Richard Detrich’s Boquete, Panama Weblog

I “recommend” (loosely so) the Riande Airport Hotel in Panama. I am a frequent guest, although you sure wouldn’t know it by the way I am treated. But I’ve concluded they treat every guest withthe same “attitude” so I don’t feel bad. The bell guys who take me to the airport and look after my car while I am gone, are great, the parking is free, and the convenience of a location 5 minutes from the international airport with quick and easy access to Corridor Sur make it hard to beat. And, recently, the hotel has begun a much needed renovation, albeit a minor and relatively cheap renovation and not the massive renovation required.

There are other Riande hotels and I’ve never stayed at any. (Why would I want to given my experiences at the Riande Airport in Panama?)

I arrived home May 8th. The airport shuttle was there almost immediately. When I checked in I received the usual challenge, delivered with attitude - not upscale “attitude” but “DGAS” attitude (nicely put, we don’t give a damn about your business) - “Do you have a reservation?” (If not, we certainly don’t want you in our hotel.) Here goes . . .

Since it’s 4AM I’m up and out of here to beat the traffic through Panama City. Makes you wonder why I stay here, huh? Location, location, location. Any decent hotel that builds by the international airport, offers a modicum of service, a clean and affordable room, airport pickup and parking will make a fortune!

I grant you I’ve just come off of 50 days on the VOLENDAM with Holland America’s truly exceptional service, but still . . .

One of the reasons for Holland America’s exceptional level of service is the Filipino and Indonesian crew who come from a culture where being of exceptional service to another is considered an honor. In Panamanian culture being of service is, well, being a “servant” and while people are certainly willing to perform servant-type roles if needed to survive, it is certainly not looked on as an honor. The Panamanian work ethic largely centers around punching in, putting in your time, and punching out. If Panama is to be truly successful in the tourist and hospitality economic sector there must be a relearning from the top down. At the top corporate executives must understand that the guest is the guest and without the guest there is no business. The standard Panamanian business ethos “the customer is the enemy” simply doesn’t fly in the tourist and hospitality sector in the long term. From the top it has to filter down to the local facility management and the lowest paid employee who, ironically, is frequently the one most in contact with the customer.

So how, you ask, does a hotel like the Riande Airport survive?

A Deloitte report published this week showed that Panama City has the second highest hotel occupancy rate of any city outside of the United States. Panama, which had a hotel occupancy rate of 84.7 percent, was topped only by Perth, Australia. Deloitte says that tourism in Panama increased 27 percent in 2007, much higher than the expected 15 percent increase. In addition to this, Panama City showed an impressive 37.9 percent increase in revenue per available hotel room.

Even in the current rocky economy, Panama is emerging as one of the strongest locations for tourism in the Americas buoyed up by a weak US dollar.

Richard Detrich’s Boquete Blog An Interesting Perspective On Expatriate Life In Panama
April 30, 2008 by patrickwoolford

Richard Detrich’s blog provides an interesting look at the American expatriate life in Panama, specifically living in Boquete. After scouring the internet for interesting blogs on Panama, Mr. Detrich’s blog is a refreshingly honest look at life in Panama, amid a veritable wasteland of commercial and spam filled sites. According to his site, Mr. Detrich is an ordained minister and retired businessman who relocated to Panama with his wife. He often writes about his day to day experiences living in Boquete, as well as his experience owning and operating a small shade coffee plantation in the mountains. His blog is varied and eclectic, with posts on Panama politics and history, photographs of wild orchids, and stories of gruesome battles between spiders and scorpions in his laundry room.

For anyone interested in buying property, building a house in Boquete, or is looking for advice on investing in Panamanian coffee, Mr. Detrich’s Boquete Blog is a valuable resource.

Reading Mr. Detrich’s blog is especially useful for investors interested in Boquete, but also provides general insight for real estate investments elsewhere in Panama. One particularly useful page on his site is an extensive Q&A section that answers many questions people may have about buying property and living in Panama. Some of the questions addressed include “how isolated is Boquete from the rest of the world?”, “Are foreigners allowed to own property?”, and “how is banking in Panama different than in the United States?” For anyone interested in buying property, building a house in Boquete, or is looking for advice on investing in Panamanian coffee, Mr. Detrich’s Boquete Blog is a valuable resource.

