaking and twitching.
We finally decided that the only
companionate thing to do was end
his suffering.
This is THE
reason Donna and I are so
wanting to help both Mari Pily
with her rescue shelter and Spay
Panama so that this kind of
suffering does not continue.
If you are a Canadian company
here in Panama or if you are a
Canadian that loves animals as
we do, you can help. You can
volunteer or you can contribute.
I attended the 1st hearing of
the proposed changes to the
Reform Agrian and Law 2 where it
concerns Derecho Posesorio.
There were some 100 people in
attendance and we heard many
parties speak in favor of the
Panamanian Government adopting
the changes to the laws of
titling. With one exception, the
Ministry of Finance.
I had the privilege of
meeting two ladies that owned
land in Bocas del Toro and were
in favor the of the laws being
changed.
I've heard that some
Panamanians think it's wrong
that expats are supporting this
change to ROP but i am perplexed
when everyone I've had the
pleasure of meeting is in favor,
not just expats. So why is it
wrong if we agree?
________________
What is happening in the north
of Panama - we asked E. David
Brewer - the manager of the
Panamonte -- here is his reply
and a release
"Yes, a bit
of a mess but progress is being
made and all roads into and out
of Boquete are open LADERA and
PALO ALTO hit badly ...but all
other hotels are fine. The
Panamonte did not get touched at
all and we are operating as
usual. However, the perception
out there is one that Boquete is
out of business...not
so...please visit
www.boquetetoday.com
and there should be a press
release on there advising as to
the state of affairs. Yes, the
bridge went and now we wait to
see what will take place....but,
it is not stopping traffic
getting to the Inn"
See more on Boquete
The last 10 days have been the
rainiest I've seen since we
arrived more than 2 years ago.
It reminded me of Vancouver in
the winter, but much warmer.
Drizzling, overcast skys with
down pours virtually everyday.
Today was the first day without
rain. A gorgeous day in
paradise.
Thursday, December
4th, will see the first hearing
of the proposed changes to the
ROP laws. This is a historic
event for Panama. If the
government follows through with
these changes all of the land in
Panama will be moved into the
20th century and will allow the
Panamanian people to be more
secure in their land ownership,
and it will allow people like us
who want a slice of paradise the
comfort of knowing that any land
we are buying is secure as if we
were buying it in Panama City or
Canada.
If you are able to attend the
meetings on Thursday at 10:00 am
in the Blue Room - Salon Azul of
the Legislative Palace. If you
need more information email me
at
tomd@tsdconsulting.ca
November 2008
We expect to hear some news
shortly on the recent meeting of
the Conseljo Consultivo de La
Sociedad Civil, a group hired to
assist the government and Pronat
with respect to the necessity of
titling all the current Right of
Possession land in Panama. There
is a proposed amendment to the
laws being debated in the
legislature. From what I hear
the turn out in Pedasi/Los
Santos, there were quite a few
locals, expats, government
people and the media there to
hear the governments changes.
We've heard unofficially that
Castastro is being replaced by
Pronat when it comes to titling
and if that is so that should be
a big move forward.
I don't know about the rest
of city as I don't get around
too often, but there are two
towers in our area, Costa del
Este that have come to a
complete halt. No activity. It's
been more than a month since
we've seen workmen in them. One
is probably 80% done but no sign
of them finishing it.
We're still looking for
people to assist a new friend of
ours, Mari Pily, who runs an
animal shelter wher she feeds
over 200 dogs and 100 cats on
donated money from her friends.
We are trying to find a more
structured method of making sure
there are sufficient funds there
every month. Can you help? Do
you know anyone who can provide
food or expertise in getting
into businesses who can help?
email us if you can.
On the home front, we are
getting ready for a couple of
friends of ours arriving in
December and we are looking
forward to a short sailing time
we've booked in December. We are
going to spend 3 nights sailing
around the San Blas Islands.
We are also gearing up for
our annual Christmas open house
that we hold every year. We
began this tradition of inviting
our friends, business
acquaintances and neighbours to
an open house way back in
Canada. Speaking of Canada,
we've heard that our old home in
Alberta saw the first few flakes
of snow. Yuck.
Donna is off to China this
weekend so she will busy when
she gets home in December.
