Wishing you the best for the New Year, I invite you to make plans to visit us this year and see what is happening in Panama.

Panama ranks in top ten places to visit in 2011

The ranking for the top ten places to visit in 2011 was published by Lonely Planet and Panama is number 4.  “Where in the world should you go next year? Our in-house travel experts, including Lonely Planet cofounder Tony Wheeler, have chosen their top 10 countries for next year based on scores for topicality, excitement, value for money and…that special X-factor. Here they are, in order of rank, from Lonely Planet’s latest book: Best in Travel 2011.”

For Panama, the world economic crisis offered a perfect excuse to hit the reset button. After an unchecked growth spurt created a clutter of casinos, gated communities and glass towers in the name of Trump, the investment slump has forced a return to basics. For travellers, there’s a return to the authentic – local heartland festivals, jungle treks and lodgings in sand-floor huts in the independent Comarca de Kuna Yala. With plenty of the country still pristine, true adventure is only a boat or bus fare away. In 2011 Panama City gets greener, with the anticipated unveiling of the BíoMuseo, an innovative Frank Gehry-designed space celebrating ecological diversity. Panama City’s new Cinta Costera (Coastal Belt) creates a green stripe of waterfront paths that finishes in Casco Viejo, a stunning historic neighbourhood remade after decades of neglect. Like elsewhere, climate change and habitat destruction are taking their toll here. Panama’s inch-long golden frogs, victims of a worldwide epidemic, are fast disappearing. But the Darién Gap, considered one of the world’s wildest places, still remains roadless. Countless Panamanian islands persist without name or a sole inhabitant. Costa Rica eat your heart out.

Ocean Front Hotel Investment Opportunties

We have two nice ocean front hotel opportunties to show you if you are the adventurous proprietor who wants to move to paradise and work, if that is what you want to call it.

The first is a high quality Boutique Luxury Resort Hotel

The second is a what I call a Robinson Crusoe exotic that people who have been there rave about.

Hydro Energy Projects in Panama and Investment Opportunity

I was always fascinated by the thought of having a small hydro project and getting “off the grid” when I came to Panama and I wanted to build a home.  Several friends of mine here have solar and micro-hydro projects that power their homes and are exciting to see the ingenuity that goes into the plants.

While a micro-hydro might be good for a home or a small community, the next level is small hydro which can be a 2 megawatt plant and as large as a 10 megawatt plant as I have seen developed here in Chiriqui.  These projects can run anywhere from $1,500,000 to $2,500,000 per megawatt and come with certain Government subsidies. 

We have a property here in Chiriqui that my partner owns that is below Fortuna and shares a water source that powers a small hydro plant adjacent to his property.  The folks involved with hydro here in Panama have been to the property and it appears that another small hydro project is feasible for this part of the Rio Chiriqui.  Here is a Google aerial and inlay of how a “run of the river” installation is feasible on the property.