Panama Real Estate Investment

Hey, Patrick, thanks!!

OK, I’ve been on the high seas with expensive Internet rates . . . so let me get caught up!

Editorial correction, your grandson’s name is Rian Patrick not Patrick Ryan! Just a reminder for when you meet. George

Thank you George! Your son, my grandson IS Rian Patrick not Patrick Ryan! Chalk it up to too much tequila on the VOLENDAM! Mea culpa!

Do snakes ever appear in or near the house, Richard?

Snakes avoid places where people frequent . . . early on we had one in our outside “deposito” or storage shed. The workers building the house next door tipped me off that they had seen it slither inside. My West Indian woodworker, the same guy who ripped me off for $1000, burned garlic to chase it away. I’d have been better keeping the snake and chasing him away! When we were first cleaning out our little place by the beach after nobody had been there for a few years, Nikki found a baby fer de lance in the corner. But snakes are usually smart and avoid people.

Living in Panama with snakes is like living in New York or Chicago or any other city with dogs and careless people who don’t pick up . . . you watch where you step!

Hello Richard, I enjoy very much reading your blog and perhaps you can help me out with an inquiry that a US visitor ask me the other day where to eat in Boquete/David? Where would you recomend you readers to eat , taking under consideration that safety, location some might not have a car etc? any good restaurants that you can suggest? Thanks, David V

Given the fact that truly Panamanian cuisine is somewhat limited - rice, chicken, beans, salad, bananas or for variety beans, rice, chicken, bananas and salad - not sure I have any great tips. There are a few good Panamanian/Chinese places we like in David. Have yet to find good pizza outside of Panama City - Pizza Italiana when are you opening in David or Boquete?? Boquete has gringo and Panamanian restaurants. A lot of the little Panamanian places offer great food at affordable prices. The gringo places tend to offer great food at gringo prices. Unfortunately new restaurants in Boquete open . . . and close . . . in the blink of an eye. I’ve never understood restaurant recommendations when traveling abroad. To me the fun is in making your own discoveries!

My husband is a retired high school principal and I still have one foot in the school system and one on the curb that separates Missouri from Panama. Since my husband has retired he has been talking about moving to Costa Rica or Panama. We are your “typical” (?) older Americans (56) that wish to live a simpler and more peaceful life among like minded humans without the threat of war, gangs, soaring prices etc. After reading many of your writings I feel like I have found one of those humans.

My husband and his brother are planning a trip to Panama in the next six months and I feel that your website will be very helpful. My question or questions are…our total retirement will be around $1300 per month. We will cash in our annuity to be able to set up our household. Will we be able to live on that amount? Are Americans allowed to work in Panama? For myself, I can’t imagine not having a job! (I have to work on that.) I make homemade soaps and lotion bars on the weekends. Would I be able to sell my products…and mainly, could I order from the internet and be able to receive packages from the states? Does Panama have UPS? LOL! I’m sorry if these sound like dumb questions but as you might guess, I’m the one that is hesitant about leaving my comfort zone. Till now we have just researched Costa Rica and getting what I need sounds a bit more difficult…like working! We are not city dwellers. Will live in rural mid-Missouri where my husband grows organic vegetables and sells them and my products at Farrmer’s Market in the city. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you~~Garland

Whoa Pilgrim! Lot’s of questions! First, you might really love it here in Boquete or in Volcan since we are a rural farming area. One couple stopped by our home for a glass of wine and to talk about moving to Panama and the gal said, “It’s just like being on the high dive: you want to jump, but you’re not sure that you dare to jump!” Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I would suggest coming down and renting someplace for 6 months or so. At worst it’s a nice vacation experience, at best you might discover your paradise!