Multiple Entry Visas
August 26th, 2008 a new Migratory
law started.
1. Decreto Ley N°3 de 22 de
febrero de 2008.
2. Decreto Ejecutivo N°320 de 8 de
agosto de 2008 (Reglamenta la Ley
N°3 de 22 de febrero de 2008).
Residents don’t need the multiple
entry visas. A pensionado is a
permanent resident and does not need
multiple entry visas.
Decreto Ley N°3 de 22 de febrero de
2008:
Artículo 46: La autorización de
entrada y salida múltiple constituye
una visa de entrada y salida del
territorio nacional, que expide el
Servicio Nacional de Migración o el
personal diplomático o consular
autorizado para realizar funciones
migratorias, a los extranjeros no
residentes que lo soliciten…
Decreto Ejecutivo N°320 de 8 de
agosto de 2008:
Artículo 264: Todos los residentes
temporales o residentes permanentes,
intrínseco a su permiso otorgado,
tienen la posibilidad de entrar y
salir del territorio nacional sin
necesidad de autorización previa del
Servicio Nacional de Migración, a
excepción de los casos en que las
autoridades competentes interpongan
medidas cautelares o restricciones
de entrada o salida.
Just an update on the pet front - we
heard from Mari Pily again this week to
let us know a couple of her shelter dogs
that were being treated are now
recovered and fine. Also, the dog that
our local vet, Dr. Frank from Animales y
Mascotas is now back with his security
guard friend and looks the picture of
health thanks to the efforts of Dr.
Frank.
We are getting ready for a couple of
friends of ours arriving in December and
we are looking forward to a short
sailing time we've booked in December.
We are going to spend 3 nights sailing
around the San Blas Islands.
We are also gearing up for our annual
Christmas open house that we hold every
year. We began this tradition of
inviting our friends, business
acquaintances and neighbours to an open
house way back in Canada. Speaking of
Canada, we've heard that our old home in
Alberta saw the first few flakes of
snow. Yuck.
Donna asked me to mention Spay Panama
again as we see so many stray dogs and
cats that are so thin, it almost breaks
your heart. This could all be eliminated
or at least reduced if only the strays
were spayed.
Go to
www.SpayPanama.org to make
your contribution - do something - get
involved. There are lots of animal
shelters that could use your support as
well. Email us if you want to know how
to help. We added another new pages this
week - "Other Sites" - links to various
web sites we feel of value to our
readers. We also added new "articles".
Check out
Donna's monthly articles being
published in Vivir Bien -- in Spanish
and English -- so she is now published
in English, Cantonese and Spanish.
October 2008
I had the
privilege of attending a meeting in Los
Santos this past weekend that had a
series of very interesting presentations
on the issue of ROP land being titled.
It seems that the government could be on
the verge of making some monumental
changes to these laws - if you are a
foreigner in Panama and have invested or
would invest, the government needs to
hear your story - please email me so I
can tell you how to have your voice
heard. My email is
tomd@tsdconsulting.ca
Also, we've had a couple of pet
related stories - one, a stray we help
feed was so infested and covered in
mange, we thought it might be too much,
but our local Vet, Dr. Frank from
Animales y Mascotas in Costa del Este
took him in and is treating him. Also, a
new friend, Mari Pily who incredibly
feeds and care for over 200 dogs and 100
cats. If you have a heart for pets and
want to help - email
donna@icangarden.com.
Donna asked me to mention Spay Panama
again as we see so many stray dogs and
cats that are so thin, it almost breaks
your heart. This could all be eliminated
or at least reduced if only the strays
were spayed.
Go to
www.SpayPanama.org to make
your contribution - do something - get
involved. There are lots of animal
shelters that could use your support as
well. Email us if you want to know how
to help. We added another new pages this
week - "Other Sites" - links to various
web sites we feel of value to our
readers. We also added new "articles".
Check out
Donna's monthly articles being published
in Vivir Bien -- in Spanish and
English -- so she is now published in
English, Cantonese and Spanish.
September 2008
John headed home last week to
the beginning of fall in Canada.
Hard to imagine overnight
temperatures dipping to almost
freezing. Yuck.