You can get a “pensionado” retiree visa if you have at least $600 per month pension income. That doesn’t mean you can live on that amount! Just like in the states there are folks who manage to live modestly and folks, usually Hollywood types negotiating divorce settlements, who feel “impoverished” eeking out an existence on $50K a month! If you like to grow some of your own food, and live somewhat simply, and use your annuity for a house, one car and bring in a container of your household goods (duty free for pensionados), you could do it . . . certainly a lot better here I would think than in most places in the US.

You cannot work as an employee in Panama, however, it is very easy to set up your own business and there are incentives if you hire a few Panamanians. I think in our area there would be a lot of women who would like your soaps and lotions if they were affordable and sold directly. The organic vegetable concept is relatively new and I think that could be profitable if sold directly. UPS incoming is expensive, outgoing it is unbelievably expensive. But there are outfits we use to ship Internet orders to a Miami address and they bring it down weekly to Panama at very affordable rates.

I do a shipboard lecture about this and one of the points I make is that people should “Follow the string!” If you don’t follow the string of an idea you will never know where it might have led. And if you don’t like where it’s leading, just let go!

I actually found your site when investigating cruise ships in 1968 . I’m writing a novel about how two different members of a family deal with grief, irony right. I will read more. Another curious connection , I am an international chef on mega yachts , a little different than cruise liners but we both spend alot of time in style at sea. When I am published I will be sure to send you a link or a book if you’re interested. Kirk

Hey Kirk, I will look forward to it!

Nice notes. Anyone been to David? I live in Costa Rica now, but am interested in meeting online folks from there or who have been there. I contimplate moving there and would like to spend a couple weeks visiting. Tom

Tom, I’m not a big David fan. I go there for utilitarian reasons: shopping, dentist, doctor, etc. But I can tell you that David is booming and I think offers some great opportunities for business and investment. I’ve been on both sides of Costa Rica (Puerto Limon and Puntarenas) this past spring cruise season, and I’ve talked to lots of expats who are anxious to leave Costa Rica because of the high crime problem. You might check out http://www.chiriquichatter.net/blog/ for more on David specifically.

Hi Dick — this is fascinating! I am Henry Kwant’s brother-in-law (Battle Creek, MI). I am 55 and pastoring a church in a suburb of Seattle. I would enjoy being a chaplain on a cruise ship. What does it take to do this? Pastor Pete

Hey Pete . . . “Follow the string” (see above!) It’s a great opportunity to minister to guests and crew alike. Holland America generally always has a priest on board, rabbi for holidays, and a Protestant minister when the ship is at sea on a Sunday. Here’s the link for contact http://www.hollandamericaentertainment.com/jobdescriptions/clergy.asp

The cruise season in Panama has ended . . . and has been a huge contributor to Panama’s tourism growth.  235 cruise ships stopped in Colon and Cristobal ports on the Caribbean and Amador in Panama City this past season, bringing 450,000 visitors and pumping $47 million into the local economy.  The cruise line business represents 30% of Panama’s overall tourism. 

These numbers do not include the cruise ships passing through the Canal but not stopping to disembark passengers, so that part of the industry also makes a contribution to Panama from the tolls paid to the Canal Authority. 

This is expected to grow as we move into the 2008-2009 cruise season.  The popularity of Panama is causing ships to start visiting earlier.  Some cruise lines, like Holland America, will be using larger ships.  Holland America will be using the ZUIDERDAM on its 10-day Canal series which carries 400 more passengers than the VOLENDAM, it used this past season. 

The big news for the coming season is that Royal Caribbean will homeport the ENCHANTMENT OF THE SEAS in Panama, departing every week from Colon.  Part of Royal Caribbean’s strategy is to attract European passengers who resent the hassle and intrusion of US Homeland Security procedures in South Florida.  The new KLM flights now offer direct service from Holland to Panama and the field at the former Howard US base has been opened to charter flights alleviating potential congestion at Tocumen the primary international airport.  My prediction is that more cruise lines will begin moving ships to Panama IF Panama can develop an infrastructure that supports tourism in the Colon area.  [See my previous post, “Is Panama Ready for Tourism?”]

* * * *

Let me just say how much I appreciate your comments!  If you’ve not previously commented, have your say.  WordPress uses a pretty sophisticated spam filtering system which filters out all those wonderful emails offering my Viagra, cheap car insurance, African bank accounts, and work-at-home schemes, but occasionally snags a legitimate email in error.  Please, just try again, maybe using a different email.  WordPress has also changed some functionality that makes it harder for me to respond within your comments to specific questions.  I have another way to accomplish that, but will be unable to implement it while I am on the VOLENDAM When I get home I promise to respond.

When my wife was visiting our daughter in Seattle they went to Sam’s Club to shop.  Nikki, my wife, was standing in front of the bread rack ooooing and ahhhing over the choice of three different kinds of English muffins.  My daughter noticed a woman standing nearby looking at my wife as if she was on a pass from a mental institution, and my daughter said, “Mom, get a grip!  People are staring!”

What the woman staring didn’t understand is that in Panama every type of bread comes from the same recipe and all tastes the same!  No matter what shape you give it or what you call it . . . it’s all the same.   Whole grain bread, rye . . . forget it, but everything else, by any name, it’s the same recipe!  But once in a while hope springs eternal.

When we saw a new bakery opening in Boquete named “Shalom” everyone rejoiced!  The Messianic age was upon us!  A Jewish bakery was opening in Boquete and we would soon have real bagels, maybe not Western Bagels (Southern Californian and the best!), but Kosher bagels.  Well the bakery opened . . . run by a Korean Baptist pastor.  And the bagels . . .

 They look like bagels . . . but . . . the same old recipe!

So when Shalom announced it would be making English muffins . . . well, again rays of hope, but alas and alack . . .

You got it . . . the same recipe, slightly different shape, but the same taste. Funny, the things you miss.

So if there are any good Jewish kids out there from the San Fernando Valley who want to come to Boquete and open an authentic Kosher deli and bagel factory and bake Jewish rye bread . . .  here’s your golden opportunity!!  Just leave the polution, traffic and gang bangers in the San Fernando Valley.

One question I’m always asked on cruise ships when I talk about Panama is, “What about medical care?”  We are raised in the US to think that everything in the US is better than any where else in the world, so medical care must in the US must obviously be better.  Not necessarily so . . .

For one thing medical care in Panama is more personal than in the US.  Your doctor knows your name even if he/she is not looking at your chart. Your doctor has time to spend with you and is not required to see 15 patients an hour. Your doctor is able to practice medicine without being second-guessed continually by a 20-something-year-old kid sitting behind a computer in the managed care headquarters. Because it is difficult to sue in Panama, your doctor doesn’t feel compelled to order a score of unnecessary tests just to protect his/her ass. Medical care in Panama is also a hell of a lot cheaper than in the US and because of that “Medical Tourism” - traveling to foreign countries for lower cost of care - is becoming very popular in Panama.

According to NuWire Investor,

“Panama offers significantly lower costs for medical procedures just south of the U.S. border. Costs, on average, are 40 to 70 percent lower than costs of similar surgeries in the U.S., according to a report on medical tourism published by the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) last November. Although costs for medical procedures are generally higher compared to those of Southeast Asian countries, travel costs from the U.S. to Panama are considerably lower.

Panama is a relatively ‘Americanized’ country and an attractive place for both regular tourists and medical tourists to visit. Panama City is a relatively safe and modern destination; the U.S. dollar is the country’s official currency, and many of the physicians are U.S.-trained. Consequently, U.S. patients are less likely to experience a high degree of culture shock when seeking care in Panama.”

One of the leaders in medical tourism is Punta Pacifica Hospital in Panama City, affiliated with Johns Hopkins Medicine International. According to Punta Pacifica,

“Health tourism, or medical tourism, has become a global economy all to itself. As medical costs in the US, Canada and Europe have soared, people have looked to other countries to provide high quality, affordable medical solutions. Panama has stepped to the forefront of this health tourism trend with American-trained, English-speaking doctors, professional staff and world-class facilities such as Hospital Punta Pacifica. We are able to combine first-class, affordable medical care with a truly remarkable vacation experience.”