Donna asked me to mention Spay
Panama again as we see so many
stray dogs and cats that are so
thin, it almost breaks your
heart. This could all be
eliminated or at least reduced
if only the strays were spayed.
Go to
www.SpayPanama.org to make
your contribution - do something
- get involved. There are lots
of animal shelters that could
use your support as well.
Email us if you want
to know how to help.
We added another new pages
this week - "Other Sites" -
links to various web sites we
feel of value to our readers. We
also added new "articles".
Check out Donna's monthly
articles being published in
Vivir Bien -- in Spanish and
English -- so she is now
published in English, Cantonese
and Spanish.
August 2008
The last couple of weeks we had some new
friends from the Chicago area, Missy and
Jim. They are new to Panama and checking
out various areas. They were smitten
with El Valle. To read more about their
stay read the complete details under the
"articles" section. We love meeting new
people to Panama.
The local papers have had numerous
articles on the decision of the
government of Panama to move forward
with the titling of the Right of
Possession land (direcho possessorio).
One paper indicated this was an 18
billion dollar decision. I don't know
about the figure but I do know that it
will explode the development of the
Caribbean and many other areas of
Panama. If you think the real estate
boom had hit, wait for the impact of
this decision over the next 5 years. It
will make the recent boom pale in
comparison. At least according to the
"oracle of tom" :}
July 2008
07/07/2008
Lots of interesting things happening in
Panama with respect to the land
ownership in the form of "right of
possession" that much of the Caribbean
coast and agricultural land is currently
held under. We've heard some encouraging
news, and we'll report as we hear more.
Malls are such interesting places - not
only to browse and people watch but to
meet people. I had the pleasure of
talking with a fellow about kayaking,
then moving things to Panama and
eventually our mutual interests in
Panama. His background is quite unique
and should be well suited to Panama -
check out his site at
www.BradywKeresey.com. More later as I
get to know Brady.
Friends in from Ontario this week. They
are in Boquete and Vocan region as this
is where they are sure they will settle.
They are finalizing their Pensionado
Visa application and we hope to see them
full time Panama residents by the end of
this year. Check out Alan's comments in
the Articles Area.
Check out Donna's monthly articles being
published in Vivir Bien -- in Spanish
and English -- so she is now published
in English, Cantonese and Spanish.
May/June 2008
During the past
couple of weeks more "new friends" have
emailed saying they were coming to
Panama or are in the initial process of
investigating Panama as a possible home.
We've also been privileged to be
involved in a series of meetings
recently regarding upcoming changes to
the land ownership laws in Panama,
particularly as they apply to the land
on the Caribbean.
Check out Donna's monthly articles being
published in Vivir Bien -- in Spanish
and English -- so she is now published
in English, Cantonese and Spanish.
Donna was in contact with Spay Panama
and she has put their logo on the site
to left in the hopes you will see it,
check out their site and contribute. If
you have been outside the city you know
how many dogs and cats wander around
under nourished and skinny. All of this
can be prevented through birth control.
February 16th, 2008
This past
week I had the pleasure of
spending 3 full days exploring the coast
line of Costa Arriba. From Playa Blanca
near Portobelo to past Santa Isabel,
almost to the San Blas Islands. The
coast line and the small towns are all
different ranging from large sweeping
beaches to rocky hills descending into
the Caribbean. As i mentioned in my
previous note we had done this trek by
car.
I was there to see how the area Pedro
owns compared to the rest of the coast,
and i can now say without any
hesitation, he has the two finest pieces
if the beach and swimming are important.
There are lots of pieces with
spectacular views but no beach and
others with great beaches but with very
aggressive waves.
The week before we had the pleasure
of meeting Alan & Geri from Canada along
with their friend Jacob. We enjoyed
spending time around Panama City in
Casco Viejo and the Amador causeway.
They went on to Boquete and other areas
around Panama checking out various
housing projects to see if anything
might fit their lifestyles.
Check out
Alan's running commentary here.
i will have pictures online next week
so check back.
January 27th, 2008So many
people have asked us what things we see
and do in Panama that we thought we
would jot some things down once in a
while. This area won't try and be a
diary, but will try and capture some of
the more interesting things we
encounter.