In case you were wondering, “Yes, my present home in Valle Escondido is for sale.”  I thought you’d never ask!  But since the purpose of a blog isn’t commercial, I’ll just say “Yes” and if you want the details you’ll have to visit my Beautiful Panama Web site.

We have lived in Valle Escondido for three years and we love it!  Our home overlooks the beautiful Valle Escondido resort and golf course.  I have a beautiful lawn to enjoy, and someone else take care of it!  We overlook the Valley and the stream runs year-round in the Valley beneath our bedroom window.  And going to sleep soothed by the sounds of that stream is what we will miss most when we move up to the farm. We’ll also miss being able to walk to our neighbors and dropping in for coffee or a drink, or having them drop in at our place.  We’ll miss the spontaneous dinner parties that sometimes evolve at 4PM: “We’ve got some great fresh tuna!  Why don’t you make a salad and come on over?”
And, frankly, we’ll miss one of the advantages of living in a private and gated community, and that is being able to go away for three weeks and forget to lock the front door, and still knowing everything will be there when you return.  We have an alarm system.  I have no idea how to even turn it on or no idea why I would want to turn it on. 

But having lived here for 3 years in the security of Valle Escondido we feel comfortable moving out into the community.  Yes, there will be some things we have to worry about . . . or more accurately make appropriate plans to deal with . . . but we love our farm.  The dogs like being able to run and we like no having to worry about them barking.  My wife has become quite the agriculturalist, so we like watching our coffee grow!

But if you want a great house with a great view . . .

And if you happen to have a pocket full of Pounds or Euro’s . . . right now with the US Dollar the way it is, Panama is a steal!

I stumbled on a report online from NuWire about “Investment Opportunities In Panama”, that although a few months old, still has some very interesting advice to anyone contemplating moving to and/or investing in Panama.  You can read the entire article at NuWire, but here are some interesting excerpts.

Panama, having witnessed Costa Rica’s success, is following in its footsteps by actively catering to foreign investors.

“Most major banks will provide financing for foreigners,” Haines said. “They’ll finance up to 80 percent, generally.”

“90 percent of the real estate on the market is freehold,” Burke said. “You don’t have to live in Panama to own it. You have all the rights, the same as a Panamanian citizen.”

“Foreigners do have protection,” Haines said. “They’ve got the same rights as locals when it comes to purchasing and owning title property.”

Further, “title here is fee simple. Once you own the title, it’s yours,” Haines said. “Unless you obtain that land through arms trading, drug trading or people trading, nobody can take it from you.” She said that title insurance is available and recommended “for peace of mind,” however.

“For property insurance, it’s usually pretty inexpensive in comparison to other countries, such as the United States,” Haines said. “Panama doesn’t have any real natural disasters.”

Investors concerned about complications of leaving their property to their heirs can set up a Panamanian corporation to hold it, Burke said. “The cost [of setting up a corporation] is around $1,200,” he said. “If something happens to you and your heirs go to Panama to clear up the legal work, to transfer the property to them, if it is in your name, then it’s a long probate process. [Panama's] bureaucracy is slow and cumbersome. If you have it in a corporation, it’s a very simple process” to transfer the property.

“Business visas are also available for investors, who can put $200,000 in a Panamanian bank account “and then you can work and conduct business in Panama like a Panamanian,” Burke said. “They allow you to use the money as a mortgage, if you will, for real estate that you buy, or as a guarantor.”

. . . While Haines said that the investment process in Panama is simple and straightforward, she also recommended that investors work with an attorney. “It’s always a good idea to have somebody looking out for your interests, especially for first-time buyers.”

Part of the reason for Haines’ recommendation is the fact that “Panama is a small country, and a lot of making it here successfully is…making good contacts,” Haines said. “Attorneys are often a good point to start those contacts.”

Good contacts are important because “real estate in Panama is not quite as organized as it is in the United States,” she said. “We don’t have a multiple listing [service] so what we do instead is…form networks.”

Another important reason for investors to make good contacts with trusted advisors is that more and more people in Panama want their share—or more—of the boom that is going on in the country.

“You’ll find a piece of property that you’re very interested in, and your real estate agent will tell you it’s $2 million, when in reality, the farmer told him that it was $1 million—meaning that the real estate agent is banking $1 million on the deal,” Landau said.

To be certain that they are not overpaying for property or being swindled in some other fashion, investors should find trustworthy people who can go through the details of a deal with them and work with their best interests in mind.

Rural properties in Panama are increasing in popularity

“That’s a very tricky thing, especially if [Spanish] is not your language,” Landau said.

Landau also stressed the idea of verifying all aspects of a deal before going through with any of it because “it’s very hard to sue in Panama.” Some people have invested in bad deals, he said, and not been able to get their money back.

Outlook

Panama is easily accessible for Americans, both in terms of its proximity to the U.S. and its dollar economy. Its infrastructure bests much of the rest of Central America, and its great weather, beaches and attractions are bringing increasing numbers of tourists and retirees to the country. For all of these reasons, it is also attracting a lot of foreign investors, who can benefit from the tax deferrals and exemptions offered to them.

“The allure is that it’s very, very new, and people are getting in way ahead of the boom,” Landau said. He cautioned investors to do research before investing rather than getting caught up in the hype about Panama. “A lot of it is very, very well founded,” he said. “A lot of it is not.”

Because of the hype, Panama has increased in popularity with investors. There is a boom going on, and, as the U.S. housing market proves, those do not last forever. As a result, there are some markets within the country that are at risk of overbuilding. These markets will likely face corrections in the coming years. Investors might be wise to wait to purchase property during the correction, when prices will have dropped.

Still, “this is a great opportunity and time to be investing in Panama, or to be looking at that possibility,” Burke said. “My opinion is it’s still in the first 20, 25 percent of the growth curve.”

You had to ask, didn’t you!  After being away 22 days . . . it’s actually coming quite well!

Understand that the builder promised it would be ready “before Christmas” . . . he didn’t actually specify what year, however, and I never really believed him.    Yesterday we had what I affectionately used to call in real estate the “come to Jesus talk”, when you force a client to face up that the house he thinks is worth $800,000 is really only worth about $500,000 so it’s time to lower the price or find another agent.  Anyway, the talk went well, considering I don’t speak that much Spanish and the builder doesn’t speak English.  At this stage it is not uncommon for the builder to run out of money, and with the price of every building material soaring, I was getting concerned.  But he showed me his figures and made a timeline plan as I requested, and it all makes sense . . . I hope.  So, now we’re looking at finishing in June. 

Unfortunately, today, we  had one of those “moments” . . . last night I woke up at 4 AM to trek to the john and suddenly remembered, “Did I check the level of the slate floor on the entrance?”  I want to be able to hose off the porch, garage, and terrace and have the water quickly drain away which requires a minimal slant . . . away from the house.  The guy who is doing my tile is doing a fantastic job!  I have never seen anyone so precise!  That gave me a pang of fear . . . what if he is precisely installing the exterior slate level?  So early this morning I was up at the house with the level . . . and all this progress to the right . . . is now torn up.  I am sorry, but I told everyone bidding on the job that I would be a stickler about this, and other things, and if they weren’t interested, not to bid.  The contractor agreed, and it was just a slip up.  But a slip up that will probably add another two weeks . . .

Welcome to Panama!

Starting March 30th KLM will fly three flights a week from Schiphol, Amsterdam’s International Airport pronounced like you are clearing your throat of phlegm . . . This bolsters Panama City’s increasing role as the “Hub of The Americas” making it possible for Europeans and Latins alike to avoid the increasing hassle of connecting through the US.  According to KLM, “Based on three flights weekly, we want to transport 80,000 passengers a year. We predict that April and May will be the months with the least demand, but that levels will pick up in June, and in July and August we expect fo fill our flights to 100 percent of their capacity.”

For people like me, looking to cruise out of European ports, the direct Panama/Holland route will be much easier than the convoluted Panama/Atlanta/New York/Frankfurt/Venice-or-wherever routing.