The week of the 13th of January, 2008 we
had the pleasure/privilege of seeing
some amazing things – some things that
just driving around you would never
normally get a chance to see – we put on
almost 2,200 km – and worth every single
km –
We left Panama and drove the PanAmerican
Highway to Boquete – about 5.5-6hrs –
this meant we passed the Pacific coastal
area from the city to the province of
Cocle where it becomes inland area –
mostly farm and sugar cane fields – then
through Veraguas which is similar but it
becomes hillier and greener. Finally
Chiriqui where we came to the city of
David. From there you head “up” to
Boquete – climbing to over 1200 meters.
We had rented a house in Boquete – 2
bdrm, 3 or 4 yrs old – clean – 40.00 per
night all in :} – We visited the Boquete
flower show and spent time at the house
of an acquaintance of Wayne & Elaines.
Interesting couple from Kelowna/Calgary
who moved 4 yrs ago to Boquete and
renovated a house. They have now bought
in the Boquete Country Club area and
will build their own home.
The next day we went back to David,
further into Chiriqui and then “up” to
Volcan and Cerro Punto where we visited
an orchid “finca” (farm) with over 2600
varieties of orchids, but primarily
known for their “Dracula Orchids” –
hence their name Finca Dracula. Needless
to say Donna and Elaine took almost 400
pictures and could probably fill 12
pages of descriptions on what they found
in Finca Dracula. Back to Boquete and
out for dinner at the old grand hotel,
the Panamonte. Excellent, incredible
meal. Before the meal Donna and Elaine
had a facial and pedicure and would
highly recommend that as well.
Then the next day back to Panama City
for a day of rest.
Friday we left for the Caribbean where
we met our friend Pedro and spent 2
nights at Ralph & Claritas house on the
cove. We swam and drank. Hmmmm .. Ralph
has a fellow, Porfirio, do all the yard
work and cook when they or friends are
out there. That evening Pedro arranged
for us to go a neighboring town, Mirimar,
where he arranged a local dinner,
lobster, octopus and rice – and he
arranged the towns “congo dancers” to
entertain us – they had all of us up
dancing – what a hoot … Pedro tried to
arrange for us to go on his friends boat
but the waves were a little too high for
comfort so the next day we got up, had a
Tom’s prepared breakfast (with the help
of Porfirio who I am sure thinks we’re
crazy) , then headed out to Pedros other
land in Santa Isabel – virtually the end
of the road on Costa Arriba – right on
the edge of the San Blas islands.
It’s only 40 km but the last 20 are
“unimproved roads”. I had no idea what
that really meant when we headed out.
All I know is Pedro asked me very
casually at one point on our way, “have
you ever tried your 4 wheel drive in the
Mitsubishi?” I told him, yes, as a
matter of fact I had just to see how
easy it was. Well, we hit the unimproved
– wow – we’re talking roads simply
“plowed” over land, through farms, up
hills and then ……. Across three rivers
…. No bridges… true river crossings … we
have pictures as no one would believe
us.
Needless to say it was white knuckle for
20 km – we had to pass vehicles and one
huge – I mean HUGE shovel unit – unreal.
Another time we had to pass an SUV on
the side of a hill on a single lane
road. He got the inside by the mountain
– we got the side that went down the
hill for what looked like a mile:} We
finally made it to his property – almost
400 hectares from the Caribbean beach to
inland backed by a river that runs
around the property. Pretty spectacular
land. And in 10 years it will be
surrounded by development as they are
building a new road direct from the
Tocuman airport to Santa Isabel. This
will take the trip down to 45 -60 min
from Panama City to Santa Isabel on the
edge of the San Blas Islands. Back for a
local fare lunch (and BBQ’d sausages)
prepared by Porfirio, time to swim and
then head back to Panama City.
January 20th we drove to El Valle de
Anton about 1.5 hrs on the Pacific side
right near Coronado but up in the hills.
We had lunch reservations at a
restaurant called Lourdes. It is owned
and run by a lady who designed this
restaurant and hotel to look like it was
right out of Tuscany. She even imitated
the olive trees in the back ground. The
food was some of the best I’ve eaten
anywhere in Canada, the USA or Europe –
and 4 people, wine, appetizer, main
course and dessert – 160.00
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